An Effingham County judge has placed a temporary restraining order on Illinois’ recently passed assault weapons ban.

On Tuesday, former Republican Attorney General candidate Thomas DeVore sued in Effingham County arguing the ban was unconstitutional. During an emergency hearing Wednesday, DeVore argued, among other things, that the law violates equal protections by exempting law enforcement officers from the new ban.

Effingham County Judge Joshua Morrison granted the TRO for the 860-plus individuals who were named as party in the lawsuit. The case advances pending an expected appeal by the governor and legislative leaders.

There are other pending lawsuits filed against the assault weapons ban including a federal suit filed by the Illinois State Rifle Association. No hearings have been scheduled in the other cases, according to the Center Square.

In a statement after the ruling, Governor J.B. Pritzker says the decision wasn’t surprising but was still disappointing. Pritzker says the plaintiffs’ goal is ideology over public safety and says he still believes that the constitutionality of the law will pass muster with the state’s court system.

Capitol Fax reports that Judge Morrison may have a conflict of interest in the case, as he was recently elected to the position in Effingham County. He previously was State’s Attorney in Fayette County and was one of several state’s attorneys around the state who filed a lawsuit against the SAFE-T Act, a lawsuit he is still a party to from his former capacity. Morrison also was one of several state’s attorneys in southern Illinois who pushed back against enforcement of Covid-19 mitigations two years ago, according to a post on Thomas DeVore’s campaign website.

A preliminary injunction hearing is set in the Effingham County case for 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 1^st.

A Sangamon County company specializing in plastic drainage material is celebrating its 45^th anniversary with a facility expansion.

Springfield Plastics, Inc. announced that it’s expanding its Auburn facility. The facility, along with its Humboldt, Iowa, supplies 100%-virgin-resin made drainage solutions for the agricultural, residential/building, commercial, and highway markets in 9 states.

The Auburn expansion project will allow the company to grow in the areas of production, raw materials management, quality control and assurance, and warehousing. Part of the expansion includes adding up to 65 full-time positions in sales, shipping, accounting, engineering, and manufacturing.

The company’s annual Drain for the Cure fundraiser for cancer research and prevention will be turning 10 in October as part of the 45^th anniversary celebration. The fundraiser has raised more than $675,000 over the years to support the fight against cancer in Illinois and Iowa.

The first major solar project in Greene County is slated to begin construction in the next few months.

The Greene Prairie Press reports that the Hickory Solar Park is being built by Houston, Texas-based EDP Renewables will begin building the 700 acre solar farm in the coming months, with 150 acres in Greene County and the rest in Jersey County. EDP is also the company building the 140-megawatt Wolf Run Solar Project just east of Waverly.

The Hickory Solar project is expected to produce 110 megawatts and will tie into the new Ameren-Illinois substation being built near the Jersey County Fairgrounds. The project is expected to create 300-400 temporary jobs and 2 permanent positions.

The capital investment of the project is expected to be $130 million, with $37 million being paid to landowner leases, $15 million going to local governments.

A Peoria man was found guilty on 3 counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in Brown County Court on Wednesday after a two-day trial.

37 year old Brian A. Myles of Peoria was found guilty of all three counts, all Class X felonies, by Brown County Circuit Judge Jerry Hooker.

Myles is accused of sexually assaulting a family member under the age of 13 on three separate occasions.

The trial was originally slated for a jury call on Tuesday, but after both the state and defense questioned 21 potential jurors that morning, Myles decided to waive the jury call. The bench trial then began with opening arguments on Tuesday afternoon.

Over the course of a day and a half of the trial, the bench heard testimony from the victim, a small number of witnesses, Brown County authorities, and also watched a video of the police interview with Myles at the time of his initial arrest.

Myles is due back in Brown County Circuit Court on March 8^th for sentencing. He faces between 6 to 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. He is currently being lodged at the Schuyler County Jail prior to sentencing.

An endangered Jersey County woman has now been missing for more than 10 days and her family is asking for the public’s help.

38 year old Kaila Marie Vincent-Vatole was last seen near her residence around Little Piasa Road in Dow on Sunday, January 8^th around 4PM.

Family members say that it is not like her to go this long without reaching out to someone or to not have her cellphone. Vincent-Vatole stands approximately 5 feet tall and weighs around 90-100 pounds. She has long hair that is brown at the roots and is currently wavy with blonde ends. She is covered in tattoos. She has false teeth and according to the family, she has an Iliostomy after surviving cancer treatment, in which she wears colostomy bags. The family says due to her health and not having heard from her for so such a lengthy time period, they believe her to be in danger.

According to a Facebook page in the missing woman’s name, Vincent-Vatole has previous connections to Pike County, Macoupin County, Madison County, and Decatur City, Iowa. Vincent-Vatole has three daughters, one of which who has set up a Facebook Page for people to leave tips about her mother’s possible whereabouts. The family says they are also in the process of setting up a search party.

Anyone who has any information about Vincent-Vatole’s disappearance should contact the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office at 618-498-6881 or leave an anonymous tip with the Two Rivers Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-300-2590.

Mt. Sterling is addressing its housing shortage one lot at a time.

A new subdivision, Neylon Farms, has two new houses on the market with the hopes of at least 50 or more homes coming in the near future.

