The new Jacksonville City Council was seated last night and Mayor Andy Ezard says aldermen have a lot of work ahead of them.

After swearing in of the new council and a pinning ceremony for a promotion of Corey Foster to sergeant in the Jacksonville Police Department, the better part of the workshop session was spent on a presentation by Dr. Charles Sheaff about the Jacksonville Promise scholarship program and discuss matching a contribution of Rabbi Rob & Lauren Thomas for operation funding for the Jacksonville Area Museum. There was also lengthy discussion about a proposed ordinance to make camping on public property illegal.

The council adjourned the workshop session at 7:15 and completed the rest of the discussion during the regular business meeting.

Mayor Andy Ezard says that the unhoused camping ordinance and the 1% grocery sales tax are being moved as items to the scheduled meeting on May 27: “At the next meeting in two weeks, the Tuesday after Memorial Day, we will be spending most of our time on [the 1% tax], I would imagine. We had a full agenda tonight with some important topics so that grocery tax will be pushed back to that next meeting in May. We are still in good shape as far as our timeliness goes to pass that and discuss if that’s the case, but we will do that at the next meeting.”

In business that was passed during the meeting, the city approved a $25,000 fund from the revolving loan fund for Marcy Patterson and Kathleen Mann to purchase Kim’s Other Place and rebrand it to the X’s & O’s Donuts and Bakery on West Morton as well as several zoning requests and two demolitions. The council also approved a liquor license reclassification for Guse’s Pub & Eatery from a tavern license to a restaurant license, the hiring of a probationary hoseman to the fire department, and accepting a proposal to begin potholing by Rouland Construction for lead service line inventory.

Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson has released the name of the man killed in a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcyle and truck on IL-267 south of Jacksonville over the weekend.

Timothy Pennington, 60, of Greenfield was pronounced deceased at the scene. According to crash reports, Pennington’s motorcyle and a pickup truck were traveling southbound on IL-267near Lake Jacksonville Road, when for an undisclosed reasons, the motorcycle struck the rear of the pickup. The highway was closed for approximately 5 hours due to reconstruction and clean up of the scene.

An autopsy is scheduled for today.

A Carrollton man was sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in Greene County Circuit Court on multiple weapons and sex offenses Friday morning.

Greene County State’s Attorney Craig Grummell said in a press release that William “Billy” Orr, 60, of Carrollton was sentenced to 20 years in IDOC for unlawful possession of a firearm and firearm ammunition by a felon and possession of child pornography.

Orr was arrested on March 20, 2024 after a search was conducted by members of the Greenfield Police, Illinois State Police South Central Illinois Drug Task Force, and Greene County Sheriff’s Department, along with investigators from Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office at a residence in the 300 block of Main Street in Greenfield. The Greene County State’s Attorney’s Office initially charged Orr with five counts of possession of child pornography, four counts of failure to register as a sex offender, six counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, and three counts of possession of ammunition by a felon. At the time of his arrest, Orr was on the Illinois Sex Offender Registry stemming from a conviction in 2011 in Macoupin County Court for aggravated criminal sexual assault, and according to the report, has previously been convicted for failing to regularly report or correct his address information with authorities as a registered sex offender.

Orr pleaded guilty Friday morning to all of the charges before visiting Judge Tawnya Frioli. State’s Attorney Grummel extended special thanks to Illinois Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Peck and Illinois Attorney General Investigator Larry Rayburn for their collaboration on the case.

One person has been pronounced dead after a fatal two-vehicle crash north of Carrollton on US 67 Friday afternoon.

Eyewitness reports the crash occurred on the s-curve in the southbound lanes of US 67 at approximately 1 p.m. Friday. An ISP report says that ISP Troop 8 responded to the location for the report of a fatal, head-on collision. A black Ford Fiesta sedan reportedly crossed the center lane markings and struck a truck-tractor semi-trailer head-on. The driver of the sedan was reported deceased, while the semi driver reported no injuries.

