Beautiful weather the next three days….chance of storms moving in Sat. Night

October 19, 2017 By Leave a Comment

The warming mid October trend will continue for the remainder of the work week, as High pressure retains its strong grip across the Ohio and Tennessee river valleys. We see lots of sunshine today and tomorrow, as temperatures warm into the middle and upper 70s, even hitting 80 degrees in a few locations. Lows will be moderating through the 40s, back toward the 50s for the weekend start. Normal highs and lows for this time of year are around 70 and in the mid 40s. (NWS Paducah)

Hazardous Weather Outlook

.DAY ONE…Today and Tonight

No hazardous weather is expected.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Friday through Wednesday

Saturday night into Sunday offers the next best chance of
thunderstorms, with locally heavy rain and lightning the primary
storm hazards anticipated.

Seven day forecast

Today
Sunny, with a high near 78. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph in the morning.
Tonight
Clear, with a low around 50. South wind 3 to 5 mph.
Friday
Sunny, with a high near 79. South wind 3 to 7 mph.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. South southeast wind around 6 mph.
Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 78. South wind 5 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Saturday Night
A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. South southeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. High near 70. South wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Sunday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. North northwest wind 3 to 7 mph.
Monday
A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 67. Northwest wind around 6 mph.
Monday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind 3 to 6 mph.
Tuesday
A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. West northwest wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 43. West northwest wind 6 to 8 mph.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. Northwest wind 6 to 8 mph.
Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Illinois Governor race spending at all-time high

October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.wsiltv.com/story/36620976/illinois-governor-race-spending-at-all-time-high

WSIL_TV Photo

CARBONDALE, IL (Andrew Feather, WSIL-TV.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below)

John Jackson, a professor at SIU’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, says the amount of money spent in Illinois governor’s race so far is unheard of.

“This is the earliest I’ve ever seen this much money being spent,” he said.

Pritzker was the biggest spender by far, shelling out nearly 12 million dollars, more than 127 thousand a day, over the three month span.

Governor Rauner, unchallenged on the Republican side, spent just under two and a half million dollars, but has more than 65 million dollars in cash on hand, nearly 10 times as much as any of the democrats in the race.

Filed Under: Breaking News, State News

IL teen driver deaths cut in half over past decade

October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/36619846/il-teen-driver-deaths-cut-in-half-over-past-decade

CARBONDALE, IL (Taylor Clark, KFVS-TV.  Please Click on the like above.  The please click on the link for the full story and video.  Here is an excerpt below.)

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, the number of drivers between the age of 16 and 19 getting into fatal car accidents has dropped by 51 percent over the past 10 years.

In 2016, there were only 76 deaths in this category.

Illinois Secretary of State, Jesse White said the state’s Graduated Drivers License Program is the reason why. He is joined by many drivers education instructors in the state, like Kim Wheeler, who teaches the course at Carbondale Community High School.

“I think through education in the school system tied in with the GDL has played a huge part in that,” Wheeler said in regard to the lowering number of teen motor fatalities.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News, State News

Benton Fire Department offering free fire extinguishers and smoke detectors

October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment

BENTON, IL- The City of Benton Fire Department is extremely blessed to have great partners who care about our community. Last Spring, with the enormous help of The Elks Lodge 1234 and Changing Seasons Ace Hardware, we were able to start the program “Fires In The Home”. This program was designed around women of the home and provides fire safety education and home fire extinguishers to families without.

It’s a great program that just adds another level of protection for your family. If you are interested in receiving one of these limited quantity of extinguishers, please send us a message on our Facebook page. Couple this with our free smoke detector program and your guaranteed to feel and be safer for this holiday season.

The men of the BFD will come to your home, provide safety information and mount both extinguisher and smoke detectors free of charge!

The free smoke detectors are offered free of charge from a grant from the American Red Cross and Franklin County Emergency Management Agency.

Below are some safety facts about smoke detectors:

• Smoke alarms are the residential fire safety success story of the past 30 years.

• Each year, three out of five home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

• The risk of dying in a reported home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms.

• Smoke alarms fail most of the time because of missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.

• Almost five million households still do not have any smoke alarms.

• Overall, three-quarters of all U.S. homes have at least one working smoke alarm.

Don’t be left out!

This program will allow us to do the following:

Install at no charge, up to three smoke detectors per residence.

Gather information about the residence and owners to help them develop a fire escape plan for their family.

This program also allows the department to keep reserve alarms on our apparatus, in case we respond to a home with no fire alarms.

To get in on this amazing opportunity, residents with a need should, leave a message with us on our Facebook page, or call our station at (618) 439-2511 to schedule an appointment.

If you need both smoke detectors and extinguishers, please make one appointment.

Filed Under: Benton News, Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

State of Illinois sells $1.5 billion in bonds

October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Proceeds to help pay down bill backlog

CHICAGO, IL— Today the State sold $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds to pay down a portion of Illinois’ roughly $15 billion backlog of unpaid bills. Proceeds from today’s bond sale, together with funds from the planned sale of $4.5 billion Series 2017D general obligation bonds next week, will be used to help cut the State’s backlog approximately in half by June 2018.

