•February 1, 2017•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

February is the month we celebrate our presidents and Illinois has sent four favorite sons to the White House - Lincoln, Grant, Reagan and Obama. By far, Lincoln is the most popular and most revered. His early law career started when he was a circuit rider in middle Illinois, and his travels brought him to Sullivan.

The first courthouse in Sullivan was built in 1848, and Moultrie County was served by the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court. Abraham Lincoln passed through these doors many times while he traveled the circuit court system from 1849-1852. The circuit riding lawyers came to Sullivan twice a year and stayed for two days. The monument on the northeast corner of the present courthouse commemorates Lincoln’s circuit riding days here. Read More

•February 1, 2017•

The state of Illinois could have earned $8.8 million more in investment income in the fourth quarter of 2016 as a result of the year-long budget impasse, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs said today.

“Following yesterday’s state of the state address, we can all agree that the state is in dire need of a full, balanced budget plan that brings fiscal stability to Illinois,” Frerichs said. “Our office continues to maximize returns on our investments, but we could be bringing in millions more in investment income with a sound budget in place.” Read More

•February 1, 2017•

Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs today announced a groundbreaking partnership that brings together 14 states to encourage individuals to invest money on behalf of people with a disability or blindness without jeopardizing their federal disability benefits.

Illinois leads the National Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Alliance, the country’s largest multi-state agreement for these special investment tools that allow for tax-free investment growth when proceeds are spent on qualifying disability-related expenses. Today’s announcement culminates nearly two years of negotiations and additional states also can join the Illinois-led group.

“Every parent wants the best for their child,” Frerichs said. “With this program, we can ensure that families who have a loved one with a disability or blindness get the tools that they need to plan for their future.” Read More

•February 1, 2017•

Straight As

Eighth Grade: Cooper J. Browne, Reagan A. Crouse, Cody M. Crowe, Arabella Y. Dudley, Haylee J. Faulkner, Keelie M. Fleener, Coen J. Foster, Jerralee R. Goad, Alexa R. Hauser, Brett D. Johnson, Hailey D. Jones, Anna E. Mathias, Avery C. McGregor, Emma M. Moran, Mallory A. Nichols, Ian M. Plank, Darien M. Ray, Andrew D. Rogers, Emily B. Simpson, Carley R. Towle, Zoe M. Walton, Emily E. White, Nicholas C. Wilson.

Seventh Grade: Oliver S. Adamson, Logan J. Anderson, Logan A. Annetts, Camden J. Dwyer, Raimi N. Gardner, Connor A. Golden, Lilly R. Graham, Nathan N. Green, Kathryn L. Honchell, Maddison D. Hopper, Abigail L. Kirkwood, Joann B. Mathias, Morgan E. Moll, Sammantha K. Montague, Madelyn M. Neville, Aastha V. Patel, Alyssa J. Shriver, Caprice N. Smith, Jerold J. Standerfer, Aaron M. Stutzman, Alyssa M. Thompson, Natalie N. Turnbaugh, Ryan A. Villalobos, Morgan E. Wallace, Devon A. Winings; Read More

•January 25, 2017•

By Trudy Lieberman
Rural Health News Service

Anyone facing a hospital stay for themselves or a family member should look at new data the government released right before Christmas showing that it http://khn.org/news/769-hospitals-penalized-for-patient-safety-in-2017-data-table/ penalized 769 of the nation’s hospitals for having high rates of patient injuries. The monetary penalties – a reduction for the year in their reimbursement for treating Medicare patients – do bite. Larger teaching hospitals could lose as much as $1 million or more.

This is the third year the government has penalized hospitals in an effort to prevent avoidable patient deaths in hospitals, which emerged as a big issue about 18 years ago. This year the government added injuries caused by MRSA and C diff infections to their list of other harmful conditions patients contract in a hospital such as urinary tract and surgical site infections resulting from hysterectomies and colon procedures. MRSA – a staphylococcus bacterium - can cause pneumonia and bloodstream infections. C diff is a germ that can multiply in the gut when patients are taking other antibiotics to kill other germs.  Read More