Traffic was rerouted at the stop sign at the Carrollton Square going north. Southbound traffic was rerouted at Berdan Road, north of the scene. Providence Road was the only passable southbound way for traffic during the reroute. US 67 reopened at approximately 7:00 p.m. after a lengthy investigation and clean-up of the scene.

Greene County Coroner Brady Milnes confirmed the death of a 69-year-old man who was pronounced deceased at the scene on US Highway 67 near mile marker 12, according to an announcement released late Friday.

Milnes says the identity of the deceased is being withheld at this time pending notification of next of kin, and post-mortem procedures are scheduled for Saturday. The death remains under investigation by the Greene County Coroner’s Office, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, and the Illinois State Police.

No further information has been released at this time.

The Illinois State Police have confirmed an investigation into theft of funds at the Winchester EMS.

An anonymous email from a Scott County citizen was sent to several news outlets on April 26 saying that a member of the Winchester EMS “has been stealing…taxpayer money.” The email says that the Scott County Commissioners and EMS leadership were aware of the issue and the email reported that “EMS leadership is reportedly seeking to handle the investigation internally rather than involving the proper authorities.”

The Winchester EMS began receiving taxpayer funding in January 2024 after citizens passed an advisory referendum to set up a special service area tax. The referendum and funding was a four-year long back and forth battle between EMS’s leadership and the Scott County Commissioners for the EMS to remain in operation. As the referendum was written, the tax levy for the special service area would provide about $260,000 a year strictly to fund salaries, allowing the service to establish paid positions to alleviate the strain on volunteer members of the group. The quarterly payments on the salaries carry a requirement of incident reporting to the commissioners along with progress reports on ALS certification, among other items that are controlled by the county commissioners. The remainder of the funding for capital improvements and other items are funded through the EMS’s 501(c)3 status and private fundraising.

The Illinois State Police confirmed via email to The Source reporter and WLDS News correspondent Ben Cox on Friday that ISP Special Investigations has an open investigation referencing the theft of funds at the Winchester EMS. The email did not confirm any further information.

A phone call placed by Cox to the Scott County Commissioners with a message on May 1 has not been returned. An email inquiry with Scott County State’s Attorney Rick Crews’ office has also not been answered.

KHQA reported on April 29 that the State’s Attorney’s Office had launched an investigation into theft of taxpayer funds at the Winchester EMS. The report said that one employee had allegedly stolen taxpayer money despite the aforementioned requirements of the Special Service Area referendum. Winchester leadership said in a phone conversation with Cox on May 1 that their legal counsel has advised for them to make no public comment at this time as an investigation remains open and ongoing.

As of press time, no charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.

A Greene County man with multiple charges across several West Central Illinois counties was sentenced this morning to prison time in Greene County Circuit Court.

Charles W. Swarringim, 41, formerly of Roodhouse was sentenced to 1 year in the Illinois Department of Corrections for criminal damage to government supported property. Swarringim pleaded guilty to the Class 4 felony this morning after representing himself during court proceedings, according to Greene County State’s Attorney Craig Grummel.

The charges stem from an incident on April 15th in which Swarringim damaging a blanket at the Greene County Jail without consent.

Swarringim has several pending cases in Cass County, including Class X felony methamphetamine delivery and failure to return from furlough as a felon. Swarringim was initially arrested on the charges back on November 14, 2024 for incidents that had occurred in September 2024. Swarringim has failed to appear for court proceedings on multiple occasions since then, and has appeared as a Crime Stoppers Most Wanted individual.

Swarringim also has an open case in Morgan County stemming from a traffic stop arrest on July 23, 2023 for possession of methamphetamine between 5-15 grams and felony driving on a revoked license.

New court dates for those outstanding cases have not been announced. Swarringim was remanded to the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections immediately following the hearing.

A Springfield man pleaded guilty to a string of vehicle burglaries in hotel parking lots in Sangamon County on Friday, but is believed to be linked to over 100 thefts and burglaries across the region over the last two years.

