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Sterling Fire Capt. Garrett Ramos among the fallen honored at 29th annual Illinois firefighter memorial ceremony

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Sterling Fire Capt. Garrett Ramos among the fallen honored at 29th annual Illinois firefighter memorial ceremony


Ramos was honored with the Gold Badge, which is given to households of fallen firefighters within the line of obligation. He additionally acquired the Firefighter Excellence Award.

SPRINGFIELD, Unwell. — Sterling Hearth Capt. Garrett Ramos was one in every of 4 firefighters posthumously honored Tuesday in Springfield, Illinois. The memorial companies had been a part of the twenty ninth annual Illinois Fallen Firefighter Memorial and Firefighting Medal of Honor Awards Ceremony.

Ramos died within the line of obligation on Dec. 4, 2021, whereas battling a fireplace in rural Rock Falls. Officers stated he was killed after a ground collapsed beneath him whereas he was contained in the burning constructing.

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Spouse of fallen Sterling firefighter asks departments to take accountability for errors made throughout deadly hearth

EMS crews tried life-saving measures on Ramos on the scene and en path to CGH Medical Heart the place medical doctors continued their efforts to no avail. He’s the primary line-of-duty dying within the historical past of the Sterling Hearth Division.

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Ramos’ relations, together with his spouse Brittney, had been current at Tuesday’s ceremonies the place they accepted the Line of Responsibility Dying Gold Badge in his honor. The badge is introduced to the households of firefighters who died whereas in, or because of, the efficiency of their obligation.

“Garrett was a pure chief, all the time uplifting these round him with contagious laughter and selfless care,” stated Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “He was a person of braveness and profound love. And as his kids develop up, they need to by no means doubt how proud he was to be their dad.”

The opposite three fallen firefighters honored with the Gold Badge had been:

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  • Firefighter/Paramedic Michael Pickering, Chicago Hearth Division
  • Firefighter MaShawn Plummer, Chicago Hearth Division
  • Firefighter Mehdi Mourad, Wabash Hearth Safety District

Ramos was additionally given the Firefighter Excellence Award which fellow Sterling firefighter Michael Liedberg accepted on his behalf. The dignity acknowledges an act of service within the line of obligation, demonstrating excellence and professionalism in service to Illinois residents.

“We categorical our everlasting gratitude for the sacrifices made by our Gold Badge households and we pray they’re granted power and serenity,” stated state Hearth Marshal Matt Perez. “We additionally elevate up their brothers and sisters on the Wabash, Sterling and Chicago hearth departments will persevere past these tragedies to proceed this legacy of selflessness. There aren’t any phrases able to filling the void that has been left in your hearts. However know that our brothers have left this earth doing what they had been born to do and what they liked to do.”

A number of different members of the Sterling Hearth Division, in addition to the Galesburg Hearth Division had been introduced with awards in the course of the ceremony.

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Sterling Lt. Adrian Avelar and firefighters Jeff Kimpel and Lucas Pfister had been awarded with the Medal of Valor, given to these for an act of heroism or bravery within the face of hazard.

Sterling firefighter Nick Hammer and Galesburg Capt. James Pendergast and Kyle Harms had been additionally awarded with the Firefighter Excellence Award.

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Galesburg firefighters Andrew Johnson, Kyle McGee and Anthony McKillip had been introduced with a Firefighter Excellence Unit Quotation Award, given to those that show excellence, teamwork and professionalism for an act of service.

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Illinois

House Democrats expected to vote on $53.1B budget as Republicans complains of overspending

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House Democrats expected to vote on $53.1B budget as Republicans complains of overspending


SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois House geared up Tuesday night to vote on a $53.1 billion state budget but planned to work into Wednesday to get the job done.

Legislative leaders expected that the House would adopt the plan which the Senate OK’d Sunday night. It’s $400 million more than Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed in February and raises taxes and makes other tax code changes to generate $1.2 billion to fund it.

“This budget is balanced, responsible and fair,” House Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Peoria Democrat, told the Executive Committee. “It invests in children, it invests in infrastructure, it also invests in our most vulnerable.”

Even though the Legislature has gone beyond its self-imposed adjournment deadline of May 24, lawmakers don’t expect conclusion until early Wednesday because of constitutional requirements on the number of days that legislation must be read publicly.

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Republicans complained that Democrats, who control the Legislature, are spending beyond their means and not preparing for what many predict are lean years ahead. Deputy House Republican Leader Norine Hammond of Macomb said she found at least $1 billion in spending that would be pushed off to the following fiscal year.

There’s a $350 million increase for elementary and secondary education, as prescribed by a 2017 school-funding overhaul, but a reduction from what was requested by the state education board in federally mandated school operations. The budget puts an additional $75 million for early childhood education, meaning 5,000 more seats, Gordon-Booth said.

