Illini Community Hospital in Pittsfield has named its next administrator.

Current administrator Kathy Hull announced her retirement last month after 11 years on the job. Hull will officially retire on December 23^rd and pursue another position elsewhere.

Holly Jones has been named her successor. Jones has spent the last 11 years as Illini Hospital’s Assistant Administrator. Jones has 22 years’ experience in healthcare as a bedside nurse and in management, all within the Blessing Health System.

Jones, who lives in Pleasant Hill, said in a press release she’s excited to lead the Illini team into healthcare’s future.

The Jacksonville Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign is just over halfway to its goal.

With less than 2 weeks left to go in the campaign, the campaign has raised $77,580, as of Monday, of its $150,000 goal. Salvation Army Captain Chris Clarke says the Jacksonville Community has stepped up to fill the needs for bell ringers, even when a small problem arose two weeks ago when an organization couldn’t fulfill their hours: “The great thing about this community when they know about a need, they come out in force and they certainly help us to fill those spots. Although, we still have spots available everyday [for bell ringing], so if people want to ring even today, they could give us a call and we could find them a location to do so.”

Individuals, families, clubs and groups are encouraged to sign up to bell ring by going to registertoring.org or by calling 217-245-7124. Clarke is hoping the community will be able to dig deep in the remaining days to ensure the local Salvation Army can continue its annual programs and provide help to those in need.

A Sangamon County company specializing in drainage material made its annual donation to the Simmons Cancer Institute yesterday.

Springfield Plastics President Steve Baker presented members of the Simmons Cancer Institute in Springfield with a check for over $137,000 from their 2022 Drain For the Cure fundraiser. Since its inception nine years ago, Drain for the Cure has donated over $675,000 to cancer research and patient services at Simmons Cancer Institute in Springfield and John Stoddard Cancer Center in Des Moines, Iowa. Donations were made by employees, customers, vendors, business partners, and friends of Springfield Plastics.

Donations were also collected through an initiative held by Dale Himstedt of D&H Drainage and Shane Gray of S&J Trucking called Grain for the Cure in which Himstedt and Gray picked up donations of grain right from the field from any farmer willing to drop a few bushels into their dump wagon. Himstedt and Gray then took the grain to a local elevator to be sold in the donors’ names. Himstedt brought in over $22,000 and Gray, along with a match from the Scoular Foundation, received $10,000 in donations to further Springfield Plastics’ fundraising efforts.

The local communities where Springfield Plastics operates also got involved in the fundraiser through Game for the Cure, a football game hosted by Auburn High School. Cancer survivors and their families were given an opportunity to share their stories at half-time. Attendees could purchase Drain for the Cure merchandise and proceeds were all donated to this year’s fundraiser.

The Menard County Sheriff’s Office has identified the elderly woman pulled from the Sangamon River near Petersburg on Sunday afternoon.

Chief Deputy and Menard County Coroner Ben Hollis has identified the decedent as 76-year old Linda Christensen of Springfield and formerly of Petersburg. Hollis said in a press release that final autopsy results are pending, but no foul play is suspected.

Christensen was reported missing from Springfield early Friday morning. Local authorities found Christensen’s Lincoln SUV unmolested near the Illinois Route 123 bridge east of Petersburg late Friday morning. A two day long search that included ground, water, and air units from multiple agencies concluded on late Sunday afternoon when Christensen’s body was located in the Sangamon River by a search team.

No further information about the incident has been released.

Applications are now being accepted to fill the upcoming term of Republican State Representative Tim Butler.

Butler announced last month that he was resigning from the seat to take a position of the Illinois Railroad Association. Butler was just re-elected to the seat in November.

Applicants must live in the new 95^th House District and must submit a statement explaining why they want the position, along with details of their past community involvement and their involvement in Republican party activities.

According to Christian County Republicans, the appointee will serve the entire term of office beginning on January 11^th.

The GOP county chairmen of Sangamon, Christian, and Macon Counties will choose Butler’s replacement on January 5^th at the Sangamon County G.O.P. Headquarters.

Applications are due by 5PM December 22^nd at Sangamon County Republican Party headquarters.

The State of Illinois is reminding employers of upcoming changes to the One Day Rest in Seven Act taking effect January 1^st.

The One Day Rest in Seven Act gives workers the right to a day of rest every workweek and breaks for meals or rest during daily work shifts.

The following changes to the act take effect on January 1^st:

It now requires employees be given a 20-minute break if working a 12-hour shift or longer, and at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every consecutive 7-day period, clarifying the day of rest requirements for workers whose schedules don’t align with a Sunday to Saturday calendar week.

All employers covered by ODRISA must post a notice at the workplace notifying employees of their rights under the Act. The notice will be provided as a download from the Illinois Department of Labor’s website.

