LOUISVILLE…State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) has become aware of a memo to the Governor’s Cabinet Directors on Monday that directs state agencies under the control of the governor to plan for a 6.5 % reduction in budgets for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. The joint memo came from the Deputy Governor for the Budget & Economy and the Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. The document also asks for suggestions on which state boards and commissions could be eliminated from the Illinois bureaucracy.
Illinois Revenue Announces Tax Amnesty Program
Program begins October 1, 2019 and runs until November 15, 2019
SPRINGFIELD - Illinois taxpayers who incurred tax liabilities between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2018 may be eligible for the one-time tax amnesty program. Beginning October 1, 2019, eligible taxpayers who pay their eligible tax liabilities in full will have associated penalties and interest waived. Taxpayers have until November 15, 2019 to make a full payment on their liabilities and file the required paperwork with the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).
Rep. Bailey Attends Hearing on Medical Care for Children & Young Adults in State Custody
LOUISVILLE…State Rep. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) joined his legislative colleagues in Chicago on Tuesday for a joint hearing focused on issues with the state’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Officials with DCFS, Department of Human Services (DHS) and IlliniCare, testified in front of a combined House Adoption and Child Welfare Committee and Appropriations – Human Services Committee on their preparedness to transition medical care management of foster children and young adults in state custody.
USA Archery North Region 3D Archery Championship at SIC Sept. 28-29
HARRISBURG, Ill. (Sept. 13, 2019) – The 2019 USA Archery Collegiate 3D North Regional Championship will take place September 28-29 on Southeastern Illinois College’s campus at the Archery Center.
This is the first year that SIC has hosted this two-day tournament through USA Archery. USA Archery and SIC inked a two-year agreement for SIC to be the host college for the 3D North Regional. USA Archery is the governing body of collegiate archery.
Varsity squads from major Division I colleges and universities across the region have been invited to attend the weekend, with competition beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday and again at 8 a.m. on Sunday. The public is invited to participate in the tournament as spectators.
In its first seven years of competition, SIC’s archery team has collected 16 divisional national championships and two high overall average national championships, while crowning 20 All-Americans and four Academic All-Americans.
For additional information about the tournament, registration or sponsorships, please contact Alli Armstrong at (618) 252-5400, ext. 2104 or alli.armstrong@sic.edu.
IEPA’s Office of Energy Awards Grant to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Project Will Deliver Solar, Energy Storage and Communication Resilience
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director John J. Kim has announced that the Agency’s Office of Energy has issued a $900,000 grant award to SIU Carbondale for a unique solar photovoltaic plus energy storage and communication resiliency project. The SIU Solar + Storage project will feature more than 150kW of solar generation and 310kWh of storage capacity in a highly-visible section of campus at the SIU College of Engineering.
As proposed, this project will: reduce SIU’s demand on the grid; serve as an important educational tool to the College of Engineering; and add resilience to the electricity and communications infrastructure of SIU and the surrounding Carbondale community. The SIU Solar + Storage project is the first investment of its kind by Illinois EPA’s Office of Energy and designed to be replicated and applied to other contexts and potential future investments across Illinois in and out of the higher education setting.
“The SIU Solar + Storage project will provide energy savings and emergency communications resiliency for the campus and Carbondale community as well as enhance educational opportunities for the University’s College of Engineering,” said Director Kim. “Illinois EPA looks forward to watching the project evolve as students engage with the technology from different perspectives.”
There are two other important components of the project. First, solar powered long-term evolution (LTE) communication modules will sustain cellular communication for the SIU police department, the Carbondale police department, and the Carbondale fire department in the event of power disruption. Second, the project intends to demonstrate that photovoltaic (PV) systems with energy storage provide a viable alternative when selecting backup power sources for small-scale applications. This will be achieved by closely monitoring the operation of the battery storage backup in response to utility power disruption.
The Office of Energy is working closely with the SIU Office of Sponsored Programs, the SIU Physical Plant Engineering Services, and the College of Engineering to design an impactful project with meaningful educational opportunities for engineering and communications students.