Christian Halberstadt, 34, of Springfield pleaded guilty to the burglaries and was sentenced to 11 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, according to online court records. Capital City Now reports that Springfield Police identified Halberstadt in the series of burglaries in lots in the area of Dirksen Parkway between South Grand Avenue and Stevenson Drive. The incidents involved criminal damage to vehicles and theft of Milwaukee and Dewalt tools back in January. Officers arrested Halberstadt on 8 charges on January 31, and he’s been residing in the Sangamon County Jail since.

A news release from Springfield Deputy Chief Sara Pickford says that Halberstadt is also suspected to be involved in over 100 burglaries to vehicles in 2024 including several in Jacksonville, Decatur and in other locations in Sangamon County. Anyone with information concerning this investigation is being asked to call the Springfield Police Department at (217) 788-8311 or leave a tip with the Sangamon-Menard Crime Stoppers.

One person was injured and a car ended up in the front yard of a residence in the 1700 block of Mound Avenue on Sunday morning.

Jacksonville Police, LifeStar EMS and Jacksonville Rescue responded to the intersection of Westgate and Mound at approximately 9:30 Sunday morning for a report of a two-vehicle collision with injuries.

According to a police report, a vehicle driven by 26-year old Earl Q. Green of Springfield was stopped at the intersection of Westgate Avenue at Mound Road and then proceeded northbound through the intersection on Westgate before striking a vehicle driven by a 17-year old female juvenile, who was traveling eastbound on Mound Avenue.

The report says that the 17-year old female failed to obey the stop sign at the intersection and struck Green’s vehicle. The female told police that she believed that she had stopped or slowed down at the intersection but also said she was looking down at her radio. An eye witness told police that the 17-year old female’s vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and that she was looking down while driving the car.

Both vehicles sustained major damage and was towed from the scene. The female’s vehicle ended up damaging bushes in the front yard of a home located in the 1700 block of Mound Road before coming to rest in front of a utility pole.

Green was transported from the scene to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital for left leg, left hip, and neck pain; but all were considered non-life threatening.

The 17-year old female was later cited for disobeying a stop sign.

Some area residents have raised concerns that Jacksonville School District 117 paid too much for an 8-acre plot of land that will be the eventual site of the new Murrayville-Woodson Elementary School.

The site near the intersection of the Woodson-Winchester Road and Water Tower Road sits less than a quarter of a mile from Illinois-267 and was purchased from Mark Pennell at $40,000 per acre at the end of March.

District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek says the purchase was at a premium because the land wasn’t really for sale. He likened it to going up to someone’s home who wasn’t for sale and asking to buy their house, which he says would happen at a premium. He says the rate that was paid for the property was actually near a commercial development property rate, compared to what Dollar General paid for their current site in Woodson. He said the premium was worth it because the school was placed at the site that is best for the district and the area.

As for getting the school built, Ptacek says that site soil sampling and testing is currently taking place. He says more developments with the design and other state regulations will be given in the next few months.

A Winchester man who is said to have slashed the throat of a Carrollton resident during a domestic disturbance last summer was sentenced to prison in Greene County Circuit Court today.

27-year-old Austin Williams of Winchester pleaded guilty to Aggravated Battery, a Class 3 Felony, stemming from an incident that occurred on June 3 of last year. According to a Carrollton Police Department report, Williams is accused of slashing the throat of Joshua Aguirre with a box cutter. According to a report from the Carrollton Police Department, at approximately 4:45PM on that date, the Carrollton Police Department was notified that a male subject had a cut to his throat at a residence in the 100 block of Third Street. The injured male subject was transported to Boyd Memorial Hospital prior to officers’ arrival. Williams was later found and arrested by police and booked into the Greene County Jail.

The case had gone through lengthy pretrial deliberations over Williams’ mental fitness.

Following the guilty plea today, Judge Zachary Schmidt sentenced Williams to 6 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Fines and court costs were waived per the plea.