•September 3, 2025•

Mental health and substance use issues are common. Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults lives with a mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. From 1999 to 2016, 630,000 people died from drug overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Give someone in your community a hand by learning how to recognize and respond when someone might need help with the free Mental Health First Aid workshop offered by the University of Illinois Extension and the North Central Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Center.  Mental Health First Aid is a skills-based program, where participants learn and practice a five-step action plan to identify common signs and symptoms of someone coping with mental health or substance use problems and how to help. Gain skills to feel confident interacting with a person in crisis and leave with resources to connect the person with appropriate care. Topics also include trauma, addiction, and self-care. This training is open to the public and is especially appropriate for anyone in the agricultural community. Participants will build skills by practicing with real-world, agriculturally based scenarios.

•September 3, 2025•

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) recently announced a new program that will grant funds to clean up cemeteries that have been abandoned, neglected, or are otherwise in need of additional care. Units of local government and not-for-profit organizations (including, but not limited to, not-for-profit cemetery authorities) are eligible to apply for ten Cemetery Relief Fund Grants that will be issued yearly. Each grant, valued up to $20,000, is supported by funding allocated in the FY26 state budget signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker. Applicants may apply by completing and submitting the application here: https://il.amplifund.com/Public/Opportunities/Details/65750544-360e-4881-8d54-328d83dd659b. The deadline to apply is October 24, 2025.

•September 3, 2025•

by DM Williamee

House Bill 1226, sponsored by Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago, was recently passed, changing the age of required road tests for Seniors from 79 to 87 years of age. The “Road Safety and Fairness Act” will become effective beginning on July 1st, 2026. Drivers aged 79-86 will now only need a vision test as opposed to a road test to renew their driver’s licenses. Currently, if a driver renews their driver’s license between the ages of 79 and 80, they must take a driving test. Additionally, drivers between 81 and 86 are required to take a driving test every two years, and drivers 87 and older have to take the test annually.