Two more West Central Illinois States Attorneys have joined the growing number of states attorneys and chief law enforcement officers across the state in filing suit over the final implementation of portions of the SAFE-T Act.

Greene County State’s Attorney Caleb Briscoe and Scott County State’s Attorney Richard Crews have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the act that will eliminate cash bail and limit the number of offenses for which people can be held in pre-trial detention.

Crews & Briscoe are asking for a permanent injunction of the SAFE-T Act claiming the Act is unconstitutional, that it violates the single subject rule, violates the separation of powers clause, is unconstitutionally vague, and violates the 3 readings of charges requirement. The goal of the lawsuit for the Counties would be to stop the law, as written, from going into effect on January 1^st.

Also signing on to the lawsuit are Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen and Scott County Sheriff Tom Eddinger.

Both complaints, along with those filed by Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll and Jersey County State’s Attorney Ben Goetten, and at least 20 other State’s Attorneys will most likely be consolidated later this week into one case that will be heard in Sangamon County Court.

Jacksonville Lake Management has announced that the Lake Recreational Trail will be closed next week for a short time.

The trail will be closed Monday October 10th at 6AM through October 14th for seal coating maintenance. Detours will be posted for camping point access where the trail crosses camping point entrances. There is to be absolutely no traffic on the paved trail for 4 days to make sure the path receives a good seal.

Lake Jacksonville will be closing for the winter on Wednesday, October 19th at 5PM.

If you have any questions or concerns please free to contact Jacksonville Lakes Superintendent Brett Gilbreth at 217-479-4644 or email bgilbreth@jacksonvilleil.gov.

The Jacksonville Fire Department has cancelled this weekend’s Open House.

The open house scheduled for the West Lafayette substation from from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. There is no planned make-up date. The event was planned to coincide with National Fire Prevention Week that runs through next Saturday, October 15^th.

Fire Department Capt. Mike Griffitts says they are already planning the event for next year, potentially in the Spring, and have reached out to Jacksonville School District 117 to do a fire safety program. Griffiths says they wanted to do the extra event with the kids in Jacksonville as a make up for cancelling this weekend’s event.

Griffitts said firefighters will take the fire safety house to each school and emphasize the importance of smoke and fire alarms, how to properly perform “stop, drop and roll,” and the importance of keeping doors closed behind you in the event of a fire.

A Springfield man representing himself in Adams County Circuit Court claiming a prejudiced judiciary had his motion denied yesterday for a substitution of judge.

Muddy River News reports that 35 year old Bradley Yohn of Springfield was told by Judge Holly Henze that his motion for a substitution of judge away from Judge Roger Thomson was denied because he did not present enough burden of proof that Thomson would not be impartial in hearing his case. Yohn had argued that derogatory comments he had thrown at Thomson during a July 20th hearing would cause Thomson to be unfair towards him moving forward towards a scheduled jury trial on November 7^th.

Henze says she believes Thomson who told Yohn that he did not hear his July 20^th comments and that if he had heard the comments, it would not affect his impartiality from the bench. Yohn then called Thomson a liar and said that if anyone could produce the audio file from the July 20^th hearing at any moment he would take a 100 year sentence for the crimes he is alleged of committing.

Henze went on to say that most of her colleagues on the bench were “thick skinned” and it doesn’t automatically qualify for a judge to be substituted in any case. Yohn then asked if he could get a fair and impartial trial in the county. Henze replied that it would have to be a separate motion to be filed and heard before Thomson at a later hearing.

Yohn’s case remains set for an omnibus hearing on October 12^th with a final pre-trial setting scheduled for October 26^th.

Yohn faces charges of aggravated vehicular hijacking, two counts of felony theft, two counts of home invasion, aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, residential burglary, and criminal sexual abuse. If convicted of any of the charges, Yohn faces up to natural life in prison.

Hy-Vee is voluntarily recalling a number of cheeses and gift baskets after learning of possible Listeria contamination.

