•January 12, 2022•

Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Revenue announced that victims of severe storms, straight-line winds and tornadoes beginning December 10, 2021 now have until May 16, 2022, to file various individual and business tax returns and make income tax payments.
“As Illinois communities build back from December’s severe storms, my administration is committed to supporting the recovery process every step of the way,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Residents who live or have a business in the impacted area won’t have to worry about incurring penalties and interest on their state or federal tax deadlines until May, giving them additional time to gather essential paperwork and get their affairs in order on the road to rebuild.”
Following a disaster proclamation issued by Governor Pritzker, tax filing relief is now available to taxpayers who live or have a business in Bond, Cass, Coles, Effingham, Fayette, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Menard, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike and Shelby counties.
The tax relief postpones various tax filing deadlines and relieves certain late payment penalties starting on December 10. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until May 16 to file returns and pay any income taxes that were originally due during this period. This includes 2021 individual income tax returns due on April 18, as well as various 2021 business returns normally due on March 15 and April 18.
Impacted taxpayers also have until the May 16 deadline to make quarterly estimated income tax payments due on January 18 and April 18 without incurring penalties. Among other things, this means that individual taxpayers can defer making the fourth quarter estimated tax payment, normally due January 18, 2022, and instead include it with the 2021 return they file, on or before May 16.
Furthermore, no penalties will be assessed on the quarterly withholding income tax returns normally due on January 31 and May 2, 2022 provided they are filed by the May 16 deadline, nor on late payments of withholding income tax due between December 10 and December 26, as long as the required payments were made by December 27, 2021.
If filing a return via postal mail, taxpayers should write “Tornado-December 2021” on the top of their returns in red. If filing electronically, taxpayers must notify the department that their return will be delayed by emailing REV.DisasterRelief@Illinois.gov. They should provide their full name, account number (if using a social security number, only include the last four digits), mailing address and an estimate of when they believe they can file or pay their taxes.

•January 12, 2022•

A local student has made the Dean’s List for the Fall 2021 semester at Maryville College in Maryville, Tenn. Consideration for the Dean’s List is open to full-time students who have a grade point average of at least 3.6 in all work undertaken, no grade below a “C” and no incompletes for the semester. Among those named to the Dean’s List is Hannah Landreth of Bethany. Landreth is majoring in Finance/Accounting.

•January 12, 2022•

The 2022 Sullivan town wide rummage sales are scheduled for the first weekend in June (June 3 & 4).

•January 5, 2022•

Employers and employees should be aware of new laws that took effect January 1st, as well as those already in effect due to action by the General Assembly and signature of Governor JB Pritzker.
“The mission at the Illinois Department of Labor is the same from year to year: protecting the rights, wages and welfare of workers. The tools we have to accomplish that mission sometimes change with legislative changes. There are several new laws that have either taken effect or will in the coming days that impact employees and employers across the state,” said Illinois Department of Labor Director Michael Kleinik.
The Victims’ Economic Security and Safety Act (VESSA) was amended to create the Violent Crime Victims’ Leave Act, which allows employees who are victims of violence or who have family or household members who are victims of violence to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per any 12-month period to seek medical help, legal assistance, counseling, safety planning, and other assistance. The amendment also prohibits employers from discriminating against employees who are victims of violence or who have family or household members who are victims of violence.
Beginning January 1, 2022, IDOL is responsible for maintaining a database that allows the public to search certified payrolls submitted by construction contractors on public works projects subject to the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. This is the result of Public Act 102-0332, which is intended to ensure contractors are complying with the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act. Contractors are required to file those certified payrolls by the 15th of each month. By the 16th day of each month following the month work was performed, IDOL will make relevant information available to the public. More information about the database can be found here.
There are new health insurance coverage disclosures employers must make to better inform employees in accordance with the Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act. While state health insurance coverage requirements are limited to state-regulated plans, the new law brings transparency by requiring all employers doing business in Illinois to disclose to their employees what group health plans do and do not cover, if they provide group health insurance. Employers offering group health insurance plans in Illinois must provide employees with a comparison of coverage by the employer’s group health plan and the essential health benefits covered by ACA Marketplace health plans sold in Illinois. All in all, there are 42 medical services and treatments that employers must identify as covered or not. IDOL has provided employers guidance and necessary documents to comply with the disclosure requirements on its web site: Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act.
Trampoline courts will be subject to inspection and permitting under the Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety Act (ARAS) in 2022. IDOL does not allow amusement rides or attractions to operate unless they have been inspected and permitted. Rides and/or attractions are insured and meet predetermined safety standards before operating in Illinois. IDOL crafted legislation to make sure these facilities and employees meet industry standards. At the time of inspection, owners are required to provide documentation for all employees involved with the operation of trampoline equipment that a criminal history records check and sex offender registry check have been conducted, provide documentation they received proper training and have a substance abuse policy in place, which includes random drug testing. To read more about new rules for trampoline courts, click here.

•December 29, 2021•

State Representative Brad Halbrook invites residents in Moultrie County to meet him or his staff after the New Year at the Sullivan American Legion to discuss state issues and other concerns. Rep. Halbrook’s traveling office hours bring his office to communities throughout the district to better assist those who want to discuss issues face to face. He will hold traveling office hours on Monday, January 10, 2022 from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm at the Sullivan American Legion, 8 E. Strain St., Sullivan. “Conducting traveling office hours throughout the district is key to being able to meet one on one with more of the folks that I represent to update them on what’s happening in Springfield, and to hear their concerns, or to help with a problem they’re having,” Rep. Halbrook said. “This past year Democrats in the General Assembly passed measures that are directly impacting our families’ health care and parental rights. We head back to Springfield on January 4th, so we have a lot to talk about in the coming weeks.”
Representative Halbrook will be announcing more listening tour dates and locations in the coming weeks. He stressed that local residents are always welcome to call or stop by his Shelbyville office located at 203 N. Cedar (217-774-1306).