News Progress

•March 6, 2024•

Continuing his commitment to modernize the Secretary of State’s office, Secretary Alexi Giannoulias is championing legislation to allow Illinois residents to start using digital driver’s licenses and state IDs.

Giannoulias’ backing marks the first time the Illinois Secretary of State’s office has supported such a measure, which now includes digital IDs as well as digital driver’s licenses. HB 4592 is sponsored by State Representative Kam Buckner (26th District) and State Senator Michael Hastings (19th District). If the bipartisan legislation passes, implementation could occur as early as next year.

“Smartphones have become convenient places to store everything from movie tickets, boarding passes and credit cards,” Giannoulias said. “With technological advancements and additional safeguards to make it the most secure and state-of-the-art system in the nation, we’re confident Illinoisans will soon have the option to ‘carry’ a digital version of their driver’s license or state ID.” Read More

•March 6, 2024•

The Illinois Farm Bureau® Rural Nurse Practitioner Scholarship Program is now accepting applications for nurse practitioner scholarships. This year, a total of 15 scholarships, each worth $4,000, will be granted. Read More

•March 6, 2024•

The National Kidney Foundation of Illinois is teaming up with Sarah Bush Lincoln to provide a free kidney and health screening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, March 15, for all community members. The screening will be held in the Rush and Salk Rooms of the SBL Lumpkin Education Center, 1000 Health Center Drive En-trance C.

Anyone interested in getting screened for kid-ney disease, high blood pressure or diabetes is encouraged to attend. There is no cost to be screened, and appointments are not necessary. Read More

•March 6, 2024•

The Coles County Chorus annual Lenten benefit concert will be held on Sunday, March 17th at 4 p.m. in the United Christian Church, 200 East Lafayette, Mattoon. This is a different church than where the concert had been held in the past. For 25+ years the Coles County Barbershop Chorus has performed an annual Lenten benefit concert which has raised thousands of dollars for area homeless shelters and food pantry programs. The concert will be one hour of sacred and gospel songs sung by the chorus, quartets and ensembles. Admission is free and a free will offering will be taken.  Every penny raised will be given to area food pantries and homeless shelter programs. Each year over $2,000 is raised by the CCC for those in need. The thirty man chorus and quartet singers are from 19 different towns as far north as Champaign, as far south as Newton, as far east as Paris and as far west as Taylorville.

•March 6, 2024•

Jayla Jets-Black, a 7th grade student at Sul-livan Middle School, has taken the first step to become an internationally recognized artist by winning a local competition sponsored by the Sullivan Lions Club. She placed first at our local level and her poster advanced to the district level where we recently received the news that she placed 3rd. Jayla’s poster was among more than 600,000 entries submitted worldwide in the annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest. Lions International is sponsoring the program to emphasize the importance of world peace to young people everywhere. The poster followed this year’s Lions Inter-national Peace Poster Contest theme “Dare to Dream. It received high marks for its originality, artistic merit, and portrayal of the contest theme. Sullivan Lions Club wants to thank all Sullivan Middle School students who submitted an entry and give a special thanks to Sullivan CUSD #300 Art Teacher, Melissa Nichols for her assistance.