ILLINOIS (RFD) — A key hazard on the farm can be electricity. And even indirect contact can be a danger says Ann Augspurger with Safe Electricity. Augspurger says everyone in the operation should be educated on potential electrical hazards on the farm including both direct and indirect contact with an overhead power line or pole.… Read more…
Illinois unemployment officials still can’t say how much fraud has been paid
SPRINGFIELD, IL — Now nearly 20 months into the pandemic, it’s still not known how much fraud has been paid out of Illinois’ unemployment system from throughout the pandemic. After Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order in March 2020, unemployment filings skyrocketed as people were laid off from the decrease in economic activity. That…… Read more…
Cold front moving through Illinois
ILLINOIS (RFD) — A push of fall like weather. That’s how DTN agriculture meteorologist John Baranick describes this week in Illinois. Climatological fall began on Sept. 1, but astronomical fall begins on Wednesday.… Read more…
National Farm Safety and Health Week this week
ILLINOIS (RFD) — National Farm Safety and Health Week is underway. That’s David Newcomb. He serves as agriculture program manager for the Illinois Fire Service Institute.… Read more…
Pritzker: Vaccine mandate will ‘work itself out’ despite concerns about testing costs
SPRINGFIELD, IL — Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate is now in effect for college students, educators and most health care workers. Those who don’t follow the mandate could be kept from work. A state lawmaker critical of the mandate said it penalizes unvaccinated people with weekly testing that could come with an extra cost.…… Read more…
New school exclusion COVID order doesn’t change quarantine due process, attorney says
SPRINGFIELD, IL — On top of his most recent 30-day COVID-19 disaster proclamation, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued his 90th executive order, which is about who can be excluded from schools, such as those with possible exposure to COVID-19. Pritzker on Friday reissued a majority of orders from the past 19 months. On Monday, at an…… Read more…
Social Security Administration Talks Rise in Scams and Young People
ILLINOIS (RFD) —- Scams are not going away and continue to come at us in nearly every direction. This September, Social Security is once again taking time to raise awareness about scams for not just the often most vulnerable in our communities – seniors – but younger populations. Jack Myers with Social Security says youth…… Read more…
Pritzker signs Alex’s Law to protect those who call 911 to report an overdose
SPRINGFIELD, IL — Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed House Bill 3445, known as Alex’s Law, to encourage people witnessing a drug overdose to call 911. The legislation ensures that people who seek emergency assistance for a person experiencing symptoms of an opioid overdose will not be arrested for any crime related to the use of drugs…… Read more…
State’s electronic verification system catches thousands of drivers without insurance
SPRINGFIELD, IL — The Illinois Secretary of State’s Office is going after uninsured drivers with a new system of random checks. Nearly 2,700 Illinois license plates have been suspended in the past two months since the program went into effect. The state’s new system, called the Illinois Insurance Verification System, automatically verifies a vehicle owner’s…… Read more…
JCAR to question ISBE’s mask mandate authority today at hearing
CHICAGO, IL — Illinois state lawmakers on the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules are expecting to hear from Illinois State Board of Education representatives about the agency’s authority to punish schools for not following the governor’s mask mandate for schools. Since the governor announced a statewide mask mandate for K-12 schools, 62 schools made masks…… Read more…
Pritzker expected to sign sweeping energy legislation some say increases costs
SPRINGFIELD, IL — Illinois has new energy bill and plan to “green” the electricity used in the state over the coming decades. The Senate approved – with Democrat and Republican votes – a bill that would send hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to nuclear plants in northern Illinois and possibly close coal plants by…… Read more…
Watch out for flood-damaged cars
ILLINOIS (RFD) — The Better Business Bureau wants you to beware of flood and hurricane-damaged cars. If you’re looking for a car, know that cars that have been flooded may be entering the market, especially from areas hit hard by Hurricane Ida. It is common after major floods for scam artists to try and pawn…… Read more…
Lawmaker urges vote for limits on executive orders
SPRINGFIELD, IL — After a year and a half of executive orders from Gov. J.B. Pritzker dealing with the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a state lawmaker is pleading to have his measure curbing that authority to be called for a vote On the Illinois House floor Tuesday, state Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, urged…… Read more…
ISBE issues new guidance to schools for remote learning
SPRINGFIELD, IL — The Illinois State Board of Education is preparing schools for the possibility of closures due to COVID-19 outbreaks and high quarantine numbers The Board of Education has issued guidance for remote learning after the state health department identified more two dozen schools with COVID-19 outbreaks. According to the ISBE, school districts that decide to…… Read more…
Republicans ask Pritzker to veto legislative maps
SPRINGFIELD, IL — Illinois Republicans want Gov. J.B. Pritzker to veto the legislative maps Democrats passed this week. Maps drafted in May were passed by majority Democrats at the statehouse. Despite calls from civic groups asking that lawmakers wait until the final Census data was released, Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted the maps. Republicans criticized the…… Read more…