Gun Legislation
Gun legislation HB5471 passed in Illinois. "The law requires current owners of assault weapons to register their firearms with the state and bans future sales of various semi-automatic firearms classified as assault weapons," according to Taylor Vidmar.
Vidmar writes that the Macon County Board passed a partisan resolution stating their opposition to the new legislation. The Board has 12 Republicans and 3 Democrats.
Jim Root, Macon County Sheriff, says he will "refuse to house or book in jail any law-abiding individuals that have been arrested by other agencies solely for non-compliance with this Act" and his office will not check that "lawful gun owners register their weapons with the State of Illinois".
Elections
MetroDecatur Black Chamber of Commerce hosted an MLK Day Event to meet & greet candidates. Six black candidates were present & interviewed by me. Two interviews are posted & more will follow next week.
There are no candidates for Macon/Piatt Regional Office of Education Trustees, and six seats are available.
Candidates
Datrice Weathers is running for Decatur School Board, focused on engaging the community with the School Board. Datrice also interviewed on Thee Morris Code
Dennis Cooper is running for re-election to Decatur City Council, focused on revitalization, raising revenue, approving cannabis dispensaries, and more.
Will Wetzel, running for Decatur School Board, interviewed with TheeMorrisCode. (30 minutes)
Next Friday Jan 27th, Karl Coleman, Gina Taylor, Shelith Hansbro, and Jacob Jenkins will be covered.
Local Government
May 2022, City Council voted to allow Food Trucks (Faber & Kuhle voted against) to operate year-round from 6am-midnight (it was 9am-9pm) and be downtown on private property, as long as they made restrooms available and paid a $250 or $500 fee. At this Tuesday's Council Meeting (Jan 17th, 2023), Council reduced fees to $50 or $25, and removed the restroom requirement.
Additionally, Council approved a 6-month moratorium on new video gaming licenses to "close loopholes in the city's alcoholic beverage code that are being abused".
Bill Faber resigned from City Council and Dr. Dana Ray, "the medical director of Crossing Recovery Services who served on the council from 2009 to 2019" (Herald & Review), was appointed to fill his seat until the April 4th election is over.
The County Board voted to oppose cannabis dispensaries in unincorporated areas of the county. This has no effect on municipalities like Decatur, Harristown, Mt. Zion, etc.
Non-Dispensary cannabusiness will be allowed until 2024, when the sunset resolution would have to be renewed.
The County Board updated its committee structure to accomodate for the downsizing to 15 members, which Democrat Karl Coleman criticized, saying the new rules "dramatically consolidate power for the majority caucus".
Marsha Webb, an EMS instructor, was appointed to the Macon County Board of Health.
Schools
Students go through metal detectors at Futures Unlimited and Milligan Academy, which moved to Stevenson Elementary, 3900 N Neely, over the summer. They were previously at 300 E Eldorado, the old tech academy.
The City of Decatur purchased Woodrow Wilson School (1140 W. Sunset Ave) for $813 in October 2022 after a New York LLC failed to pay property taxes for years. The City approved $375,000 for asbestos treatment and will spend about $1 million demolishing it, before the Decatur School District purchases it for half-cost of demolition. The School District has 'tentative' plans for the site but has not given details. src: H&R
200 Stephen Decatur Students were rewarded for good attendance with video games, board games, music, and pizza. It was provided by Sherrod's Independent Mentoring Program Inc., which receives grants from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority. About $100,000 in 2021. Jarmese Sherrod also sent out a list of ideas to Macon County Schools and Police on how to build healthy communities, decrease crime, and more.
Johns Hill Magnet School students will compete at a state competition with a lego robot
Give to the community
Give Blood: Dani Craft of ImpactLife says blood donations take about 30-45 minutes, save three lives each time, and can be given at 151 W Main St. on Wednesdays (10:30am-6:30pm) and Fridays (7am-3pm). See bloodcenter.org or call (800) 747-5401
Narcan Training: Crossing Healthcare is offering free 30-60 minute Narcan Trainings to businesses for their employees & volunteers. Contact Bethany Gotts at bgotts@crossinghealthcare.org or 217-877-9117 to schedule yours & get a free box of Narcan nasal spray.
Scoville Zoo Volunteer Training: "Volunteers give guided tours, operate the Endangered Species Carousel, run the [Express Train], give mobile zoo presentations, and help at special events." - Herald & Review. Classes are 9am-noon on Wednesdays from February 2 through April 6. Must be 18+ and pass a background check. Call 217-421-7435 for information & to register.
