The CEO, Dean and Provost of SIU Medicine has announced his plans to retire at the end of his current contract next fall.

Dr. Jerry Kruse announced on Thursday, September 18, that he will conclude his service at both the SIU School of Medicine and as CEO of SIU Medicine on or around August 31, 2026. Dr. Kruse has been with SIU School of Medicine since 1984 and has served in various capacities. His tenure has been defined by innovation in medical education, expansion of rural training opportunities, modernization of research, statewide partnerships and leadership through various challenges including the Covid pandemic.

“Over 10 years as dean and provost and CEO, Dr. Kruse has led the School of Medicine through a period of rapid change and growth: navigating the pandemic, workforce shortages and health care challenges while ensuring SIU’s mission stayed strong,” said Dr. Austin Lane, chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, at this week’s SIU System Board of Trustees Meeting. “His leadership has left an indelible mark, and he is committed to finishing strong so that we can build on the foundation he created even as we begin the search for his successor.”

Reflecting on his decision, Dr. Kruse expressed gratitude for his colleagues and optimism for the future:

“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve SIU School of Medicine for the past 43 years and to lead as dean and provost and CEO for the last decade. Together, we have navigated a season of rapid change — from the challenges of the pandemic and health care workforce shortages to the opportunities of new technologies and rural training programs. I am deeply proud of what we have accomplished together and confident that SIU Medicine will continue to grow and innovate. Our triple aim has always been to provide health care that is effective, efficient and equitable, and I am looking forward to ending with excellence.”

The university will launch a national search for Dr. Kruse’s successor in coming months. Details about the search process will be shared soon.

The most recent Republican candidate for Illinois Attorney General had his law license officially suspended by the Illinois Supreme Court on Friday.

Thomas DeVore of Greenville who made a name for himself challenging the state’s COVID-19 pandemic executive orders and then running in 2022 against incumbent Democrat Attorney General Kwame Raoul officially had his law license suspended by order of the Illinois Supreme Court.

According to a motion filed in the state’s highest court by the administrator of the state’s Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), the Supreme Court affirmed a ruling by the ARDC from April recommending that DeVore’s law license be suspended for 60 days effective October 10 and that DeVore would be responsible for any reimbursement to the “Client Protection Program Trust Fund for any Client Protection payments arising from his conduct prior to the termination of the period of suspension.”

The ARDC ruled back in April that DeVore should be suspended for rule “violations arising from his dating and business relationships with a client.” DeVore’s former client was not named in the ARDC report. However, in the ARDC prosecution complaint, it indicates the improper relationship was linked to Riley Craig, a then-married Springfield salon owner whom he began representing in March 2020. According to testimony before the ARDC in December 2024, the two began a sexual relationship sometime in June 2020. The 6-count complaint also accused DeVore of having a conflict of interest via an improper business transaction, filing frivolous litigation, having conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, and having improper contact with an individual he knew to be represented by legal counsel. DeVore was sanctioned in a federal bankruptcy court in October 2023 for violating an automatic stay in a bankruptcy case of a business that Craig and DeVore co-owned. The opinion in that case ultimately led to the ARDC filing in March 2024.

According to the Chicago Tribune, DeVore argued the sexual relationship with Craig began after his initial work for Craig ended and before his work representing her in other legal matters began. But the hearing board found evidence showing “an unbroken continuation of his attorney-client relationship,” including DeVore preparing pleadings in Craig’s divorce case filed by a law firm associate. The ruling by the ARDC found otherwise. The full synopsis of their ruling can be read here.

DeVore has practiced law in the state since 2011. DeVore did not comment on the suspension through his social media channels. The Illinoize reported back in March that DeVore had formed a political action committee to seek to challenge Illinois Republican leadership in the state’s House of Representatives.

A Jacksonville motorcyclist was arrested after a high speed pursuit with police that resulted in a crash into a police squad car on West Morton Avenue during Cruise Night activities on Saturday.

