SPRINGFIELD – Illinois college students will have more information on hand to make financial decisions under legislation signed into law today by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Senate Bill 2559 will require the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to develop a three-year pilot program to better educate students on loan amounts, repayment and interest.

Each public university and community college will be required to send an annual letter detailing the current loan and annual repayment amounts to all students with college loans.

“We’ve seen student debt skyrocket in recent years,” Rauner said. “This is an opportunity for those students to stay on top of the cost of education and the debt they are incurring.”

The legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Steve Stadelman of Rockford.

“Thousands of Illinois students graduate from college each year and face the reality that they owe tens-of-thousands of dollars in student loans. For many of these students, it’s the first time they fully realize the expense of their education,” said Stadelman, D-Rockford. “This new law will ensure students know up-front about the cost of their education and can make better financial decisions to save them money later on.”

REND LAKE FISHING REPORT
August 19, 2018
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Phone (618) 724-2493
Fax (618) 724-4089
e-mail : rendinfo@usace.army.mil
Web site http://www.mvs.usace.army.mil/rend
“Like” us on Facebook at Rend Lake Project Office/Visitor Center

MAIN LAKE AND TRIBUTARIES

SPECIES RATING BAIT OF CHOICE SUGGESTED LOCATIONS REGULATIONS

LARGEMOUTH BASS
Good Minnows, spinner baits, worms, and black and blue jigs, soft plastics. Reports of fish being caught around Jackie Branch, Sandusky Cove, and South Marcum Cove. Fish in shallow bays near brush cover and bushes. Fish around bridges and along the rocks. 14” minimum length limit, 6 daily creel limit.
1 fish daily creel limit in PONDS 14” minimum length.

CRAPPIE

Good Small or medium minnows on a cork over the brush.
Quarter-ounce pink and white tub jigs.
Crappie are suspended on the brush in the 8ft -12ft range. From shore, fish near structures, hot spots are Sailboat Harbor, and North & South Marcum. Some brush piles are holding lots of fish, keep moving and you will find the right spot. Try the main lake drop off areas. 25 fish daily creel limit with no more than 10 fish 10 inches or longer

BLUEGILL

Fair Small jigs, worms, meal worms, wax worms, crickets. From shore try Sailboat Harbor and Mine 21 Road. Fish shallow with crickets, worms or small jigs. Try in the back of necks and on flat shallow banks and on the rocks. Set bait at half of water depth. 10 fish daily creel limit in PONDS.

CHANNEL
CATFISH

Excellent Garlic shrimp, leeches, cut shad, dip bait, and night crawlers. Sonny’s stink bait. Try garlic shrimp in moving water. Drift fish near the creek channels on the main lake. Also, try Waltonville Dam, Turnip Patch, and Jackie Branch as well. Creeks are doing well. 6 fish daily creel limit in PONDS.
Jugs must be attended at all times while fishing.

WHITE BASS
Good Rooster Tails and spoons.
In-line spinners, jig and curly tail grubs. Reports of fish being caught anywhere the shad are moving. Try the main lake points first. Fish around the rocks and drop-offs, near brush cover / bushes. 20 fish creel limit.
No more than 3 fish 17” or longer daily

Information as of: 08/19/2018
LAKE LEVEL: 405.92 AVERAGE POOL FOR THIS DATE: 406.15 WATER TEMP: 83°F
Use of a minnow seine, cast net, or shad scoop for bait collecting within 1000 yards downstream of the Rend Lake dam and spillway is prohibited.
Maps of the Fish Attractor tree locations along with GPS locations are available at the Rend Lake Corps of Engineers Project Office or online at www.enjoyrend.com. Contact Mark Cazier for more information at (618) 724-2493.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference will have more than 50 events on ESPN’s networks during the 2018 season, Commissioner Patty Viverito has announced. The Conference will produce eight league games as part of its 2018 Game of the Week package, with each streaming live on “Valley Football on ESPN” — the league’s co-branded digital network.

