A Petersburg man who was a security guard at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired in Jacksonville that was arrested this past fall on Child Pornography charges has been sentenced to prison time.

52-year old Shane E. Guernsey was given a 9-year prison sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections in Menard County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to Class X felony child pornography dissemination.

Guernsey was arrested on September 26, 2024 by the Illinois State Police and members of the Petersburg Police Department after a warrant was executed at Guernsey’s residence. On June 18, 2024, ISP agents initiated an investigation after learning a subject was possessing and disseminating child sexual abuse material. During the investigation, ISP agents assigned to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General Internet Crimes against Children Task Force gathered digital evidence indicating that Guernsey possessed child sexual abuse material at his residence in Petersburg.

Guernsey was placed on suspended leave without pay during the course of the criminal investigation from the Illinois Department of Human Service, who oversees employment at ISVI.

Guernsey is currently held at the Menard County Jail awaiting placement for his time in IDOC. In addition to his prison term, Guernsey was sentenced to 3 year to life of mandatory supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $7,600 in fines, fees, and court assessments. He was given credit for 176 days – 33 days in jail and 143 days spent on GPS pretrial monitoring.

Area residents will have the ability to help young families by eating at the Corner Deli in Jacksonville today.

Ten percent of sales today at the deli, located at 700 South Diamond Street, is going towards District 117’s Early Years Program’s diaper bank.

Early Years Program Coordinator Kelly Ballard says this benefits new families who are unable to afford or have an immediate need for diapers: “Our 0-3 Home Visiting Team runs a community diaper bank. This is for both community members as well as our home-visited families to utilize. We started it in 2021. When we first started the diaper bank, we knew that 1 in 3 families in the nation had a need for diapers. It’s actually changed in the last year to 1 in 2 families that need those. We are very well used. We can’t use a lot of grant funding for our diaper bank, so we rely on the community and getting the word out to anyone that is able to donate. It’s really helpful us to make sure that we can maintain it.”

Any family living in District 117’s boundaries can be referred to the diaper program and to Early Years. Per month, the program is able to provide 25 diapers per child to families. The diapers are available during operation hours at the Early Years offices and through the Home Visitors. So far this school year, over 5,100 diapers have been provided to families, with nearly 11,000 diapers provided last school year.

The 2020 Robert “Joey” Schofield murder case received a part of a conclusion on Monday in Morgan County Circuit Court.

Defendant, 39-year old Kenneth Acree of Murrayville, and his attorneys tendered a plea bargain over the weekend to the Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office after several failed negotiations since Schofield’s body was discovered in October 2020.

Schofield was reported missing after he did not return home from work on October 4^th, 2020. Four days later his body was discovered buried in a field off of Gobbler Road in rural Murrayville. Acree was arrested one day later on October 9^th and then in January of 2021, the wife of the decedent, 33-year-old Sara M. Schofield, and the accused’s wife 40-year-old Laura C. Acree, were arrested and each charged with concealment of a homicidal death and obstructing justice.

RECAP of WLDS News Coverage of the Kenneth Acree Case:
* Murrayville Man Missing Since Sunday
* Search Continues For Missing Murrayville Man
* Missing Murrayville Man Found Dead, Foul Play Suspected
* Missing Murrayville Man Died From Gunshot Wounds
* Acree Pleads Not Guilty In Rural Murrayville Murder
* Wives of Murrayville Murder Victim and Accused Murderer Arrested
* Bond Set for Wives Connected to Schofield Murder
* Acree’s Motion to Reduce Bond Denied, Defense To Hire Expert Witnesses, PI
* Laura Acree Waives Trial By Jury In Homicide Concealment Case
* Acree Murder Case Inches Closer to Trial
* Acree Murder Trial Likely To Begin this Spring
* Acree Murder Trial Could See Trial Date Set at May Hearing
* Acree Trial Date Set for September, Defense Anticipates a Request for Bench Trial
* Additional Pretrial Date Added as Acree Murder Trial Remains On Track for September Start
* Acree Defense Says Self-Defense in 2020 Schofield Murder, Attempting to Proffer Character Testimony in Case
* Acree Trial Motions Continued, Trial Date Set for May
* Schofield Murder Case Set For Jury Trial in December
* Acree Defense Attorney Withdraws Likely Pushing Murder Trial to 2025
* Kenneth Acree Murder Trial Now Set for March

On Monday, Kenneth Acree agreed to plea guilty to amended charges of Class 1 felony second-degree murder and Class 3 felony concealment of a homicidal death. Three counts of first-degree murder and an enhanced Class 3 felony of concealment were dropped per the plea.