IDOL’s Fair Labor Standards Division will hold a 1-hour virtual webinar on the new ODRISA requirements on Tuesday from 11AM to Noon, with a question & answer session at the end of the presentation. Employers are encouraged to join the webinar to learn and ask questions about the new requirements taking effect on January 1st to ensure compliance. The webinar will also cover Illinois’ minimum wage increase from $12 to $13, also taking effect on January 1st. To register for the virtual webinar, visit the Registration Page on IDOL’s website.

The South Jacksonville Police are seeking information about an alleged armed robbery at a residence that occurred early Sunday morning.

According to a police report, at approximately 1AM Sunday, a female complainant told police dispatch that two individuals known to her came into her home without force in the 1500 block of South Clay Avenue. Upon entry, the complainant said one of the subjects displayed a handgun and demanded all of her money. The subjects then fled the area and have not been located. The police report did not indicate whether any money was taken or not during the incident.

If you have any information in this incident, contact the Morgan-Scott-Cass Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling 217-243-7300 or send an anonymous text message tip to the number 274637. The first word of the text tip must be ‘payout.’

A Barry man is heading to prison for child pornography and methamphetamine charges.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office announced today that on Tuesday of last week, 29-year-old Brandon M. Lord of Barry pleaded guilty in Pike County Circuit Court to Class X felony possession of Child Pornography, and was sentenced to six years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by 4 years of felony probation for the offenses of unlawful possession of methamphetamine and child pornography. 

Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood said the investigation began in May, when information was received regarding the possession and reproduction of child pornography. On the morning of July 5th, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department, Illinois State Police, and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office of Internet Crimes Against Children task force executed a court-authorized search warrant at a residence located in rural Barry.

Subsequent to the execution of the warrant, Lord was arrested and lodged in the Pike County Jail on child pornography and methamphetamine-related charges. Lord was accused of possessing and disseminating videos, via an electronic device, of children under the age of thirteen engaged in sexual acts.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department executed multiple search warrants and was successfully able to identify, locate, and arrest Lord in the case.

10 other counts of child pornography and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia were dropped per the plea. Lord was also ordered to pay county fines, fees, and restitution in the case. He was given credit for 155 days served in the Pike County Jail. 

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department has announced the arrest of a Sangamon County man after a multi-state, month’s long investigation.

According to a press release today from Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood’s Office, on November 10th, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department was contacted by a local farm implement dealer and advised of the theft of two zero-turn lawn mowers.

A six-week criminal investigation ensued, which led to the apprehension in Callaway County, Missouri of 37-year-old Patrick Butler of Auburn. Butler is being held on a Pike County, Illinois arrest warrant for felony theft in Callaway County, Missouri. Butler is on mandatory supervised release from the Illinois Department of Corrections from 2020 felony convictions in Christian County.

According to the press release, during Butler’s arrest in Callaway County, Missouri, Butler was found to be in possession of a stolen camper, stolen truck, burglary tools, and methamphetamine. Butler is also charged in Callaway County, Missouri for the aforesaid offenses.

The investigation was led by Pike County Chief Deputy Zack Orr whom Greenwood says put in multiple hours of reviewing surveillance videos, interviewing witnesses, executing search warrants, following leads, retrieving data, and following up with other law enforcement agencies. Greenwood says that Chief Deputy Orr not only solved the crime in Pike County, but numerous other crimes throughout Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin. 

A full investigation into Butler’s activities remains active and ongoing. 

The Menard County Sheriff’s Office reports that a woman missing since early Friday morning has been found deceased in the Sangamon River.

At 7:40PM Sunday night, Menard County Sheriff Chief Deputy Ben Hollis reports that at approximately 4:06PM Sunday personnel in a rescue boat reported that they had located what could possibly be a person in the river, north of the of Illinois Route 123 bridge east of Petersburg. Additional units arrived at that location and it was confirmed that a person was indeed in the water. The individual was removed from the water and pronounced dead at the scene.

Hollis says investigators have sufficient evidence to believe the person found is the individual who was reported missing early Friday morning. Identification of the individual is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Previous reports say that a 76-year-old woman, who had previously lived in the Petersburg area, had been reported missing from Springfield on Friday morning. Her white Lincoln SUV was located on the eastern edge of Petersburg near the Illinois 123 bridge over the Sangamon River on Friday by multiple members of law enforcement. Hollis told the State Journal Register that he did not know why the woman was in the area on Friday and that her vehicle wasn’t in any unusual condition when it was found.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday at 1PM. Illinois State Police Zone 4 Investigators are said to now be assisting the Menard County Sheriff’s Office and Petersburg Police in an ongoing investigation. The Sheriff’s Office says if you have any information or anyone happened by chance to see someone matching the decedent’s description walking in that area of Illinois Route 123 early Friday morning to please contact the Menard County Sheriff’s Office at (217) 632-2273.

In the update on Sunday night, Hollis thanked the multiple agencies that assisted in the search for the missing woman: “The Menard County Sheriff’s Office and Petersburg Police Department would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of the rescue, fire, and law enforcement agencies that assisted with this incident. We would also like to thank the community members who offered assistance, provided food and water for personnel, and provided information to investigators.”