Author Archives:

Sullivan City Council Election Information

News Progress Posted on by

•November 18, 2020•

Prospective candidates to fill the unexpired term for the Commissioner of Streets and Public Improvements may pick up an information packet at the Sullivan City Building, 304 S. Hamilton St, Sullivan, on Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Due to the current COVID pandemic please call the office at 728-4383 to arrange for packet pick up.The filing date will be December 14, 2020, through December 21, 2020, for placement on the ballot of the Consolidated Election to be held on April 6, 2021.

State Agencies Encourage People to Prepare for Winter Weather

News Progress Posted on by

November is Winter Weather Preparedness Month in Illinois

•November 18, 2020•
While the official start of winter is not for several weeks, those in Illinois know that winter weather is inevitable. Knowing what to do before a winter storm strikes can provide peace of mind and ultimately impact how well we respond and recover from any winter storm. To help Illinois residents be prepared for winter weather, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and National Weather Service (NWS) developed a Winter Weather Preparedness Guide to help families prepare for extreme cold, snow and ice.
“Being unprepared for winter weather is not only inconvenient, but it can be dangerous,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “We are encouraging all Illinoisans to take a few minutes to put together your home and vehicle emergency supply kits and review the steps you should take to stay safe during hazardous winter weather.” Read More

SCED Taking Award Recipients Nominations

News Progress Posted on by

•November 18, 2020•
Sullivan Chamber & Economic Development is now accepting nominations for recipients of the 2020 Community Service Award, Lifetime Achievement Award, Small Business of the Year, and Business of the Year. Winners of the 2020 annual awards will be presented at the SCED Annual Luncheon or replacement due to COVID-19. Read More

Makenzie Brown Signs With Golden Hurricane of Tulsa For Softball

News Progress Posted on by

•November 18, 2020•
by Jason Brown
NP Sports

Despite missing her junior year of softball, Makenzie Brown has garnered a lot of attention from collegiate scouts.
Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, Eastern Kentucky, Ball State and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville each showed interested in recruiting her.
Why so much attention?
Well, as a sophomore, Brown proved what type of clutch player she could be. She helped the Knights win the Class 2A Newton Regional after defeating host Newton 7-3. Read More

The Letter Z is Always First In My Heart

News Progress Posted on by

•November 18, 2020•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

While wearing one of my other columnist hats recently, I wrote about our policy for handling election mug shots in the newspaper.
It wasn’t the idea that we run them with an eye toward fairness — ensuring that the candidates for a given race have similar, suitable expressions or that we always run them the same size — that got reader Stan Zegel’s goat.
Zegel expressed what I now surmise (from our follow-up conversation) was feigned outrage over the ORDER in which we run them.
Remember the name of the guy who lodged the complaint, folks.
“The Daily Herald’s institutional alphabetist bias is revealed in an admission in today’s issue confessing that the newspaper sequences opposing candidates in the same story by the spelling of their surnames. Read More

Mo. Co. Ag In The Classroom Visits Local Schools With Giant Pumpkin

News Progress Posted on by

•November 18, 2020•
By Steph Naylor

Moultrie County Ag in the Classroom continues to find a way to interact with the students in the county. After such great feedback teaming up with the Okaw Valley Orchard in September they decided to team up with Buxton’s for October.
Moultrie County Ag in the Classroom and Moultrie County Soil and Water district purchased 685 coupons from Buxton’s for a small free pumpkin. These coupons were handed out in a packet along with a pumpkin pencil, pumpkin eraser, and a pumpkin sticker in a small bag to each elementary student in our county schools.
Many of our local families took time to take their children to Buxton’s to receive their free pumpkin and of course many purchased many other goodies while they were there. This was Naylor’s plan. So many of our local small businesses are struggling right now and it was her hope to bring them some extra business. According to Buxton’s this went very well. Read More

Sullivan Fire Dept. Adds New Ambulance To Its Fleet

News Progress Posted on by

Photo by Crystal Reed
The new ambulance that Sullivan Fire Department recently added to its fleet sits outside the department last week. The cost to the department was $230,000 which was paid for throughout TIF funds they received from the city.

•November 18, 2020•
By Crystal Reed
NP Writer

The Sullivan Fire Department recently added a new ambulance to their fleet. The ambulance is a 2020 Dodge Ram 4500 and the cost to the department was $230,000.
In 2019, the department approached the City of Sullivan asking for money to purchase the new ambulance and four powerload cots. The City granted part of the monetary request through TIF funds so that they could purchase the ambulance and one powerload cot. Just recently the department approached the city again requesting the remaining amount of the monetary request so that they may purchase 3 more cots for their ambulances. Read More

Cost Sharing Agreement For Route 32 Intersection Voted Down

News Progress Posted on by

•November 18, 2020•
By Crystal Reed
NP Writer

A motion to approve an agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation regarding cost sharing responsibilities for the improvement of the Illinois Route 32 intersection with Moultrie County Highway 4, Section 1,2 N unanimously failed Thursday evening. The Moultrie County Board, in a letter drafted and signed by county engineer Jeff Birch and board chair Dave McCabe, opted to record their opposition to the current IDOT plans for the intersection.
The county is responsible for one leg of the intersection while the remainder of the intersection is the responsibility of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Birch said the plans for the road include a raised concrete median where the left turn lane is located. “IDOT proposed something that the county just can’t agree with,” he said. Read More

Forecasters project long-term deficits, growing bill backlog

News Progress Posted on by

Pritzker to seek federal aid, possible business tax increases

•November 18, 2020•
By Peter Hancock
Capitol News Illinois
phancock @ capitolnewsillinois.com

A new report from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget shows that without significant new revenue, spending cuts or a combination of both, the state will face a budget deficit of $3.9 billion in the current fiscal year and continuing deficits of $4 billion or more in each of the next five fiscal years.
It also projects that the state’s backlog of unpaid bills could grow to as much as $33 billion by fiscal year 2026, up from the current backlog total of about $7.8 billion, if lawmakers do not make structural changes.
“Sizeable deficits in the general funds budget are projected for fiscal years 2022 through 2026, ranging from $4.8 billion in fiscal year 2022 and falling to $4.2 billion by fiscal year 2026,” the report stated.
The report does not actually predict that those deficits will occur. Instead, it is intended to show what would happen under the state’s current revenue structure and spending obligations. Read More