Visiting Sangamon County Associate Judge John M. Madonia accepted the pleading on behalf of Chief Judge of the 8^th Circuit Ryan Cadigan who could not be in attendance due to scheduling conflicts. The plea agreement tendered by the defense included a 30-year prison sentence on the second-degree murder charge and a 10-year sentence on the concealment charge. With the Class 3 felony being a triggering offense, according to state law, both sentences must be served back to back for a total of 40 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Acree was given credit for 1,621 days served in the Morgan County Jail. Acree must also serve 18 months of mandatory supervised release upon release. Acree will receive day-for-day credit for the remainder of his sentence.

Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll says that the negotiations on a plea agreement were contentious for several months: “Throughout the course of the last 5 years, the defense has made us a variety of offers to resolve the case short of trial. None of which, up until recently, were obviously worth considering. Recently, the defendant made an offer of what ultimately happened, which was a plea of guilty for 40 years on second-degree murder and concealment of a homicidal death. Obviously, the state met with the family and in conjunction with those meetings and in analysis of the case, we decided to accept that [plea]. Hopefully this resolution gives some sort of closure to a family that has certainly been suffering since October of 2020, and I’m sure will continue to suffer – but hopefully this gives at least a little closure.”

Noll says now the court faces the task of Acree’s two co-defendants in the case – Schofield’s wife 33-year old Sara M. Schofield and Acree’s wife 40-year old Laura C. Acree. Both women have been charged with Class 3 felony concealment of a homicidal death and obstruction of justice by destroying evidence. Both women are currently free on pretrial release under provisions of the SAFE-T Act.

Noll says there is not much he can delve into as far as the two women’s cases because they remain pending. He says that he doesn’t expect a trial for either of their cases: “I doubt either one of those cases will go to trial, but it’s possible that there would be a trial. Obviously, we were in court on Monday sentencing the individual that pulled the trigger that killed Joey Schofield. We will deal with the other two at a later date. I can’t really tell you what the final resolution of those cases will be at this point.”

During victim impact statements, Joey’s father, Robert Schofield placed the blame of his son’s shooting death ultimately in Sara Schofield’s hands saying that her lies about his son drove Ken to pull the trigger. Robert Schofield also lamented the 5 children in the center of the case and the fact that none of those involved with his son’s murder had shown remorse over the course of the last 5 years. Schofield hinted at his disagreement with the arranged plea bargain in the case. Noll says that the case had his office of weighing the pros and cons of going to trial: “I think that’s a fair assessment that some were unhappy with the arrangement. It is a very difficult situation. A plea to 40 years may bring them closure but certain members of the victim’s family absolutely wanted more time. I certainly cannot begrudge them of that in the least bit. In the end, that is what my office is here for. My office is here to make decisions, calculate the decisions based on the strength and weaknesses of any case – let alone this first-degree murder case – and decide what is the right thing to do in any given case. Ultimately, we accepted the counter offer for 40 years in prison, whether that is the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do, I don’t know. I certainly made the decision based on an analysis of the case itself and I’ve certainly got these things wrong in the past.”

With day-for-day credit, Noll was uncertain on the possibility of what length of time Acree will serve in prison, saying it will ultimately lie in the hands of the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Noll commended local law enforcement for their quick work and investigation five years ago to bring the case forward: “I would like to commend the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department on this investigation under the leadership of both Sheriff Mike Carmody and Chief Deputy Jamie Jackson. They had a missing person reported to them on October 5, 2020 and five days later, they had this murder case solved. There was some very good investigation done by these officers. It is what ultimately led to the 40-year sentence on Monday.”

Judge Madonia said before adjourning court on Monday that there was a lot of tragedy and work in the case over the last five years and that despite it not being the outcome that many wanted, it was closure and it should stay that way.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office has received several phone calls this week from residents regarding scam phone calls they have received from an individual identifying themselves as being affiliated with the Sheriff’s Office.

The person is telling the resident that they missed federal jury duty and they now have a warrant for their arrest. The caller is telling the resident that a bond has been set, and they need to make arrangements to pay it before they are arrested.

These calls are fraudulent attempts to scam you out of money. Legitimate law enforcement agencies generally do not call people with warrants and solicit bond payments over the phone.

Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen says to not participate in these calls and immediately hang up on the caller. Once you give the caller financial information or send them a payment, he says, the chances of getting your funds returned are absolutely zero.

The Winchester Post Office could possibly be reopened by the end of this month.

The Scott County Times reports that City of Winchester officials have spoken with the owner of the building who has said that state building inspectors could be in the building for a final inspection within the next two weeks.

