Durbin pledges support for West Central Illinois
Patrick Stout, Voice Correspondent
MACOMB U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate Majority Whip, met Wednesday with 46 members of the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce via ZOOM from his office in Chicago. He said that he would later be traveling to Springfield and then to Bloomington to tour the former Mitsubishi plant.
Durbin said the Biden administration s American Rescue Plan would deliver $13.7 billion in state and local dollars, with $5.7 million going to McDonough County. I think we re on the road to being back in business, he said.
Brad Bainter of Western Illinois University told Durbin that rural poverty has now surpassed urban poverty in Illinois. He said more money is needed for four-year colleges and universities, especially if President Joe Biden succeeds in making community colleges tuition-free.
Macomb Shared Community Action Statement on D Chauvin Verdict mcdonoughvoice.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mcdonoughvoice.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Business celebrates Black History Month
The McDonough County Voice
The Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce just sent me an email with a list of four webinars that will be offered this month to recognize some of the 132,000 Black businesses in Illinois. These webinars have been developed by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois Central Management Services, and the Chicago Urban League.
Here s a list of dates and topics:
Thursday, February 11 at 10 a.m., Celebrating the History of the Black Business will feature interviews with entrepreneurs telling how they got started.
Thursday, February 18 at 2 p.m., Black Access to Capital will feature bankers discussing how to get access to mortgage loans, small business loans, development capital, and government procurement.
Patrick Stout
Voice Correspondent
MACOMB In a letter Wednesday to her membership, Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce Director Lauren Merritt said our region could be taken out of Illinois Department of Public Health Tier 3 coronavirus mitigations starting January 15 if we meet the metrics required for a reduction. Merritt said her information is based on word from the office of Governor J.B. Pritzker.
The chamber executive said that, to drop back to IDPH Tier 2, our region must have a less than 12 percent positivity rate for three consecutive days, declining COVID-19 hospitalizations for seven out of 10 days, and a greater than 20 percent availability in intensive care unit capacity and bed availability.