The State has been accruing late payment interest of 9 percent to 12 percent on a portion of its backlog obligations. Today’s bond issue has an all-in borrowing cost of 3.5 percent, cutting those costs by more than half.

The $1.5 billion in general obligation bonds issued today were sold competitively in three separate bids, each with a par amount of $500 million. The Series 2017A bonds mature in 2018, the Series 2017B bonds mature in 2019 and the Series 2017C bonds mature in 2029. The bonds are being issued as fully tax-exempt and are rated “BBB” by Fitch Ratings, “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service, and “BBB-” by S&P Global. The three series received nine bids. The spread on the 2029 maturity was 165 basis points over AAA November Municipal Market Data (MMD).

  • $500 million of general obligation bonds, series of November 2017A were awarded to Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a true interest cost of 1.67 percent for the one-year maturity.
  • $500 million of general obligation bonds, series of November 2017B were awarded to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC with a true interest cost of 1.75 percent for the two-year maturity.
  • $500 million of general obligation bonds, Series of November 2017C were awarded to Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a true interest cost of 3.95 percent for the 12-year maturity.

Chapman and Cutler LLP and Burke, Burns LLP are acting as co-bond counsel for the State. Chapman and Cutler is the State’s disclosure counsel. The State’s financial advisers for the transaction are PFM Financial Advisors, LLC and Public Resources Advisory Group (PRAG).

“The state received strong bids today for its bonds and is pleased with the market’s favorable reception of the sale,” said Scott Harry, director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. “This bodes well for the state’s financing coming next week.”

Following the completion of next week’s $4.5 billion bonds to complete the backlog refinancing, the State will return to the capital markets later this year with a $750 million general obligation bond issue for 2018 capital projects, which will also be sold competitively.

Filed Under: Breaking News, State News

Rend Lake College Board of Trustees — Oct. 17, 2017, Meeting Highlights

October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Board adopts 2017 tax levy

The board adopted the 2017 tax levy (payable 2018). The corporate and special purposes levy went from $3,379,083 in 2016 to $3,547,797 in 2017, an increase of 4.99 percent. The debt service levy went from $2,901,908 in 2016 to $3,117,676 in 2017, an increase of 7.44 percent. Because the corporate and special purposes levy is not greater than 105 percent of last year’s levy, no Truth in Taxation hearing is required.

RLC, SIUC ink articulation agreement for History

An articulation agreement between Rend Lake College and Southern Illinois University Carbondale was approved Tuesday. This agreement allows students to complete an Associate of Arts degree in History at RLC and transfer seamlessly to SIUC’s Bachelor of Arts in History program provided they have successfully completed the agreed-upon coursework.

Accreditation update

The board heard a report on the college’s reaffirmation of accreditation activities. The college is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is due for an evaluation by the HLC in September 2018. The board learned that the Quality Initiative project, which in this case is RLC’s First-Year Experience orientation program, received a positive review from HLC. The Quality Initiative project is an important part of the overall accreditation effort.

In curriculum matters …

The board approved development of an online Supervision course and two hybrid courses, Creative Writing and Office Accounting; approved redevelopment of the Principles of Marketing course; approved withdrawal of the Photography I and II classes; approved changes to several Health Information Technology courses and two Medical Assistant courses; and approved changes to the Medical Assistant curricula. The board also authorized submission of these items to the Illinois Community College Board for action.

In other business, the board …

·         Heard a report from Dr. Elizabeth Bailey-Smith of the Academic Council covering the curriculum matters taken up by the board Tuesday and reporting on additional meetings and activities.

·         Approved revisions to board policy concerning the tenured / tenure-track faculty and staff seniority list (second reading), travel reimbursement (second reading), background checks for potential and current employees (first reading) and return to work certification (first reading).

·         Approved revisions to board policy concerning fees and the criteria for awarding credit.

·         Approved revisions to board policy and procedure concerning enrollment of international students (first reading).

·         Approved creation of board policy and procedure concerning media relations (first reading) and student employment (first reading).

·         Approved an unpaid leave of absence for an employee.

·         Ratified payment of college expenses including travel reimbursements.

Mark your calendars …

·         RLC Foundation Scholarship Dinner, 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, Benton Civic Center.

·         Criminal Justice Roundup for Scholarships, 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23, Mt. Vernon Event Center, Salon C (formerly the Holiday Inn).

·         Southeast Region Trustees Meeting, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, Pat Kern Private Dining Area.

·         RLC Halloween Party, 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, The Rec.

·         Fall Play: Sleeping Beauty of Loreland, 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 2-4, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, RLC Theatre. Tickets $12.

·         Fall Concert, 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, RLC Theatre.

·         Spoken Word / Open Mic Night, 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, King City Books, Mt. Vernon.

