Illinois lawmaker looks to divest from Russia
While Russian troops move into Ukraine, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin plans to introduce legislation to send a message to the Ukrainian people that Illinois supports them.
Durkin’s legislation would require Illinois to divest of any pension funds in Russian companies and prohibit the state’s treasury from holding any Russian assets.
Illinois wine makers looking for more market access
Illinois wine producers are pushing for legislation to increase self-distribution to stores and restaurants, bypassing a state law requiring a middleman for transactions.
Under current law, only wineries that produce less than 25,000 gallons a year are allowed to self-distribute their wine, with a maximum of 5,000 gallons to sell themselves to retailers.
New legislation would raise the production threshold to enable smaller wineries to bypass distributors.
Broadband program announced
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Office of Broadband has announced that several communities have been selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Accelerate Illinois Broadband Infrastructure Planning Program. The program is designed to help local leaders develop plans unique to their areas.
The six communities are Springfield, Jackson County, Knox County, Mercer County, Whiteside County and the Village of Elsah.
Teenage carjackers released to guardians
Illinois State Police say two teen carjackers apprehended after a chase were released to their guardians. The incident took place this week near Alsip.
Police located a stolen vehicle and tried to make a traffic stop when the 16-year-girls took off. They later crashed the vehicle and were taken to the hospital. Police say they were later released to their guardians.
Deer harvest totals announced
Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 147,004 deer during the 2021-2022 firearm and archery seasons that wrapped up Jan. 16. That compares to nearly 163,000 the year before.
Nearly 70,000 deer were harvested during gun season. Pike County was once again the state’s leader in deer totals with over 4,000 harvested, followed by Jefferson and Fulton counties.
Emergency landing in Champaign
A plane heading to Chicago made an emergency landing in Champaign.
The American Airlines plane left Manhattan Regional Airport in Kansas and was heading to O’Hare Airport when it had to divert and make a preventive stop at Willard Airport. An airport official said the stop was caused by the weather and a windshield wiper malfunction.
