Jacksonville resident Jerry Lieb received the Bill Mehrtens Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge during the Illinois FOP’s annual conference held July 27 – 28 in O’Fallon.

Lieb helped to charter the local Morgan County FOP lodge in 1982 and was the lodge president from 1983 until he retired and left the department in 1990. When state legislation was passed in 1986 that gave police officers collective bargaining rights, Lieb began a more than 32-year career with the state’s largest police labor union, the FOP Labor Council, representing active duty officers throughout the state. Lieb became a member of the Jacksonville Police Dept FOP Lodge in 1990 and served many years as both vice-president and president of that Lodge.

Lieb is currently the vice chairman of the Illinois FOP State Lodge board of trustees. Lieb helped to develop the Illinois FOP State Lodge Disaster Response Unit, a trailer outfitted with emergency supplies that can be sent to assist officers and their neighbors who are hit with natural or man-made disasters. Lieb also assists with the Illinois FOP State Lodge’s Project Blue Life, a police shooting situation simulator for civilians that graphically demonstrates the split-second, shoot-don’t shoot scenarios that police officers can face every day.

Lieb was elected chairman of the Illinois FOP Foundation, which raises tax deductible funds to help the families of officers who die in the line of duty. He is also the chairman of the Illinois FOP State Lodge Award Committee that recognizes officers across the state for extraordinary valor, life-saving and meritorious actions.

The Illinois FOP Chardy Lieb Memorial Award, named in memory of Lieb’s wife of 35 years who died of cancer in 2016, is presented to an FOP member’s spouse for their active and dedicated support to the organization.

The RCHS/OSS Dreams tickets are sold out.

As of 9AM, there were 10 tickets left, and those final tickets sold out just a little bit before 11AM.

The only way to get into the drawing now is by calling WEAI during the Dreams Contest promo where WLDS/WEAI will be giving away 8 tickets for a chance to win.

This year’s top prizes are $100,000 for the grand prize and second prize is a 2022 Jeep Wrangler.

Be listening to Chelsea in the Mornings and Kate in the afternoons for your only remaining chance to get into the drawing this year.

A Sangamon County judge ruled that the Illinois Department of Human Services must notify county jails of the placement of inmates not fit for trial in state facilities within 20 days, declaring two pandemic-era executive orders regarding inmate transfers unlawful.

The State Journal Register reports that Judge Karen Tharp ruled today that DHS was in violation of state law mandating that it notify counties of the placement of inmates declared unfit for trial within 20 days. The agency had used two pandemic-era executive orders signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to suspend and delay the admission of inmates into state mental health facilities.

Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell filed the lawsuit in June challenging the executive orders. The lawsuit was eventually amended to add sheriffs of 5 other downstate counties.

Tharp agreed with Campbell and the sheriffs, saying that the state did not have discretion to go beyond the limits of the 20-day policy in terms of determining where the inmates should go. She said that if the state had unlimited power over where an inmate is placed, DHS could refuse to allow anyone unfit into their facilities. Tharp also said that the executive orders did not put any criteria in place that would combat the spread of COVID-19 and that there was no evidence to suggest that they would pose a risk of spreading the virus in DHS facilities.

Tharp then said the governor did not have unlimited authority to pursue executive action on the case, saying that he had exceeded his authority under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act to control the movements of people or inmates.

DHS plans to appeal the decision to the state Appellate Court. Both sides are set to meet again on August 25^th for a status hearing.

UPDATE 9PM: Zowee has been located and is safe.

Springfield authorities are searching for information regarding a missing teen.

15 year old Zowee Elizabeth Miller was last seen near Iles Park with a black backpack and a skateboard on foot on July 30^th. Family members on Facebook believe she may have been approached by an older man in a black SUV.

Miller, who also goes by Levi or Alex, was last seen wearing a white hoodie with a NASA logo on the front, black jeans with holes, and black canvas shoes with white tips.

Miller is a white female who stands approximately 5’6” tall, 168 pounds, short straight hair with pastel pink coloring, and wears prescription glasses.

If you have any information on Miller’s whereabouts, please call the Springfield Police Department at 217-788-8311.

telephone scam is targeting Central Illinois National Guard members and their families.

The Illinois National Guard said the call involves someone claiming to be a first sergeant calling about back pay owed to dependents. In one call, a solider was told he needed to provide details about his last three active-duty paychecks, give his account balance and then send a $278.24 digital payment to receive $1,200 back pay. The soldier became suspicious and notified his superiors, who told him to stop the payment and file a police report.

According to a statement from the Illinois National Guard, officials will not reach out to soldiers, airmen or their families about back pay issues without notifying leadership of the issue. Any suspicious calls of this nature should be reported immediately to he soldier’s unit and chain of command.

Guard members are reminded to never pay any money to any individual regarding military pay issues.

Officials for Lincoln Land Community College and the University of Illinois-Springfield have signed an agreement to make it easier for students transfer between the schools.

The transfer admission guarantee agreement enhances advising and coordination of course selection. LLCC graduates transferring to UIS would be admitted as juniors and have the admission application fee waived. They would also be eligible for priority registration the semester before transferring and for transfer merit scholarships based on their grade point average.

LLCC offers more than 30 majors designed for transfer to a four-year university as well as career training degree and certificate programs. UIS offers 49 bachelor’s degrees, 51 master’s degrees and a variety of professional certifications that encompass a wide range of professions.

Free colorectal at-home cancer screening kits will be available for pick up at a drive-thru event at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital starting tomorrow.

Director of Community Health Lori Hartz says the hospital partners annually with the Mia Ware Foundation to make the kits available: “This is a program that the hospital supports annually in partnership with the Mia Ware Foundation to offer these free cancer screening kits for colorectal cancer. No appointment is necessary. This is very convenient because you can just drive through the Jacksonville Memorial Hospital main entrance circle drive. You can stay in your car and give us a little information. We will hand you a home test that you can take home and conduct the test yourself. You mail it back to our lab and the results are processed, which you will receive in approximately 2 weeks.”

Hartz says its a way for early detection of colorectal cancer to increase survival: “Colorectal cancer is curable, especially so if it’s caught early. This cancer screening can be your first steps towards preventing and being treated for colorectal cancer if you have it in the early stages. One in 23 men and one in 25 women will develop colorectal cancer in their lifetime.”

The free at-home test kits will be distributed from 4-6PM tomorrow and 9-11AM on Friday in the circle drive at the hospital’s main entrance.

Colon cancer is the second leading case of cancer deaths in the U.S. If detected early, 90% of those deaths are preventable. According to the American Cancer Society, people who are at average risk for colorectal cancer should start regular screenings at age 45 and continue through age 75.

The LaGrange Lock & Dam is on the list of federal funding for FY 23 Senate appropriation spending . The funding announcement came courtesy of Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, who announced more than $178 million in Senate appropriations for projects in the state.

The Senate’s draft of the bills must be conferenced with the House bills before they are finalized. The proposed $49.3 million would go to the Army Corps of Engineers to complete design on the modernization of the LaGrange Lock on the Illinois River as part of the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program.

The NESP seeks to expand and modernize seven locks at the most congested lock locations along the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and fund $1.7 billion in ecosystem restoration.

The bill that includes the LaGrange Lock funding has been met with resistance by Republicans, who opposed the size of proposed spending for non-defense programs and the ongoing debate surrounding abortions. There is an August recess looming. It’s uncertain if Congress will agree on a spending plan before October 1st, the first day of the 2023 fiscal year for the federal government.