St. Joseph-Ogden used balanced scoring and composure on the road to beat Watseka 65-54. Brooks, Ericksen and Hayden Dahl combined for 45 points for the Spartans.
by Clark Brooks The Sentinel WATSEKA - St. Joseph-Ogden arrived at Watseka High School on Monday facing a Warriors team that had built its reputation on defense, but the Spartans left with a statement road win and a familiar formula: balance, patience and perimeter shooting.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Addie Brooks follows through on a shot during the Spartans home game against LeRoy. The senior scored 18 points in last Monday's game against Watseka.
Senior Addie Brooks made the outcome feel inevitable. Brooks earned Player of the Game honors after drilling five three-pointers over the first three quarters, finishing with a game-high 18 points to lift St. Joseph-Ogden to a 65-54 victory in the rescheduled Country Financial Shootout. The win pushed the Spartans’ record to 8-1 and reinforced their ability to execute away from home.
Watseka entered the matchup having held Centennial and Oakwood under 20 points, but the Warriors were unable to slow St. Joseph-Ogden’s long-range efficiency. The Spartans averaged three three-pointers per quarter and finished the night with 13 from beyond the arc, repeatedly stretching the defense and opening lanes for ball movement.
St. Joseph-Ogden set the tone early, knocking down five three-pointers in the opening quarter. Brooks accounted for three of them, while Hayden Dahl added a pair. Timera Blackburn-Kelley capped the run by sinking two free throws, giving the Spartans a 17-13 lead after one quarter. From there, St. Joseph-Ogden kept steady pressure on the scoreboard, carrying a lead through the first three quarters that Watseka could not erase.
Katie Ericksen delivered a strong second-half surge, finishing with 14 points behind four three-pointers after halftime and perfect shooting from the free-throw line. Dahl added 13 points, providing a consistent scoring presence, while Blackburn-Kelley narrowly missed double figures with nine points and key contributions on both ends of the floor.
Watseka countered with balanced scoring of its own. Senior Christa Holohan led the Warriors with 14 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line. Junior Rennah Barrett chipped in 11 points, and Leigha Covarrubias added 10 as three Warriors reached double figures.
Despite Watseka’s depth, St. Joseph-Ogden controlled the tempo and answered each push with timely shooting and composure.
Next up, St. Joseph-Ogden opens tournament play against El Paso-Gridley at Bloomington High School on Friday at 10:30 a.m.
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TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball Watseka game, Country Financial Shootout SJO Watseka, Addie Brooks Player of the Game SJO, St. Joseph-Ogden road win girls basketball, Watseka Warriors vs Spartans basketball
Unity improved to 6-1 with a road win over Effingham, powered by late free throws and balanced scoring.
EFFINGHAM - Unity didn't panic when they found themselves trailing a wee bit on the scoreboard agaisnt Hearts on Monday.
After hammering Pleasant Plains on the road Friday night, the Rockets continued riding their measured momentum and used a fourth-quarter surge to pull away from Effingham for a 66-57 road win. The victory extended Unity’s winning streak to four games and lifted the Rockets to 6-1 on the season.
Unity trailed by one at halftime but flipped the script after the break, outscoring the Hearts 35-25 in the second half. The decisive push came in the final quarter, where the Rockets poured in 19 points to create separation down the stretch.
Tyler Henry led Unity with 16 points, doing much of his damage late. The junior went 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, helping the Rockets protect their lead when Effingham tried to close the gap. Colton Langendorf added 15 points, and the duo combined for 13 of Unity’s 19 points in the final frame.
Tre Hoggard rounded out the Rockets’ top scorers with 11 points, giving Unity three players in double figures in another balanced offensive effort.
Effingham, which fell to 3-8, was led by Jenner Pals, who scored 15 points, all in the first half. Jude Traub finished with 10 points and went 2-for-2 at the free throw line, while senior Cannon Bockhorn chipped in nine points as the Hearts dropped their fifth straight game.
Unity returns to action Dec. 30 at the Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic, where the Rockets will face Central A&M.
Box Score
Unity 20 31 47 - 66
Effingham 13 32 43 - 57
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TAGS: Unity Rockets boys basketball fourth quarter rally, Unity vs Effingham high school basketball recap, Illinois high school basketball road win, Unity Rockets 2025 season recap, Effingham Hearts boys basketball loss
Centered on the death of a two-week-old baby in Gaza, this commentary condemns global indifference to civilian suffering.
by Yumna Zahid Ali, Guest Commentator
How can we have heated streets for cars, but not heated homes for babies? How can we build heated bus shelters for people waiting fifteen minutes, but not for families waiting a lifetime for housing? In Gaza today, life has become a battle against the elements, against hunger, and against despair. Among the ruins of bombed-out homes and flooded streets, a two-week-old baby named Muhammad Khalil Abu al Khair froze to death. Yes… You heard that right. FROZE TO DEATH.
