Click Here for details.
Save Save Save Save
By WILL BRUMLEVE
Ford County Chronicle will@fordcountychronicle.com
By the time I finally delivered a stack of 88 copies of the July 17 edition of the Ford County Chronicle to the first of our 16 newsstands late Thursday night, I had driven more than 300 miles over the previous five hours, stopping only briefly at my destination on the other side of the state the Jacksonville Journal-Courier's printing press in historical downtown Jacksonville to pick up the 1,300 copies of the Chronicle that they printed so graciously earlier that evening, saving our Wednesday paper from being yet another day late.
While "Stop the presses!" is a phrase usually yelled by a news editor at least when newsrooms are in the same buildings as their printing presses Mother Nature was the one who exclaimed it the previous Monday night, as a severe storm that brought tornadoes and power outages across a wide swath of the Chicago area quite literally put a stop to the suburban Schaumburg printing press where the Chronicle is normally published.
The newspaper presses at the Paddock Printing Center, owned by The Chicago Tribune Co., remained down Tuesday, Wednesday and into Thursday, delaying the Chronicle's normal delivery to both newsstands and the Paxton post office for the mailing of copies to subscribers. Because I had no immediate backup press lined up to print the paper in such emergencies, the delay continued until I eventually found one.
Thanks goes to Cindy Bedolli of the Illinois Press Association for helping me find the right one. Thanks must also go to newspeople like Hillsboro Journal-News co-owner John Galer, whose offer to help print my paper would have been accepted if only the press could have been set up to accommodate the Chronicle's page dimensions and labeling and color requirements.
Jeff Lonergan, though, is the man of honor in this column. The production director of the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, who came recommended by Bedolli, promptly answered the phone when I called him late Thursday morning, desperate to find someone to print the paper that same day. "We'd be happy to help," said Lonergan.
Oh, how they did.
Shortly after 7:15 Thursday evening after driving more than two hours from Paxton to Jacksonville without stopping I walked into the back of the old printing press building at 235 W. State St. in the Morgan County seat, where I saw a pallet stacked with bundles of the Chronicle's latest although delayed edition. Of the 1,300 copies there, 329 were neatly bundled together, ready for delivery to newsstands, while the other 971 were also bundled separated by zip code in preparation for delivery to the Paxton post office.
Not only was everything ready to go, but the quality of the print job was excellent. The bill was not bad at all, either, as a sympathetic Lonergan cut me a deal. I cannot thank him enough.
After filling my car's trunk and front passenger seat with newspapers, I headed back to Ford County, arriving shortly before 10 p.m. First, I delivered 88 copies to the Paxton IGA, 15 to the Village Pantry and 10 to the Casey's south of the downtown. Then, I headed to the post office, dropping off the subscriber copies there, before finally heading home with plans to deliver the remaining newsstand copies early Friday morning.
It was a long, atypical day as a newspaper publisher, I'd say. I haven't been doing this for too long just over four years but this had never happened until now. Thankfully, though, if this were to ever happen again, I'd know who to call first to arrange for a backup press. And that is all thanks to some good people in this industry. So, as inconvenient as this entire situation was, some good did come out of it.
The Chicago Tribune's presses in Schaumburg became inoperable due to what was believed to be a nearby lightning strike that caused a surge in power through the components of the presses. To repair the issue, new parts were being flown in late in the week.
The Schaumburg press failure also caused a delay in the home delivery of the July 16 edition of the Chicago Tribune and other papers printed there, including the Chicago Sun-Times and Daily Herald.
In the absence of a print paper, the Sun-Times dropped its paywall for its July 16 e-edition. It also made the July 17 e-edition free because of the printing delays. The Tribune offered its full e-edition online, in addition to digital editions of its sister papers.
Thanks again to those who helped resolve the situation for the Chronicle. Because of you, there was no stopping the presses. Because of you, there is no stopping the press.
Will Brumleve is publisher and news editor of the Ford County Chronicle, an award-winning weekly newspaper published Wednesdays and based in Paxton.
Will Brumleve/Ford County Chronicle
A total of 1,300 copies of the July 17 edition of the Ford County Chronicle rest on a pallet inside a loading dock at the Jacksonville Journal-Courier's newspaper printing presses in downtown Jacksonville on Thursday, July 18, in preparation for being picked up and taken to Ford County.
