Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno to resign

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20170629/senate-republican-leader-christine-radogno-to-resign

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Doug Finke, Springfield Journal Register.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.

Illinois Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno said Thursday she is resigning from the Senate at the end of business Saturday.

Radogno, who earlier this year tried to negotiate a resolution to the state budget impasse with Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said she has done all she can to resolve the two-year stalemate.

“I have done everything I can do to resolve the state’s budget crisis,” Radogno said in a statement. “I will continue to do so for the coming days, but if the solution will not come on my watch, I hope and pray that the governor, the other legislative leaders, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House, can find a path to solve the state’s problems.”

Franklin County surviving on shoe-string budget

http://www.bentoneveningnews.com/news/20170627/franklin-county-surviving-on-shoe-string-budget

BENTON, IL – (Rick Hayes- Benton News.  Please Click on the link for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

After providing $77,000 and $89,000 in reimbursement payments for detention and probation, respectively, the state of Illinois has reduced its backlog of payments to Franklin County to under $1 million.

Treasurer Keith Jones reported at a recent Franklin County Board meeting the total has been reduced to $976,000 after payments were made for November of last year. The state still owes $412,000 in reimbursement payments for detention and $563,000 for probation.

Jones said that if the county board had not issued a tax anticipation warrant of $700,000 recently, there would only be about $25,000 in the bank. He previously reported it takes about $100,000 every two weeks to make payroll.

 

Rangers to the Rescue!

http://www.bentongazette.com/news/rangers-to-the-rescue/article_2c95dd98-5c7d-11e7-b7c2-c3d34b78cc37.html

The Benton Rangers boys basketball team helps load up a water tank that fell off of a pickup truck at an intersection in Greenville. (Photo provided to the Benton Gazette)

GREENVILLE, IL – (Benton Gazette.  Please Click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

Holly Smith, a resident of Greenville, Illinois, a town approximately 86 miles to our north, has turned in a very uplifting report regarding the kindness and character of our Benton Ranger Varsity Basketball Team.

The boys are currently in the midst of their summer ball schedule, and stopped along the way to help distressed motorist

 

Illinois State Police say trooper involved in I-74 accident has died

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2017-06-29/updated-illinois-state-police-say-trooper-involved-i-74-accident-has-died.html

FARMER CITY, IL –  (Tim Mitchell, Champaign News Gazette.  Please click on the link above to read the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

Illinois State Police are mourning the loss of a trooper from Bellflower who died as a result of injuries he sustained in a crash Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 74 in DeWitt County.

ISP Director Leo Schmitz said Trooper Ryan Albin, 37, died about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday at Carle Hospital in Urbana, where he was airlifted to after the wreck. Schmitz said Albin had been with the state police since January 2006, and he and his K-9 partner, Biko, were assigned to District 6, based in Pontiac.

State police said the crash occurred around 3:10 p.m. on westbound I-74 near milepost 155, west of Farmer City. They said Trooper Albin’s squad car and a commercial vehicle were slowing down ahead of traffic approaching a construction zone when the commercial vehicle struck Trooper Albin’s vehicle. Trooper Albin’s K-9 partner was taken to the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital and appears to have only minor injuries.

One injured, extensive damage after explosion at Murray State University dorm

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/35773558/1-injured-extensive-damage-after-explosion-at-murray-state-university-dorm?utm_content=bufferd331d&utm_

KFVS Photo

MURRAY, KY – (Amber Ruch, KFVS-TV. Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

At least one person was injured and a Murray State University dorm was damaged after an explosion on Wednesday, June 28.

According to the head of marketing at Murray Calloway County Hospital, one person was brought in by ambulance and is being treated in the ER.

She said the person is in guarded condition

 

SIU Carbondale, other Illinois universities at risk of losing accreditation

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/story/35771774/siu-carbondale-other-illinois-universities-at-risk-of-losing-accreditation

SPRINGFIELD, IL (Associated Press.  Please click on link to read the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

The state budget impasse could affect the accreditation of Illinois universities, which are already facing a funding cut under the recently proposed budget.