Is there any excuse, any justification, that can explain a baby dying of a cold in a world with central heating, charity drives, and holiday fundraisers?
We have the technology to alert a phone when a package is left in the rain, but no alarm bell rings when a child’s core temperature plummets in a city of millions. We deliver hot food to our doorsteps in minutes. Why is delivering basic warmth to a doorstep a logistical impossibility? We have weather satellites that can track a storm forming over an ocean. Do we not have the moral foresight to track the storm of deprivation gathering over a human being? We build submarines that can explore the crushing depths of the Mariana Trench and rovers that photograph the dust of Mars. But we claim it is a “complex challenge” to deliver a solar-powered heater and a tarp to a family sleeping in a rain-soaked tent.
Our priorities are not flawed; they are corrupt.
Yes! Little Khalil did not “die.” He was murdered by the policy of a blockade that values the security of a border more than the life of a child. He was murdered by a vote in a parliament that funded more weapons but choked off medicine. He was murdered by the cowardice of every world leader who calls for “restraint” while children freeze to death. His autopsy would list hypothermia, but the truth is murder by political decision.
We have air-conditioned dog kennels and data servers that never dip below 70°F. But we lack the basic humanity to guarantee that a human child does not succumb to the elements. Explain that hierarchy of compassion. Name one justification. Go ahead. Try to explain why a box of donated blankets sat undistributed while a newborn froze.
There is none. Only evil.
About the author ~
Yumna Zahid Ali is a writer and educator who spends her free time reading, analyzing literature, and exploring cultural and intellectual debates. When she’s not writing for global audiences, she enjoys reflecting on societal issues and using her voice to challenge inequities, especially those affecting women. She also loves diving into history, believing that remembering the past is an act of defiance and a way to hold power accountable.
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TAGS: opinion on baby freezing to death in Gaza, Gaza humanitarian crisis civilian suffering, moral responsibility of world leaders Gaza, political decisions and civilian deaths opinion, war displacement and infant mortality Gaza
ST. LOUIS – #20 Illinois took Missouri out to the woodshed for an old fashion 91-48 whooping in the annual McBride Homes Braggin' Rights game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Monday night.
Photo: Fighting Illini Athletics
Andrei Stojakovic delivered 16 points and three boards in Illinois' win over the Tigers on Monday. Making double-digits for his third straight game, it was Stojakovic's seventh for the Fighting Illini. The junior tied his season-high with two 3-pointers.
What began as a measured rivalry matchup quickly turned into a one-sided showcase of depth, physicality and shooting as the Fighting Illini overwhelmed the Tigers in every facet. Illinois outscored Missouri 50-23 in the second half, turning a competitive early contest into the most lopsided result in the history of the series.
Illinois asserted itself on the glass and never let go. The Illini finished with a commanding 43-24 rebounding edge, including 15 offensive boards that fueled 29 second-chance points. Missouri managed just five second-chance points and struggled to find any rhythm inside, scoring only 18 points in the paint.
After four ties in the opening minutes, Illinois began to create separation midway through the first half. A five-point burst gave the Illini a 19-14 edge, and moments later an 11-2 run stretched the margin into double digits for the first time. Illinois knocked down three 3-pointers during that surge and carried a 32-20 lead before closing the half on a 9-3 run to take a 41-25 advantage into the locker room.
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler set the tone early and never cooled off. Wagler finished with a game-high 22 points, scoring 16 in the first half while shooting with confidence from the perimeter. He connected on a career-high five 3-pointers, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out four assists, blocked two shots and added two steals in a complete performance that reflected Illinois’ dominance.
Photo: Fighting Illini Athletics
Illinois' Kylan Boswell dribbles around Mizzou's Jacob Crews. Boswell finished the game with six points and three rebounds.
Any thought of a Missouri response vanished quickly after halftime. Illinois opened the second half with an 11-2 run, highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Tomislav Ivisic, forcing a Missouri timeout less than two minutes in. The Illini continued to apply pressure, holding the Tigers without a field goal for nearly six minutes during one stretch and steadily widening the gap.
Ivisic finished with 14 points, five rebounds and an assist, while Andrej Stojakovic added 16 points on efficient shooting. Zvonimir Ivisic provided a spark off the bench with a season-high 11 rebounds and three blocks, and Ben Humrichous chipped in nine points with three 3-pointers.
Shooting 52% from the field and controlling the tempo throughout, Illinois improved to 9-3 and extended its winning streak in the rivalry to three straight games. The Illini return home Dec. 29 to host Southern at State Farm Center in their final nonconference game.