Jacksonville Police reported to emergency dispatch at approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday that a white motorcycle located near Lincoln Avenue and heading eastbound on West Morton Avenue was driving recklessly. The officer reported that the motorcycle turned northbound onto South Diamond Street and was traveling at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, before turning eastbound on Chambers Street. The officer reported that motorcycle popped a wheelie and disobeyed traffic signs. A few moments later the motorcycle was spotted traveling southbound on South Fayette Street where it disobeyed a stop sign before colliding with a marked Jacksonville Police squad car in the front passenger side quarter panel and tire with its front tire and fender. The motorcyclist was ejected from the motorcycle but was said to be wearing a helmet.

The motorcyclist, identified as Blake K. Barnett, 27, of the 800 block of South East Street sustained no reported injuries and refused treatment from EMS. The driver of the Jacksonville squad car, Lt. Sean Haefeli, also was not injured. Both vehicles were towed from the scene due to disabling damage.

Barnett was arrested for felony aggravated fleeing of police, reckless driving, operating an uninsured motor vehicle and having no reciprocal vehicle title.

According to police reports, the incident remains under further investigation and more citations may be pending.

An El Paso, Texas man arrested in a traffic stop on I-72 in August has recently had his federal indictment unsealed by the Central District Court of Illinois.

David Hernandez, 39, of El Paso, Texas was arrested on the morning of August 20 by Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputies, South Jacksonville Police, the DEA, and members of the Central Illinois Enforcement Group after approximately 30,000 grams of powder cocaine was found in the bed of his pickup truck.

Charges filed by the Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office were initially dismissed in deference to the federal court on August 26. The federal charges were not immediately made available at the time.

The charges were eventually unsealed by the federal court later that day on August 26 and Hernandez has been held in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s in Springfield. According to charging documents, Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Suttles was performing traffic interdiction on Interstate 72 near milepost 64 on August 20 when he observed a white Dodge Ram pick up truck with a Texas license plate traveling eastbound. He followed the vehicle, which exited north at the IL-267 exit and then proceeded into the parking lot of Love’s truck stop and then park behind a disabled semi truck. A Latino male, later determined to be Hernandez, went inside the store and then returned to the vehicle. It pulled out of the space by the disabled semi truck and then backed into a different parking space. The charging documents indicate that Deputy Suttles then parked his squad car parallel to Hernandez’s pickup truck and made contact with Hernandez.

During their interaction, the affidavit filed by DEA agent Amanda Petersen says that Suttles was told by Hernandez there was a loaded handgun in the vehicle, which Suttles retrieved without incident. Suttles then was given affirmation by Hernandez to search the truck. In the bed of the truck, Deputy Suttles is said to have found 4 five-gallon buckets pushed under a welder and an air compressor in the front of the bed of the truck. Deputy Suttles again sought permission from Hernandez to look inside the drums, to which Hernandez is said to have agreed. Inside the drums, Suttles is said to have found a total of 30 vacuum-sealed kilogram packages of a white powdery substance. The substance was field tested positive for containing cocaine, according to the affidavit. During further investigation, Hernandez is said to have admitted that he was to deliver the packages to another person and that he regularly carries a firearm for personal protection. The affidavit was requested to be sealed by the court because there were other unnamed individuals that law enforcement was said to be seeking in connection to the incident at the time of Hernandez’s arrest.

Hernandez has been charged for narcotics trafficking and possession of a firearm in commission of a drug crime. He currently remains held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. A pretrial conference has been scheduled for October 8 with a jury trial set for October 20.

A Chandlerville farmer now faces potential federal prison time for pleading guilty to bank fraud earlier this month in a federal court.

Travis L. Murphy, 42, of Chandlerville pleaded guilty to a single county of felony bank fraud in the Central District Court of Central Illinois on September 4 before Magistrate Judge Ronald L Hanna. Murphy was facing four counts of bank fraud alleging over $8.4 million in fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud in the case.

According to a federal grand jury indictment returned in June 2023, Murphy was alleged through his business Murphy Farms to have devised a scheme to defraud a FDIC insured bank and obtain its funds by making materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises. According to the indictment, Murphy obtained loans totaling over $8.4 million after submitting documents that misrepresented his property values, crop holdings, and income. After obtaining the loans and defaulting on payment, Murphy later sold collateral, being crops, outside of the agreement. Further, Murphy reiterated the inflated value of his property on his petition when he filed for bankruptcy.