Winchester post office customers and residents have had to come to Jacksonville since August 30, 2024 after a storm damaged the roof of the building, causing water damage to the interior of the building.

If the final inspection is approved, the facility could possibly be reopened by March 31^st.

The Rotary Club of Jacksonville is hoping to bring a green canopy back to the area with a new fundraiser.

The Rotary Club of Jacksonville is currently accepting orders for its inaugural Spring Tree Sale. All trees are $35 and stand approximately 3 to 4 feet tall. Donors can also contribute the cost of a tree or trees to the Rotary Green Project to help the club plant trees throughout the Jacksonville community.

Tree selections include: Silver Maple, Redbud, White Fringe Tree, Pagoda Dogwood, White Flowering Dogwood, Tulip Tree, Magnolia Waterlily, Jane Magnolia, Yellowood, and Sassafras.

Trees must be pre-ordered and pre-paid. Online pre-order and pre-payment is preferred through this link. Orders and payments must be received by April 30.

Trees will be available for buyers to pick up on May 10 from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Nichols Park (look for signage). If you are unable to pick up your tree(s) on May 10, you can make other arrangements by calling 217.370.4597, 217.883.1155, or email wahlcathy@gmail.com.

Member of Illinois College have readied the campus for their all-day fundraiser All In 4 IC today.

This is the eighth annual giving day for the College with a goal of bringing together alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends to support IC and its students.

Thanks to generous matching donors, every gift will be doubled — providing even more support for scholarships, academics, athletics, and campus life. Last year, over 1,200 donors raised $642,650 — directly benefiting students and programs across campus. This year, Illinois College hopes to build on that momentum.

To learn more, donate, or sign up as an advocate, visit ic.edu/ALLIN4IC. You can also watch the donations and various challenges in real time on the website, too.

For questions, contact Amy Rourke Jones at amy.jones@ic.edu or 217.245.3046.

Jacksonville Police responded to Jacksonville Middle School at 6:45 Tuesday morning for a man allegedly trespassing on the property.

JMS Principal Celeste Lashmett sent the following information to parents on Tuesday morning: “A man seemingly under the influence came into the foyer at JMS asking to enroll his child. JMS staff immediately got the one student waiting in the foyer into the office where they were safe and contacted police. The police responded immediately and detained him. The district along with the Jacksonville Police Department will be issuing a letter of no trespass for the individual for all District 117 properties. The JMS staff that were present acted quickly to ensure student safety.”

Lashmett went on to remind parents that the district and the JPD collaborate and have a full-time student resource officer stationed at the school each day and that student safety has and always will be a priority for staff.

According to a police report, officers arrested 64-year old Robert L. Jacques of the 1100 block of West State Street on a McDonough County warrant for contempt of court on violation of a court order. Jacques failed to appear on a pay or appear court date on August 9, 2024. The payment is in relation to a conviction on three felony theft charges.

Jacques has posted bond and been released.

An award-winning Jacksonville bed and breakfast has a new innkeeper.

According to the Jacksonville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Kelly Jones is the new innkeeper for Blessings On State.

Jones takes over for the late Gwenn Eyer who passed away in December while battling cancer. According to the announcement, Jones worked alongside Eyer as an assistant innkeeper for the past decade.

Jones will be working along side co-owners Glenn & Casey Eyer to continue the inn’s award-winning traditions.

The Jacksonville Public Library has a plethora of free events to wrap up the month of March.

Head Librarian Jake Magnusson says that a wide scope of literature will be covered over the next two weeks: “We have an author talk with J.D. Proffitt on March 19th. At the end of March, on the 26th we will have Robert Seufert and Sherri Mitchell doing ‘Poetical Treasures of the British Isles.’ It’s always a good time to have those two here. They have put on Halloween programs and holiday programs in the past. They really get into it and draw a really good crowd. Everybody has a really good time.”

Adult Services Librarian Ali Jones says that the start time for the J.D. Proffitt presentation on Wednesday, March 19^th has changed to 7PM. Proffitt, will describe his journey into publishing novels, an adventure which began twenty years ago when he studied the art of writing historical fiction. Proffitt has another novel slated for release by the end of this year.

Magnusson says there is still time to submit to the annual Author of the Year contest. Residents of Morgan County 16 years of age or older are encouraged to enter two categories: “There are entry forms here at the library and at Our Town Bookstore. We encourage anybody who has interest in writing either poetry or prose to submit something. There are cash prizes. There is always a fun turnout to see what sort of talent we have in the area.”

Entries are due on March 28th with winners for the contest being announced on April 24th. For more information on upcoming events or the Author of the Year contest visit jaxpl.org or call 217-243-5435.