The Sears Hometown Store in Pekin is closing Dec 4, part of a corporate move to close low-performing stores.

STATE

Farm economics summit to study profitability

This year’s Illinois Farm Economics Summit will address the profitability of Illinois agriculture and how to manage financial stress. The University of Illinois Extension and members of the farmdoc team from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics in the College of ACES will tackle these topics in a series of five Farm Economics Summit meetings. Speakers from the U of I farmdoc team will explore the farm profitability outlook and management challenges from several perspectives, including the 2018 outlook for crop and livestock prices, soybean yield trends, an update on the next farm bill, the financial position of Illinois farms, habits of financially resilient farm operations, and crop economics for 2018.

The summit will be offered at five locations:

• Dec. 18 – Faranda’s Banquet Center, DeKalb
• Dec. 19 – Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino, Peoria
• Dec. 20 – Crowne Plaza, Springfield
• Dec. 21 – Bretz Wildlife Lodge and Winery, Carlyle
• Dec. 22– iHotel and Conference Center, Champaign

The advance registration fee is $70 per person and includes lunch, refreshments and all meeting materials. The online pre-registration deadline is Dec. 11. For questions about registration, contact Nancy Simpson at nsimp1@illinois.edu or (217) 244-9687.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Airport breaks record for passengers in October

The Gen. Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport broke a 3-year-old record in October for the number of passengers who used the airport for the month. The 56,290 passengers surpassed the record of 54,580, set in October 2014.

The year started strong, with March being the busiest month ever. If the airport matches last year’s totals for November and December, then the numbers will surpass 2016’s passenger total.

The airport is one of two Downstate served by four airlines — legacy carriers American, Delta and United and low-cost carrier Allegiant. PIA also flies to four of the five most connected airports in the nation, according to OAG, an aviation data analytics company and its 2017 Megahubs Index. Chicago O’Hare International Airport leads the list, followed by Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Denver.

OSF hospitals remain in insurance network

OSF HealthCare hospitals and services will remain in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois health insurance network, the result of recently completed continued negotiations.

The agreement includes all BCBSIL Commercial, PPO, EPO, and Blue Choice products that (Blue Cross) terminated previously, according to the company statement, referring consumers to a complete listing online at osfhealthcare.org/blue.

Blue Cross announced in October that it was dropping OSF hospitals in Peoria, Galesburg and Rockford. OSF then removed its other hospitals in Illinois — with the exception of Alton — from the in-network coverage. OSF’s non-hospital providers were not affected by the move.

At the same time that announcement was made, UnityPoint Health-Methodist announced that effective in January, it would become part of the Blue Cross network for the first time in more than 30 years.

Other UnityPoint Health providers, both Proctor and Pekin hospitals as well as the physicians’ network, were in arrangements to accept Blue Cross already.

PEKIN

Railroad crossing repairs set to be completed

Illinois 9 (Ann Eliza Street) in Pekin is expected to reopen by 5 p.m. Nov. 30, weather permitting, after being closed for repairs to a railroad crossing, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. The closure area is between Second and Third streets, and traffic should follow the posted detour.

IDOT area updates are available on Twitter at twitter.com/IDOTDistrict4 and www.gettingaroundpeoria.com.

Local Sears store to close doors Dec. 4

A Dec. 4 closing date has been announced for the Sears Hometown store in Pekin.

Earlier this year, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. announced the closing of approximately 150 Kmart and 50 Sears unprofitable stores nationwide as part of its continuing strategy of assessing the productivity of its Sears and Kmart stores throughout the country. The local store fits into the corporation’s plans.

Sears Hometown Store is at 3247 Court St., Pekin. Current hours of operation for are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

–Tazewell County News Briefs–