STATE

Effort to raise smoking age to 21 fails

Teenagers can continue to buy cigarettes and tobacco products in Illinois, if they are at least 18 years old. Efforts to raise the age to 21 to legally buy tobacco failed in the Illinois House last week.

The House fell nine votes short of the 71 votes needed to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the legislation known as Tobacco 21.

The bill would have required someone to be 21 to legally purchase tobacco products, alternative nicotine products and electronic cigarettes.

The failure to override the veto was not unexpected. The bill passed the House in May with only 61 votes, and supporters knew it would be difficult to find an additional 10 votes for an override. Supporters said they will try again next year.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Young hunters can register for Youth Goose Hunt

Youth interested in participating in the annual Central Illinois Youth Goose Hunt, sponsored by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), may register now for the hunt scheduled for Jan. 20-21.

To register for a drawing to participate in the hunt, youth hunters must phone in to the IDNR at 217-785-8060 by the registration deadline of Dec. 28.

The youth goose hunt will be held at private waterfowl hunting clubs in the Canton area in Fulton County.

A lottery drawing involving all youth who phone in to register will be conducted on Jan. 2, and youth hunters selected will be notified by mail.  First-time applicants will be given a priority over previous participants in the drawing.

The hunt is open to youth ages 10-17 at the time of the hunt.  All applicants must possess a valid Illinois hunting or sportsman’s license, have a Harvest Information Program registration number, and have a 20-gauge or larger shotgun. Youth hunt participants must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who must possess a valid firearm owner’s identification card.

To register for the hunt or for more information, call 217-785-8060. 

PEORIA

Two Warehouse District projects get city OK

The Peoria City Council recently approved a re-development agreement for two properties in the Warehouse District. One is the current builder’s warehouse location on Southwest Washington street. The other property is the old Ingersoll building owned by Larry Winkler, the developer of Winkler Lofts. Both buildings will include residential and commercial space.

Former Obama aide to address MLK luncheon

The speaker for the 27th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Luncheon, to be held Jan. 11, has been announced. It is Valerie B. Jarrett, senior advisor to the Obama Foundation. The luncheon is scheduled for noon Jan. 21 at the Peoria Civic Center. Doors will open at 11 a.m. Tickets are $50 a person, or $500 for tables of 10. 

Jarrett is also a senior distinguished fellow at the University of Chicago Law School. She serves on the boards of Ariel Investments, 2U, Lyft, and the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Jarrett was the longest serving senior advisor to President Barack Obama. She oversaw the Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs and Chaired the White House Council on Women and Girls.

Jarrett has also received numerous awards and honorary degrees, including TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” as well as the Abner J. Mikva Legal Legends Award.

Tickets are available at mlkluncheon.com, or can be purchased by checks payable to PECC and mailed to P.O. Box 1312, Peoria, 61654. For more information, call 309-453-4070.

Civic chorale to present An American Family Christmas

The Peoria Area Civic Chorale, featuring soloist Penelope Shumate, will present its An American Family Christmas concert series at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14-Dec. 15 and 3 p.m. Dec. 16 at Five Points Washington, 360 N. Wilmor Road, Washington.

The concert will include contemporary arrangements of classic Christmas carols, such as “The Holly and the Ivy,” “The First Noel,” and “Silent Night” and the spiritual, “Come and See the Baby.” The chorale also will perform secular holiday favorites including “Let It Snow,” “Sleigh Ride” and “Winter Wonderland.” A string quartet including Grammy-winning cellist Barbara Hedlund will perform.

Soprano Penelope Shumate will perform two selections from Handel’s Messiah as well as “O, Holy Night” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” Shumate has performed in New York at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and is an assistant professor of voice at Western Illinois University. She has previously shared the stage with the chorale in 2016 and 2017.

Special to the Dec. 14 performance will be two choruses of 165 youth combined from 4th grade through junior high from more than 12 area schools. Each performance will also feature a different talented teen Young Artist competition winner: Lucy Barber of Dunlap, Sydney Johnson and Anna Glavin, both of Peoria. The Chorale’s Youth Chorus will also perform a set of songs at each concert including “There is a Santa Claus” from the musical “Elf” and will join the adult choir and Shumate for “Gesu Bambino.”

Tickets are $20 for adults, with students through college at $8 and are available at 309-693-6725, online at peoriacivicchorale.org or at the door.

–Peoria County News Briefs–