Balers and heavy mowers took to the JDC grounds on Thursday to cut down the high grass that’s been plaguing the property for nearly a month.

State Representative CD Davidsmeyer says that talks with the state’s Central Management Services have been ongoing, almost daily, over that month trying to get something done to clean up the property: “The last couple weeks…I would say about every couple of days, I was regularly in contact with CMS and there was a little bit of back and forth saying ‘Yeah, that’s progress but you need a little more.’ It’s good to see that they’ve brought in kind of a bigger mower to get the big weeds out. They brought in a bailer. There was probably…I would guess 30-50 bales on the JDC property. It is the plan for them to continue to mow that area that’s already been mowed. Certainly, there’s more property that’s in there that needs mowed that we are still working on, but we are taking this as a small win and a step towards getting more done and having the state maintain that property.”

Davidsmeyer says that conversations about selling the property have been ongoing for a better part of a decade at this point, and the state views the ground as unable to be sold because of all the problems with the buildings: “The liability on the property doesn’t give it the value that the state wants it to have. In reality, I think you would almost have to pay somebody to take it unless you’re willing to tear down those buildings and then sell it. Obviously the power plant area is a huge concern. I’m looking into possibly Brown Fields funds to try and get some action on cleaning up that [portion] of the property. There’s a lot of ideas that have been floating around that we’ve given this administration and the prior administration on funding. It seems to always fall on deaf ears. So, we just keep pushing, trying to move forward. In the mean time, I’m going to work legislation that won’t let the state to continue to abandoned properties. If they are going to close a facility, they need to have a plan for what they are going to do with it.”

Davidsmeyer says the state’s plan for now is to continue to mow the grounds so they don’t have to bail the property again. For now, he says he’s going to continue to push the state to find a way to get the property cleaned up, sold, and put back to use.

The owner of a Springfield rental car agency has had charges filed against him in Sangamon County Court.

31 year old Jordan J. Monroe of Chatham had a single charge of insurance filed against him on Wednesday from an ongoing investigation that started on February 13, 2021 by the Illinois Secretary of State Police.

According to charging documents, Monroe is alleged to have filed a fraudulent insurance claim to receive between $300-$10,000 from National Interstate Insurance Company on a single policy. A writ of habeas corpus has been field requiring Monroe to appear in Sangamon County Court on July 14th.

On June 23rd, it was reported that the Secretary of State’s Office had revoked Monroe’s Urgent Rent-A-Car Illinois license plates for failure to meet the state’s insurance requirements. The car rental business has been under extensive scrutiny after the company’s owner & CEO Jordan Monroe was arrested after a high speed chase in October of last year. Urgent Rent-A-Car formerly operated a location on East Morton Avenue in Jacksonville. The business was regularly reported for questionable business practices. The business currently has an ‘F’ rating from the Illinois Better Business Bureau.

In a written statement from Illinois Secretary of State spokesperson Henry Haupt last week said that Monroe and Urgent Rent-A-Car remained under further investigation.

The State Journal Register reports that at the front desk of the business, located at 2730 Stevenson Drive in Springfield, Urgent displayed a copy of an insurance policy from Nationwide General Auto Insurance. The policy was effective in February. The company told the SJR and in a Facebook video post said that an audit by the secretary of state’s office was completed last week that confirmed the validity of both the agency’s license plates and the current insurance policy. Monroe in calls to WLDS News and in multiple posts online has denied any wrongdoing.

An email requesting further information about the charges filed against Monroe to the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office has not been released as of press time.

Information has been released about an arrest of a man who broke into a home with a knife in rural Roodhouse last week.

According to charging documents, 30 year old John J. Scheferkort entered a residence with the homeowners present at the time last Wednesday evening. The home is approximately 4 ½ miles east of Roodhouse.

Upon entering the home, Scheferkort allegedly brandished an 8 inch hunting knife at an adult female, and according to charging documents, placed the woman in “reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery.” He was later arrested by Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies.

Criminal information about the incident was filed last Thursday. Scheferkort made his first appearance in court with counsel last Thursday and ordered to have a mental health evaluation.

Scheferkort had a status hearing set for Wednesday in Greene County Court. His current bond status and incarceration status is unknown. He is next due for a status hearing in the case on July 13th.

Brown County will have a new sheriff in town starting today.

Karl Groesch has retired after two terms in office. Groesch ran for sheriff in 2010 after spending 30 years with the Illinois State Police District 20 Office in Pittsfield. Groesch spent time studying criminal justice while attending MacMurray College in Jacksonville.