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Illinois basketball vs Missouri Braggin Rights game, Illinois 91 Missouri 48 Braggin Rights recap, Keaton Wagler breakout game Illinois, Illinois Missouri rivalry basketball St Louis, Illinois basketball second half domination
Here is a recap of the headlines published on this day in December in the Sentinel from Champaign‑Urbana and surrounding communities. From local news and sports to community events, politics, and opinion pieces, The Sentinel archives capture the stories that shaped life in Champaign County year after year. Read this day's articles on new RF technology that can make you look younger, see a couple of basketball galleries, and take a peek at this recipe for Jalapeno Sweetpotato Chowder.
TAGS: Photo gallery from the Mahomet-Seymour shootout game against Eureka, how to avoid home loan denial, RF technology can make you look younger, SJO basketball loses home game, Here's how to make Jalapeno Sweetpotato Chowder at home
In a 6-3 decision Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court left in place a lower court order barring President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago while the underlying legal challenge continues.
by Brenden Moore & Hannah Meisel Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday kept in place a lower court’s ruling temporarily barring President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago as part of his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
The 6-3 ruling, which comes more than two months after the Trump Administration made an emergency appeal to the high court, effectively prevents the federal government from using federalized troops in Chicago while the underlying court case challenging the deployment continues.
“At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois,” the court wrote in the unsigned opinion denying the request for a stay.
Conservative justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Trump administration lawyers had argued the judicial branch had no right to “second guess” a president’s judgment on national security matters or resulting military actions.
The ruling represents a major setback for the Trump administration and a triumph for Gov. JB Pritzker and state Democratic leaders, who fiercely opposed and pushed back on the concept and practice of federal troops patrolling American streets.
Pritzker called the ruling “a big win for Illinois and American democracy.”
“This is an important step in curbing the Trump Administration's consistent abuse of power and slowing Trump’s march toward authoritarianism,” the governor said in a statement. “American cities, suburbs, and communities should not have to face masked federal agents asking for their papers, judging them for how they look or sound, and living in fear that President can deploy the military to their streets.”
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, whose office presented the state’s case, was also pleased with the court’s ruling.
“Nearly 250 years ago, the framers of our nation’s Constitution carefully divided responsibility over the country’s militia, today’s U.S. National Guard, between the federal government and the states — believing it impossible that a president would use one state’s militia against another state,” Raoul said. “The extremely limited circumstances under which the federal government can call up the militia over a state's objection do not exist in Illinois, and I am pleased that the streets of Illinois will remain free of armed National Guard members as our litigation continues in the courts.”
In early October, Trump ordered the federalization of 300 Illinois National Guardsmen over Pritzker’s objections and deployed 200 members of the Texas National Guard to Chicago.
The order came in as tensions flared outside the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement’s processing facility in Chicago’s near-west suburb of Broadview, which had become the epicenter of protests against the Trump administration’s Chicago-focused "Operation Midway Blitz” immigration enforcement campaign launched in September. The administration claimed activists were violent and the National Guard was needed to protect federal agents and the ICE facility.
Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles this summer marked the first time in 60 years that a president had taken control of a state’s National Guard without a governor’s consent. He’s also authorized troop deployments to Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon. All have been met with legal challenges, but the attempted deployment to Chicago was the first to reach the nation’s high court.
Operation Midway Blitz’s heavy immigration enforcement presence in Chicago and its suburbs continued through mid-November when U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and his 200 agents abruptly left the area. During the more than more than two months of aggressive enforcement actions, agents arrested more than 3,000 people in the U.S. without legal authorization.
National Guard troops were only active for a day at the Broadview ICE facility before U.S. District Judge April Perry issued a temporary restraining order blocking their deployment. While Texas guardsmen were sent back to their state at the same time Border Patrol agents left Chicago last month, the 300 members of the Illinois National Guard have remained under the Trump administration’s authority. Federal officials have said both the Illinois and Texas guardsmen spent their time doing training exercises.
After their deployment, clashes between federal agents and civilians shifted from Broadview to Chicago neighborhoods, where agents — including Bovino, often used force like tear gas and other riot control weapons like tear gas and pepper balls to disperse crowds.
As those confrontations shifted, so did the arguments from Trump Administration lawyers, who said the militarized manpower was necessary to protect federal agents and property from “rioters” that they alleged have aimed fireworks at agents “and have thrown bottles, rocks, and tear gas at them.”
