Football 7 on 7 Tournaments Help Progress

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•July 19, 2017• By Jason Brown NP Sports New Sullivan-Okaw Valley football coach Andy Kerley has had to use this summer as a crash course in familiarizing himself with his team and assistant coaches. “It’s going well, I think,” he said. “It’s been a process both for the players and me. Me getting used to them and the new situation, and them adjusting to new things and me. I think in the past two-three weeks we’ve been gelling well.” The summer has given Kerley a good idea of what strengths and weaknesses the team might have. … Read More

CIPT Offering Rides to The Illinois State Fair

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•July 19, 2017• Central Illinois Public Transit (CIPT) would like to help the residents of Effingham County enjoy some of the attractions at the Illinois State Fair. They are offering transportation to and from Springfield on Monday, August 14 for Senior Citizen Day. Fairgoers age 60 and over may ride the bus for free and are also admitted to the fairgrounds free of charge. Those under the age of 60 can ride for only $10 round-trip. … Read More

Volunteers Needed for Deer Blind Construction

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•July 19, 2017• U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Shelbyville, is looking for volunteers to assist with the construction and installation of hunting blinds that are used for their annual deer hunt for wounded veterans and people with disabilities. With generous monetary donations from Ameren, Scheels, CC Fire Equipment Co., and the Whitetails Unlimited Land of Lincoln Chapter, materials were purchased to completely remodel 11 hunting blinds. These improvements will provide greater accessibility for participants.  … Read More

Understanding Illinois: We May be at the End of the Beginning

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•July 19, 2017• By Jim Nowlan NP Guest Columnist I had a dream during the recent turmoil over enactment of a state budget. The statuary on the Capitol campus in Springfield had tears running off their bronze cheeks onto the manicured lawn. The box score for the recent enactment of a full-year yet incomplete budget would read: Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, 1; Gov. Bruce Rauner, 0, though indeed nobody in Illinois came out a winner. Madigan won the box score because he prevailed in his quest to enact a budget without any of the business-friendly reforms demanded by Rauner. … Read More

Understanding Illinois: Was Our Present Illinois Dysfunction Shaped By History?

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•July 12, 2017• By Jim Nowlan NP Guest Columnist Retired politics professor Ken Redfield and I sat in the cafeteria of a gray, Soviet-style 1950s state office building in Springfield this past week to ruminate about a book we are doing on Illinois over the past half-century. We are intrigued by the idea that our state’s post-2000 dysfunction may have been prefigured over the decades by a mix of economic, institutional and political changes. As thinkers from Seneca in ancient Rome to A. Lincoln have observed, “All that’s past is prologue.” Why the past half century? We enacted a new … Read More

Obituaries 7-12-2017: Wendy Brown

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Wendy Brown Wendy S. Brown, 47, of Sullivan passed away at 1:50 a.m. Friday July 7, 2017 in Sullivan Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. A reception was held from 5-7 p.m. Monday July 10 in Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan. Cremation rites were accorded.  … Read More