In 2018 Illinois enacted a law which would allow farmers to apply to the Illinois Department of Transportation to obtain a temporary weight-limit waiver during harvest season. It would allow them to load more of their crops onto trucks and deliver them to markets. It was the latest development in a 200-year-long struggle for Illinois farmers to get their crops to markets as efficiently as possible. Long before trucks started rolling along asphalt highways it was thought that this need could be met with small boats on a system of canals.

After learning that yet another meeting of the Special Investigating Committee (SIC) into the conduct of House Speaker Michael J. Madigan was canceled and work of the committee has been postponed indefinitely, Republicans serving on the bipartisan panel are demanding the committee get back to work.

COVID-19
All of Illinois now under enhanced mitigation; statewide positive case counts number more than 10,000 per day. The cases are only a small fraction of the tens of thousands of tests run on Illinois residents every day across the state, with the great majority of tests coming back negative. However, the positive case counts as a percentage of total tests run is now greater than 8% in all 11 public health regions of Illinois. Under a policy imposed by Gov. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), all 11 regions are currently under enhanced mitigation restrictions.

One hundred fifty years ago, Illinois Governor John Palmer was getting frustrated.

A Civil War general, Palmer had been elected on a platform of government reform in 1868, but he had seen his efforts thwarted time and again in his first legislative session. Not only was he not making any progress on fixing the system, but things appeared to be getting steadily worse.

The bane of Palmer’s existence were the so-called “private bills,” and the state Constitution which kept him from doing anything about them. Private bills were legislation drafted for the benefit of one individual or corporation. The most frequent use of this tactic was for corporate charters, which the drafters of the Constitution then in effect (enacted in 1848) thought they had banned.

COVID-19
Illinois House Republicans demand full transparency regarding data that ties indoor restaurant seating to spike in COVID-19. On Thursday, Governor JB Pritzker announced that beginning Sunday, November 1, restaurants and bars in Illinois Region 3 will be closed to indoor dining/serving, and that other public gatherings will be limited to 25% capacity or 25 people, whichever is lower. In response to the Governor’s announcement, House Republicans who represent the communities in Region 3 are demanding to see concrete data that ties the recent spike in COVID-19 to indoor sit-down dining. 

Illinois workNet has partnered with the Illinois Department of Employment Security to hold a statewide multi-employer Virtual Job Fair. The event is slated to take place over four days the week of November 9-13, with the exception of Veteran's Day. Click here to learn more or to register for the free event.



Resources:

• Prepare for a Virtual Job Fair: Job Seeker Tips for Success
• Attending Virtual Job Fairs
• Customize Your Resume

The Farm Family Resource Initiative, a joint pilot program of SIU School of Medicine and the Illinois Department of Agriculture is leading the effort to build a statewide network of support and resources for Illinois farm families.

The purpose of the initiative is to provide a range of resources including a helpline to assist with farmer and farm-related issues that include mental and physical health needs. 

Additionally, the initiative will offer ongoing outreach, education and training to rural clients and partners working to improve the health and safety of farm families.