In a separate lawsuit, protesters, journalists and clergy won a preliminary injunction last month restricting agents from using from using riot control weapons. But after an initial ruling in the case from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals cast doubt on the judge’s legal authority to limit how immigration agents do their jobs, the plaintiffs asked that the case be dropped. Perry’s Oct. 9 ruling, in which she found “no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in the state of Illinois,” was later backed up by a three-judge panel on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, which wrote that “political opposition is not rebellion.”
Raoul argued that the troop deployment violates Illinois’ rights as sovereign state to carry about its own law enforcement, as well as 1878 Posse Comitatus Act that bans the military from participating in domestic law enforcement.
National Guard members are often federalized for overseas missions. At the state level, the are often deployed by governors to respond to natural disasters and civil unrest.
Prior to this year, the last time a president federalized a state’s National Guard without a request from a state’s governor was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent federal troops to protect civil rights protesters in Alabama without the cooperation of segregationist Gov. George Wallace.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
ST. JOSEPH - Red shirts and beards, runners start their run during the Ho Ho Ho 5k back in December of 2018. Now called the St. Joe Santa 5k Run/Walk, over 300 runners took part in what has become an annual holiday event for the village just east Urbana. Read more about the inaugural holiday 5K in St. Joseph here.
Past Photos of the Day
TAGS: St. Joseph mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges, St. Joseph 5K, Athletic fundraiser in St. Joseph, Santa run Illinois, Holiday event.
Illinois’ 1% statewide grocery tax will end Jan. 1, though many municipalities will continue collecting a local version.
by Ben Szalinski & Brenden Moore Capitol News Illinois
Illinois’ statewide 1% grocery tax will go away on Jan. 1, though many people will continue to pay it at the local level.
Data compiled by the Illinois Municipal League shows that 656 municipalities — a little more than half of the state’s municipalities — have passed an ordinance establishing their own grocery tax. Those communities are home to 7.2 million people, or 56.5% of the state’s population. Three counties — Washington, Wabash and Moultrie — have also approved countywide grocery taxes.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill in 2024 eliminating the 1% statewide grocery tax, which he touted as a measure to ease residents’ tax burden. But because the revenue from the state grocery tax went to municipal governments, rather than state coffers, the measure allowed local governments to levy their own 1% tax via ordinance, rather than a referendum to voters.
Here are some other laws that will take effect in the new year:
Hotel soaps phased out
The phase-out of small, single-use plastic bottles in Illinois hotel rooms continues.
Senate Bill 2960, passed and signed into law in 2024, bars hotels from providing toiletries such as shampoo, conditioner and bath soap in less than six-ounce plastic containers unless specifically requested by the hotel guest.
The ban took effect in hotels with 50 or more rooms on July 1 and takes effect for all hotels starting in 2026. Hotels in violation will receive a written warning for the first offense and be subject to fines of up to $1,500 for each subsequent violation.
The legislation is intended to spur the state’s hospitality industry to reduce its plastic footprint by shifting to either refillable toiletry containers or larger plastic bottles.
Similar laws have been enacted in states like California, New York and Washington.
Squatter removal
Senate Bill 1563 will make it easier for authorities to remove squatters who are illegally staying at someone else’s residence.
The law clarifies that a court-ordered eviction is not required for police to remove squatters from a person’s home, and police can enforce criminal trespassing charges against a squatter.
Pritzker signed the bill in July after squatters moved into a home next door to Rep. Marcus Evans in Chicago. According to ABC-7, Chicago Police told homeowners they couldn’t remove the squatters from the home and the homeowners would have to go through the eviction process in Cook County court, which can take months.
Drinking water protections
Senate Bill 1723 bans carbon sequestration — the process of capturing and storing carbon by injecting it underground — within an area that "overlies, underlies, or passes through" a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-designated sole-source aquifer.
The new law applies to the footprint of the Mahomet Aquifer, which is the main source of drinking water for more than 500,000 people across a 15-county area in central Illinois.
It comes as Illinois, especially downstate, is targeted for carbon sequestration projects due to the state’s favorable geology and the availability of federal tax credits.
Studies, including those conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois, have found minimal risk to water sources from sequestration activity.
But the legislation was a priority for central Illinois community activists, environmental advocates and a bipartisan cadre of local lawmakers with zero risk tolerance due to the lack of a clear alternative water source if the aquifer were tainted.
Safer gear for firefighters
Illinois will take first steps towards requiring safer gear for firefighters.
Under House Bill 2409, manufacturers of firefighter turnout gear starting in 2026 must provide written notice if their products contain PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”
Numerous scientific studies have linked exposure to PFAS to an increased risk of developing various forms of cancer.
Manufacturers will be banned from selling turnout gear and personal protective equipment containing PFAS altogether starting on Jan. 1, 2027.