Member Log-In + Contact Us + Events + PressLines + Job Bank + Advertising Toolbox + Upload Pages
+Regular Member Newspapers
Subscribe to RSS headline updates from: Powered by FeedBurner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 8, 2025 Contact Information: Christopher Weishaar Digital Public Relations Specialist cweishaar@studentloan.org (515) 273-7140
Six $1,500 scholarships now open to Midwest high school seniors High school seniors from six Midwest states have a chance to earn the scholarships
WEST DES MOINES, IOWA — High school seniors from Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin now have a chance to receive one of six college scholarships worth $1,500. Registration is open now through April 30, 2025. Parents are also able to register their student. High school seniors or their parents may register for the ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/Midwest. ISL Education Lending will award $1,500 scholarships to six students whose names are randomly drawn after the registration period. There are no financial need, grade point average or class rank requirements. The ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship can be used at any eligible institution in the United States. Registered participants also receive emails highlighting financial literacy tips, such as the importance of early career and college planning and ways to reduce student loan indebtedness. “Student loan debt is a huge concern for new college students,” said Steve McCullough, president and CEO of ISL Education Lending. “As a nonprofit, we provide tools and resources to help high school seniors plan so they can reduce the amount of debt they need to take on while achieving their education goals. Students sign up for a chance at a $1,500 scholarship, and we take that opportunity to share information with them about our free resources.” The ISL Midwest Senior Scholarship is open to legal U.S. citizens who are seniors at a high school in one of the qualifying states during the 2025-2026 school year and who intend to attend college, either virtually or physically, in fall 2025. It is a no-purchase-required program, and full rules and details are available at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/Midwest. Additional Resources Available In addition to offering student loans, ISL Education Lending has other resources for families planning for college and for students who intend to pursue advanced degrees. The Parent Handbook consists of valuable tips to help families of students in sixth through 12th grades prepare for success in college and other postsecondary options. Parents of students in eighth through 12th grades can also sign up to receive twice-monthly emailed tips on academic, college and career planning through the Student Planning Pointers for Parents program. The College Funding Forecaster helps families understand the total cost of four years of college based on a freshman-year financial aid offer. Information about these resources is available at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/SmartBorrowing.
# # #
About ISL Education Lending Established in 1979 as Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation, a private, nonprofit organization, ISL Education Lending helps students and families obtain the resources necessary to succeed in postsecondary education. ISL has helped nearly 400,000 students pay for college, offering student loans and other products under the name ISL Education Lending. The organization, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, also provides an array of borrower benefits, financial literacy tools and community reinvestment programs, including support for free college planning services for students and their families. For more information, visit www.IowaStudentLoan.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 7, 2025 Contact Information: Illinois State Medical Society Jann Ingmire janningmire@isms.org (312) 520-9802
Illinois State Medical Society offers free programs for health professionals to address human trafficking awareness
As January marks National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) is offering a free, two-part webinar series aimed at equipping physicians and other health care professionals with the tools to identify and support those individuals exploited by human trafficking. The series, which is available on demand, is designed to challenge stereotypes, clarify the various factors contributing to trafficking, and provide practical approaches for assisting survivors of both sex and labor trafficking. Health care professionals are uniquely positioned to identify and assist trafficking victims due to their frontline access and trusted roles within the community. By offering these programs, ISMS aims to raise awareness and offer resources to professionals who may come across survivors in their care. January 11 is recognized as National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and the month as a whole is dedicated to increasing awareness of trafficking, which affects millions globally. According to a 2017 survey of 127 human trafficking survivors, 69% reported having accessed health care services at some point during their exploitation. Of those, 85% sought treatment for injuries or illnesses related to their trafficking. Despite this, only 6% of health care workers reported having treated someone who was a victim of trafficking. The two no-cost, on-demand programs, available 24/7, offer continuing medical education (CME) credits and are designed to help health care professionals recognize signs of trafficking, improve their response, and ensure proper support for survivors. Human Trafficking: Identification and Response in a Healthcare Setting Presented by Anna Pastor, coordinator, Cook Co. Human Trafficking Task Force Human Trafficking: Practical Approaches and Resources in a Healthcare Setting Presented by Traci Kurtzer, M.D., medical director for trauma informed care and education, Northwestern Medicine The programs are free to all health care professionals and the public.
###
Click Image to Find the IPA Disaster Checklist!