The Illinois General Assembly is giving the green light to the super-majority Democrats’ $53-billion-dollar budget plan. The House voted early this morning to approve the spending plan, which was approved by the state Senate this past weekend. The bill now heads to Governor Pritzker’s desk. Pritzker released a statement celebrating what he called a “balanced budget that continues fiscal responsibility.” 38th District State Senator Sue Rezin of Morris, who serves as the Senate Deputy Minority Leader, is criticizing the newly passed Democratic budget, which allocates over $53 billion for Fiscal Year 2025, for its substantial tax increase and spending hike. Rezin highlights that the budget raises taxes by roughly a billion dollars, marking a record 32 percent increase in government spending since Governor JB Pritzker took office. She is concerned about the minimal increase in K-12 school funding and the budget’s failure to ensure a living wage for Direct Support Professionals. Rezin asserted that Illinois citizens deserve a budget that offers genuine relief and prioritizes middle-class families.
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Governor Pritzker is praising Illinois lawmakers for passing a bill designed to help some residents with medical debt. The state Senate approved a budget that included a program that would eliminate one billion dollars in medical debt for more than 300-thousand low-income Illinoisans. Cook County has already implemented a similar program for county residents. Pritzker said the state is on track to restore financial security to hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans who are suffering under the weight of unpaid debt. The House will consider the measure before it heads to the governor’s desk.
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Illinois State Police say traffic on Interstate 80 was at a full stop for some time early Tuesday afternoon following a rollover involving two semis east of the I-39 interchange. One of the semis was a grain truck that spilled some of its load onto the lanes of 80 while the other semi had what State Police called a heavy fuel leak. Troopers say one driver had to be cut out of their vehicle and was taken to a hospital with unspecified injuries. State Police had one lane open in each direction for several hours after the accident during clean-up.
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Two vehicles reportedly collided head-on Tuesday afternoon along Illinois 71 near East 25th Road. According to the LaSalle County Sheriff’s office, Serena fire and ambulance needed to free two people from one vehicle, and at least one victim was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center.
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Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, along with state and local officials, will announce grant awards for the Safe Routes to Schools program in Mendota. The program aims to enhance opportunities for walking, biking, and rolling in schools and communities. The announcement will take place on Thursday, May 30th, at 10 a.m. at Lincoln Elementary School, located at 805 4th Ave. in Mendota. Participants include the Illinois Department of Transportation, area legislators, the City of Mendota, and the Mendota Community Consolidated School District 289.
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14th District Congresswoman Lauren Underwood is announcing an allocation of 1.5 million dollars in federal taxpayer funds to assist with brownfield sites in Marseilles and Peru. The money, to be distributed through the North Central Illinois Council of Governments, will pay for environmental site assessments at the old Nabisco/Field Container factory in Marseilles, as well as a portion of the former Westclox property in Peru. The Naperville Democrat also says the monies will help with revitalization plans for the locations. Another appropriation of just over 1-and-a-quarter-million dollars will help with the cleanup of a contaminated property in Mendota where Campbell Cleaners was once located.
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Streator Police say a pursuit into Streator Monday afternoon resulted in three people being injured seriously when the vehicle crashed into a building in the 500 block of East Bridge Street. The vehicle, driven by a man who had two female passengers, had reportedly eluded law enforcement on I-55 near Pontiac. The three people in the vehicle were taken to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria with what Streator Police called critical injuries.
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Just before 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, LaSalle County Deputies stopped 49-year-old Jose Lumbereros of Aurora at Bluff and Rutland Streets in Marseilles. He was arrested on a LaSalle County failure to appear no-bond warrant on a charge of driving on a suspended license. Lumbereros was also charged with driving on a suspended license and was taken to the LaSalle County Jail.
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Tuesday night just after 7:00, LaSalle County Deputies arrested 30-year-old Felicia Skalnik of LaSalle for driving on a suspended license. She was released with a notice to appear in court. A passenger in the vehicle stopped at Bucklin Avenue and 4th Street, 42-year-old Joshua Trahan, was arrested for violation of pre-trial release and was taken to the LaSalle County Jail.
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WEATHER:
Today
Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
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Tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 47. North-northeast wind around 5 mph.
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OBITUARIES:
Harold Thomas Vinyard, age 63, of Ottawa, passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 19th, at Pleasant View in Ottawa. A Mass of Christian Burial for Harold Thomas Vinyard will take place at St. Columba Catholic Church, at 10:30 am today burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park.
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LOCAL SPORTS:
None to report
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PRO SPORTS:
White Sox Lose Again
The Chicago White Sox are on a seven-game losing streak following a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Sox surrendered three runs in the top of the second and trailed the rest of the way. Nicky Lopez and Andrew Vaughn each drove in a run in the losing effort, while Jake Woodford was charged with his first loss after surrendering three runs on five hits in four-and-a-third innings. The Southsiders are in last place in the AL Central at 15-and-41. Chris Flexen starts for Chicago against Toronto tonight. In other club news, Chicago placed starting pitcher Mike Clevinger on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation yesterday.
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Cubs Defeat Brewers In Extra Innings
The Cubs scored five runs in the top of the 10th inning to take down the Brewers in NL Central action. Chicago defeated Milwaukee 6-3 in the ten-inning contest at American Family Field. Michael Busch was two-for-four with a home run and two RBI for Chicago. Ian Happ also drove in a pair of runs. Chicago starter Ben Brown had 10 strikeouts through seven no-hit frames, and Hector Neris earned the win following an inning of relief. The Cubs snapped a five-game losing skid to improve to 28-and-27. Shota Imanaga starts for the Northsiders against Milwaukee tonight.
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Sky Fall To Storm
The Chicago Sky fell apart in the second half of their 77-68 loss to the Seattle Storm at Wintrust Arena. The Sky led by three early in the third quarter before giving up a 33-11 run to give the Storm control. Dana Evans scored 13 points in the losing effort, while Angel Reese had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. The 2-and-3 Sky host the Sparks tomorrow night.
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Bears Continue OTAs
The Chicago Bears completed their first day of OTAs of the week yesterday at Halas Hall. Chicago returns to practice today before wrapping up OTA workouts on Friday. The mandatory minicamp gets underway next week.