Lift-assist fees
House Bill 2336 allows municipalities or fire districts to charge assisted living facilities or nursing homes for calls to fire departments requesting help lifting a resident when it is not an emergency.
The bill was an initiative of the Illinois Municipal League, which argued the calls to fire departments for the nonemergency service are a burden on local governments and shift liabilities for injuries that happen during the process to fire departments rather than the facility.
Stadium funding
Senate Bill 2772 adds women’s professional sports to the types of facilities the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority can oversee. Current law only allows the ISFA to oversee sports facilities for baseball, football and auto racing.
The bill is not designed to move any team’s stadium proposals forward, though the Chicago Stars women’s soccer team has previously been reported to be interested in building a new stadium with help from state funding.
The bill was the only one related to sports stadium funding that advanced in Springfield in 2025. The Chicago Bears committed earlier this year to building a stadium in Arlington Heights but are still waiting for approval from the village and struggling to find support in Springfield for funding.
Public official privacy
House Bill 576 allows state lawmakers, constitutional officers and state’s attorneys, among others, to request that their personal information be redacted on public websites.
Public officials would be able to use their campaign funds to pay for personal security services and security upgrades to their home, including security systems, cameras, walls, fences and other physical improvements.
Rewilding
House Bill 2726 allows the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to implement rewilding as a conservation strategy for the state.
This could entail the restoration of land to its natural state and the reintroduction of native species, especially apex predators and keystone species like bison and beavers.
Illinois is believed to be the first state to codify the strategy into law.
Reservation app regulations
State lawmakers voted this year to crackdown on third-party restaurant reservation apps.
House Bill 2456 prohibits third-party reservation services from selling reservations without a restaurant’s permission. Restaurants are still allowed to partner with the services.
Paid time off to pump breast milk
Senate Bill 212 mandates employers to compensate mothers who take breaks at work to pump breast milk for up to a year after their child is born. The bill prohibits employers from requiring employees to use paid leave time for pumping.
Naloxone in libraries
House Bill 1910 requires that libraries maintain a supply of opioid overdose medication, like naloxone. This drug is often administered through a nasal spray like Narcan. The law also requires that at least one staff member be trained to identify overdoses and administer the drug.
Police training on sexual assault
Senate Bill 1195, also known as Anna’s Law, requires police officers in training to participate in trauma-informed programs, procedures and practices that are designed to reduce trauma for victims. The bill is named after Anna Williams, a suburban resident who brought the initiative to lawmakers following her own experience with a sexual assault investigation. The bill takes effect in January.
Predatory towing
Senate Bill 2040 gives the Illinois Commerce Commission new powers to punish predatory towing companies which sometimes tow cars under false pretenses only to charge drivers afterwards. The ICC-backed law allows the agency to revoke towing licenses, impound tow trucks and more.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Jerry Nowicki contributed to this story.
More on Illinois politics
TAGS: Illinois laws taking effect in 2026, Illinois grocery tax repeal impact, new Illinois public safety laws 2026, Illinois environmental legislation Mahomet Aquifer, Illinois consumer protection laws 2026
Here is a recap of the headlines published on this day in December in the Sentinel from Champaign‑Urbana and surrounding communities. From local news and sports to community events, politics, and opinion pieces, The Sentinel archives capture the stories that shaped life in Champaign County year after year. Read this day's articles on free tech training program, a look back at our COVID dashboard, and a skincare guide for winter.
There is more to Christmas day than the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Christmas is a great time for the little children.
by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator
Christmas is good news. Christ the Savior is born. This declaration is embraced daily by billions around the planet and especially on Christmas day.
Glenn Mollette
There is more to Christmas day than the celebration of the birth of Jesus. We utilize the day for family gatherings, gift exchanges, and to eat more than most other times of the year. We get fatter so that on New Year’s day we can make another resolution that we are going to eat less and exercise more. We play the Santa Claus game and always hope we can catch a glimpse of him racing through the sky.
A lot goes on at Christmas. Many people spend money they don’t have to give gifts that others may not really want or need. We cram our schedules full of dinners, parties and other appointments that could just as easily be done the first week or two in January. For some reason it seems so much has to be done by Christmas day.
Christmas is a great time for the little children who don’t have many Christmases to compare to the present. They are mostly looking at today without much regard for the past. This is a perspective that we lose as we become adults and especially older adults. It became impossible for us. If we have any memory left at all we start comparing our Christmases. We remember a special Christmas in the past. We remember a special meal. We remember special people and the time when everybody was together. We remember when children were younger or when grandparents were still alive. At some point and time on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day these old times seem to haunt us.
Loneliness is common to all of us at some point and time in our lives. We are lonely for those who made us laugh. We are lonely for those who cared for us or those for whom we cared. We get lonely for the simple things that brough us such internal joy.