The Higher Learning Commission, which accredits schools in the Midwest, recently issued a letter cautioning lawmakers that a lack of funding places Illinois universities at risk of losing their accreditation.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale President Randy Dunn says losing accreditation could make it difficult to hire more staff.

Arrest made after Ten Commandments monument at Arkansas Capitol toppled, shattered

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/jun/28/ten-commandments-monument-arkansas-capitol-toppled/

Arkansas Democrat Gazette photo

LITTLE ROCK, AR –  (Emma Pettit, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.  Please click on the link to read the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

A 6-foot-tall stone Ten Commandments monument installed Tuesday on the Arkansas Capitol grounds was toppled less than 24 hours later after a 32-year-old Arkansas man drove a vehicle into the statue, apparently while streaming the act live on Facebook, officials said.

Chris Powell, a spokesman with the Secretary of State’s Office, said he was called early Tuesday and told a man drove a vehicle through the monument. That driver — identified in an arrest report as Michael Tate Reed of Van Buren — was arrested by Capitol police shortly after, Powell said. News reports indicate Reed was previously accused of destroying a Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma.

The Arkansas arrest report said an officer around 4:45 a.m. spotted a dark-colored vehicle “start from a stopped position and ram the Ten Commandments monument.”

Speaker Madigan unveils House budget plan that also relies on massive tax hike

https://www.ilnews.org/news/state_politics/speaker-madigan-unveils-house-budget-plan-that-also-relies-on/article_835c3504-5b8e-11e7-98c7-5b5dc319efe2.html

SPRINGFIELD, IL – (Greg Bishop, Illinois News Newtork.  Please click on the link above for the full story, and other stories about the budget stalemate.  Here is an excerpt below.)

House Democrats introduced their spending plan Tuesday, less than four days before the start of a new fiscal year. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said the plan has plenty of uncertainties.

The $36.5 billion budget bill proposed by the House spends about half a billion dollars more than Republican leaders’ plan and will rely on at least $5 billion in tax increases, as both the Republicans’ and Senate Democrats’ plans do.

In discussing details of the newly filed measure, Speaker Michael Madigan acknowledged it isn’t perfect.

“But I think it goes a long way into getting the state of Illinois in a good solid spending plan that responds to the real needs of the state, the real needs of the people of this state, and significantly is below the level of the governor’s introduced budget [of $37.3 billion],” Madigan said.

Vote Rent One Park as the Best Independent League Stadium

Form the Southern Illinois Miners

Rent One Park, home of your Southern Illinois Miners, is in the FINAL FOUR! That’s right, Rent One Park has been voted to the FINAL FOUR of Ballparkdigest.com’s Best of Ballparks: Independent Baseball. And now we need YOUR HELP!

Visit ballparkdigest.com to vote for Rent One Park and help us get into the championship. Right now, we are neck and neck against the Texas Airhogs! Thanks for all who have voted so far and let’s keep on voting!

And don’t forget to visit Rent One Park for our next homestand on June 30th-July

 

Parents worried by new Snapchat feature

http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/story/35754975/parents-worried-by-new-snapchat-feature-snap-map

CARBONDALE, IL – Logan Gay, WPSD-TV.  Please click on the link for the full story and video.  Here is an excerpt below.

The popular photo app Snapchat recently launched a new feature called Snap Map. It’s a quick and easy way to share your location with your followers. But, some parents wonder if the feature goes too far.

That is a concern Carbondale Police Sgt. Amber Ronketto shares. She said Snap Map can potentially be dangerous for people of all ages.

“If you’re checking in at a whole bunch of locations that aren’t your house, a potential criminal who knows where you live or can figure it out from your past check-ins — where you live — (and) can come and burglarize your house,” said Ronketto.

 

Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News