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Gridiron generations: Joe Boroski watches his grandson suit up B1
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Cannabis grower launches $1.5 million expansion Oglesby mayor says GTI anticipates creating 40-50 new jobs By Tom Collins
NEWSTRIBUNE SENIOR REPORTER
With a little over 100 days until recreational marijuana becomes legal in Illinois, Oglesby’s licensed cannabis grower is expanding and adding new jobs. Monday, Oglesby Mayor Dom
Rivara announced that Green Thumb Industries plans to launch a $1.5 million expansion of its operations in the next 30 days. Rivara termed it “an elaborate kind of operation” that, once completed, would create 40-50 jobs. Rivara said he has “mixed
emotions” about legalization — Oglesby, he said, would not modify its drug testing policy for city employees — but not at all conflicted about the economic development opportunity at hand. “How do you say no to jobs?” Rivara said. GTI wasn’t immediately avail-
able for comment Monday but company spokespersons had stated late last year the Oglesby facility would be used for research and development limited staff until at least 2020, by which time they anticipated recreational cannabis would be legalized in Illinois.
‘A long fall for everybody’
That prediction proved correct. In late June, Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted Public Act 101-27, which legalizes and regulates recreational cannabis starting Jan. 1, 2020. Monday’s announcement See GTI Page A3
Marijuana a concern for the alcohol industry Association that represents alcohol businesses says it didn’t support recreational pot By Ali Braboy
NEWSTRIBUNE REPORTER
NEWSTRIBUNE PHOTOS/SCOTT ANDERSON
Five weeks without having to mow the lawn? That sounds great unless you’re a farmer like Geoff Janssen of Rutland, where La Salle County officially is in a drought. Farmers already up to their necks in bad weather now are contending with abnormally dry conditions in Bureau and Putnam counties and, in Janssen’s neck of the woods, moderate drought. Recent rains will help but Janssen said the harvest outlook already looks dim, with yields expected to come in lower than average and no small risk of mud or frost to complicate harvest.
North central Illinois farmers were hurting already, now there’s a drought, too By Tom Collins
NEWSTRIBUNE SENIOR REPORTER
Drive by Geoff Janssen’s farm in the La Salle County panhandle and the beans look green and healthy, at least to the untrained eye. Looks, however, can be deceiving. Janssen’s panhandle acreage (he farms in several counties, actually) is officially in a moderate drought and the bean stalks should be about 2 feet higher than they stand now. Plenty of his peers are dealing
with similar problems amid abnormally dry conditions following a Sahara-like summer. “Mid-July to mid-August was very hard,” Janssen said. “We went five weeks without mowing the yard and the dry weather did take a toll on our crops.” Janssen said he’s braced for a corn harvest that will come in 25% below last year’s yield and a bean crop that could fall off by substantially more. And that’s assuming he gets his crops out on time. The late start to planting has him and his
Janssen inspects a bean pod near his home. The corn yield projects 25% below last year’s total. The outlook for beans is worse; Janssen said he’ll be lucky if his bean yield is only down by a quarter of last year’s. peers a month behind already ground freezes. and more inclement weather “It’s going to be a long fall for — any combination of rain and everybody,” he lamented. mud or, worse, frost — could The U.S. Drought Monitor have him harvesting when the See FARM Page A2
Plenty of construction, expansion planned around Peru’s North Peoria Street By Brett Herrmann
NEWSTRIBUNE REPORTER
The area between Plank Road and North Peoria Street will be a hotbed of construction over the next few years for the city of Peru. Several construction and expansion projects are on the docket, and at Monday’s com-
mittee of a whole meeting, some of that work was put into motion. The committee discussed extensions of both 26th Street and Midtown Road and would later approve the engineering agreements for those projects in the regular city council meeting. These road extensions coincide with the construction of a
roundabout at the North Peoria Street and Plank Road intersection, along with sewer work and a potential new police station. “It’s going to be a busy area for the next two to three construction seasons,” said city engineer Eric Carls. “Timing is going to be of the essence.” The engineering agreements are with Peru firm Chamlin and
Associates. The agreements will allow the city to work on planning as the projects move forward. Carls said the base of the new roads can be built first while various construction work is going on and then be surfaced at a later date. The city also received bids for See PERU Page A5
Those working in the alcohol industry say Illinois hasn’t crossed all its T’s when it comes to recreational marijuana. A question one local business owner has is how do license holders determine if someone is high on marijuana or being overserved alcohol? Bob Stubler, an owner of the IV Super Bowl in Peru, attended an annual convention of the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association on Monday at Grand Bear Lodge in Utica. The ILBA is the oldest business trade association in the country dedicated to promoting and protecting the retail businesses that sell or serve beverage alcohol. It was organized in 1880, the ILBA’s website says. Recreational marijuana was one concern brought up at the conference. It becomes law on Jan. 1. “We, the ILBA, were opposed to recreational marijuana,” said Dan Clausner, executive director for the ILBA. “There’s no clear roadside sobriety check for marijuana.” He said the fear is someone is high on marijuana, then has a beer or glass of wine, gets pulled over, and the only thing recognizable on them is the beer, wine or liquor consumed. “So it gets thrown in our counts, in our DUI counts, and we’re totally against that.” Clausner said. Convention speaker state Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said these are concerns she has and had See ALCOHOL Page A5
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