The proposal to provide $182 million to fund services for tens of thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., largely bused from Texas, where they cross the border. And it provides $440 million for health care for noncitizens.

It also pays the state’s full obligation to its woefully underfunded pension funds and chips in an additional $198 million to the so-called rainy day fund to for an economic downturn.

Gordon-Booth said the proposal is just 1.6% more than what will be spent this year. Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, a Jacksonville Republican, noted that the budget is now $20 billion more than a decade ago. He criticized the transfer of dedicated funds, such as $150 million from the road fund and $50 million from a fund to clean up leaking underground storage tanks to shore up public transit.

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“I have a concerns that there are gimmicks in this budget that put us on a path to a giant collision in the future,” Davidsmeyer told Gordon-Booth. “I hope I don’t have to say, ‘I told you so’ when it happens.”

The business tax hikes in particular pushed the General Assembly past its adjournment deadline as lobbyists scrambled to limit the impact. But the spending plan raises $526 million by extending a cap on tax-deductible business losses at $500,000. There’s also a cap of $1,000 per month on the amount retail stores may keep for their expenses in holding back state sale taxes. That would bring in about $101 million.

And there would be $235 million more from increased sports wagering taxes and on video gambling. Pritzker wanted the tax, paid by casino sportsbooks, to jump from 15% to 35%, but it was set on a sliding scale from 20% to 40%.

Another Pritzker victory comes in the form of the elimination of the 1% tax on groceries, another of the governor’s inflation-fighting proposals. But because the tax directly benefits local communities, the budget plan would allow any municipality to create its own grocery tax up to 1% without state oversight.

And those with home-rule authority — generally, any city or county with a population exceeding $25,000, would be authorized to implement a sales tax up to 1% without submitting the question to voters for approval.

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Top seed Illinois falls to Georgia Tech in quarterfinals of NCAA men’s golf championships

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Top seed Illinois falls to Georgia Tech in quarterfinals of NCAA men’s golf championships


Another trip to match play in the NCAA men’s golf championships ended short of a national title for Illinois.

Coach Mike Small’s Illini — who earned the No. 1 seed by finishing 16 shots clear of the field after 72 holes of stroke play — lost 3-1 to eighth-seeded Georgia Tech in a quarterfinal match Tuesday morning in Carlsbad, Calif.

Max Herendeen, who tied for second Monday in the individual competition, was the only Illinois player to win his match, recording the day’s first point with a 5-and-4 rout of Carson Kim.

But the Yellow Jackets clinched the match with wins by Bartley Forrester over Tyler Goecke (3 and 1), Aidan Tran over Piercen Hunt (3 and 2) and NCAA individual champion Hiroshi Tai over Ryan Voois (3 and 2). That rendered Jackson Buchanan’s match against Georgia Tech’s Kale Fontenot moot.

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“For whatever reason we lost our way and started guiding it and started worrying about things,” Small said in a press release. “I think a lot of our guys fell back on some of the tendencies that they were getting better at all spring, and I think under the pressure and tension they reverted back to some of that stuff.

“We were in control of the match halfway through and the back nine is one we took care of all week, so maybe the pressure got to them and maybe they got ahead of themselves and were thinking of the outcome for whatever reason.”

This was Illinois’ ninth time qualifying for match play since the current format was adopted in 2009, and the Illini have made the NCAA championships 17 times and won 13 Big Ten titles in Small’s 25 years in charge. But they still are seeking the program’s first national championship.

Georgia Tech moved on to a semifinal match later Tuesday against No. 5 seed Florida State, a 3-1 winner over fourth-seeded North Carolina.

No. 6 seed Auburn faced No. 7 Ohio State in the other semifinal as all four quarterfinals were won by the lower seed. The Tigers beat third-seeded Virginia 3-1, while the Buckeyes advanced with a 3-1-1 victory over second-seeded Vanderbilt.

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The championship match is Wednesday at La Costa (6 p.m. CDT, Golf Channel).



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Oldest Farmers Market In Illinois To Reopen For 113th Season

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Oldest Farmers Market In Illinois To Reopen For 113th Season


AURORA, IL — The Aurora Farmers Market, said to be the oldest in the state, will reopen June 1 for its 113th season.

New vendors will join dozens of returning farmers and fan favorites from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday at Water Street Square, 65 S. Water St., across from City Hall. The season will run through Oct. 5.

To mark the new season, the city will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. Saturday. The inaugural market day will also feature entertainment for children from Miss Jaime from the Farm at 10 a.m., live music from Nick Scarpinato, and a petting zoo courtesy of Phillips Park Zoo, officials said.

Similar to years past, the Aurora Farmers Market is partnering with Link Up Illinois and Ascension Mercy’s Fresh First Program. The partnerships, respectively, double the value of Link/EBT purchases and provide vouchers for children on select days throughout the season.

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