The City of Pittsfield is receiving one of just 2 federal USDA rural development grants for the State of Illinois. The grant is being used to develop and renovate an expansion to its City Hall.

The Journal Courier reports that the City of Pittsfield was named for a $119,400 grant from the USDA yesterday. The grant will allow for an expansion of the existing City Hall into an adjacent building purchased back in March out of the city’s TIF funds.

The neighboring building is expected to provide for more than 4,400 extra square feet of space. The current building housing city hall was an old firehouse that was converted into the city hall and has been vastly outgrown, according to Pittsfield city officials.

Besides the extra space, the expansion is expected to make the building more ADA-compliant and will allow for increased space for public meetings.

Pittsfield’s USDA Rural Development grant was part of over $121 million awarded nationally.

Winchester community supporters may have a letter in their mailbox this week asking for a donation to help update a historic structure.

The Scott County Historical Society is seeking donations to renovate the interior of the Winchester Depot. Renovations include new bathrooms, new flooring, new kitchen counter tops, and new paint.

According to a letter issued by members of the Historical Society, the historic train depot served as the location for the Bread of Love program in the Winchester community for many years before it relocated.

The upgrade is projected to cost $21,000. The Winchester City Council has promised $5,000 to help with the effort while members of the community have pledged an additional $6,000. The project currently needs $10,000 to be completed.

The Scott County Historical Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit so any donations are tax deductible. Donations can be mailed to the Scott County Historical Society at PO Box 85, Winchester, Illinois 62694.

A Springfield man arrested in Benld yesterday in connection to a double homicide in Springfield on Sunday has now been charged.

The State Journal Register’s Steven Spearie reports that 23 year old Mark N. Crites, Jr. has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of John & Gloria Norgaard.

Crites original had been held at the Sangamon County Jail on $1 million on a separate arson charge.

With the new charges now being added, Crites’ bond has now been set at $5 million.

Two women were injured on Old State Road in a two vehicle crash on Saturday.

Initial calls of the crash came into the West Central Dispatch at 9:53AM Saturday. The caller told dispatch that one of the vehicles had overturned on its side in cornfield on the south side of Old State Road, just east of Jacksonville.

Upon arrival, Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputies requested AirEvac for one of the drivers who was severely injured and for Ameren-Illinois due to live power lines being down in the roadway.

According to a report from the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, a 2017 Buick SUV driven by 75 year old Joena E. Meier of Millwood Manor in Jacksonville was traveling southbound on Mobil Road and failed to fully stop before the intersection with Old State Road. The Buick then collided with a 2016 Jeep Utility Vehicle driven by 25 year old Kathryn P. Hall of Ashland who was traveling westbound into Jacksonville.

Hall’s vehicle proceeded south after the collision and struck a utility pole before coming to rest in a cornfield.

Meier was transported from the scene by AirEvac to a Springfield hospital with multiple injuries.

Hall was transported by EMS to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital also with multiple injuries.

Both of their status is unknown at this time. No citations have been issued in the crash.

Illinois’ top Justice is retiring from the state Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Anne M. Burke has announced that November 30^th will be her last day on the bench. Burke has served in the Illinois Supreme Court since 2006 and has been Chief Justice since October 2019. Her term as Chief Justice concludes on October 25^th. Justice Mary Jane Theis will be the Illinois Supreme Court’s next Chief Justice serving a three-year term beginning October 26^th. Theis will become the fourth woman to serve as the state’s Chief Justice.

The Supreme Court has appointed First District Apellate Justice Joy V. Cunningham to fill the seat vactated by Justice Burke in November. Cunningham’s term will run from December 1^st through December 2, 2024.

Cunningham will become the second Black woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court, joining Justice Lisa Holder White who was appointed earlier this year.

Two women were arrested in southern Calhoun County and various drug, traffic, and prostitution charges last week.

According to a press release from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, on Thursday at 11:13PM, deputies conducted a traffic stop on the Illinois River Road near Schleeper Lane in Brussels.

Subsequent to an investigation, deputies arrested the driver, 42 year old Amanda A. Koskela of Florissant, Misssouri for possession of methamphetamine, illegal possession of hypodermic syringes, possession of drug paraphernalia, promoting prostitution, driving on a suspended license, illegal transportation of alcohol, operating an uninsured motor vehicle, improper lane usage, and improper lighting of a license plate.

Additionally, deputies also arrested a passenger in the vehicle, 31 year old Melinda D. Powers-Crouch of Florissant, Missouri for a Missouri Department of Corrections no bond parole warrant, unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, unlawful possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance identified as fentanyl, two counts of obstructing identification, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of prostitution, and a seat belt violation.

Both women are currently lodged at the Jersey County Jail pending a first appearance in court. According to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation is open and ongoing and more arrests are forthcoming.

The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police are in search of a vehicle in possible connection to a double homicide that occurred on Springfield’s southwest end yesterday morning.

Investigators are looking for a stolen 2008 black Dodge Charger with Illinois license plates Z-185-113. The suspects in the vehicle are considered armed and dangerous.

The bodies of a male and female in their 60s were discovered by a family member at approximately 8AM yesterday in the 500 block of Southwind Drive. The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office and Springfield Police have described the deaths as a homicide.

Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon says an autopsy on the two individuals will be performed today. Identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Anyone with information should call the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office Investigation’s Division at 217-753-6840 or 217-753-6666. You may also call the Sangamon County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 217-788-8427 or submit anonymous tips online at cashfortips.us or using the P3 app.

An Auburn man has pled guilty to felony charges for assaulting a law enforcement officer and assaulting a member of the media during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

The U.S. Justice Department said in a press release late yesterday that 44 year old Shane Jason Woods pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding law enforcement officers and a related federal assault charge. Woods was the first person charged by the federal government with attacking a member of the news media at the Capitol Riot.

According to court documents, Woods was among those illegally on the Capitol grounds, joining a mob in the Lower West Terrace area. At approximately 2:10 p.m., an individual in the crowd sprayed a Capitol Police officer with a chemical irritant and fled. The officer pursued the person who sprayed her. As she did, Woods lowered his shoulder and rammed into her, knocking her off her feet and sending her crashing into a downed bicycle barricade. The officer felt immediate pain and the next day, she felt as if she had been “hit by a truck.”

In addition, later on in the day on January 6th, Woods gathered with numerous other rioters at approximately 5 p.m. in the media staging area on the northeast side of the Capitol. He walked around some of the piled media equipment that had been and was in the process of being destroyed by other rioters, and he tossed some of it himself. At the same time, a member of the news media attempted to walk away to protect himself and his camera. Woods took a running start and hit the man with a blindside shoulder tackle, knocking him to the ground and causing him to drop the camera.

Woods was arrested in Springfield on June 24th and indicted in late July. At the time of his indictment, Woods had received the most serious charges levied against a participant in the Capitol Riot and attempted insurrection.

The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Assistance was also provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identified Woods as #238 on its seeking information photos, as well as the FBI’s Springfield, Illinois, Field Office. Assistance was also provided by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police.

The charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a law enforcement officer carries a statutory maximum of eight years in prison. The federal assault charge carries a statutory maximum of one year. Both charges also carry potential financial penalties. Woods is set to be sentenced on January 13, 2023.