Today, we often try harder to create a magical moment. We spend more, bake more, try to do more when in fact were are trying to fill a vacuum that often isn’t filled. We can’t bring back a child, parent or friend who is no longer with us. We will always miss them. That hole in our hearts can’t be filled.
We know by now, the good news that Jesus was born, lived, died and arose from the grave as written in scripture. He came to give us peace, comfort, hope and to fill that cavern in each of our lives. He gives us hope that we will see our loved ones again in a festive way that will far surpass our earthly Christmas celebrations.
Tonight, and this week, may our focus be on Jesus. His joy and love are the reasons we celebrate.
About the author ~
Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.
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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.
Illinois becomes at least the 19th state sued by DOJ over access to voter registration databases.
by Peter Hancock Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD - The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit Thursday against the state of Illinois seeking access to its complete, unredacted voter registration database, including sensitive personal data such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield, makes Illinois at least the 19th state to be sued for such information.
Read the lawsuit.
The Justice Department has been seeking that information since July, but the Illinois State Board of Elections so far has declined to hand over the information, citing both state and federal privacy laws that it says prohibit it from handing over such information.
Instead, in August, the agency gave DOJ a copy of the same database it makes available under state law to political parties and candidates. That file includes voters’ names, addresses and their age at the time they registered, but not their date of birth, driver’s license, state ID or Social Security number.
Federal officials have said they want the information to determine whether Illinois is complying with federal requirements to keep its voter database updated and accurate, which includes scrubbing registrations of voters who have died or moved away from their listed address.
State officials, however, have responded that Illinois has a decentralized voter registration system in which local election authorities at the city and county level are responsible for maintaining their own voter databases.
The lawsuit names State Board of Elections executive director Bernadette Matthews as the defendant.
A spokesman for the board said it has asked Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office for representation in the case. The agency declined to offer any further comment.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
More on Illinois politics
Illinois voter registration database lawsuit, U.S. Department of Justice voter data suit, Illinois election board privacy laws, unredacted voter data federal lawsuit, DOJ enforcement of voter list maintenance
Sola Gratia Farm and other recipients used LFIG funding to improve post-harvest handling and delivery of fresh produce.
by Tom O'Connor & Maggie Dougherty
Capitol News Illinois URBANA - It’s a cold and overcast day in November, but Sola Gratia farm in Urbana is teeming with life. The last leafy greens of the season are lined up neatly in the field, while delicate herbs and flowers have been moved inside plastic-walled high tunnels to weather the cold winter months.
To arrive on Thanksgiving dinner plates and in food pantry fridges, the produce from the 29-acre farm must be loaded into a refrigerated delivery van and spirited off to distribution sites.
That delivery vehicle was purchased using funds Sola Gratia, which means “by grace alone,” received under Illinois’ Local Food Infrastructure Grant, or LFIG, program. The grant also allowed the farm to purchase much of the equipment used to clean and package produce prior to sale or donation.
Traci Barkley, the farm’s director, told Capitol News Illinois that infrastructure like this is important for farms to grow but can be difficult to fund independently.
“So the grant, all of a sudden, allows dreams to come true,” Barkley said, smiling.
Sola Gratia was one of 19 LFIG recipients that received a collective $1.8 million in funding awarded in 2024 after passage of the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Act.
The law created funding to support small farmers and food distributors — those with fewer than 50 employees — in producing locally grown food for Illinois communities. The General Assembly found that 95% of the food consumed in Illinois is imported from outside the state.
Shifting just 10% of that purchasing to local farms could generate billions of dollars in economic growth for Illinois, according to the law. But for Illinois to move toward purchasing more local food, farmers and food processors need adequate infrastructure to ensure the food reaches consumers predictably.
That means refrigerators and freezers to keep fresh produce and meat at peak quality; facilities where fruits and vegetables can be uniformly cleaned, sliced and processed into products like jams and jellies; equipment to package goods for sale and vehicles to transport them.
‘It makes an enormous difference’
The Illinois Stewardship Alliance, a local food and farm advocacy group, administered the program in its first year, 2024. The next year, the state appropriated $2 million in fiscal year 2025 to the Department of Agriculture to administer the grants, though the program faced implementation delays.
Between the unspent funds and an additional $2 million allocated to the program in the fiscal year 2026 budget, there will be $4 million available for the upcoming cycle. While small relative to the $55.1 billion in spending measures in Illinois’ fiscal 2026 budget, farmers said the grants of up to $75,000 for an individual project and up to $250,000 for a collaborative project have a significant impact on the recipients.
The Department of Agriculture will continue to administer the LFIG grant cycle in 2026 and expects the application process to open in early January.
