COVID numbers are high throughout Illinois as the rolling test positivity rate on Wednesday reached 13.2 percent and total cases spiked to more than 2.1 million, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Reported COVID-related deaths in the state hit 27,734.
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Posted inTimes Weekly News
New automated Vote-By-Mail system coming together for Clerk’s office
Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry earlier this week accepted the first major piece of equipment to automate the Vote By Mail program in Will County. The high-speed, state-of-the-art EvoluJet Printer from BlueCrest has the capability of printing 2,200 ballots per hour. Specialists from BlueCrest and the manufacturer, Kyocera, were on hand to assemble the EvoluJet’s components and make the necessary adjustments to begin printing test ballots on location at the Will County Clerk’s Office. The EvoluJet Printer will be joined by two other major pieces of equipment: The high-speed Relia-Vote MSE Inserter will automate the assembly of Vote By Mail packets, and the Relia-Vote Vantage Sorter will streamline the sorting of Vote By Mail packets for outbound mailing and for organizing return ballots. These three machines will improve efficiency and accuracy across the entire Vote By Mail program. They also will save Will County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each election compared to the cost of assembling and processing Vote By Mail Ballots manually. Staley Ferry announced back in August that the Will County Board had unanimously approved $1.9 million in funding to purchase equipment to automate her office’s growing Vote By Mail program.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Amid fierce opposition Joliet council approves larger Northpoint warehouse project
Despite desperate calls from residents of mostly neighboring communities – many destined to be impacted by the 2,100-plus acre proposed warehouse development – Compass Business Park has received the stamp of approval from the Joliet City Council. For nearly two hours on Tuesday night, the City Council heard from Jackson Township property owners, Elwood and Manhattan residents, other concerned property owners, attorneys representing Stop North Point and Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, and officials from both Jackson Township and Elwood.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Joliet council approves massive warehouse project
Despite desperate calls from residents of mostly neighboring communities – many destined to be impacted by the 2,100-plus acre proposed warehouse development – Compass Business Park has received the stamp of approval from the Joliet City Council.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
House passes $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill
The White House had something big to celebrate this past weekend after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, sending it to President Biden to be signed into law.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Toys for Tots collection
The Plainfield Fire Protection District is collecting new toy donations for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots. Toys may be dropped off at any of our four fire stations between 7 am and 8 pm every day. Fire Station 1 is located at 14415 S. Coil Plus Drive, Fire Station 2 is at 23806 W. 135th Street, Fire Station 3 is at 25001 W. 119th Street and Fire Station 4 is at 15930 S. Frederick Street.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Gov. JB Pritzker announces the $1.2 billion plan to overhaul Interstate 80 in 2019, surrounded by local state officials
State officials visited Will County on Monday to recommit to a six-year plan aimed at a complete overhaul of the Interstate 80 corridor. Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation joined by local officials introduced the six-year plan to rebuild Interstate 80 in Will County. Made possible by the Governor’s, bipartisan Rebuild Illinois capital program, the $1.2 billion project will replace more than 50-year-old infrastructure on a condensed timeframe and create thousands of construction and permanent jobs while positioning the region for long-term economic opportunity. “We were excited to see Governor Pritzker, Lt. Governor Stratton, and IDOT Secretary Osman visit Will County to emphasize the critical need for completion of the I-80 project. Getting to the finish line on a project of this scale requires consistent leadership from state and local officials, and we are fortunate to have that support,” said Doug Pryor, vice president of economic development for the Will County Center for Economic Development.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
State officials commit to spending $1.2 Billion on I-80 Corridor improvement project
State officials visited Will County on Monday to recommit to a six-year plan aimed at a complete overhaul of the Interstate 80 corridor. Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation were joined by local officials and community leaders to announce the six-year plan to rebuild Interstate 80 in Will County.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
JJC celebrating Diversity Week, Latinx Heritage Month
Joliet Junior College is conducting multiple events in observance of Diversity Week and Latinx Heritage Month through mid-October.
Diversity Week events Oct. 4-8 are sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Compliance, Office of Student Activities and the Center for Multicultural Access and Success.
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Technological advances, a silver lining for schools
Throughout the nation and here at home, school districts had to turn to the virtual world to bring classrooms to students during the COVID pandemic that raged on for more than 15 months. That meant students had to log in to computers and iPads from home to receive lessons from their teachers. It took some time to get the technology working properly for most school districts and some did not do so well. Much of the success was tied to how advanced each district was technologically and, unfortunately, whether the students could afford the technology, which involved internet access and a device.