MORE:  https://bit.ly/2Oqoos8

The league’s eight-game production schedule begins on Thursday, Sept. 27, with a UNI at Indiana State contest on ESPN3.  Approximately 50 additional games will stream live in conjunction with MVFC institutional packages, with all the games carried on “Valley Football on ESPN.”  Of the league’s 56 regular-season home contests, 13 will air on ESPN3, and the remaining 43 will appear on ESPN+ — the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International Group and ESPN.

Additionally, games that air on ESPN3 are eligible for consideration for ESPN’s College Extra.  Notably, for the third-straight year, the league will utilize DVSport instant replay during all of 40 of its conference games.

The league’s digital initiative is available through the redesigned ESPN App and features live-event programming on both ESPN3 and ESPN+.  The new ESPN App gives fans a premier, all-in-one digital access point for everything ESPN offers — 1) news, scores, highlights and audio, 2) “TV Everywhere” streaming video and 3) ESPN+.  The league’s digital endeavor is part of its 10-year agreement with ESPN which runs through the 2023-24 academic year.

“We are very satisfied with the coverage that we’ve gotten with our agreement with ESPN.  The exposure that’s given us and the national respect that it’s given us is really important,” said Viverito.

Most of the events will be produced and transmitted by production units on each of the league’s campuses or by regional sports networks, while the league’s 8-game package will be produced and distributed by Tupelo Raycom of Indianapolis, Ind. — the Conference’s digital production agency.

THE ESPN APP 

• ESPN App curates all of ESPN’s incredible content into a personalized experience unique to each fan.  The app includes three core pillars of offering for fans:
• News, Scores, Highlights & Audio: The world’s leading sports scores, news, features and analysis, video highlights and clips, and the leading library of live and on-demand sports audio content.
• “TV Everywhere” video:  Authenticated live and on-demand streaming for pay TV subscribers to ESPN’s U.S. linear networks and digital networks, including ESPN3.
• ESPN+:  Direct-to-consumer subscription streaming access to thousands of additional live sporting events, original content and shows, and on-demand video library.  Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

   For questions about the new ESPN App or ESPN+, please contact the ESPN customer care team at support.espn.com or 1-888-549-ESPN.

INA, Ill. – Beginning this fall, Rend Lake College students enrolled in four popular programs will have a new opportunity to receive paid on-the-job training while completing their desired degree or certificate.

These apprenticeships, offered through the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Office of Apprenticeship, are geared toward students enrolled in the Industrial Maintenance Technology, Basic Machining Technology, Truck Driver Training, or Welding Technology programs, with additional program options in the works. Each apprentice will have the chance to team up with local industry businesses and mentors for the trainings.

Bruce A.L. Hallam, USDOL Apprenticeship & Training Representative, FOURTH FROM LEFT, visited RLC this week to meet with program faculty and administrators to discuss the new partnership between the college and USDOL. Also pictured is, FROM LEFT, Pete Wilce, RLC Welding Associate Professor; Joy Fitts, RLC Applied Science & Technology Administrative Assistant; Lori Ragland, RLC Vice President of Instruction; Hallam; Terry Wilkerson, RLC President; Gabriele Farner, RLC Dean of Applied Science & Technology Division; David Nordin, RLC Truck Driver Training Instructor; Mike Meinert, RLC Welding Instructor; and Chris Sink, RLC Computer Networking / Wireless Professor.
(ReAnne Palmer / RLC Public Information)

The goal of the new apprenticeships is to meet student and industry needs for continuous training in high level skill jobs. Together with the USDOL, RLC has adopted apprenticeship standards for each of the four programs.

“It’s important to our business partners that our students and graduates are skilled professionals, but are also familiar with the everyday aspects of their job that may not be taught in the classroom, such as company and customer orientation and specific workplace safety,” said Gabriele Farner, RLC Dean of Applied Science & Technology.

Some other work processes covered in the apprenticeships include planning and organizing work, maintaining operating equipment, operability of technical systems, and quality control.

