News Progress

•August 17, 2022• By Ileana Saveley Social Security District Manager in Decatur, IL We strive to explain your benefits using easy-to-understand, plain language. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to communicate information clearly in a way “the public can understand and use.” This can be particularly challenging when talking about complicated programs like Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicare. Take a moment to learn a few common Social Security terms and acronyms. … Read More

•August 17, 2022• With new guidance from the CDC that addresses the need to keep students in classrooms while protecting residents from COVID-19, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) are adopting new operational guidance for schools and early education from the CDC that eases some restrictions while maintaining a core set of infectious disease prevention strategies as part of their normal operations. The new guidelines drop the requirement for quarantines and ease physical distancing rules. … Read More

•August 17, 2022• By Jerry Nowicki Capitol News Illinois jnowicki @ capitolnewsillinois.com Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois State Fair organizers unveiled the 101st State Fair butter cow last Wednesday, an unofficial kickoff of the fair which began last Thursday and runs through Aug. 21. The sculpture – by Iowan Sarah Pratt – consists of more than 800 pounds of recycled butter in the shape of a cow munching on a sunflower. It also pictures a farmer tending the land and growing sunflowers, one of which was eaten by the cow. “Recycled” means that the same butter is used for the … Read More

•August 17, 2022• The C.E.F.S. Economic Opportunity Corporation, as administrator of the Home Energy Assistance Program in Christian, Clay, Effingham, Fayette, Montgomery, Moultrie, and Shelby counties, is pleased to announce that funds are available to assist income-eligible households with their natural gas, propane and electric bills and furnace assistance. The program will begin September 1, 2022, for all income-eligible households. Applications will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis through May 31, 2023. There will be no priority groups this program year. Households in need are encouraged to apply. Households must be at or below 200% of the federal poverty … Read More