•May 13, 2020•
The IHSA is embarking on a three-day social media campaign from May 14-16 to celebrate the end of the 2019-20 school year amidst the significant impact COVID-19 has placed on Illinois High School Association teams and students. Despite challenges, COUNTRY Financial, an official corporate sponsor, recognizes the commitments of each school community throughout the entire year and is pleased to assist the IHSA in making sure those efforts do not go unnoticed.
Utilizing the slogan #WeAreInThisTogether, the campaign aims to unify participants statewide via recognition of student-athletes, educators, and the senior class of 2020.
“This is a time of year to celebrate, even among these extraordinary circumstances,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “We want to come together as a statewide high school community to let each of these groups know that we recognize their efforts and accomplishments. No matter what happens, we are in this together.” Read More

•May 13, 2020•
The Moultrie County Health Department (MCHD) announces their sixth and seventh confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19). The patients are a male and a female in their 70s who are hospitalized. Public health officials are contacting and verifying all close contacts.
To date 116 Moultrie County residents have been tested for COVID-19. Of those tests, 107 tests were negative for coronavirus, and two are still pending. Read More

•May 13, 2020•
By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

In a recent wide-ranging column, I had only space enough to touch on my thought that we need a reset of American politics. Several readers (well, actually, one reader) asked that I drill down on the topic. Here goes.
Politics is not bad. The FDR speechwriter turned conservative columnist Raymond Moley observed: “Politics is not something to avoid, abolish or destroy. It is a condition of life, like the air we breathe. It is ours to live with, as we must, to control if we can. Either we must master its ways, or most surely we will be mastered by those who do.” I used to recite that as part of my political speeches, when I was on that circuit.
I know that sounds high-minded, and our Founders were certainly not without their personal ambitions. Yet, their overriding concerns were to establish order, harmony and prosperity in our new nation. These three objectives are still paramount, with conservatives tending to put more emphasis on order, liberals more to harmony. Read More

•May 6, 2020•
The Illinois Criminal Code makes it a Class 4 Felony for any person to carry a weapon while “masked in such a manner as to conceal his or her identity.”
The question presented is whether an individual who has a valid concealed carry permit and is lawfully carrying a weapon while also wearing a mask to comply with health and safety measures will be criminally prosecuted for the offense of Unlawful Use of Weapons. Read More

•May 6, 2020•
By Bob Easter, Richard Guebert Jr. and Theresa E. Mintle
Illinois Agri-Food Alliance

In the midst of a global health crisis, the agri-food sector is pressing forward determined to do what it does best—feed the world. After all, empty grocery store shelves don’t simply restock themselves.
COVID-19, however, is rapidly exposing our food system’s susceptibilities and disconnects. Could this pandemic catalyze a rethinking and transformation of the current centralized model? With an outsized stake in the outcome, Illinois would be wise to consider.
Under normal circumstances, the modern-day food system operates with efficiency via a “just enough, just in time” lean inventory model supported by a global trade system. By design, it provides a diverse array of abundant, low-cost food and agriculture-derived products sourced around the world catered to consumer demands. Read More