During the apprenticeship, RLC students will complete approximately 2,000 hours, depending on industry standards, of hands-on training while receiving related training instruction (RTI) at RLC. Apprentices are paid wages that will increase throughout the apprenticeship.

Farner said RLC students should look at the apprenticeships as opportunities to get a leg up in the local work force.

“The apprenticeship is a practical, cost-effective way to expose our students to the industries where they are interested in working,” said Farner. “It’s a win for everyone involved. Students receive hands-on training from skilled mentors while earning incomes above minimum wage, local businesses get to work directly with new professionals, and RLC continues to lead students and graduates down a path they desire to walk.”

Students successfully completing the required RTI and on-the-job learning will receive the national occupational credential in their related field from the USDOL. According to the USDOL, receipt of this credential indicates the employer is certifying the apprentice to be fully skilled in their respective occupation.

To learn more about these apprenticeship programs, contact RLC’s Applied Science & Technology Division at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1261 or AppliedScience@rlc.edu.

School students in contest to name “The People’s Coliseum”

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Bruce Rauner announced today that the Rauner Family Foundation is contributing $1 million to the Illinois State Fair for the naming rights to The Coliseum, the 117-year-old, 60,000-square-foot amphitheater that is “the pride and joy” of the state fairgrounds.

“Diana and I want to make this ‘The People’s Coliseum’ just as we made the Governor’s Mansion ‘the People’s House,’” said Rauner. “In that spirit, we are going to ask Illinois school children to help us to name the Coliseum in a naming contest. This building belongs to the future, so it is fitting that we let the young people who are the future do the naming.”  

Rauner made the announcement at the breakfast which kicked off Agriculture Day at the Illinois State Fair. Details of the naming contest will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead. Later today, the governor will host the Sale of Champions, where Junior Division Grand and Reserve Champion livestock are selected and auctioned with proceeds going to youth exhibitors and the 4-H and FFA Foundations. Last year’s auction brought in more than $150,000 in proceeds.

“Agribusiness is big business in Illinois,” Rauner said. “There are more than 72,000 farms and 2,400 food manufacturers in Illinois. We are the nation’s leading state for food processing, our ag commodities businesses produce $19 billion a year, and there’s billions more in ag-related industries. It is essential that we support the industry’s growth and advancement by sensibly reducing regulatory burdens and reforming our workers comp and property tax systems.”

At the Agriculture Day Breakfast, Rauner signed a package of legislation that will benefit farmers and ag businesses. First up was Senate Bill 3072, which provides for staggered board terms for the State Fair Advisory Board. The move ensures the operational interests of the fairs are more equitably represented.

The board exists to advise the director and the Department of Agriculture on operational matters for both the State Fairs and the State Fairgrounds.

“These changes to the Board structure will help bring in new perspectives and help ensure that our State Fairs are offering the best family entertainment and value for fairgoers,” said Raymond Poe, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

“This new law will help bring about fresh and innovative ideas to the State Fair Advisory Board, which will help grow and enhance the Illinois State Fair as the state’s premier summer event for years to come,” said Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady.

“The State Fair Board of Trustees performs a vital service to help guide the Springfield State Fair and the DuQuoin State Fair especially,” said Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Mount Vernon. “The Board is being trimmed from 20 down to 15 in order to increase the likelihood of filling the board and to cut down on the size of government. Every little bit of streamlining helps in Illinois. I am thankful to the governor for recognizing the need to keep the State Fair Board of Trustees a lean, mean and efficiently operating body and for signing SB 3072.”

House Bill 4999 reduces the number of meetings for the Advisory Board of Livestock Commissioners and other administrative requirements, resulting in cost and staff time savings for administrative support.

“With this change in statute, the advisory board is able to easily meet at least once a year to compile their recommendations for the director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture,” said Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond. “Their input is essential for state agricultural success since they approve the rules and regulations of the department on prevention, elimination and control of diseases in our livestock.”

