•July 22, 2020•
By Jerry Nowicki
Capitol News Illinois
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com

Gov. JB Pritzker encouraged Illinoisans to complete the 2020 U.S. Census and touted a state investment in youth employment programs Thursday during two public appearances in Rockford.
The state has a 66.9 percent census self-response rate currently. That’s nearly 5 percentage points better than the 62.1 percent national rate, but well below the state’s 2010 final self-reporting tally of 70.5 percent. In 2000, the self-response rate in Illinois was 69 percent.
Pritzker’s message at the Rockford City Market was that filling out the census is “an act of civic engagement” that has a direct effect on the amount of federal funding the state receives. In turn, an undercount often disproportionately impacts the neediest communities in the state, which typically have lower response rates.
“The same ZIP codes that are impacted the worst by COVID-19 — those that have been hurting for generations — are on track to be the most undercounted at a time when frankly we need full funding,” he said. Read More

•July 22, 2020•
August is approaching, which is typically when parents and children begin venturing out to purchase school supplies and prepare for returning to the classroom. Because of COVID-19, this upcoming 2020-2021 school year will look vastly different.
In March schools across the country, including those in Illinois and Michigan, were ordered to close for the remainder of the school year. Now as they prepare for the 2020-2021 school year, in some cases there is much that is still unknown. Will learning be in-person? What about remote learning? A hybrid model? Will children be safe?
It’s a whole new world that goes well beyond the first-day-of-school stress for many parents and kids.
Kyle Boerke, a licensed clinical psychologist at OSF HealthCare, says there are conversations families should be having now to get ready.
“Whether it’s the peer interactions, or it’s masking, or it’s addressing any concerns that kids have because while there is going to be excitement from the happy side, there is also going to be some excitement from the nervous side as well and I think that’s important to understand. We need to have those conversations now as well,” said Boerke. Read More

Thank you Sullivan

To the editor:

Just a quick note to thank the City of Sullivan for your 4th of July celebration.
Although we weren’t able to make it to the parade I know some Arthur residents participated.
However, my sister and I did drive down to Eagle Pond Road to watch the fireworks with more than a few hundred other people. Read More

•July 22, 2020•
Warmer weather in early July has led to higher than normal soil temperatures in Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey. Read More

•July 15, 2020•
New Illinois Connected Communities program will foster community engagement and planning for broadband access, adoption, and utilization across Illinois
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Office of Broadband today announced the first recipients of the Illinois Connected Communities grant program, created to assist some of the most underserved areas of the state with building broadband capacity. Through cross-sector collaboration, this new program directs $150,000 in state-funded small grants for 12 community and local government partners to lead the development of strategic plans to ensure access, adoption, and utilization of high-speed broadband in their communities. The state grants will be paired with $150,000 in philanthropic matching funds. Read More