The charges were a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office. The bankruptcy fraud charge was referred for criminal prosecution by the Office of the United States Bankruptcy Trustee for Region 10. The U.S. Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 10 is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with additional offices in South Bend, Indiana, and Peoria, Illinois.

Judge Hanna accepted the plea at the September 4 hearing and referred Murphy’s case to the federal Probation Office for a Pre-sentence Investigation and Report. Murphy faces a penalty of up to thirty years in prison and five years of supervised release on the bank fraud count. The charge also carries a maximum fine of up to $1 million.

Sentencing has been set for a hearing on January 26, 2026 in Urbana before Judge Colin S. Bruce.

Two Carrollton residents have been charged for alleged drug dealing out of their home after a lengthy investigation by the South Central Illinois Drug Task Force.

According to charging documents filed in Greene County Circuit Court on September 3, Brian L. Cordes, 45, and Lora M. Benson, 50, both of Carrollton were arrested by members of local law enforcement, the Illinois State Police and members of the South Central Illinois Drug Task Force on or before September 3 on several felony charges.

According to the documents, Cordes and Benson have been cited for Class 1 felony possession of methamphetamine between 15-100 grams and Class 2 felony use of a personal residence for delivery and/or distribution of methamphetamine on July 24. Both were also accused of Class 2 methamphetamine delivery less than 5 grams after allegedly dealing the substance to a confidential source on June 12 and again on July 8. Benson has also been charged for Class 3 felony delivery of a look-alike substance on June 22. The couple is said to have been allegedly performing these acts out of a residence under their control in the 400 block of 10th Street in Carrollton.

Both Cordes and Benson made initial court appearances on September 3 and were released under conditions of the SAFE-T Act. They are due back in court for a pretrial conference scheduled for September 22.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus chairman and husband to local Congresswoman Mary Miller has filed articles of impeachment in the Illinois General Assembly against Governor JB Pritzker.

101st State Representative Chris Miller (R-Hindsboro) announced on September 12 he was filing the articles of impeachment. In the announcement, Miller says “[Gov. Pritzker] has engaged in conduct which, under the totality of the circumstances, constitutes inciting violence which is incompatible with the duties of his office. He has failed to uphold the oath of protecting the Illinois Constitution and has failed to protect the citizens of Illinois.”

Miller cites comments that Pritzker made during his State of State Speech on February 19 that he says compared Republicans to those of Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Miller also cited further statements made in March and April that Miller says have contributed to politically motivated violence in the United States.

For the impeachment process to proceed, a majority of the Illinois House of Representatives would need to vote in favor of impeaching Pritzker before a trial could begin in the Senate. The filing of the articles is mostly performative in nature in that both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly hold a Democratic supermajority. Impeachment requires a simple majority vote of 60 Illinois House members, before a trial could then proceed to the Illinois Senate.

Chris Miller is the husband of 15th District Congresswoman Mary Miller, which represents most of Central Illinois. Mary Miller has been a long outspoken critic of Pritzker, including at a recent Congressional hearing in June. Mary Miller recently introduced a bill that would go after Illinois and other states’ sanctuary status. Congresswoman Miller’s office shared with FOX News last week that the bill, titled the SAFE Driving Laws Act, would address the 19 sanctuary states creating an “extreme level of risk for all those on the road” by allowing illegals to obtain both individual driver’s licenses and commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs). If passed, the bill would withhold funds from the National Highway Performance and Surface Transportation Block Grant programs from states that give illegal immigrants driver’s licenses or fail to share information about criminal aliens with the federal government. States not in compliance with the law by fiscal year 2027, which begins in October 2026, will have 50% of the funding from the two programs withheld for the entire fiscal year and for any subsequent year that the state remains in noncompliance.

A White Hall man is headed to prison on traffic and drug charges after a plea this morning in Greene County Circuit Court.

John F. Kessinger, 53, of White Hall, pleaded guilty to Class 4 felony driving on a suspended/revoked license for the second time and Class 3 felony possession of methamphetamine less than 5 grams in front of Greene County Circuit Judge Zachary Schmidt.

According to Greene County State’s Attorney Craig Grummel, the driving offense occurred on April 4, 2024, in White Hall when Kessinger was found operating a red 2001 Mazda despite his driver’s license having been suspended due to a Statutory Summary Suspension. Kessinger had already been convicted of driving while license suspended on four prior occasions.

