A convicted drug felon is heading back to prison on multiple charges after a plea deal on Tuesday in Morgan County Circuit Court.

43-year old Shawn M. Johnson, listed as homeless and formerly of Jerseyville, pleaded guilty to burglary and possession of methamphetamine less than 5 grams.

Johnson’s criminal history in Jacksonville dates back to 2020, when he was originally sentenced to prison on a methamphetamine charge. In April 2024 upon his initial release, he was convicted of misdemeanor retail theft charges and sentenced to one year of conditional discharge.

On the evening of May 20, 2024, camera footage captured a subject smashing glass and breaking a metal door at the Jacksonville Main Street Office in the 200 block of West State Street. A short time later, officers identified Johnson as the suspect and placed him under arrest for burglary, criminal damage to property, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

While on pretrial release, subsequent arrests occurred for drug charges, felony retail theft, and resisting a peace officer – including an August 8, 2024 arrest in which Johnson was found entering an abandoned home in the 400 block of North Church by Jacksonville Police.

On Tuesday, Johnson was sentenced by Morgan County Judge Chris Reif to a total of 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 1 year of mandatory supervised release, ordered to pay a $500 county fine, and was recommended for placement in a facility with drug and alcohol and mental health treatment. Johnson was given credit for 6 days served in the Morgan County Jail.

Members of the Morgan County Health Department say they are carrying on as normal in the face of cuts of millions of dollars to state health departments’ funding by the federal government.

Reuters reports the U.S. Department of Public Health and Human Services canceled around $12 billion in federal grants to states that were allocated during the pandemic. The grants were being used to track, prevent, and control infectious diseases.

The Trump Administration had previously ended more than $11 billion in funding awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and roughly $1 billion by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Illinois Department of Public Health and 97 local public health departments say that $125 million in funding has been pulled from the state so far, causing cuts to various state and local programs.

Morgan County Health Department Office Manager Meredith Vogel-Thomas says that Morgan County residents should rest assured that several programs they are used to are continuing without disruption: “I’m really happy to report that it is business as usual at the Morgan County Health Department. In the news, there has been a lot of chatter about the state of public health in the world and in the country. For us, frankly, we have just carried on as normal. All of our programs are functioning just like we hoped they would. We haven’t seen a downturn, necessarily, in interest in services. I would actually say that we’ve seen an increase recently. We’re fortunate that we have a really skilled staff that is very happy to talk with folks that have questions about measles, vaccinations, or any healthcare.”

The health department has not said whether the cuts would affect any of their communicable disease surveillance programs or mental health treatment programs in the near term.

The Morgan County Commissioners say they are just letting their department head do her job and not getting into the middle of the Village of South Jacksonville’s complaints about their animal control contract.

Commissioner Chair Mike Wankel says that he was a bit disappointed to hear of the complaints raised by the South Jacksonville trustee’s last week, but he says it wasn’t a correct statement to say that they pawned off any of their duties to the village – they are simply letting Animal Control Director Lisa Ladely do what she’s been hired to do: “We’ve had no communication with their board. I know that they have talked to the director of Animal Control, and she has, as always in the past, if she expects expenses to go up, which naturally they have and any pet owner has seen that as pet food costs have increased over 100% in one year, at time she sees the need to increase fees for that. I believe, the increase, which they failed to mention, is 25 cents per person.”

Wankel says with the math, the increase in the contract amounts to $825 compared to the previous contract, which he believes is reasonable considering the circumstances. As far as the hours of operation complaint of being Monday through Friday 8:30-4:30, Wankel says it’s how the office is set up: “That is their hours during daily operations. They will respond after hours. We have one person on call after hours, and they would respond to an emergency situation such as a dog bite or a vicious animal that needs to be controlled – something of that nature. They are not going to get out of bed for a cat in a tree or someone’s dog running loose in a neighborhood. That’s something that can be handled the next day. That’s the policies and procedures they have in place.”

As far as not responding to wild animal calls, Wankel says that Animal Control will respond to wild animals out of attics and out of homes for people if they are in danger or if there is property damage occurring. He says that residents can also rent live traps to capture a wild animal traversing on their property.

Wankel says he hopes a discussion can be had with the village administration for the contract to continue, but he says they do have options: “We look forward to having any further discussions with South Jacksonville. When you think about those fees that they are complaining about, it seems very fair that she hasn’t increased the fees enormously. She’s just merely trying to take care of a budget. The village does have the option to not being involved in Animal Control services. We would only respond to, I will call it emergency-type situations with them, where we won’t respond to come get a cat or a raccoon – we would simply respond on an emergency situation where Animal Control would only be responsible for something like a dog bite. So they could opt out of those other services if they wish.”

Wankel says that he and the other commissioners do not wish to micromanage the Animal Control Department, and believe Ladely is doing a fine job. He says that the conversations between the Village and Ladely should have been handled internally. The Village of South Jacksonville Board is expected to vote and have further discussions on the Animal Control contract at their next scheduled meeting in April.

