Sentinel Article Archive for December 8
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The Sentinel On This Day | December 8
As December arrives with festive lights and winter’s chill, we revisit the stories that defined our community — from holiday traditions and year‑end reflections to local sports highlights, civic milestones, and spirited debates. Explore archived posts published on this day in December across Champaign County and beyond, curated by The Sentinel.
Illinois rural co-ops still tied to major polluter
Co-ops still heavily depend on coal and other fossil fuels for the majority of their power. Twenty-five of them in Illinois still have an ownership share in the Prairie State Coal Plant.
Photo: Ä°smail Hamza Polat/Unsplash
Illinois has about 25 rural electric cooperatives that provide power to more than 300,000 rural homes, farms, and businesses in the state.
by Judith Ruiz-BranchPublic News Service
CHICAGO - A new scorecard shows rural electric cooperatives in Illinois are making improvements but experts said the majority of them are still helping to power the Prairie State Coal Plant, one of the top greenhouse gas polluters in the country. The 2025 Illinois Rural Electric Scorecard from nonprofit Prairie Rivers Network grades eight Midwest state power cooperatives on 16 performance metrics. Anthony Henson, rural energy organizer for the network, said there have been significant improvements since last year’s inaugural scorecard, with 20 cooperatives increasing their overall score. Henson explained co-ops originally formed to bring electricity to rural areas and are owned by the people they serve. He stressed the goal of the scorecard is to empower people with information about their co-ops. "In the spirit of democratic participation in which these institutions were first created, we find that if member owners become more active inside their co-ops, the co-ops become responsive when making changes, whether it's transparency or operations," Henson outlined. Hensen noted co-ops still heavily depend on coal and other fossil fuels for the majority of their power, adding the hope is the co-op scorecard, along with energy planning provisions and other legislation, will empower member-owners to help push their co-op toward a clean energy future. However, nearly all the 25 co-ops in Illinois still have an ownership share in the Prairie State Coal Plant. Henson pointed out the first scorecard helped build momentum for the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act passed this fall, which created new standards for municipal and rural electric cooperatives. "That is important because municipal and rural electric cooperatives have always been left out of the standards of these laws, and that has changed this year," Henson underscored. "We are now requiring co-ops in Illinois to do strategic resource planning." It includes posting agenda minutes and election procedures online starting in 2026, conducting transparent long-term energy planning with public participation and making rooftop solar more accessible to ensure compliance with Illinois' goal of 40% renewable energy by 2030. "Rural electric cooperatives are tasked with keeping the lights on in rural communities," Henson emphasized. "They do a very good job in being responsive to the needs of their member owners. And we expect them to continue providing clean and reliable electricity over the course of the next century."
Viewpoint |The world’s most feared woman has always been the intelligent woman
Why has society has historically feared intelligent women. Through rhetorical questions, the piece critiques gendered expectations placed on women and declares a new era of unapologetic intelligence.
by Yumna Zahid Ali, Guest Commentator
About the author ~
Top central Illinois teams set for full day of action at Country Financial Girls Basketball Shootout
St. Joseph-Ogden will host eight central Illinois programs for the Country Financial Girls Basketball Shootout on Saturday. Pleasant Plains and Cissna Park open the showcase with a matchup of postseason contenders.
ST. JOSEPH - With the annual Toyota of Danville Classic boys basketball tournament complete, it is the girls’ turn. St. Joseph-Ogden High School will host the 2025 Country Financial Girls Basketball Shootout on Saturday, featuring eight central Illinois small-school programs. The shootout opens with a 1 p.m. varsity game between Pleasant Plains and Cissna Park, last year’s Class 1A third-place finisher, in a matchup of postseason contenders. The Lady Timberwolves are 6-1 as of last week, with their only loss coming by three points to Deer Creek-Mackinaw. In their six wins, Cissna Park has outscored opponents by at least 20 points. Three of those victories came in dominant fashion against Illini Prairie teams: St. Thomas More (64-14), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (57-27) and Unity (52-23).
Pleasant Plains has also handled an Illini Prairie opponent. The Cardinals improved to 5-0 after defeating Bloomington Central Catholic 62-30. They opened the season with wins over Peoria, Normal West and Edwardsville, all schools with much larger enrollments. In a rematch of last year’s sectional semifinal, Pleasant Plains defeated Carlinville 61-21 before Thanksgiving.
Game 2 promises similar excitement. Paris (7-1) faces Eureka (5-1) at 2:30 p.m. in the teams’ first meeting since 2007.
Host St. Joseph-Ogden, off to a 5-0 start, will take on Watseka at 4 p.m. The Spartans feature a tightly bonded group of nine seniors on their varsity roster. The Warriors enter at 5-1. The two programs last met on Valentine’s Day in 2019, with SJO owning a 7-2 advantage in the series.
The finale is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. between Unity (3-5) and Tri-Valley (6-1). The Vikings opened the season with a 5-0 run before falling 67-60 to Lincoln (7-1) last Wednesday.
Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for students with a valid student ID.
Junior varsity teams will play in the school’s small gym, beginning two hours before their corresponding varsity game.
The third installment of the girls’ shootout is sponsored by The Arteaga Group Country Financial Insurance Group.
The Sentinel On This Day | December 7
As December arrives with festive lights and winter’s chill, we revisit the stories that defined our community — from holiday traditions and year‑end reflections to local sports highlights, civic milestones, and spirited debates. Explore archived posts published on this day in December across Champaign County and beyond, curated by The Sentinel.
Sentinel Article Archive for December 7
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The Sentinel On This Day | December 6
As December arrives with festive lights and winter’s chill, we revisit the stories that defined our community — from holiday traditions and year‑end reflections to local sports highlights, civic milestones, and spirited debates. Explore archived posts published on this day in December across Champaign County and beyond, curated by The Sentinel.
Sentinel Article Archive for December 6
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Photo Gallery |St. Joseph-Ogden overpowers Oakwood at basketball tourney
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden's Parker Fitch releases a shot between Carsen Dudley and Alex Wallace in the first quarter of their Toyota of Danville Classic game on Friday. Picking up their third win of the season, the Spartans defeated the Comets 79-46 and advanced to Saturday's championship game against Bishop McNamara. Here are more photos from Friday's pool game.
St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaden Wedig goes up to force the ball away from Oakwood's Ben Darling during second half action of their pool game on Friday.
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