CARBONDALE, Ill. (HEARTLAND NEWS) – Aviation enthusiasts, families, and community members soared into a night of celebration as the Southern Illinois Airport Authority marked a major milestone.

The Southern Illinois Airport Authority (SIAA) hosted its Big Bang Birthday Bash on Saturday, June 27, 2026. This celebrating 76 years of aviation history with food, games, community fun and a massive fireworks display.

The festivities began at 6 p.m. at the Southern Illinois Airport in Carbondale, with fireworks lighting up the night sky after dark.

For more than seven decades, the Southern Illinois Airport has served as a gateway to the region, helping connect Southern Illinois residents to destinations near and far while supporting education, business, and aviation training opportunities.

Organizers invited the public to help celebrate the airport’s 76th birthday with an evening designed for all ages.

Whether guests were longtime aviation fans or simply looking for a fun summer outing, the event promised plenty of runway-worthy entertainment.

The highlight of the evening was a large fireworks display expected to illuminate the skies above the airport after sunset.

Attendees were encouraged to arrive early, set up lawn chairs and enjoy the festivities before the fireworks take flight.

The show will provided a fitting finale to an evening celebrating the airport’s legacy and future.

Visitors also enjoyed food and drink specials from St. Nick’s Restaurant, helping keep guests fueled throughout the celebration.

Games and family-friendly activities were also planned, entertaining children and adults alike.

The birthday bash served as both a celebration of aviation and a thank-you to the community that has supported the airport throughout its history.

Officials say the event offerd a chance to reflect on the airport’s contributions to Southern Illinois while bringing residents together for an evening of summertime fun.

A new Illinois law will target so-called “super-speeders,” requiring them to install speed-limiting devices in their vehicles if they commit multiple road violations.

Under provisions of HB 4948, which Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law on Friday, the state will introduce the “Intelligent Speed Assistance Program,” designed to replace license suspension with a different alternative for drivers.

According to the text of the law, the program will require drivers who have committed two qualifying speeding or reckless driving offenses within a 12-month period to install a speed-limiting device on their vehicles, which will prevent them from exceeding the speed limit.

Drivers would have up to 14 days after their second violation to obtain a permit for the device and to have it installed, and would be issued a restricted driver’s license that only permits them to operate vehicles with the device installed.

The measure officially goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2028, and passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly by large majorities.

Virginia and Washington have already passed similar laws according to the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and Illinois officials are touting the legislation as a more effective alternative to license suspension.

The devices are similar to ignition interlock devices that require drivers to prove they aren’t under the influence of alcohol before they operate a vehicle, according to experts.

Persons enrolled in the program will pay all costs associated with enrollment and participation, with exceptions for low-income residents, according to the text of the legislation.

The policy proposal comes due to a rise in vehicle accidents and speed-related fatalities, according to researchers. According to the text of the legislation, approximately 75% of drivers with suspended licenses continue to drive, citing the National Cooperative Highway Research Program.

Speeding is a contributing factor in an estimated 29% of all traffic fatalities, resulting in 12,000 deaths annually according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Illinois lawmakers call fines, licenses points and suspensions “insufficient” in addressing the problem of chronic speeding, and the devices would be aimed at improving driver safety while also allowing drivers to continue operating their vehicles even after multiple traffic offenses, rather than suspending their licenses outright.

Washington lawmakers cited data showing year-over-year increases in speeding-related fatalities since 2019 when they passed their version of the bill last year.

Is housing discrimination illegal even if the action wasn’t intended?

According to the Fair Housing Act, yes.

Should the federal government go after errant housing providers in those scenarios? Well, that depends on the president.

In 2013, Barack Obama codified what’s known as the “disparate impact” rule, in other words, recognizing discriminatory practices not motivated by discriminatory intent. The Biden administration reinstated the rule. Now President Donald Trump seeks to roll it back by preventing agencies from investigating housing discrimination complaints.

Still, the disparate impact remains legal — federally and locally. And Illinois ensured extra protections by codifying disparate impact into state law. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has reduced the workforce in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is antagonistic toward fair housing.

Let’s go back to the legal origins. In 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. spent time in the city for the Chicago Freedom Movement, which protested housing segregation and slums. Part of that campaign sent Black people to real estate offices, and agents told them they had no listings. Soon after, the campaign sent white people to the same offices, and agents gave them listings. After King’s assassination in 1968, Congress quickly passed the Fair Housing Act. The civil rights law prohibited discrimination against people trying to rent or buy a home. Race, sex and national origin are among the protected classes.

Today that King campaign is called “testing,” and fair housing organizations continue the practice. They send two people — one pair Black and one pair white — with otherwise similar profiles to visit the same housing provider. The volunteers are trained to see how they are treated and report back if discrimination occurs. State and local fair housing centers do a variety of education and fight discrimination — to the chagrin of the Trump administration, which has also sought to gut their funding. To advance fair housing, HUD is a primary source of financing. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with other states, filed a lawsuit to challenge the attacks. Some contracts have been reinstated, but not every center received back money.

“A lot of our worst fears have kind of already happened. We know that it’s going to take at least a decade to rebuild the federal infrastructure to what it was before with the number of federal workers,” said Emily Coffey of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. “What we had a couple of years ago was never enough. We are still one of the most segregated cities in the country. What worries me the most is that we won’t be able to sustain what we have, and rebuilding that is so much more challenging than just weathering a storm.”

To counter the political climate, fair housing groups have formed the Illinois Housing Equity Collective, which seeks $5 million from the state for fair housing enforcement. So far philanthropy has contributed to the collective.

Michael Chavarria leads HOPE Fair Housing Center, which serves DuPage and Kane counties and parts of Northern Illinois. The mixed messaging from the federal government has prevented growth and also caused rearranging their budget while waiting on reimbursements. He doesn’t want to tap into reserves to cover a bill when the federal government promised that money.

“Just last year we held over 40 events that were targeted at training individuals, be it housing seekers, housing providers, local government. We reached about 3,500 people through our online educational campaigns. We reached almost 750,000 people across Illinois. So we really aim to prevent discrimination by making sure everyone knows their rights and responsibilities. We do not want to have to sue people,” Chavarria said.

Illinois finds itself once again on the front lines of protecting residents — see reproductive, immigration or First Amendment rights. And now must add fair housing, which Trump pushed against just last week by refusing to sign a bipartisan housing affordability bill.

The reason? He first wants Congress to approve the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE America Act — legislation designed to create more inequity and burn democracy to the ground.

Natalie Y. Moore is a senior lecturer at Northwestern University.