Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • A4

1 A4 Thursday, april 21, 2022 decaTur herald review GRACE KINNICUTT Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD Gov. J.B. Pritzker officially lifted the state requirement that face coverings be worn on public transportation Wednesday after a federal judge overturned the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mask mandate. U.S.

District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle of the Mid- dle District of Florida ruled on Monday that the federal mask mandate was unlawful since it exceeds the authority of the CDC. The ruling comes about a week after the CDC extended the mask mandate through May 3. Masks are no longer required on public transit, in public tran- sit hubs or at airports, but local governments still have the right to maintain their own face cov- ering requirements on public transportation. order now only re- quires masks where they are federally mandated, as well as in congregate facilities and health care settings. proud of the work our state has done to fight COVID-19 and protect our most Pritzker said in a news release.

continue to urge Illinoisans to follow CDC guidelines and, most importantly, get vaccinated to protect yourself and Following announce- ment on Tuesday about revising mask requirements, the Chicago Metra and CTA announced that masks will no longer be required, effective immediately. The Chi- cago Department of Aviation, which oversees and Mid- way International Airports, also announced that masks are no longer required. A number of major U.S. airlines such as Delta, United and South- west immediately dropped the requirement following the court ruling as well. The CDC continues to recom- mend face coverings for those who are immunocompromised, people who be vaccinated and in areas of high transmission.

Amaal Tokars, acting direc- tor of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said in a news release that the department continues to closely monitor COVID-19 cases throughout the state and is working with local public health partners to keep the public informed. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 3,931 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and nine deaths on Wednesday, the highest one-day case count since Feb. 11. There were 568 individuals hospital- ized for COVID-19 as of Tuesday night, 61 in intensive care beds and 29 on ventilators, all of which remained near pandemic lows. More than 21 million vaccine doses have been administered with about of Illinois resi- dents age 5 and over fully vacci- nated against COVID-19.

best way to protect yourself and your loved ones is to remain up-to-date on your vaccinations, and that includes booster shots, especially for those who are at risk for more severe health Tokars said. Public transit mask rule lifted Pritzker makes state ruling official after federal action CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS Gov. J.B. pritzker is pictured in a capitol News illinois file photo. TAYLOR VIDMAR taylor.vidmar@lee.net DECATUR What seems to be a likely win for Vivian Goodman in the District 1 race for Macon County Board has come with a cost she will no longer be a member of the Macon County Board of Health.

Goodman, who is currently president of the board of health, was not considered to retain her seat when her term expires in May. That revelation came to light after the Macon County Board voted last week to replace Good- man and another member of the health board, Dr. Janet Patterson, with two new members when their terms expire on May 31. Goodman and Patterson are two of three members whose terms are set to expire, along with Dr. Bret Jerger, who was was reappointed to his position by the county board.

The county board voted to re- place Goodman with nurse practi- tioner Carolyn Wagner of Forsyth and Patterson with Dr. Jerry Sny- der of Decatur. Their three-year appointments will expire in May 2025. County Board Chairman Kevin Greenfield said Wednesday that his reasoning for replacing the two members included avoiding po- tential conflicts with the board of bylaws, as well as getting more healthcare professionals on the health board. I can replace someone on the health department board with a doctor, a nurse, it seems to me like that makes pretty good Greenfield said.

Greenfield said he believes Goodman will win her election in November because the Republi- can party will not be running an opponent in her race. The ballot currently includes three Demo- crat candidates for three available seats. The board of health bylaws state that only one county board member can serve on the board of health at a time, Greenfield said, and current county board mem- ber Jeff Entler already serves on the board of health. will be on the county board come Greenfield said. just made sense to me to go ahead and take her off now than do it later, espe- cially since I had a doctor that was willing to go on But Goodman said she should be able to continue serving on the board of health until she is officially elected to a new position remove me in November after I she said, adding that she does not have any proof of the bylaw requiring only one county board member on the board of health.

sorry, but to me, no, just not As for Patterson, Greenfield cited what he said were sched- uling conflicts with job, adding that she had missed recent board meetings. Patterson immediately available for comment. The county board approve the new members without hearing any recommendations from the health nominating com- mittee. Goodman and Patterson will continue to serve through the end of May, but the Macon County Board website has already been updated with their information. As it turns out, there is another vacancy on the board needing to be filled.

During board of health meeting, Macon County public health director Brandi Bin- kley said been notified by health board treasurer Sue Krows that she would be resigning from the health board, effective imme- diately. This leaves open a position with a term expiring in May 2023. When asked during meeting if she would be inter- ested in filling the open position, Patterson said she would defer to Goodman. would stay on, but I think Vivian has really earned the right to stay on over Patterson said. served us well as Goodman told the Herald Review on Wednesday that she is still interested in remaining on the health board.