The Journal Courier reports that Groesch has been in law enforcement since 1976 first serving with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department fresh out of the U.S. Air Force.

Groesch says he plans on relaxing at home and possibly traveling with his family in the future.

Chief Deputy Justin Oliver won the Republican nomination for Brown County Sheriff in Tuesday’s primary with no opposition and will take over as interim sheriff until he’s officially elected in November.

What’s old is new again in Greene County. Two locations that formerly housed Kroger grocery stores are getting a face lift.

The White Hall and Carrollton Kroger locations closed last Spring. With the closing of the stores and the loss of Triple J Meats in Roodhouse; there is just two grocery stores in the county – Market on Main in Carrollton which opened in November, and Meehan’s IGA in Greenfield.

Both former Kroger locations have been sold to Dollar General, according to the Greene Prairie Press. The White Hall Dollar General is expected to move into the location at 252 North Main Street from their current location at 121 South Main Street. The 121 South Main location ironically is the home of a former IGA Grocery Store.

The Carrollton Dollar General currently sits off of U.S. 67 south of Carrollton at 520 Golden Eagle Court. It will move to the center of downtown Carrollton once renovations are complete.

No timetable on the moves or any other details are currently available.

Jacksonville Correctional Center is paying close attention to its water this morning.

WICS Newschannel 20 reports that legionella was found in one of the prison’s main water sources on Monday.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, there are no positive cases of Legionnaire’s Disease inside the prison at this time.

According to WICS, work crews flushed the affected pipes and raised the water heater temperature to 140 degrees, per recommendations.

People waiting on a West Central Illinois restaurant along the Illinois River to reopen will have to wait a bit longer.

Ownership of the Barefoot Restaurant say that the nation’s supply issues are cutting into their reopening schedule.

Ownership posted on June 21st on their Facebook Page that equipment for their new location has been delayed to be delivered to mid-July. They say they can’t give a solid opening date at this time.

On the other hand, they said they have started to receive some of the other equipment they’ve order and have posted pictures to their Facebook Page (pictured with this story).

The new location at 106 South Water Street in Hardin has been one of the most anticipated reopenings of the summer.

Illinois State Fire Marshal Matt Perez has announced plans to retire at the end of this month. Perez has served over 7 years as Illinois State Fire Marshal and over 37 years in the public safety field. Before beginning his career in the fire service, Perez worked for two years as a patrol officer in the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. He then joined the Aurora Fire Department where he served 27 years and became certified as a paramedic, an arson investigator, and rose to the rank of Assistant Chief.

While serving as State Fire Marshal, Perez worked with the Governor’s office and legislators to increase funding for training, education, equipment, and vehicles for Illinois Firefighters including new programs for volunteer departments which serve over 70% of the state.

Dale Simpson will assume the role of Acting Fire Marshal until a permanent replacement for Perez is named. Simpson was hired into the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal in July 2013 as a Fire Prevention Inspector, became Fire Prevention Division Manager in 2016, and has been the Bureau Chief of Operations since 2019. He retired from the Springfield Fire Department after 26 years, where he served as a Fire Fighter, and then Division Chief of Fire Safety, and finally, as the City of Springfield Fire Marshal.

A former Jacksonville businessman is shuffling locations of a popular restaurant in Springfield.

Jose Lopez, owner of Casa Real, vacated Casa Real from 3100 West White Oaks Drive in Springfield’s west end in May and sold the property.

According to the Springfield Business Journal, the property sold to Raising Cane’s, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in chicken fingers. Raising Cane’s currently has 21 other locations in Illinois with the closest location to Jacksonville being in Fairview Heights in the Metro East.

The building at the corner of Wabash Avenue and White Oaks Drive is being demolished to make way for a new structure that will have a double drive-thru, according to the Springfield Business Journal. A company spokesperson told SBJ that Raising Cane’s is targeting a December opening date.

Lopez told the SBJ is moving to the former location Quaker Steak & Lube located at 1121 West Lincolnshire Boulevard in Legacy Pointe behind Scheel’s. Lopez says he wanted to get away from the large number of restaurants already located in Springfield’s west end. Lopez told the SBJ that he hopes to have his new Springfield location open by the middle of next month.

No word has been given when the South Jacksonville location at the former site of Reichert’s Banquet Hall that’s currently been under construction for more than a year will open.