The District 117 Board of Education approved an 8-acre real estate purchase for a plot of land south of Woodson at a special meeting last night.

The plot of land, located at the intersection of the Woodson-Winchester Road and Water Tower Road sits less than a quarter of a mile from Illinois-267. The board approved the purchase of the lot from Mark Pennell for a total of $320,000.

The plot of land is two acres larger than the plot that South Elementary sits on by comparison.

Murrayville resident and District 117 Board member Teresa Wilson says the purchase now lays out a monumental moment for the entire district, as the first new building will be built in the district since Eisenhower Elementary’s construction in the 1970s: “I just feel like this new building is going to answer a lot of questions, take care of a lot of concerns. And I would just hope that the entire district and community everyone get behind this because it’s only going to do good. I do appreciate Mr. Ptacek for the work that he has put in to get this accomplished because it’s a very large project. I am just very appreciative of the entire process. I’m glad we’ve got the land purchased now, and it’s a good road.”

Late District 117 Board member Steve Cantrell was a fierce advocate for the Murrayville community and for the elementary school. Cantrell passed away suddenly in September 2022. Wilson says that Cantrell is likely smiling somewhere at the thought of both a new school for the community and where it’s being located: “I am a little sad that Mr. Cantrell is not here. The true irony is that it’s right up the road from where he lived. The new school – he could see it from his house. I really hope that he is very joyous at this moment, because I really think he would be.”

Superintendent Steve Ptacek says now the ground work begins for the new school: “Our district architect Jamie Cosgriff can really start working on a final design so that he can get bid packages together. I think that will probably take place in the summer. In the meantime, we will be meeting with [officials from] Woodson, invite county officials, and some engineering firms to look at the possibility of installing a sewage line instead of having to go with a septic system. [Engineers] will also start taking soil samples to analyze the drainage of the dirt in the event we do have to go on a septic system. With the bids in the summer, we are allowing the farmer that cash rents the place to have this full year of crop. After that comes out, if they are ready, we can start doing some site work before winter happens, but the majority of the work will start next Spring.”

Ptacek told the school board he hopes that the sewer line can be ran so that further economic along that area can occur and spur some of the growth he thinks will happen in the next 10-20 years. If not, Ptacek says it is not a problem if the school is placed on a septic system. North Elementary School currently operates on a septic system.

Ptacek says the process will be different this time around with a new construction, but he feels everything should be fairly straightforward.

Ptacek addressed the rumors that had circulated during his tenure that one piece of his agenda was that he was going to close the Murrayville-Woodson School and bus students to Jacksonville. He says the goal was to always benefit the entire district, and he could not justify throwing millions of dollars of maintenance into the current Murrayville building when that same money could be saved to build a new building.

In relation to growth and restructuring of the district with the new school, he says a boundary change discussion will be held by the board to possibly move the Murrayville-Woodson boundary north to the Interstate 72 interchange in order to alleviate overcrowding at both South and Eisenhower schools. He says the new building will be built with the idea in mind that there will eventually be two classes per grade level, as well as the expanded Early Years and special education spaces that are currently needed to alleviate the district’s capacity concerns.

As far as the scope of his work over his tenure as superintendent, Ptacek says the new building is a proud moment of his career at Jacksonville: “There’s actually a lot of emotions right now. When we passed the sales tax referendum [in 2012], all we knew we were going to be able to do was one building. The thought of doing a couple of other elementary schools was in the works as far as trying to figure out a way, but never thought about trying to take care of Murrayville-Woodson the way we are right now. The building will be done in the Spring or Summer of 2027 and open in the Fall of 2027, and I leave in the Summer of 2027. I’m going to leave being very proud of being able to work with this board and all of the board members of the last 12 years in getting all of this accomplished.”

The board room had more than a dozen people in attendance for the meeting Tuesday night, many of whom are faculty, staff, students, and residents of the Murrayville area. When the final vote was cast, in a rare moment, the school board was given a full round of applause.

As far as the fate of the current 107-year old facility, Ptacek says the budget for the new building has an allocation for the demolition and remediation of the building at 307 Masters Street in Murrayville. Beyond that, the district, he says will have to make a decision on what to do with the vacated property.

A long-time member of the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation is slowly stepping aside from her full-time role.

Bonni Waters, Vice President of JREDC, announced on Tuesday she will be stepping away as a full-time member of the organization to a part-time assistant’s role until her successor can be named.

Waters joined the organization in 1996 as an administrative assistant. Over the years, her role evolved, first to market research analyst and eventually to vice president. She’s had notable accomplishments including creating promotional videos for the City of Jacksonville and development of Scott County’s website.

Waters said in a press release today that her priorities in retirement include cleaning her home, sewing and quilting, along with travel with her husband Kenny.

A Central Illinois convenience store chain owner has pleaded guilty to charges of sales tax evasion.