Health board Vice President Mark Scranton made a motion for members to provide names of people who could potentially fill the vacancy to the nominat- ing committee for consideration before next meeting. The motion passed. The nominating committee will review any interested parties and bring back recommendations to the full health board next month. ROB STROUD rob.stroud@lee.net CHARLESTON The Eastern Illinois University Board of Trust- ees is scheduled Friday to vote on a proposal to rename Douglas Hall as Powell-Norton Hall in honor of two prominent figures from Black history at this school. President David Glassman, with the support of the Council, has proposed this new name in honor of Zella Powell and Ona Norton after the EIU Naming Committee voted in April 2021 to recommend a change and then considered various options.

The recommendation reasoning cited support of slav- ery by Douglas namesake, U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas from Illinois. The Powell-Norton Hall rec- ommendation said Zella Powell is believed to be first Black graduate, earning a degree from Eastern State Normal School in 1910. family migrated from the south in the mid-1800s and became one of the founding families of Mattoon.

Her fam- ily owned a number of small businesses, and Zella grew up in what was described as a inent middle-class The recommendation said her family endured many acts of discrimi- nation but persevered. After graduating, Powell had a long career as an educator in Mattoon and then in Chicago. The recommendation said her achievements inspired her daughter, who obtained a mas- in library science from the University of Michigan. daughter and son-in-law helped establish the Charles Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Zella last name as part of this residence hall enables EIU to honor a pio- neering family in Coles County while also honoring first Black rec- ommendation said.

Regarding Ona Norton, the recommendation said she was the matriarch of a cherished Black family in Charleston. In the 1950s, when it was diffi- cult for students of color to find off-campus housing in Charles- ton, she and her husband were approached by football coach about providing housing for some of his Black players. The Nortons agreed and took in seven students in that first year. The Nortons gradually ex- panded the number of students they helped, eventually acquir- ing additional houses near cam- pus in which to board them. In addition, the recommenda- tion noted that the chamber of commerce named Norton their of the in 1967 for her community involvement.

She was active with the Charles- ton Senior Center, Wesley United Methodist Church and the Charleston Civic Association. Although not a graduate of EIU, she did attend some classes there before getting married in 1913. Ona last name as part of this residence hall enables EIU to honor a pillar of the Charleston com- munity who was instrumental in providing for the housing needs of Black students, includ- ing student athletes. Douglas Hall today provides housing to a significant number of stu- recommendation said. Douglas Hall is an all male residence hall at Eastern.

Doug- las Hall, along with connecting Lincoln Hall, was named in 1951 in commemoration of the famous debates between Douglas and Abraham Lincoln during their 1858 senate race. One of those debates was held in Charleston. The main debate topic was the expansion of slavery in the new U.S. terri- tories, which Douglas supported. The board is scheduled to hold its regular monthly meeting at 1 p.m.

Friday in the Grand Ball- room at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The agenda reports that the board will hold a period of public comment before taking action on the name change recommendation. contact rob stroud at 217-238-6861. EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY Douglas Hall name up for vote proposed to honor Black heritage JG-TC FILE PHOTO douglas hall at eastern illinois university in charleston is undergoing a process that will lead to a change in its name.

So many people to thank but I know where to start, so many wonderful memories and bonds that I will cherish for a lifetime. I would like to thank my coaches, mentors, team- mates and family for supporting me throughout this journey and offering unconditional love. I would also like to thank Illini Na- tion for welcoming me with open arms and bringing that electrify- ing energy every game. To play in the NBA has been a dream of mine, and I truly think time for me to take that next Cockburn was leading scorer (20.9 points per game) and rebounder (10.6 rebounds per game) in 2021-22. Cockburn scored 1,546 points and had 861 rebounds in 90 games over three seasons for the Illini.

He finishes his career 11th on the Illinois scoring list and third all-time in rebounds. a great day that a kid, came here as a young guy and been in a high school all star game, leaves here as a two- time All American, one of the most celebrated players in our in our coach Brad Under- wood said. jersey will hang here. accomplished so much and for him to reach his dreams, and chase his dreams, is what this is all His departure puts more pres- sure on Baylor sit out transfer Dain Dainja, who will be a favorite to start at center with Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk unless the Illini get a big to start from the transfer portal. be a changing of the guard regardless for the Illini, who will lose at least four starters with guards Trent Frazier, Alfonso Plummer and Williams all graduating.

The fifth starter, Jacob Grandison, an- nounced a decision to return for a sixth year of COVID eligibility. Replacing those players will be Dainja and returning wings Coleman Hawkins, RJ Melendez and Luke Goode. Hawkins played some minutes as a reserve five- man last season in five-out line- ups that could be more prevalent without Cockburn. A top-10 recruiting class soft- ens the blow somewhat of all those departures with five-star point guard Skyy Clark entering the fold with four-stars Ty Rod- gers, Sencire Harris and Jayden Epps. Now Cockburn turns to the NBA Draft process.

He is 89th on Draft top-100 list of prospects and will fight for a late second round spot or a two-way contract in the NBA. young person no matter what their degree, comes to col- lege with the mindset of chasing a goal and chasing a Un- derwood said. what Kofi is Follow anderson Kimball on Twitter at: by andy Kimball Cockburn From A1 MACON COUNTY Health board members given no choice to continue serving.