OVERWHELMING SUPPORT SHOWN FOR PONTIAC PRISON…. MORE THAN 2000 ATTEND HEARING TO “Save the Prison”…. YATES ANNOUNCES FOR MAYOR IN KANKAKEE…..

A chance of morning showers today, then a 30% chance of afternoon showers and T-storms. High near 84.

–Area news available on the links at WGFARADIO.COM–

• Emotions ran high at a Pontiac Prison hearing last evening. Over 2,000 people showed their support for the prison facility. The state’s closure hearing for the prison had an overflow crowd at the Pontiac High School. Illinois Corrections Director Roger Walker said closing the old prison and opening a new one in northern Illinois makes sense. But Senator Christine Radogno can’t figure out why the state wants to close the facility and couldn’t figure out why we’re at the hearing, because so much of the talk from the DOC is nonsense. She said there’s a credibility problem in what lawmakers and the commission have been told.
• Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy, state rep Shane Cultra and senators Dan Rutherford and Gary Dahl were impressed with the turnout and show of support for the prison. McCoy called it a “massive show of support.”
• A Congressional Candidates Farm Forum is scheduled tomorrow in Kankakee County. The 8 am event is at the Langman Farm, just east of the Route 1 and 17 intersection. Candidates include State Senator Debbie Halvorson, Marty Ozinga, and Jason Wallace.
• Nickey Yates has declared himself a candidate for mayor in Kankakee. He’ll be a Democratic candidate, challenging already-announced Republican candidates Tim Schmidt and alderwoman Nina Epstein. Mayor Don Green announced earlier he would not be a candidate for a 5th term.
• Iroquois County CRP acres have been released for emergency haying or grazing. Farm Service Agency Director James Brock said certain Conservation Reserve Program acres are eligible due to the county having been designated a Presidential Disaster Area due to the flooding early in the year. More info is available at the FSA office.

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