Community Services
Kids age 12+: Skywalker Outreach Services offers a Leadership Academy, AWOL (All Walks of Life), and Boxing program to kids on weeknights from 5:30pm-8:30pm. These include life skills, gym activities, and snacks. Gang prevention specialists, conselors, and teachers are available. More Details
All Ages: Free Nature Photography class, provided by Decatur Camera Club at Rock Springs. Some cameras are available for students who don't have one. Register online by noon on January 31st for classes on February 1, Feb 8, Feb 14, & Feb 22 from 6pm - 8pm. Attend one class or all four.
Non-Profits: Young Leaders in Action is offering grants to organizations with programs addressing youth mental health. Get an Application & send to tjoyner@maconcountygives.org before February 28th, 2023.
Adults 24+: Scholarships up to $2,500 available through The Community Foundation of Macon County. Apply by March 1. Details & Online Application
Public Health
COVID: As of Jan 11, 2023 79% of Illinoisans have received a COVID vaccine, 71.1% have received a second dose, and only 19.4% have received the bivalent booster, according to some COVID charts. As of Jan 11, there were 1,471 hospitalized COVID patients and 166 ICU COVID patients in Illinois. In 2022, about 91 Macon County residents died from COVID.
Unemployment
See pantagraph or herald & review
- In November, Macon County had a 5.7% unemployment rate, higher than most Illinois counties. Most IL Counties were between 2.8% and 5.7%.
- Macon County peaked at 15.1% unemployment in May 2020. It was 4.4% in February 2020.
- Illinois's unemployment rate was 4.4% in September 2022. Most states are between 2.3% and 4.0%.
Crime
- Daniel S Boehme pleaded guilty to murdering his girlfriend Helena Beams on Jan 27, 2022, and is sentenced to 25 years in prison.
There are additional crime updates from Herald & review which I did not have time to cover.
Past Events
- 37th Annual MLK Day Freedom March on Jan 16th. The march included city staff, Mayor Wolfe, County Board Member Karl Coleman, students of the Boys & Girls Club of Decatur, Mt Zion history teacher Richard Hansen, and more. Hansen spoke about an elective African American History class that he teaches to about 25 students. Watch
- MLK Day Meet & Greet Candidates on Jan 16th.
- The Barstool Open, now titled the 'Miller Lite Open', had teams play in miniature indoor putt-putt courses to raise money for Webster-Cantrell Youth Advocacy.
- Revolutionary War Program at the Macon County History Museum, 5580 N. Fork Road, was held on Jan 14th.
Upcoming Events
There is a model train show at Cross County Mall in Matton this Saturday(10a-6p) & Sunday(11a-4p) (Jan 21 & 22). Contact Ruef at 217-317-3009 if you have questions.
Sunday Jan 22 @ Rock Springs, 2pm-3pm: Winter Raccoon Candy Cane Hunt. Free. Register Onlin by Jan 20 or call [217-423-7708](tel:+1 2174237708).
Sunday Jan 29 @ Rock Springs, 2pm-4pm: Winter Nature Journaling. $10 per person. Register Online by January 27th or call [217-423-7708](tel:+1 2174237708).
Catholic Charities is hosting a fundraiser on Saturday February 18th 6pm-11pm. Tickets are $75. Buy tickets online
Millikin offering free lectures to the public on the third floor of the University Commons. Just show up; no registration required.
- Tuesday Jan 31 @ 7:30pm is Sami Steigmann, a Holocaust survivor.
- Monday Feb 13 @ 7:00pm is a Black History Month Celebration featuring Wilson Kwamogi Okello, a spoken word artist.
- Wednesday Mar 1 @ 7:00pm is a Women's History Month lecture featuring Amanda Lucidon, a White House photographer for Obama.
- Wednesday Mar 29th @ 7:00pm for Civil Discourse Week is Jonathan Mooney bringing awareness to disability and neurodivergence.
On Monday May 8th, 2023, several African American History exhibits, including “Law and Order: Mass Incarceration and the New Jim Crow” will open at the African-American Cultural & Genealogical Society Of Illinois, Inc. Museum at 235 W. Eldorado St. There is no fee for entry, though donations are appreciated.
Quick bits
- A mattoon student will advise PBS on some reporting
- Helicopters will survey the Illinois River Basin. USGS Writes "current land practices of accelerating drainage combined with a growing demand for water could limit the quantity of water available for human and biota uses." This waterway has an "overabundance of nutrients—primarily nitrogen and phosphorus—and associated harmful algal blooms" according to USGS
Sponsor this work
Thank you for reading my first weekly news recap. I'll post another on Friday, January 27th. This recap pretty much only included a review of Herald & Review articles, because it took all day. I hope to check more outlets next week.
You can sponsor monthly on Patreon or send one-time contributions on paypal. These are not tax deductible. Any amount helps, especially with boosting my spirtit :)
Have a great weekend.