Local News in Ford County
Community news from our local sources
Ford County 100 storiesWiden to Greater Champaign
EPA’s formal hearing on well permits for carbon sequestration project draws a full house
GIBSON CITY — Residents from western Ford and eastern McLean counties affected by One Earth Sequestration’s proposed carbon sequestration project gathered near Gibson City on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to hear testimony and tell Environmental Protection Agency officials whether they…
PBL JH baseball ends 2026 season with 5-3 loss to Champaign Franklin in regional finals
CHAMPAIGN – The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School baseball team faced what Daron Johnson said was an equally-caliber team in Champaign Franklin in the IESA Class 3A regional finals on Wednesday. “These were two really good ballclubs,” Johnson said. “I told the boys (before…
Photo gallery: PBL JH baseball at Champaign Franklin
Here are some sights from Wednesday’s IESA Class 3A regional championship game, which Franklin won 5-3 … The post Photo gallery: PBL JH baseball at Champaign Franklin first appeared on Ford County Chronicle .
Obituary: Jonathan Nicholls
Jonathan William “Jon” Nicholls, 47, of Paxton, IL, passed away at 9:15 P.M. Saturday, September 19, 2026, at his home surrounded by his family. He was born on May 16, 1979, at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Danville, IL, the son of William “Bill” Nicholls and Linda (Kinser) Nicholls.…
IEMA officials: FEMA aid for Paxton, other Illinois communities comes down to Trump
PAXTON — On the official start of fall, city leaders met at Paxton City Hall with state lawmakers and emergency management officials on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 22, to talk about this past summer — namely, what all agreed was an uncommonly cruel one in terms of severe stormy…
Rantoul/PBL girls golfer Grace Mullins ties for 12th at Illini Prairie Conference Tournament
MAHOMET – Grace Mullins of the Rantoul/Paxton-Buckley-Loda girls golf team finished within two strokes of placing in the Illini Prairie Conference Tournament on Tuesday. Mullins finished in a three-way tie for 12th place with a score of 103 along with Prairie Central’s Saydee…
150 YEARS STRONG
ELLIOTT — Paxton has its Swedes. Gifford has its Germans. Elliott has its Norwegians. When it came time to build a church in rural Elliott, the majority Norwegian population chose a site about a mile and a half south of the Ford County community and named it after Erik…
76 fuel station coming to Paxton
PAXTON — Two raised signs — one 80 and the other 25 feet high — could soon be put around the Interstate 57 interchange in Paxton to advertise the 76-brand fuel station and still-undisclosed fast-food restaurant set to open there. The Paxton Planning and Zoning Commission has…
County board expecting to see red ink in budget
PAXTON — The Ford County Board is expecting to approve a deficit budget in November, even after further adjustments are made to reflect more accurate revenue projections. It remains to be seen exactly how much red ink will be included in the budget once it is up for approval —…
Probation department to move to downtown
PAXTON — The relocation of the Ford County probation department’s offices to a former dental office in downtown Paxton gained the approval of the county board via a unanimous vote during an adjourned meeting Friday evening. The board voted 8-0, with four members absent, to…
Mandated reporter training now required of subs, volunteers while visitors now required to show ID
PAXTON — To protect the safety of its students, the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district will begin requiring all substitute teachers and volunteers to complete mandated-reporter training for the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services and all visitors to provide…
Resident says retention basin flooding neighborhood, asks PBL to address it
PAXTON — A woman who lives near Paxton-Buckley Loda Junior High School told school board members on Wednesday, Sept. 16, that a retention basin north of the school has been overflowing during heavy rains, repeatedly flooding her property and others in her neighborhood. Catherine…