Newest class of Illinois Hall of Fame football coaches announced

Monticello's Cully Welter looks for players to put in the game in the final minutes of the Sages' 2024 state title game against Montini. In addition to last year's Class 3A title game appearance, Welter, who was inducted in 2018, has led teams to IHSA state championships in 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2018 and state runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2006. He is only one of two Illinois high school football coaches to win state titles at two different schools. No area head coaches will be honored at this year's annual IHSFCA conference.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

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ROCHELLE - The Illinois High School Football Coaches Association announced its 2025 Hall of Fame class today. The honored coaches will be recognized on Saturday, March 29, at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign.

While no coaches from the Champaign-Urbana area made this year's selection, Leonard Sementi, a longtime assistant for the Tuscola Warriors, will receive an award at the luncheon.

In addition to serving as the football team's defensive coordinator for more than 30 years, Sementi was the school's head softball coach for 23 seasons. In August, he was hired as the head softball coach for the Parkland College Cobras.

Eighteen coaches, split into five categories — active, career, assistants, deceased, and retired — are scheduled to be inducted at the annual event. The coaches were chosen based on their contributions to the football coaching profession and the impact they made within their programs.

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased through the association's official website, ihsfca.com. Illinois Fighting Illini football coach Bret Bielema will be the keynote speaker for the noon luncheon.

Nominations for future Hall of Fame selections can be made at ihsfca.com.

Active
John Shadowens - Sessier-Vallier
Ray Kauling - Centralia

Career
Tom Bailey - Homewood-Flossmoor
Leonard Sementi - Tuscola
Lee Maciejewski - Glenbard West
Dan Groce - Chenoa
Neal Taylor - Springfield HS

Assistants
Michael Eudy - Anna-Jonesboro
Keith Laughary - Morris
Greg Segraves - Harrisburg
Thomas Lahey - Andrew
Terry Stanger - Woodstock Marian
Pat Beadle - Galena
James Huffman - Routt Catholic

Deceased
Tom Peterson - Minooka
Larry D. Caldieraro, Jr. - Staunton

Retired
Paul Bassler - Triad
Nick Flowers - Carrollton
Ray Eliot Award
Tim O’ Halloran - “Edgy Tim”

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Related articles:

• State Football | Monticello's dream season shattered, Montini clinches Class 3A title
• Photo Gallery | Strong first half cements victory for SJO at Monticello
• Unity football coach announces retirement after 31 seasons
• Dick Duval inducted into SJO Hall of Fame

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Public voting for new Illinois state flag design is open

SPRINGFIELD - Voting is open for Illinois residents until Feb. 14 to choose a new state flag. After reviewing more than 4,800 entries for the Illinois state flag redesign contest, the Illinois Flag Commission opened public voting last week. Residents can vote online for one of 10 new designs, to keep the current Illinois flag, or for two former flag designs — the state's 1918 centennial flag or the 1968 sesquicentennial flag.

The online vote is nonbinding but will be included in a report that the Illinois Flag Commission will present to the Illinois General Assembly before April 1. After the commission delivers its final report, the General Assembly will decide whether to adopt a new flag or keep the current one.

The current Illinois flag features the state seal on a white background. The bicentennial flag consists of 10 stars on each side of a white and blue banner, with a larger 21st star representing Illinois as the 21st state admitted to the United States. The sesquicentennial flag has a dark blue field with an orange image of the state in the middle of a white "I," surrounded by 20 stars in a circle and a larger 21st star in the upper right corner.

Voting is open now and can be done at https://apps.ilsos.gov/stateflag/. Voters can vote multiple times and can select one flag once every 24-hour period. If you have multiple favorites, you can vote for a different flag each day. Selections cannot be altered after a vote is casted on the website.

Members of the flag commission include: Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, Benjamin Grantham Aldred, Terri Bryant (Senator), Tim Butler, Sherrell L. Byrd, Jr., Cristina Colunga, Andrew Conneen, Sierra Force, George Howard, Dave Joens, Gabrielle Lyon, Tim Mellman, Matthew G. Prochaska, Tom Rooney, Michelle Renae Smith, Will Stephens, Dr. Tandra Taylor, Toby Trimmer, Doris Turner (Senator), Dave Vella (Representative), and Tom Weber (Representative).

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