Friday, July 18, 2025

The Iroquois County Fair continues today. Fair Publicity Director Debbie Krones has the details on some of today’s events.

The Iroquois County Fair runs through Sunday at the fairgrounds just outside  Crescent City.

Despite recent rainfall, drought concerns continue to grow around the area.  The latest map just released Thursday by the US Drought Monitor puts 47 percent of Kankakee County in the “moderate drought” category, up from just 19 percent last week. The rest of the County is considered to be just “abnormally dry”. Iroquois County is unchanged from last week, with just six percent of the county  in “moderate drought” and the rest “abnormally dry”. Ford County is also unchanged from last week at 34 percent in “moderate drought”. Meanwhile, nearly 60 percent of Will County is listed as in “severe drought” with the rest of the county in “moderate drought”

Across the state line, about 27 percent of Newton County, 85 percent of Benton County and 38 percent of Jasper County are considered to be in “moderate drought” with the rest of those counties listed as “abnormally dry”. The map includes data gathered by the US Drought Monitor through Tuesday of this week.

The Lown Institute, which describes itself as “a nonpartisan think tank advocating bold ideas for a just and caring system for health” recently recognized St. Mary’s hospital for achievements in its commitment to “delivery high quality, equitable care” to the community. St. Mary’s earned A grades in the Lown Institute 2025-26 Hospitals Index for pay equity, health equity, patient safety and inclusivity.

Haas announced re-election bid

79th District State Representative Jackie Haas has announced she’s running for re-election. In a press release, Haas said “now more than ever Illinois families are counting every dollar. Families need leaders who will fight to make life more affordable, make our communities safer and who will work to bring better opportunities to Illinois”. Haas has represented the 79th District since December of 2020.

The number of jobs in Illinois continues to set records.  The state Department of Employment Security says non-farm payroll jobs reached a record high last month, increasing by 94-hundred to six-point-one-seven-five-million.  That beat the previous record set in March.  The unemployment rate dropped to four-point-six-percent in June, the lowest unemployment rate since August 2023.