Politics

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. — We're just 35 days from election day, and as voters head to the polls, Illinois election officials remind everyone on the importance of staying up to date on accurate information about the voting process. The Illinois State Board of elections wants people to know that...

As leaves begin to change, a "vibrant" fall — among the nation's most colorful — is predicted for Illinois. Here's a look at the 2024 foliage forecast and when to expect peak viewing in the Prairie State. What is the Illinois outlook? AccuWeather predicts that the nation's best leaf watching will be found in...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS) — Change is always slow coming when it comes to laws and policy. Before being signed into law, the Pretrial Fairness Act, part of the SAFE-T Act, went through numerous changes and adjustments. When speaking with Benjamin Ruddell from the ACLU of Illinois, he felt it...

SPRINGFIELD – Land of Lincoln Honor Flight ends our 2024 flying season with Mission #72 on October 15, 2024. Mission #72 will serve 92 Veterans including two Korean Era veterans and 90 Vietnam era veterans from 53 Illinois hometowns of Auburn, Aviston, Bartelso, Blue Mound, Breese, Camargo, Cantrall, Carlinville, Carlyle, Carterville, Centralia, Chapin, Charleston, Collinsville, Decatur, East Peoria, Effingham, Farine, Forrest Franklin, Gibson City, Gillespie, Girard, Godfrey, Greenup, Highland, Hillsboro, Homer, Jacksonville, Kappa, LeRoy, Litchfield, Mascoutah, Mason City, Mattoon, Moweaqua, Mt Pulaski, Mt Zion, New Baden, Newman, Paris, Pontiac, Riverton, Springfield, Teutopolis, Texico, Thomasboro, Trenton, Troy, Tuscola, Vandalia, Watson and Xenia. Our October 15th veterans represent all branches of the military.

Sep. 29—As goes Champaign County, so goes Illinois. For the last 15 presidential elections — all the way back to Lyndon Johnson over Barry Goldwater in 1964 — the candidate who won Champaign County also won Illinois. The chosen one in Champaign County (and Illinois) isn't always the national winner — Gerald Ford in 1976, Al Gore in 2000 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 are exceptions — but most of ...

Voters in Illinois will soon head to the polls — or fill out mail-in ballots at home — to select the next president of the United States and a variety of representatives at the national, state and local levels. Have questions about how to vote or key deadlines? We’ve got you covered. When is the general election? Nov. 5. Polls will be open in Illinois on that day from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone ...

How would you feel about the United States getting rid of the Penny? Who would think of such a thing? A member of the Federal Reserve, and maybe our own State Treasurer.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) – Ameren Illinois volunteers are helping those impacted by Hurricane Helene. More than a dozen are from Central Illinois.  “They are the heroes to the people who are without power, that’s for sure,” Ameren Illinois Brian Bertsch said.   More than 115 people have died across six states since the storm hit the […]

(The Center Square) – Illinois voters have a non-binding question on the November ballot about taxing millionaires more to fund a property tax relief fund. Behind only New Jersey, Illinois has the second-highest property taxes in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation, WalletHub and ATTOM Data Solutions. Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas testified at a recent Illinois House hearing that property taxes in some areas of...

Developers of the Grain Belt Express transmission line have asked the federal government to narrow a 780-mile route energy officials proposed as a transmission corridor of “national interest.”. The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to designate “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors” in areas where officials have found a...

Why are stores in Illinois already selling Christmas decorations and it's still summer?. Illinois Store Already Has It's Christmas Decorations For Sale. I remember when I was a kid, holidays and the seasons stayed in their lane. You didn't have any sight of them until it was the appropriate time. At the most, it was a month out. For example, you wouldn't see any Halloween stuff until October 1st.

Illinois EPA announces grant opportunitiesThe Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has announced the expansion of two energy efficiency grant opportunities. The Energy Efficiency Assessment Program and the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund Program provide funding for energy efficiency assessments and upgrade projects at eligible properties serving residents receiving housing assistance. Eligible applicants include public housing authorities, units of local governments, or nonprofit organizations throughout Illinois that serve residents using housing assistance programs.State working to make haunted houses safeThe Illinois Department of Labor and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal are working together across the state to inspect haunted houses before visitors are allowed inside. All haunted houses are required to be inspected before operation, though haunted houses operated by not-for-profit religious, educational, or charitable organizations can apply for an exemption. Most haunted houses in Illinois require smoke detectors and must be protected by automatic sprinkler systems. Two tragic fires in the 1970s and 1980s at haunted houses led to closer scrutiny of haunted house safety.PETA billboard marks month since cows killed in crashIt has been more than a month since cows were killed in a crash on Interstate 57 in Douglas County, and now a billboard is paying homage. In August, a semi-truck carrying cows crashed, killing 20 cows with another 16 getting loose. The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals purchased a billboard to remember the cows that died. The billboard reads, “I’m me. Not meat.” Officials said two cows remain on the loose in the corn.

The Illinois Veterans' Homes at Anna and Manteno are currently navigating an increase in COVID-19 cases among both residents and staff. According to a press release from the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, the Anna facility has reported 17 resident cases and seven among staff, while Manteno has seen 15 residents and nine staff affected, as of September 24.

Millions of dollars in life insurance benefits go unclaimed each year, but the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) is working to change that. READ MORE: FEMA Inspections May Be Needed Storm Relief in Winnebago Co. According to a press release from the IDOI, the Life Policy Locator service has helped...

The latest fundraiser for state parks made our best-known one ... a winner. Starved Rock won its category in the Illinois Conservation Foundation's “My Illinois State Park” contest. Every dollar donated online equaled one vote. Starved Rock was in the 400,000 plus visitors category and topped Matthiessen, Illini and Hennepin Canal Parkway.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) is spending the weekend campaigning for Democrats on abortion rights in Arizona, saying “no one” is a single-issue voter. “Look, people, no one is really a single-issue voter, right? They got a number of things they go into the ballot box thinking about before they pull the lever for one…

It can be understandably upsetting for family members of a nursing home resident to find out that their loved one has fallen. However, few people other than those who have experience working in skilled nursing facilities have an accurate understanding of the measures preventing 100 percent of falls would involve – and why some of those steps would be outright illegal.

O’FALLON – A new pilot program utilizing the state’s public libraries to improve court access will offer guidance for Illinoisans struggling to navigate the legal system on their own. O’Fallon Public Library, which is in the 20th Judicial Court in St. Clair County, is part of the new statewide program and it was selected for this pilot program.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment. Through funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Agroecosystem Sustainability Center (ASC) will ramp up efforts to investigate the impact of conservation practices on nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Act, signed into law in 2022, includes a historic investment for implementation of practices that support climate mitigation through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in addition to funding to advance estimates of mitigation outcomes.

Illinois State Water Survey and Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission will be having their final public meetings on during the months of October, November, and December. The purpose of these meetings is to review the draft of the hazard mitigation plans for each county and provide opportunities for public input. The draft plan will be made available online in October. Open comment period will run for a minimum through the end of 2024.