CHICAGO (AP) — A suspect fatally shot by Chicago police in what the department called an “armed confrontation” has been identified as a 13-year-old. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday that Adam Toledo of Chicago died of a gunshot wound to his chest. Chicago police say an officer was responding to a scene…… Read more…
Easing of business restrictions slow as COVID-19 cases surge
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois public health officials say increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations are delaying the state’s reopening plans. Some business operating restrictions were to be lifted this week under Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s bridge phase,” which precedes a full reopening. The plan requires hospitalization to hold steady or decline over a 28-day…… Read more…
Former Community First VP arrested on arson, fraud charges
BENTON, Ill. — A former Vice President of Community First Bank of the Heartland (CFB) has been on an 11 count federal indictment out of the Southern District of Illinois federal court in Benton. A warrant for the arrest of Richard B. Pigg was issued on February 25th and he was taken into custody March…… Read more…
Police: 2 dead, 1 injured in East St. Louis shooting
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — Police in East St. Louis say two men have died and another has been injured in a shooting. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the shooting was reported just before 1 p.m. Tuesday in a residential area between Interstate 64 and Highway 15. Arriving officers found two men fatally…… Read more…
Nurse who stole morphine from hospice patients faces prison
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A nurse who pleaded guilty to stealing morphine from hospice patients at a central Illinois nursing home has been sentenced to six years in federal prison. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Springfield said in a news release that 47-year-old Kandis Mills of Tuscola must report to the federal Bureau of Prisons…… Read more…
Man fatally shot in attack outside Illinois license bureau
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — Two men are in custody after a fatal shooting outside a Secretary of State driver’s license bureau in suburban Chicago. The shooting occurred in the parking lot of the facility in Bridgeview, a suburb southwest of Chicago. Authorities say the man was taken to Christ Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.…… Read more…
Armed man fatally shot by police at Forest Park restaurant
FOREST PARK, Ill. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a man who was shot by police in Forest Park after he arrived at a restaurant waving a gun and saying, “Please don’t make me do this now.” In a news release, the police department says officers were called to a Jimmy John’s restaurant…… Read more…
Former mayor pleads guilty to federal corruption charge
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — A former southern Illinois mayor has pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about referral commissions he received on city contracts. Kevin Hutchinson of Columbia is due to be sentenced Jun 28 after entering the plea Monday in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis. The 56-yerar-old Hutchinson had…… Read more…
Illinois city becomes 1st in US to pay reparations to Blacks
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Evanston, Illinois, has become the first U.S. city to make reparations available to its Black residents for past discrimination and the lingering effects of slavery. The Chicago suburb’s City Council voted 8-1 late Monday to distribute $400,000 to eligible black households. Each qualifying household would receive $25,000 for home repairs or…… Read more…
Centralia man killed in crash with train early Saturday morning
CENTRALIA — A 45-year-old Centralia man was killed early Saturday morning when his vehicle struck the side of a train crossing Shattuc Road. According to Clinton County Coroner Phillip Moss, Brian A. Starr was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:20 a.m. Saturday. The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office says it received a report around 1:17…… Read more…
Wheaton College removes plaque calling indigenous ‘savages’
WHEATON, Ill. (AP) — The head of Wheaton College says the suburban Chicago school has removed a plaque that referred to indigenous people as “savages.” The Chicago Tribune reports that the Christian liberal arts school’s president, Philip Ryken, wrote in a letter to faculty and students that the reference was dehumanizing and that any descriptions…… Read more…
Pritzker ‘Bridge’ last leg to freedom of post-COVID-19 world
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois governor on Thursday set out guidelines governing a transition to a post-COVID-19 state as more and more people are vaccinated against the coronavirus. Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled what he called a dial-up return to a return to a sense of normalcy based on percentages of the population being fully…… Read more…
Bankers survey for parts of 10 states rockets to record high
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey of bankers points to a quickly recovering economy in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states as the survey’s individual indicators soared and the overall index rocketed to its highest reading since it began in 2006. The overall index of the Rural Mainstreet Survey shot up…… Read more…
Will work from home outlast virus? Ford’s move suggests yes
DETROIT (AP) — It’s a question occupying the minds of employees who have worked from home the past year: Will they still be allowed to work remotely — at least some days — once the pandemic has faded? On Wednesday, one of America’s corporate titans, Ford Motor Co., supplied its own answer: It told about…… Read more…
Illinois couple killed, ex-son-in-law arrested after search
OTTAWA, Ill. (AP) — A man has been arrested for allegedly killing his ex-wife’s parents and shooting out windows at his ex-wife’s house. The arrest Wednesday morning ended a search that had prompted authorities to urge residents of a small Illinois village not to go outside. LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton says detectives believe that…… Read more…