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Maggie Dougherty
Grain farmer Jeff Hake gestures to an antique grain combine on his family’s McLean County farm, Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains.
Jeff Hake is a partner at Funks Grove Heritage Fruits and Grains in McLean County, a small family operation growing wheat, corn and fruits. The farm received an LFIG grant to help dry, clean and store grains it processes into flour, cornmeal, pancake mixes, popcorn and more.
Hake summarized the impact of the grant on an overcast winter morning at the farm, where trains frequently pass on the nearby track running along Old Route 66.
“It makes an enormous difference,” he told reporters. “And the impact expands dramatically with these small, thoughtful investments.”
Among the purchases Funks Grove made with the support of the grant were a gravity table and a seed cleaner, or eliminator, affectionately called Ellie. Hake said the first wheat crop to run through both machines was the cleanest the farm had ever produced.
Filtering on density and size, the two machines strain out debris, leaves and dirt. The gravity table even allows farmers to filter out infected grain, which becomes lighter when consumed by disease.
Hake said the family identified a need for the gravity table after they almost lost a crop of corn to a grain-born toxin. The corn tested above the safe threshold for consumption, meaning the entire batch would have been wasted — and revenues lost.
Luckily for the farm, another grain farmer two hours north near Rockford had a gravity table. She ran the Funks Grove corn through, removing enough of the infected crop to effectively save the harvest.
Ripple effect
Hake and other LFIG recipients say the grants have had a ripple effect.
For example, a flower farmer near Lexington to the north cleans her harvested popcorn using the machines at Funks Grove, while a farm-based distillery in Paxton to the west is exploring doing the same for this year’s corn crop. Neither has the infrastructure to clean grain at that level, so collaborating with Funks Grove improves efficiency.
“We’ve learned so much and we’ve acquired all these things. And I very much don't want to be gatekeeping,” Hake said. “I don't want anyone else to have to go through this if we have it within an hour of where they're farming.”
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Maggie Dougherty
FarmFED Co-op president and grain farmer Tom Martin talks with reporters in the Mt. Pulaski building purchased by the co-op with the Local Food Infrastructure Grant.
That same collaboration is core to the missions of the LEAF Food Hub in Carbondale and the FarmFED Cooperative in Mount Pulaski, also former LFIG recipients. While they differ in structure, both provide small farmers with post-harvest infrastructure and assist with distribution.
FarmFED provides produce to local food banks and opens its kitchen to a nearby bakery. Tom Martin is the cooperative’s board president and a grain farmer whose family has lived in the area for over 200 years.
Martin outlined the impact of the support from LFIG on a rainy afternoon at FarmFED’s site on the main square in Mount Pulaski. The grant allowed FarmFED to purchase a building and food processing equipment for local farmers.
“We’re not trying to become a great big co-op,” he said. “We’re trying to provide healthy food, support farmers and support our communities.”
Similarly, Sola Gratia reported that several other farms and organizations benefitted from being able to transport produce in the van they purchased with the LFIG support.
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Maggie Dougherty
Sola Gratia Director Traci Barkley watches on as farm staff load produce into the farm’s refrigerated delivery van, which was purchased with the support of funding from the Illinois’ Local Food Infrastructure Grant program.
“The state invested in us and that’s shared with others,” Barkley said at Sola Gratia. “There’s a huge camaraderie that we try to contribute to.”
Sola Gratia also regularly hosts gardening workshops, farm yoga sessions and educational events with local schools and community groups.
Global networks
Part of the challenge of increasing Illinois’ share of locally produced food, regional farmers say, is the barriers to competing with larger businesses that sell food cheaply and in large quantities.
Blayne Harris is the operations manager and an owner of the Carbondale-based LEAF Food Hub, also known as the Little Egypt Alliance of Farmers. LEAF received an LFIG grant to help reduce waste for their network of farmers and food processors, who distribute food through an online marketplace to a dozen local sites.
Working together allows LEAF farmers to focus less on making money and more on farming, according to Harris.
“The core issue to all of this is just like the economy of scale, and it’s really difficult to compete with the global economy at a regional food level,” Harris said. “The hope behind this is that if we have collective marketing, aggregation, processing and distribution, then farmers can farm.”
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Maggie Dougherty
LEAF Food Hub in Carbondale helps local small farmers with processing and distribution of their produce. The organization, founded in 2016, received support through Illinois’ Local Food Infrastructure Grant program.
However, Harris said, collective distribution models face limitations when there’s no avenue for selling food to larger institutions, such as schools, hospitals and correctional facilities, which serve hundreds of thousands of meals daily.