The drug offense occurred on or about July 11, 2025, in Greene County, when Kessinger was found in knowing possession of less than five grams of a substance containing methamphetamine.

“Kessinger has repeatedly shown disregard for the law, both by continuing to drive illegally for decades and by engaging in dangerous drug activity,” State’s Attorney Grummel said. “This concurrent sentence ensures accountability while also protecting the safety of the community.”

Judge Schmidt sentenced Kessinger to 2 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 6 months of mandatory supervised release and ordered payment of court costs. Kessinger was given credit for 42 days served in the Greene County Jail.

A partnership aimed at bringing more fine arts and agriculture education to Jacksonville has ended in a lawsuit and left a historic MacMurray College building’s fate in flux.

Tim Smith, president of the Esprit de Corps Academy, and Morgan County Commissioner Dr. Michael Woods entered into a partnership in July 2023 with dreams of creating the Midwest Agricultural and Arts Complex inside the MacMurray Hall building, located at 225 South Clay Avenue. The legal partnership to own and renovate the building effectively came to a close in April after disagreements on money and a tenant in the building, according to a request for partition of ownership of the property filed by Smith back on May 23.

In the partition, filed by Smith’s attorneys, a promissory note was filed by Woods at CNB Bank & Trust in Jacksonville. The note was an agreement that Woods would pay back half of the purchase price of the building and property, $50,000, in $1000 monthly installments to Smith through October 1, 2027. The partition request asked that a foreclosure be placed on Woods’ half of the property due to nonpayment, according to the filed complaint. During the duration of the partnership, Smith claimed $112,000 worth of property improvements and maintenance costs.

Woods was served the complaint in early June and responded on June 24 with counter claims that Smith had violated the terms of their oral agreements, including a deferral on payments while the property was redeveloped. Woods’ counter-argument for nonpayment was that his husband, Jaime Filio, provided 28 months worth of physical and administrative labor to the project, Woods paid out-of-pocket expenses for materials and collected rent from tenants amounting to $13,000 — with all of the in-kind and cash contributions totaling over $319,000 over two years. Woods also made counter claims that Smith failed to collect rent from tenants, failed to resolve an issue with the building’s elevator costing several thousands of dollars in potential revenue and allowed the LLCC that governed the partnership to lapse. Woods also accused Smith of violating the partnership by using the building for his own self-interest as majority owner. Smith says that he paid for the full price of the building with Woods taking out a mortgage for his half. 

Woods also claims the legal action was brought after Woods attempted to collect rent from Lance Perkins, a close associate of Smith’s who had been using space in Mac Hall. Woods further claims that he sought to avoid legal issues by attempting to resolve the matter in person and in writing by requesting to buy out Smith’s stake in the property. He says the legal action is in violation of due process of Illinois’ mortgage and business partnership laws. 

Smith’s lawyers filed a motion to strike Woods’ response as a counter suit alleging Smith had committed wrongdoing and asked for preliminary relief on July 14, requesting the court to foreclose the property entirely and sell it via auction. 

Prior to a scheduled hearing about the motion on August 13, Judge Chris Reif filed a disqualification of the Morgan County Court due to Woods’ position as a Morgan County Commissioner. The case was reassigned to Sangamon County Judge Christopher Perrin on August 18. A future hearing date has not been scheduled according to court records. 

How this lawsuit will affect the long-term future of both the Esprit de Corps Academy and the Agrowhood initiative is unknown. 

A Texas man arrested by Morgan County authorities on I-72 for cocaine trafficking is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals.

David Hernandez, 39, of El Paso, Texas was arrested on the morning of August 20 by Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputies, South Jacksonville Police, the DEA, and members of the Central Illinois Enforcement Group after approximately 30,000 grams of powder cocaine was found in the bed of his pickup truck, according to a press release.

Charges were filed that afternoon by the Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office, with Hernandez due to appear in Morgan County Circuit Court (tomorrow) August 26. 

This morning, Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll filed a motion to dismiss the case in local court in deference to a federal indictment filed against Hernandez in the federal Central District Court of Illinois in Springfield. Online federal courts records indicate the indictment is currently under seal.