Mt. Sterling City Administrator Vada Yingling said in November that the city is the hub of commercial and industrial traffic for Brown County and they’d like more people to move into town: “We’ve got quite a few people that stream into our community every day to work at DOT Foods, the prison, and Timewell Tile. A good part of them commute and live outside of the county. We’d like to entice a portion of them to work, live, play, and send their kids to school here. We’ve got Neylon Farms as a new subdivision that’s being developed on the west side of town. They’ve got one complete spec home and looking for…I believe they’ve got one just about done, and I believe they’ve broke ground on two others. They are selling lots there and are hoping people want to come in and build, and live with us here in Mt. Sterling.”

According to 2020 Census figures, Mt. Sterling has approximately 2,000 people. Yingling told WGEM recently that at least 2,500 people work at DOT Foods. Several people have reported struggling to find open housing in Brown County and have to drive into the county from several miles away.

Mt. Sterling also recently completed renovations on Capitol Avenue after completing Main Street renovations over 2 years ago. New amenities at Mt. Sterling Lake have also recently been completed. Yingling says that picturesque homes in the new subdivision should entice people wanting to settle down in Mt. Sterling either to live and work or come to retire.

Old words in new ways is the theme of a poetry program coming to Jacksonville in the near future.

Shatriya Smith, Executive Director of the Garvey Tubman Cultural Arts & Research Center, is bringing Underground Railroad Poetry to Jacksonville. Smith says the program is a themed monthly series highlighting this region’s finest visionaries, wordsmiths, and abolitionists.

“It’s basically poetry prompts for those visionaries and forward thinkers that want to participate and a new vision of bringing old words back to life. So what we do is we have a three-part program, and we call them stations. Station A is our workshop, Station B is our open mic night, and Station C is our field trips somewhere along the Underground Railroad.”

Smith says the first program will be at the Illinois College Sibert Theater tonight. “We will be discussing the three prompt programs for the Underground Railroad Poetry. In addition to that, we will be in Jacksonville on the 28^th, but I can’t disclose exactly where it’s going to be, as it is the Underground Railroad. It’s kind of exclusive, but I can give you a hint though. It is in a space that Frederick Douglas orated in Jacksonville, and it has a connection to an abolitionist congregation.”

Smith says the lessons encompass multiple connections to the Underground Railroad in an attempt to educate and also to show that the lessons of the past still have relevance today.

“We are asking for a five-dollar donation at the door to assist our organization in providing services to kids of low-income families of free music classes from the age of five to seventeen.

We also provide educational resources and art engagement to teach kids how to become entrepreneurs and making trash into cash, by non-recycled products and turning them into art that they can then sell.”

The event will be held in the Sibert Theatre at the McGraw fine Arts Center tonight beginning at 7 pm. Included in the events tonight will be Kathryn Harris portraying Harriet Tubman, a performance from a dance troop, and speakers Vincent Llewellyn Pierrelouis Chappelle from the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum, along with a presentation by Smith.

The open mic night, titled, “The Conduit” will be at Buzz Bomb Brewery in Springfield on Sunday from 7-10 PM. For more information, visit the Garvey Tubman Cultural Arts & Research Center on Facebook or call (217) 816-0820.

A Carrollton man charged with multiple felonies over the last two years was sentenced to prison time in Greene County Court last week.

34 year old Clifford D. Maxon Jr. will spend a total of 5 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to felony driving with a suspended license and burglary on Friday.

Maxon was first arrested in June 2021 by White Hall Police for possession of methamphetamine, driving on a suspended license, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a controlled substance. The controlled substance charge was filed and initially dropped the following August.

Maxon was arrested again by White Hall Police on July 10, 2021 for possession of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, a license plate violation, and driving on a revoked license.

Roodhouse Police arrested Maxon on January 12, 2022 for driving on a revoked license, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Roodhouse Police again arrested Maxon on February 10, 2022 for connection to a burglary investigation and a drug investigation in which Maxon allegedly possessed methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

White Hall Police arrested Maxon again on March 27^th, 2022 for possession of methamphetamine and violation of an order of protection.

White Hall Police arrested Maxon for the final time in September 2022 for possession of methamphetamine and possession of a narcotic instrument.

Maxon pled guilty on Friday to the felony driving on a suspended license charge from the July 2021 arrest and the burglary charge from the February 2022 arrest. Maxon was sentenced to 2 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on the suspended license charge and 3 years for the burglary charge. Both were ordered to be served consecutively. All other charges were dropped per the plea. He was given credit for 96 days served in the Greene County Jail and also ordered to pay court costs.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Nebo man on Friday on multiple charges.

51 year old Scott E. Bricking was arrested for violation of the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act, Obstructing Justice, and filing a false police report.

Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood says in a press release that investigation into Bricking began last Monday when Bricking came to the Pike County Sheriff’s Department to report his involvement in a crime. The Pike County Sheriff’s Department conducted an investigation into the crime that Bricking had reported and found no evidence supporting the crime that had occurred.

On Friday, , the Pike County Sheriff’s Department conducted a follow-up interview with Bricking. During this interview, Bricking admitted to lying about the crime which he reported. Additional information was obtained from Bricking regarding a violation of the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act by Chief Deputy Zack Orr.

Bricking was arrested and lodged in the Pike County Jail on the charges. He is due in Pike County Circuit Court this afternoon for a first appearance.