25 Years Ago This Week

Lois Shuman, a kindergarten teacher in Sullivan, was named Teacher of Excellence by the Sullivan Community Education Foundation at its annual Teacher Recognition Banquet. The award included a $1,000 honorarium from the Foundation which Shuman could use for classroom materials. Major and mini grants were also awarded during the program.
The congregation of the Faith Lutheran Church in Sullivan gathered to recognize the Rev. Paul McGhghy for his 30 years in the ministry. He served the local church for 13 of those years. Read More

•March 8, 2023•
The City of Sullivan will begin its quarterly cleanup of the Greenhill Cemetery on Monday, March 20. Residents with surface flowers, wreaths, grave blankets or any other ground surface decorations should remove them by Sunday, March 18, 2023 if they wish to keep them. The cemetery personnel will not pick up any flowers in vases or on the monuments unless deteriorated. The cemetery does not have a facility to store unclaimed decorations, so if you wish to keep your items, please pick them up by this date. Please allow at least one week before replacing any items due to the excessive amount of items on various graves. All decorations, flowers and benches must be placed in the monument row. No items including mulch are allowed to be placed in the middle, foot, bordering or elsewhere on the grave site. Items that are not placed by the rules and regulations will be removed. Also any landscaping found that was not pre-approved will be removed. Questions or concerns call 217-728-8043.

As Pritzker makes $250M pitch for child care investment, data show the obstacles to access across Illinois

•March 8, 2023•

By Andrew Adams
Capitol News Illinois
aadams @ capitolnewsillinois.com

In some Illinois communities, finding child care isn’t just a routine task for families to work through, but a seemingly impossible dream.
In some of those places, costs are too high for middle class families to afford. In others, day cares have had to cut staff, limiting the number of available placements. Some areas, especially rural ones, have just one or two licensed day care centers for a population of hundreds of children.
Gov. JB Pritzker has made child care and early childhood education a priority in this year’s proposed budget. Since introducing his budget on Feb. 15, he has visited child care centers in eight cities to promote his “Smart Start” plan, a program of policies aimed at bolstering the child care workforce and making it more affordable for families.
“It is important to us to make sure that every 3- and 4-year-old in Illinois can go to preschool and have child care available to them,” Pritzker said during the Springfield stop on his multi-city tour. Read More

•March 8, 2023•
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) launched its annual Women’s HERstory Month campaign — developed to celebrate and support women-owned businesses and future female founders throughout Illinois. As part of the month-long celebration, DCEO is hosting events, launching a social media campaign, and sharing new resources to elevate and promote Illinois’ entrepreneurial women.
“DCEO is committed to uplifting communities who have historically faced barriers to business ownership, and we’re proud to spotlight and support women-owned businesses across our great state during Women’s History Month and beyond,” said Acting DCEO Director Kristin A. Richards. “In order to ensure Illinois remains the best place to live, work and do business, we continue to focus on supporting women as they continue to make progress and break glass ceilings.” Read More

•March 8, 2023•
by Sarah Hudson Pierce
columnist

In honor of my precious mother, Marcella May Morris-Hudson, I wish to do my part to make the public aware of traumatic brain injuries, along with the Brain Injury Association of America, who has led the way in making the public aware of traumatic brain injuries.
I shall always remember when I first became aware of just how important it is that I share my story of my mother’s tragic accident, when she lapsed into a coma at the age of two, while her parents were living in an underground dugout in Woods County, Oklahoma where their family was in the Land Rush of Oklahoma in 1908. Read More