The Christmas tradition of “Julotta” returns at Bishop Hill State Historic Site. All are welcome to attend a nondenominational church service at 6 a.m. Christmas Day, Saturday, Dec. 25 in the Colony Church. The word Julotta comes from the Swedish words for “yule” and “before dawn.” Christmas morning in Sweden begins with attendance at the Julotta service. Since 1970, the service has been a tradition in Bishop Hill to help reaffirm the community’s Swedish heritage. Constructed in 1848 by Swedish immigrants, the public is invited to attend the worship service at the restored Colony... Read More

Richmond Hill Players concludes its 2021 season with the holiday comedy Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and then some), written by John K. Alvarez, Michael Carlton, and James FitzGerald.  It will be presented Thursdays through Sundays, December 2-12 at the Barn Theatre in Geneseo. The show takes a little of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” mixes in “The Gift of the Magi,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and “It’s A Wonderful Life,” then adds touches of “A... Read More

BREAKING: Illinois employers could very soon be allowed to fire employees who refuse to get vaccinated or comply with other covid-19 regulations. The Health Care Right of Conscience Act amendment bans employees from using their moral beliefs as a reason to refuse to comply with a workplace’s covid mandates, which could include mandatory vaccinations. The Illinois Senate voted 31-24 to approve the proposal late Thursday night. This measure passed out of the House on a 64-52-2 vote Wednesday. The new amendment now heads to Gov. JB Pritzker to be signed into the law, and it certainly looks... Read More

Illinois employers could be allowed to fire employees who refuse to get vaccinated or comply with other covid-19 regulations if a new mandate from Governor JB Pritzker is implemented. The Health Care Right of Conscience Act amendment would not allow employees to use their moral beliefs as a reason to refuse to comply with a workplace’s covid mandates, which could include mandatory vaccinations. State legislators are expected to take up the measure this week. The Health Care Right of Conscience Act has actually been a law since 1998 and was driven by healthcare providers having moral objections... Read More

As Illinois covid numbers continue to improve, pressure is mounting for Gov. JB Pritzker to remove the covid-19 restrictions and mask mandate which has been in place since August, but yesterday in a press conference Pritzker renewed the mask mandate and said it was still “way too early” to remove it. “If you go look at the hospitalizations — the new hospitalizations, as well as the ones that are, you know, existing in total — they are not dropping at the rate that they were dropping even a couple of weeks ago,” Pritzker said. “So I’m concerned about... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Good news this week for Illinois covid-19 numbers as Illinois became one of just six states nationwide to move from the high level of covid transmission (the highest) down to the substantial level. The state is now at 95 cases per 100,000 people; the cutoff for substantial is 100 per 100,000. The positive move has prompted speculation that the mask mandate and other restrictions Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker implemented late in the summer as numbers began to surge. “We’re watching to make sure that we’re on a good downward trajectory,” Pritzker said in a press conference. “That’s... Read More

Illinois schoolchildren ages 5-11 could be able to get the covid vaccine before the end of the year if the vaccine is approved as expected, according to reports. Pfizer and its German partner BioNtech have made a formal request to the Food and Drug Administration to extend emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. The two-dose vaccine is already authorized for children aged 12 to 15 and fully approved for ages 16 and up. If U.S. regulators approve the vaccine for younger children, schoolkids nationwide could begin getting shots before the end of the year. “We’re... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: With Gov. JB Pritzker’s covid restrictions still in place despite the virus’ numbers going down, the number of counterfeit covid-19 vaccination cards has increased in Illinois, and with that, the number of crackdowns on those cards. This week, an increasing number of counterfeit covid-19 vaccination cards in a shipment from China were seized by Chicago officials at O’Hare International Airport. Almost 50 of the counterfeit cards were taken, marking the second time in the past three weeks that a number of cards of that magnitude has been seized. U.S. Customs and... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: New Illinois covid numbers for the past week show modest improvement for the fourth consecutive week, but some schools are closing and going to remote learning and Gov. JB Pritkzer’s mitigations remain in place, with no indication of the mask mandate ending soon. Covid numbers statewide continued to show improvement over the month of September, as the positivity rate for last week, Sept. 27-Oct. 3, dropped to 2.7 percent statewide. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 18,735 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, along with 236 additional deaths and over 159,000... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: California is becoming the first state to mandate covid-19 vaccines for kids attending school once the shots are federally approved for their age groups, and with Illinois following many of the same paths as the most-populous U.S. state, could Illinois be next? Several school districts in California are already requiring the vaccine for students, and the statewide mandate will begin for grades 7-12, then move to K-6, by summer 2022, pending FDA approval of the vaccines for those age groups. “These requirements are working, across the country,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said.... Read More