·         RLC Foundation Annual Dinner Meeting, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, Holiday Inn / DoubleTree Inn, Mt. Vernon.

·         RLC Faculty / Staff Holiday Luncheon, Friday, Dec. 8, Waugh Gymnasium.

From Chad Copple – Dean of Communications and Marketing – Rend Lake College 

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Warming trend throughout the week…..

October 18, 2017 By Leave a Comment

……Showers and thunderstorms Saturday Night into Sunday

The warming trend will really start to kick in during the middle to latter portion of this work week. Today’s temperatures will return us to near our mid October seasonal norms, with Highs in the lower half of the 70s, and lows in the upper half of the 40s. Thursday highs rise further still, approaching 80 in some locations, with all of us averaging about 5 to 10 degrees above the seasonal norm. (NWS Paducah)

Hazardous Weather Outlook

.DAY ONE…Today and Tonight

Patchy early morning fog is possible. Relative humidity will drop
through the 30s percentile this afternoon for the entire Quad
State, with minimum relative humidity lowest values near 30
percent in the southeast Missouri Ozarks.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN…Thursday through Tuesday

Saturday night into Sunday offers the next best chance of
thunderstorms, with locally heavy rain and lightning the primary
storm hazards anticipated.

Seven Day Forecast

Today
Sunny, with a high near 73. Calm wind becoming south southwest 5 to 9 mph in the morning.
Tonight
Clear, with a low around 48. South wind around 6 mph.
Thursday
Sunny, with a high near 78. South southwest wind 5 to 7 mph.
Thursday Night
Clear, with a low around 48. South wind 3 to 5 mph.
Friday
Sunny, with a high near 80. Light south wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 55. South southeast wind 5 to 7 mph.
Saturday
Partly sunny, with a high near 79. South wind 6 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.
Saturday Night
Showers and thunderstorms likely after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. South wind around 8 mph.
Sunday
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 1pm, then showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 69. South wind around 9 mph.
Sunday Night
Showers likely, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 54. West southwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Monday
A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 70. Light and variable wind becoming northeast around 6 mph in the morning.
Monday Night
A slight chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 50. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph.
Tuesday
Sunny, with a high near 64. Northwest wind 7 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph.
Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

West Frankfort man arrested on residential burglary ….other charges

October 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment


BENTON, IL – On October 17th, at 4:30 a.m. Franklin County Deputies responded to a reported break-in at a rural Benton  residence. The reporting party stated that he was awakened by a noise inside his residence that he quickly determined to be an intruder.

The caller stated the intruder left the interior of the residence into the attached garage, entered the home owner’s 2010 Chevrolet Pick-Up truck and drove it through the garage  door leaving the scene.

Deputies located the stolen truck in a ditch approximately a mile from the residence with the perpetrator still on scene, suffering minor injuries from the crash. The investigation determined that the suspect had crashed a vehicle he had been driving near the residence that had been burglarized.

The suspect then broke into the closest residence and stole the truck. The suspect was initially transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released. He was then transported to the Franklin County Jail.

Jacob M. Gaskin age 21 of West Frankfort is charged with residential burglary, theft over $10,000.00, felony criminal damage to property, possession of a stolen vehicle and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Bond has been set at $75,000.00.

Gaskin is presumed innocent until found guilty by a court of law.

From the Franklin County Sheriff’s office 

 

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Pritzker makes list of richest Americans; Gov. Rauner doesn’t

October 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20171017/pritzker-makes-list-of-richest-americans-gov-rauner-doesnt

SPRINGFIELD, IL – (Doug Finke, Springfield Journal Register. Please click on the link for the full story. Here is an exceprt below.)

Only one of the candidates running for Illinois governor is on the annual Forbes ranking of the 400 richest Americans.

Hint: It isn’t Bruce Rauner.

That distinction belongs to Democrat J.B. Pritzker, whose wealth was pegged at $3.4 billion. Pritzker ranks 219th on the list of richest Americans. He’s one of four Pritzkers who appear on the list.

Filed Under: Breaking News, State News

Insurance expert says media misreported where healthcare subsidies were getting cut from

October 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment

https://www.ilnews.org/news/health/insurance-expert-says-media-misreported-where-healthcare-subsidies-were-getting/article_593d5e3a-b05f-11e7-bd33-872f0af3c75b.html

NORTHBROOK, IL – (Greg Bishop, Illinois News Network.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below)

A health insurance expert says the media got it wrong last week when they reported the Trump Administration is cutting health care subsidies to individuals.

Mark Gurda, president of Castle Group Health out of Northbrook, said early reports last week about President Donald Trump’s executive orders on health insurance subsidies were incorrect. Some of those reports said the subsidies were being taken away from individuals.

“Those payments to the insurance company are being halted,” Gurda said. “Nothing is being halted to individuals.”

Those payments were part of a federal court case challenging the payments as not being appropriated by Congress. Friday, Trump’s administration notified the courts the payments ended because Congress didn’t approve the spending.

Filed Under: Breaking News, State News
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