Rich Egger

Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas told a standing room only crowd in the University Union that WIU takes pride in having avoided layoffs and furloughs despite the state’s financial woes over the past decade.

An organizer of the Cornfed Film Fest in Macomb said the event’s future depends on whether the community gets more involved with it.

The panelists discuss a recent controversy at a law school that initially prevented the student newspaper from printing a story.

The Pioneer Log covered an appearance at Lewis & Clark Law School by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. But The Oregonian reported school administrators insisted the story needed to be cleared by the Supreme Court’s press office before it could be published.

Friends of the Macomb Public Library District will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a dinner followed by a presentation from author John Hallwas.

The Best of Fest honor at the second annual Cornfed Film Fest in Macomb went to Class C – The Only Game in Town.  The movie follows several girls’ basketball teams from tiny, rural communities in Montana as they compete for the state title. It includes insight from Hall of Fame basketball coach Phil Jackson, who grew up in Montana.

Documentaries were also honored in two other categories. Chasing Water, which follows the Colorado River to the point where it dries up in the southwestern desert, was chosen Best Short Film.

Two school districts in western Illinois are now on the verge of creating a new athletic co-op.

The West Prairie School Board approved the co-op during a special meeting on April 11. The Bushnell-Prairie City School Board will be asked to do likewise during its regular meeting in April.

The districts already co-op boy’s and girl’s track and will continue to do so. The new agreement will add football, baseball, and softball beginning in the 2014-15 school year.

It’s possible neither of the people most affected by the outcome of the “50% Plus One” case in Macomb will be in court to hear the judge’s ruling.

Judge Rodney Clark announced he will rule Friday, April 26, on whether Western Illinois University student Steve Wailand defeated Kay Hill in the February election for second ward alderman in Macomb.

The Shop Talk panelists discuss political blogger Andrew Sullivan’s decision to charge readers to subscribe to his blog.

NPR’s Planet Money team reported Sullivan is charging $19.99 or more per year for subscriptions. It quoted him as saying, “It was either quit blogging, or suck it up and become a businessman.”

Judge Rodney Clark decided Monday (April 8) to give the City of Macomb extra time to gather more evidence as it tries to defend the ruling made in the February 26 election between Steve Wailand and Kay Hill.

The hearing has been continued until April 26, 9:00am, at the McDonoough County Courthouse. Clark said he would make a ruling on the case on that day.

The delay won’t impact the matter of who is seated to the position because aldermen are not sworn in until the city council’s first meeting in May.

Activists believe there continue to be healthcare disparities that impact racial and ethnic minorities.

But Byron Oden-Shabazz, intern for the Western Illinois University Center for the Studies of Masculinities and Men’s Development, said studies have shown two-thirds of Americans are unaware of the disparities.

“If we are going to have a healthy healthcare system, we (must) learn how to treat all people,” said Oden-Shabazz.