House Bill 5029 ensures the humane treatment of dogs and cats and makes certain breeders live up to legal standards for health. Anyone who intentionally breeds cats and dogs to sell, offer to sell, exchange or offer for adoption are now classified as breeders.

“This new law was created to clear up any confusion regarding the definition under state law for dog and cat breeders,” said Rep. Charlie Meier, R-Okawville. “It will help reduce confusion for both licensees and consumers. It’s just common sense.”

The governor signed House Bill 5459 which amends the Horse Racing Act so that more foals can qualify for Illinois races, a big step to help the racing and horse breeding industries in the state.

Senate Bill 2752 changes definitions of “adulterated” meats and poultry to ensure the protection of consumers against food-borne illnesses.

“Food safety is of critical importance to Illinois families,” said Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Freeport, after Tuesday’s bill signing. “Ensuring Illinois conforms with federal guidelines and is implementing best practices with everyone on the same page is important for not just Illinois’ agricultural community, but also for consumers.

“Whenever we need to bring Illinois’ statutes in line with federal guidelines on food safety, we should leap at the opportunity to protect business from unequal application of the laws as well as protect consumers, who are increasingly in tune with what’s in the food their families consume.”

The governor signed Senate Bill 2875 giving the Department of Agriculture authority to develop and implement value-added certifications so that Illinois certified products warrant higher prices.  The legislation repeals several non-functioning programs including Forever Green Illinois; Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act Labeling and Certification; Illinois AgriFIRST Act of 2001; the Dairy Statistics Act; the Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Act; and the Trichinosis Control Act. 

“Under this legislation we are formally repealing some programs within the Department of Agriculture which have not functioned in years but which still exist on paper,” said Rep. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City. “It is a good measure for streamlining government and avoiding possible confusion in the future.”

“Agriculture is the backbone of our state’s economy. If we can help farms and agribusinesses to succeed, then Illinois will succeed,” said Sen. Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria. “I grew up on a family farm, and know the hard work these men and women do every day to feed the world, and the unique challenges they face. It was an honor to sponsor this new law that consolidates and modernizes rules for programs that affect farmers and agribusinesses each day.”

“This new law will make government more efficient by repealing a number of programs that are no longer operating,” added Okawville’s Meier. “This makes perfect sense to eliminate programs on the books that don’t exist and consolidate programs that still exist.”

Senate Bill 3082 makes it possible for Farm Bureaus to participate more fully in the promotion of Ag Centennial, Sesquicentennial, and Bicentennial programs by considering the bureaus as agribusinesses.

“Agribusiness is Illinois’ No. 1 industry and this new law shows our commitment to supporting agriculture in our state,” said Meier. “Whether your business is in production, processing or distribution, this new law will recognize your business as an ‘Agribusiness’ in the State of Illinois.”

“I am happy to have co-sponsored three of these bills today that streamline the State Fair Board and reduce some of the bureaucracy and cost of the state and let taxpayers keep more of their money,” commented Rep. Dave Severin, R-Benton, who sponsored SB 3072, HB 5459 and SB 2875. “And in our modern economy where some agribusinesses promote farmers and produce as part of the overall $19 billion economy, I think it’s important to recognize not only farmers but those agribusinesses as well in our Centennial designation program for their positive impact on farming in Illinois.”

On August 15, 2018 at approximately, 11 p.m., Benton Police conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of North McLeansboro and East Main Street.

During the stop,  Benton Police K9 “ Ranger” alerted to the odor of illegal narcotics in the vehicle.

Upon investigating further, police arrested Bryce J. Sneddon, age 25, of Benton for unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Sneddon was charged and transported to the Franklin County Jail for further processing.

WEST FRANKFORT — Mayor Tom Jordan said Tuesday’s City Council meeting was full of good news, but a definite bright spot was signing a lease for the mall that could bring a significant number of jobs to West Frankfort.

Here’s a link to the story at the Southern Illinoisan.