Prep Sports Notebook |Spartans girls win again, Heritage beats U-High

Our roundup of area basketball scores from Monday.

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Girls Basketball

Spartans still undefeated after homestand against Warriors

ST. JOSEPH - The St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team kept its unbeaten start intact Monday night, turning a tight halftime margin into a commanding 65-42 home win over Tuscola.

Holding a five-point lead at the break, the Spartans found another gear as the game wore on. Their surge peaked in the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Warriors 23-9 and closed the night with four players in double figures.

Senior guard Kayla Osterbur set the tone with a career-best 18 points, all coming in the final three quarters as SJO steadily pushed the lead out of reach. Fellow senior Timera Blackburn-Kelley delivered a strong two-way effort with 17 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, marking her first double-double of the season. Katie Ericksen and Dahl each added 11 points to round out a balanced scoring effort.

The win moves SJO to 4-0, marking one of the program’s best starts since the 2020-21 season. The schedule stiffens as the Spartans head out for back-to-back road games, beginning with a trip to Danville on Thursday before a matchup at Maroa-Forsyth next Monday.

Tuscola stayed within striking distance early behind the efforts of junior Sicily Moss and senior Reese Davis, who scored 18 and 17 points. Moss went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, while Davis knocked down six of her 10 attempts. Their production kept the Warriors close through three quarters before SJO’s decisive late run sealed the outcome.

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Harper leads Urbana in loss to Sages

URBANA - Lai’yonna Harper led the way for Urbana with 12 of her team’s 17 points in a 62-17 home loss to Monticello on Tuesday night. Despite her efforts, the Tigers struggled to generate offense, scoring just five points in the first half before making small adjustments to put up 12 in the second.

Kaya Hill and Zaniyah Ward each grabbed five rebounds, providing some support on the boards in the non-conference matchup. Harper and the Tigers now sit at 0-3 on the season and will look to bounce back Thursday at Urbana University.

Monticello improved to 3-2 behind balanced scoring, with three players in double figures. Sarah Cresap led the Sages with 12 points, while Mandy Melton and Ali Weidner added 10 each. Melton and Lexi Leatherwood dominated the glass with seven rebounds apiece in the road win.

Area Scoreboard

Heritage 34, Urbana University 23

Centennial vs Watseka - CANCELED

Unity vs Clinton - POSTPONED

Oakwood vs ALAH - NO SCORE REPORTED

Salt Fork 53, Rantoul 25

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TAGS: SJO girls basketball fourth quarter surge recap, St. Joseph-Ogden vs Tuscola game analysis, Illini Prairie Conference girls basketball results, Kayla Osterbur career-high scoring game, Spartans 4-0 season start highlights

Chlebek pitches federal tax holiday aimed at boosting Illinois small businesses

The Small Business Tax Freedom Plan would apply to new companies earning under $5 million annually. It features simplified annual filing, reinvestment incentives and partnerships with states that streamline start-up regulations.

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PARK RIDGE - U.S. Senate candidate Casey Chlebek is calling for a five-year federal income tax holiday for new small businesses, a proposal he says would help revive struggling local economies and ease the financial pressure on first-time entrepreneurs across Illinois. The plan was released Monday as part of Pillar Five of his MAGNA Agenda, a platform he describes as focused on restoring economic opportunity.

The proposal, called the Small Business Tax Freedom Plan, would eliminate federal income taxes for newly registered small businesses earning less than $5 million annually during their first five taxable years. Start-ups launched in high-poverty ZIP codes, rural distressed counties, Opportunity Zones and other underserved areas would qualify for an automatic extension to seven years.

“Small businesses don’t need another handout—they need Washington to get out of the way,” Chlebek said in the announcement. “If you have the courage to start something in this country, the government shouldn’t punish you for trying.”

Chlebek pointed to what he called a steep loss of Illinois small businesses since 2020, citing figures showing the state has shed more than 63,000 during that period. He said the trend continues to hit communities from Peoria to Rockford and throughout southern Illinois, where residents tell him they want to work and invest but can’t afford the costs of starting a business.

Key components of the plan include a simplified one-page annual federal filing, a tax credit for owners who reinvest early profits into hiring or expansion, and matching grants for states and counties that lower fees or streamline permitting. The campaign said revenue caps and ownership rules would prevent corporations, subsidiaries and major chains from accessing the program.

According to independent estimates referenced by the campaign, early-stage tax relief of this kind could stimulate between $85 billion and $100 billion in annual economic activity nationwide. Those estimates also project the potential for 300,000 to 450,000 new jobs and renewed growth in rural towns, main street corridors and immigrant-owned business districts.

“People want to work, build and contribute—but the cost of opening a business has become impossible,” Chlebek said. “My plan unleashes local entrepreneurship and puts opportunity back into the hands of ordinary Americans.”

The tax-holiday proposal fits into a broader set of economic ideas within Chlebek’s MAGNA Agenda. Other elements include eliminating federal taxation of Social Security benefits and retirement income, abolishing property taxes through federal-state partnerships, offering no federal taxes for Americans under 23 and providing free prescription drugs for seniors, disabled residents and veterans.

Chlebek often ties his economic message to his own background as an immigrant from Poland, saying he arrived during the Cold War with limited resources and a belief in the American Dream. In the announcement, he said his proposal is designed to give today’s entrepreneurs the same opportunity.

“Entrepreneurs are not asking for special treatment—just a fair chance,” he said. “My plan gives them that chance.”

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TAGS: federal tax relief plan for new Illinois small businesses, Casey Chlebek small business tax holiday proposal, Illinois entrepreneurship support under MAGNA Agenda, seven-year tax holiday incentives for underserved communities, economic growth plan for start-ups in high-poverty Illinois areas