Hy-Vee is recalling 8 products after being notified by Old Europe Cheese, Inc. of Benton Harbor, Michigan, that some cheese products that it manufactured for Saputo Cheese USA’s distribution may have been contaminated with Listeria.

No illnesses have been reported to the grocery store chain based in Iowa.

Varieties of Cranberry Brie Torte, Apricot Brie Torte, La Bonne Vie Domestic Double Crème Brie, and a number of cheese boards and gift baskets. You can see a full list of the recalled products at this link.

The Best By expiration ranges for the impacted cheeses is from Sept. 28th to Dec. 14th.

Customers who purchased any of these products should discard them or return them to their local Hy-Vee store for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Hy-Vee Customer Care representatives at 1-800-772-4098.

For more information, visit the FDA’s website at www.fda.gov.

A St. Louis man was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections in Pike County Circuit Court for an armed robbery committed last year in Pittsfield.

37 year old Jordan R. Rahaman was sentenced to 20 years for an armed robbery charge and concurrent five year sentences on charges of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, intimidation, and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle.

A Pike County jury convicted Rahaman after nearly two-and-a-half hours of deliberations over the charges on July 13^th. He was acquitted of charges of armed violence and aggravated battery by strangulation.

The charges stem from a September 8, 2021 robbery at a Pittsfield residence where Rahaman was accused of breaking the victim’s nose and several ribs before robbing the victim and stealing their car. Rahaman was caught months later in St. Louis.

Pike County State’s Attorney Zachary Boren said in a press release that he appreciated the hard work of the Pittsfield Police Department, court personnel, and his staff for helping bring the case to a conclusion. Boren characterized Rahaman’s conduct as egregious and hopes the sentence sends a clear message that it would not be tolerated in Pike County.

Deputy Chief Jennifer Thompson from the Pittsfield Police Department was the lead investigator in the case. The St. Charles, Missouri, Prosecuting Attorney’s office also provided timely assistance in producing a key witness for trial.

Rahaman will also have to serve 18 months of mandatory supervised release, pay a fines totaling $6,000, court costs, and restitution to the victim of over $4,400. Rahaman was given credit for 275 days served in the Pike County Jail.

A fire from a natural gas pipeline caused several people to be evacuated from their homes in Waverly early this morning.

The Morgan County Emergency Management Office reports that approximately 12:30 this morning fire departments from Morgan, Sangamon, and Macoupin counties along with law enforcement agencies from Morgan County, the City of Jacksonville, the Illinois State Police and surrounding counties responded to a fire from a natural gas pipeline owned by Energy Transfer on Panhandle Road just south of Waverly.

Some residents were required to be evacuated from their homes for a brief period of time; however, everyone has been allowed to return.

Morgan County ESDA reports that the pipeline was quickly shut off and allowed the fire to safely burn out. There were no injuries reported.

The emergency management team from Morgan County, the Waverly Fire Department, and Energy Transfer are currently working the incident to investigate a cause of the fire and no further details are known at this time.

Panhandle Road between David Lane and Perry Road remains closed this morning while clean up and investigation continues.

We will provide more information once it becomes available.

Three individuals were arrested in a drug bust at a residence in Barry on Thursday evening.

Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood reports that at 9:18PM on Saturday, members of the Pike County Sheriff’s Office and the West Central Illinois Drug Task Force executed a search warrant at a residence in the 700 block of Williams Street in Barry.

Subsequent to an investigation, the following individuals were cited with the following charges:

39 year old Thomas J. Wallace of Barry was cited for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful use of a weapon, and 3 other outstanding Pike County warrants.

58 year old Glenn D. Christison of Barry was cited for possession of methamphetamine and two outstanding Pike County warrants.

27 year old Ashley R. Fulmer of Barry was cited for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful possession of hypodermic syringes, an an outstanding Pike County warrant.

All three were taken into custody without incident and lodged at the Pike County Jail.