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Sullivan Approves Economy Kick Start

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•June 10, 2020•
By Mike Brothers

Sullivan City Council approved a program to kickstart businesses and help citizens with their utility bills.
At the June 8 city council meeting Commissioner Abbey Sherwood moved the RIPPLE (Resident Incentive for Purchases to Promote the Local Economy) program be implemented for two months (June 15-Aug. 15).
Adapted from a local economic incentive plan from Frankfort in northern Illinois, any utility customer of the city of Sullivan is eligible.
Sherwood proposed that utility customers who present $100 in local restaurant receipts are eligible for a $25 utility credit from the city. Read More

Library Hosts a FaceBook Event

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•June 10, 2020•

The event is a magic show put on by Daniel Lusk. Daniel is a Sullivan graduate and has performed at the elementary school in the past, and will be recognized by Sullivan students.
The Magic of Imagination is one 30 minute show that will be available to watch on Facebook starting June 15th at noon through June 19th.
The show is part of the Titus Library summer reading program, but is available for anyone to watch. Later in June Magician Lusk will have two magic lessons for the kids to learn how to do their own magic at home.
This event is in place of the Elizabeth Titus Library Summer Reading kick off party usually held at the end of the school year.

Pritzker Calls on Insurers to Expedite Claims for Damaged Businesses

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State’s COVID-19 Metrics Continue to Improve
By Jerry Nowicki
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki @ capitolnewsillinois.com

Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Insurance are calling on insurers to expedite claims and payments to businesses hit by looters in recent days.
“It is my expectation and the expectation of the Illinois Department of Insurance that insurance companies will do everything in their power to give their customers the resources they need to rebuild and get back on their feet as soon as possible,” Pritzker said. “To that end, my administration has been in consultation with major insurance companies on the quick and robust support they should provide Illinois business owners who have experienced property damage, including but not limited to riots, vandalism and looting.”
Pritzker made the announcement at a Chicago news conference Monday, where he was joined by Robert Muriel, director of the Department of Insurance.
IDOI released the Company Bulletin — a tool aimed at providing “timely, relevant, and helpful guidance” to insurance companies — requesting that insurers take specific measures to help businesses rebuild.
Per a news release from the governor’s office, insurers should “apply claims best practices consistent with the categorization of this event as a catastrophic event.” They should also expedite claims handling, and advance claim payments. Another expectation is “fair treatment of all policyholders, regardless of size.”
Insurers should also implement a moratorium on cancellations or non-renewal of impacted policyholders for 60 days and should “err on the side of the policyholder” when paying claims as a result of “riots, civil commotion, or vandalism” even if the policyholder was unable to make full premium payments during the period following the governor’s stay-at-home order.
Pritzker said as the regulators of insurers, the state has the ability to “write them up” during their licensing processes and processes of review. Muriel also said the department can levy fines and suspend licenses. Read More

Students-Athletes Returning to Participation Outdoors

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•June 10, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports

For weeks, area coaches and athletic directors have been waiting for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors to announce guidelines that provide the first step in IHSA student-athletes returning to participation.
Their biggest complication: the difficulty of planning for the unknown.
“Events associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have constantly been changing so it has been extremely difficult to plan for what seems to be at times a bunch of different scenarios,” Sullivan athletic director Ryan Aiken said last Sunday.
After delaying the announcement for new guidelines for nearly a week, late Friday afternoon, the IHSA posted its “COVID-19 Update.”
The IHSA has approved “Return to Play Guidelines” developed within the current structure of Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan that provide the first step in IHSA student-athletes returning.
In a very short turnaround, the IHSA’s “Stage 1 of Return to Play” began one day after the announcement, June 6, but with stipulations. Read More

LLC NSLS Inducts New Members

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•June 10, 2020•
The National Society for Leadership and Success at Lake Land College welcomed several new members in May. The society offers these students the opportunity to be part of a nationally recognized organization providing access to some of the country’s top leaders. Read More

Superintendent-Y Stuff: A Walk with Mr. Walk

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•June 10, 2020•
By Supt. Ted Walk,
Sullivan CUSD #300

This week, schools were given the ability to allow for certain in-person activities. Each school is required to have approval from their local health department as well as other agencies before allowing students back into the buildings.
Sullivan Schools are in the process of obtaining our final approvals, and we hope to begin specific programs as early as June 15 for middle and high school students. Read More

Pritzker Administration Distributes Thousands of Face Masks to Businesses

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•June 10, 2020•
As some employees begin to return to the workplace in Phase 3 of Governor Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, face coverings will be a key tool to keeping workers healthy and safe. To aid in this effort, the State of Illinois has distributed more than 450,000 cloth face masks to private sector businesses that support critical infrastructure sectors.
“Many of these industries were among the first companies to donate their existing supplies of PPE to protect healthcare workers and frontline staff in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “These companies provide key services that enable the continuous operation of business and government functions which is crucial to the health, safety and economic security of our state.” Read More

13th Positive COVID-19 Case

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•June 10, 2020•

The Moultrie County Health Department (MCHD) has confirmed the 13th case of the novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) in Moultrie County. The patient is a male in his 50s and is recovering at home in isolation. Public health officials are contacting all close contacts.
To date, 496 Moultrie County residents have been tested for COVID-19. Of those tests, 13 have been confirmed positive for COVID-19.
As public organizations and businesses reopen, it is important that everyone continues to use precautions to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 infection.
To help contain the spread of COVID-19, the MCHD recommends that individuals:
• Wash their hands routinely
• Bypass nonessential trips into the public
• Keep children at home
• Maintain a physical distance of six feet from others
• Wear a mask in public when physical distancing is not possible.
Symptoms associated with COVID-19 include fever, fatigue, a dry cough, chills, body aches, headache, sore throat and loss of smell or taste. Individuals should immediately seek medical attention if they experience difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, confusion, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, or a bluish color in the lips or face.
If an individual is ill with symptoms associated with coronavirus and needs medical or emergency care, they should notify their physician or emergency medical service providers of their symptoms prior to arrival.
For more information on the Moultrie County Health Department’s news, events and services, please visit www.moultriehealth.org and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/moultriecountyhealth.

Obituaries 6-10-2020

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Steven Booker

Steven R. Booker, 68, of Sullivan, passed away Sunday June 7, 2020 in St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur.
Private family services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday in the Reed Funeral Home, Sullivan with Fred Leeds officiating. Visitation will be from 1 - 2 p.m. Wednesday. Burial will be in the Findlay Cemetery with military rites conducted by the Findlay American Legion. Memorials are suggested to a charity of the donor’s choice. Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net. Read More