39-year old Surjit Singh of Clinton was charged in March 2023 with 2 counts of theft of government property, 4 counts of sales tax evasion, 9 counts of filing fraudulent sales tax returns, and one count of forgery for alleged schemes at his gas stations at the Clinton Pantry in Clinton, Lake Shore Stop LLC in Decatur, Chandlerville Food Inc. in Chandlerville, and the Winchester Food Mart in Winchester.

Subsequently the Illinois Attorney General’s Office filed 2 more counts of theft of government property over $100,000, two counts of sales tax evasion, and a single count of forgery for similar schemes at gas stations he owns in Pekin and Canton on August 16, 2024.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, Singh failed to remit sales tax money collected from customers to the state of Illinois. In addition, Singh is alleged to have under-reported sales to the Illinois Department of Revenue, resulting in a criminal sales tax liability of more than $100,000 between the 6 stores he owns.

Last Tuesday, Singh pleaded guilty to one count of Class 2 felony Sales Tax Evasion, having all of the remaining charges dismissed per the plea. Singh was sentenced by Sangamon County Judge Robin Schmidt to 2 years of adult probation and order to pay full restitution in the case, which includes all of the back taxes, according to members of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

The City of Virginia has honored a family for its over seven decades of ownership of Walker Nursing Home.

The Journal Courier reports that Harrisburg-based WLC Management Firm has purchased the nursing home from the White Family and will taking over ownership within the next few weeks.

WLC currently owns and operates 19 other long-term care and rehabilitation facilities across Central and Southern Illinois. Terms of the sale have not been disclosed.

The 71-bed facility will also undergo a name change to Cass County Senior Living and Rehabilitation, according to a filing with the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Walker Nursing Home was first licensed by the State of Illinois in 1950 and has remained in the hands of the White Family when they first renovated the former Conover Mansion. According to the report, Bryan White and his sister Rachel Schaddel who will remain administrators of the facilities after the change in ownership cited rising costs and increasing regulations as the reasons for the sale.

The Virginia City Council recently presented members of the White Family with a plaque and a letteer of appreciation for their 73 years of service to the Cass County community.

Two individuals have stepped forward to help replace previous years’ Central Park Market on the Downtown Square.

Kelsi Simmert Barbknecht and Kelly Jones have announced the creation of the Downtown Jax First Thursday Merchant Fair.

The market season kick off will be next Thursday, April 3^rd. The merchant fair will be held on the first Thursday of the month from April to August – with a pause in July for the 4^th of July Celebration.

The event will run from 4-8PM in Downtown Jacksonville inside or on the sidewalk in front of the Square’s businesses. Unlike year’s past, this will not be a street vendor event, rather it will be where the square’s businesses will stay open later and vendors, if the businesses choose to have one, will be located inside or on the sidewalk, not disrupting the flow of traffic on the square or parking.

Interested vendors can find a Google Form here on the Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitor’s Bureau social media channels. Spaces are limited and early registration for vendors is encouraged.

For more information about this new series of events, contact Kelly Jones at 217-491-4521.

Sangamon County Jim Allmon has released the identity of the woman hit an killed on I-72 near New Berlin on Saturday night.

35-year old Maysa Davis, of New Berlin, was pronounced deceased at the scene. An autopsy was done and preliminary findings suggest she died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in a pedestrian vs car incident.

A request to the State Police earlier today for more information, including a potential arrest, was denied, saying the investigation remained open and ongoing.

The death remains under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroner’s Office and the Illinois State Police.

UPDATE 3/26/2025: The Illinois State Police announced the arrest of 65-year old Robert W. Butcher of Pleasant Plains as the driver of the suspect vehicle in the incident. Butcher was arrested by members of the Illinois State Police on Monday afternoon and booked into the Sangamon County Jail. Butcher has been cited for leaving the scene of a fatal traffic crash, a Class 1 felony.

Butcher made his first appearance in Sangamon County Court on Tuesday. Butcher was released under conditions of the SAFE-T Act after the hearing. A preliminary hearing has been set for April 24th.

Authorities are investigating the death of a man found unresponsive Monday evening in Beardstown.

KHQA reports the Beardstown Police Department, along with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Beardstown Ambulance and Beardstown Fire Department, responded at approximately 7:45 p.m. Monday to a call regarding an unresponsive male in the 1200 block of State Street, according to Beardstown Police Chief Martin Coad.

The man was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Illinois State Police and crime scene technicians, along with Zone 4 investigators, were notified to assist in the investigation.

In a statement, Illinois State Police confirmed they were conducting a death investigation at the request of the Beardstown Police Department.

Authorities have not released the identity pending the investigation and notification of next of kin.

No further details have been made available.

UPDATE 3/26/2025: Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn has identified the decedent in the case as 37-year old Junior Ngoyi Kalonji of Beardstown. Ohrn says an autopsy was completed Tuesday morning and the case remains under investigation.