Coal woes, road plans shape Johns and Buzbee agenda
Senators Gene Johns and Kenneth Buzbee push for jobs in Southern Illinois through coal research funding and road building. They spar over severance taxes, consider oil and gas taxes, and explore a unified senior transportation network while resisting changes to university pay rules and broad tax shifts. Both see transportation and small business support as keys, with caution on midyear reforms.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Evan M. Davis
Gene Johns
Marion Democrat
Illinois
General Assembly
Johns
Kenneth Buzbee
Carbondale
James Thompson
Buzbee
Thompson
Trans
Departments of Aging
Illinois Office of Education
Tion Network
Dry year drains area lakes but water supply stays secure
A record hot, dry year has reduced lake levels across southern Illinois but major suppliers say shortages are unlikely in the near term. Marion's reservoir fell sharply, prompting pumped transfers from Crab Orchard Lake. Cedar Lake and others show declines yet remain above critical lows. Local officials warn continued drought could tighten supplies if rain remains scant.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cathy A. Monroe
Marion
Crab Orchard Lake
Jim Swayze
Swayze
Old City
Evergreen Terrace
Cedar Lake
Bend and Kinkaid Lakes
Kinkaid
Bob Chapman
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Lake of Egypt
Dale Shadowens
Shadowers
Adams
National Weather Service
St. Louis
Dennis McCarthy
McCarthy
Southern Illinois
Don Semancik
Cairo
Semancik
Illinois House members push coal and road funding agenda
Southern Illinois lawmakers head to Springfield with aims to boost coal research and shield downstate highways from RTA costs while debating a raise in the gasoline tax to 10 percent of the base price. They seek tax relief ideas, school funding shifts, and reforms to workmen’s compensation and inheritance taxes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Evan M. Davis
Southern Illinoisan
Southern Illinois
Illinois House
Springfield
Regional Transportation Authority
RTA
Ralph Dunn
R.du Quoin
Chicago
Rights group regains Marion prison access
Three members of the Marion Prisoners Rights Project in Car bondale won temporary access to the federal Marion prison. The Seventh Circuit blocked the warden from barring project lawyers Martha Easter-Wells Jacqueline Abel and paralegal Janet Mitchell from visiting clients during the ongoing strike. The ruling overturns a lower court decision, and the injunction remains pending appeal disposition.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jim Santori
Southern Illinoisan
Marion
Carbondale
U.S. Court of Appeals of the
Seventh Circuit
U.S. Penitentiary
Project
U.S. District Court
Martha Easter-Wells
Jacqueline Abel
Janet Mitchell
Ups and downs at the airport
Ben Gelman critiques airport news coverage and political optics. He contrasts Warren Christopher and Ronald Reagan moments at airports with the public’s craving for substantive reporting over staged footage, urging clearer, quieter moments of real news rather than flashy arrivals.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Christopher
Reagan
Warren Christopher
Southern Illinois faces drought risk amid tight soil and variable rains
Jackson County Extension Adviser Robert Frank notes rainfall is 13 inches below average as of January. He warns spring rains must be heavy to rehydrate tight soils, while central Illinois soils allow deeper root growth and better moisture access. A steady summer rainfall of about an inch per week is needed to sustain crops.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ann Schottman Knol
Illinois
Jackson County Extension
Robert Frank
Central
Frank
Also Mentioned on This Page
Illinois Board of Higher Education
IBHE
Southern Illinois University
Higher Education Board
Southern Mindsan
ED Greer
Glenn Clarida
Vienna
Lee Faulkner
Faulkner
Pinckneyville
Sparta
Kaskaskia River
Jim Lenington
Refuge
Wayne Adams
C.L. McCormick
Department of Transportation
James Rea
Wayne Alstat
Vergennes
Dunn
Robert Winchester
Bruce Richmond
D-Murphysboro
Rea
Perry County
United Mine Workers
Winchester
Richmond
Alstat
McCormick
Maurice Scott
The
Taxpayers Federation
Alternative Energies
Winchester State
Parks
Illinois 13
Rights Group
Ben Gelman
State Department
U.S
Iran
Algiers
Television Evening News
Ronald Reagan
California
Washington, D.C
Washington
Byline
B.G
President Carter
Carter
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