“Something that I would have as an input towards future infrastructure grants is that they should be paired with some sort of a grant that enables purchasing,” Harris said.
Illinois law mandates that state public institutions must purchase food from the lowest bidder, often larger companies from out of state. The Department of Corrections, the state’s largest purchaser of food, awards nearly 70% of its contracts to just two distributors, according to Investigate Midwest.
A bill proposed in the General Assembly’s spring session would have changed that, allowing public universities to award contracts to local farmers using criteria for sustainability and ethical growing practices. It stalled in committee.
Farmers also face barriers getting local food to underserved communities, according to a 2024 report on food access commissioned by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Maggie Dougherty
A member of the team at Sola Gratia chops produce freshly harvested at the farm in Urbana.
Larger corporations are not incentivized to open chain grocery stores in low-income or rural areas where profit potentials are low, and small, independent grocery stores that fill the gap struggle to meet the low-price expectations set by large competitors.
When grocery stores close, people lose access to healthy foods, creating food insecurity. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported in 2021 that nearly 3.3 million Illinoisians, about 1-in-4, lived in communities that lacked access to fresh, nutritious food.
Growing local
Countering that food insecurity is core to the mission of many of the LFIG recipients interviewed, with multiple farms donating large shares of their produce to local food pantries.
Just Roots, a half-acre urban farm nestled beside the Green Line on Chicago’s South Side, donates up to 50% of its fruits, vegetables and herbs to local food pantries and mutual aid organizations. The rest they sell at an affordable price on a sliding scale to local residents.
The community farm received an LFIG grant to purchase a refrigerated van and expand on-site refrigeration capacity.
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Tom O'Connor
Two CTA Green line trains pass by the half-acre Just Roots community farm in Bronzeville on a snowy day in December. Just Roots purchased a refrigerated van and refrigeration infrastructure for its other farm in Sauk Village with support from Illinois’ Local Food Infrastructure Grant program.
Standing in deep snow earlier this month, Sean Ruane, director of operations and development at Just Roots, discussed the role of local farms, especially in urban areas where green spaces are less common.
“Everything that we're growing here is being distributed within a five-mile radius of the farm,” Ruane said. “That’s very intentional on our part. And part of that is we're distributing all the food that we grow within 48 hours of harvesting it, so it’s as fresh and nutritionally dense, really, as food can be.”
Just Roots also hosts educational events, inviting local residents and children to come see where their food is grown. A teacher by training, Ruane said exposing kids to fruits and vegetables when they are growing up will make them more willing to eat those foods later.
“Our hope is that we can try to kind of help bring people back to, you know, much simpler times in terms of how food is produced and distributed and consumed,” Ruane said.
Upcoming grant cycle
Before applying for a 2026 LFIG grant, applicants will need to complete three pre-registration steps, standard for all grants administered under the Ag Department. The department also recommends preparing documents including payroll logs and tax forms to show proof of eligibility. A full checklist of the necessary forms can be found on the LFIG website.
“We don’t want anybody to get held up this time of year trying to get paperwork from their bank or from their payroll departments or anything like that,” grant administrator Heather Wilkins said. “So always continue to look at the Department of Ag website for those updates as we begin to launch this program.”
Photo: Capitol News Illinois/Maggie Dougherty
Illinois’ Local Food Infrastructure Grant program supported Sola Gratia’s purchase of much of the equipment in its washroom used to clean and package the produce grown at its farm in Urbana.
Recipients will be expected to match 25% of their award with a comparable investment unless the project is classified as “high need,” meaning that it fills a critical infrastructure gap or serves underserved farmers and communities.
Points will be awarded to proposals that have community support, are led by historically underserved farmers and owners, increase affordability in underserved communities and more.
A list of allowable expenses and other information about the application are detailed in the LFIG administrative rules.
The farms and food processors who were awarded LFIG funding when it was administered under the Illinois Stewardship Alliance will be eligible to reapply this year, but future projects under the Department of Agriculture will be ineligible for the grant in the subsequent funding cycle.
In the first year of the program, 247 project proposals were submitted, from which 19 were selected. The applicants collectively requested over $23 million in funding. The Stewardship Alliance said this indicates that LFIG fills a major gap.
“There’s still a very, very high need for local food infrastructure in Illinois,” Alliance Policy Director Molly Pickering said. “We’re still trying to move the needle on Illinois farmers being able to feed Illinois, and that is only possible when they have access to infrastructure.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Tom O’Connor is a freelance multimedia journalist. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism.
More on Illinois politics
Illinois Local Food Infrastructure Grant impact, small farm infrastructure funding Illinois, local food distribution Illinois farms, Illinois agriculture grants for farmers, improving food access through local farms Illinois, state funding for local food systems Illinois
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