A home had to be vacated after a truck hit a house in Beardstown yesterday.

According to the Beardstown Fire Department, at approximately 1:30 yesterday afternoon the department was dispatched to 4^th and Railroad streets for a Ford pick-up truck that had struck a house.

Upon arrival, the driver of the truck was uninjured and refused medical attention on scene. According to the post, the house sustained significant structural damage and was deemed uninhabitable until repairs can be made, especially to the home’s foundation.

The Beardstown Fire Department was assisted by the Beardstown Ambulance and Beardstown Police. No information has been released on whether the driver of the truck was cited.

A Quincy woman has pled guilty to her role in a kidnapping and an assault that took place in November.

33 year old Karen Blackledge pled guilty in Adams County Circuit Court on Friday to charges of home invasion and aggravated criminal sexual assault under terms of a negotiated plea. Three other charges were dismissed per the plea which included home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated vehicular hijacking.

Blackledge and 34 year old Bradley Yohn of Springfield on November 9, 2021, entered a home on Quincy’s North Bottom Road illegally and while in the home as an accomplice used a weapon to stab an elderly woman. The victim later died. Yohn and Blackledge were arrested the next day in Springfield. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office at the time reported Yohn and Blackledge allegedly threatened to use force to carjack a vehicle and kidnap the woman, then Yohn allegedly forced himself into the woman’s home and assaulted her. Blackledge’s charges stem from her being Yohn’s accomplice.

Yohn’s next court appearance is April 12^th.

Muddy River News reports that according to Blackledge’s negotiated plea she will receive 40 years in prison – two 20 year sentences served consecutively for each charge. The formal sentencing will take place on May 5th. Blackledge will have to serve at least 85% of the sentence.

Illinois College is stepping up again to help students who may be displaced by another college’s closure.

Illinois College announced on Friday a special articulation agreement for students are looking for a new academic home due to Lincoln College’s announced closure coming in May.

Illinois College says its offering automatic acceptance for students in good academic and social standing from Lincoln College. There will also be special scholarships put in place for Lincoln College transfers as well as one-on-one counseling offered for students looking to transfer. IC says it’s committed to transferring the maximum number of credits for students as possible.

The articulation agreement is still pending formal approval by the Higher Learning Commission. Lincoln College students with questions are urged to contact IC Transfer Coordinator Rick Bystry at 217-245-3029 for more information.

A home exploded in Roodhouse this morning.

Eye witnesses report the home exploded a little after 9:30AM in the 900 block of Morse Street in Roodhouse.

Roodhouse, White Hall, and Greenfield Fire Departments all responded to the scene as the remnants of the home was on fire.

No one was in the home at the time of the explosion. Roodhouse Fire Chief Terry Hopkins says no one was injured.

The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office has been called into investigate.

This is a developing story.

A driver was cited after striking a utility pole in the 800 block of South East Street at 6:20 yesterday evening.

After a brief investigation, police determined that a vehicle driven by 40 year old Claude D. Morris of the 600 block of South Kosciosko Street was traveling southbound in the 800 block of South East Street when the vehicle veered off the roadway striking the pole.

According to police reports, Morris allegedly told police that the vehicle’s steering column stiffened due to mechanical failure causing him to not be able to steer the vehicle resulting in the crash. Morris said that one of the vehicles problems had problems in the recent past making it hard to steer.

The vehicle was towed from the scene due to extensive damage.

Morris and his passenger reported no injuries in the crash. Morris was cited for a child passenger act violation and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

Ameren-Illinois was contacted to come make repairs to the pole due to damage. Police reports indicate that the pole had a heavy lean to it due to the crash.

The second chip has fallen against a West Central Illinois woman who has an array of misdemeanor and felony charges across multiple counties.

25 year old Abigail L. Martin pled guilty to one count of forgery in Morgan County Court yesterday afternoon. It was almost 3 years to the day she was arrested by Jacksonville Police at Jacksonville Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep for passing a bad check to fraudulently purchase a vehicle on April 1, 2019.

Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll says that Martin’s 3 year sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the Morgan County Charge will run concurrently with the 3 year sentence she received in Greene County Court the previous week: “She also given 1 year of mandatory supervised release. She was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and $500 in restitution to Jacksonville Chrysler-Dodge…She had possession of the Jeep for a period of 2-3 weeks, and ultimately, the Jeep was returned. There was a little wear and tear on the Jeep and that’s what the $500 in restitution to Jacksonville Chrysler-Dodge was for.”

Noll says Martin didn’t do herself any favors over the course of the Morgan County case: “She had failed to appear [in court] on and off in this case, and had previously posted $15,000 bond. So, with the $10,000 fine along with the court costs and the restitution, I believe she will have enough bond money in order to take care of the fines, fees, court costs, and restitution that she owed in this case.”

Martin was returned to the custody of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office after her sentencing yesterday afternoon. Martin now faces charges in Fulton, Macoupin, Madison, and Montgomery counties. Charges in those counties include identity theft, forgery, deceptive practice, and practicing as a nurse without a license.

An Indianapolis man convicted of killing a former Jacksonville resident in Indiana in September 2019 was sentenced to prison on Wednesday.

22 year old Justin M. Blake was sentenced to 58 years for the first degree murder of 23 year old Alexander D. Jackson, along with 3 years for robbery. Jackson’s remains were found in a ditch near a roadway in the Indianapolis suburb of Mooresville on September 13, 2019. A rental car Jackson had been driving was discovered wrecked in Indianapolis a day before his body was found. Police investigations later determined that Jackson had been murdered four days earlier by Blake.

Morgan County, Indiana Chief Prosecutor Steve Sonnega says that Blake will have to serve the majority of the sentence in an Indiana prison: “Under Indiana law, he has to serve 75% of his time. We were very satisfied with that. The victim’s family was there in attendance [Wednesday]…very satisfied with that. They had a chance to speak or provide victim impact letters, so we were very, very grateful…very thankful for the outcome.”

The next phase in the case begins on May 10th when 26 year old Britney D. Overton of Indianapolis, Blake’s alleged accomplice, faces similar charges of first degree murder and robbery in connection to Jackson’s death. Overton testified during Blake’s 8-day trial in February about the events leading up to Blake killing Jackson. Using use immunity, Overton told the Morgan County, Indiana court that Blake shot Jackson because Blake believed Jackson would “snitch” to police about a crime spree they had gone on the night of the murder. Sonnega believes there is enough evidence for the state to possibly convict Overton during her trial: “She testified under what’s known as use immunity, meaning her testimony would not be used against her in trial. We honored that and obviously everything that she said could not be used, but we do have pre-trial statements that she gave before we came upon the use immunity concept, and those statements can be used at her trial. We certainly have evidence we can present, and really, we didn’t give up anything by the offer of use immunity in the first case.”

Sonnega says that the state ultimately doesn’t believe that Overton was the trigger person in Jackson’s murder, bu they do believe she had a part in setting it up and believe they can prove that she definitely profited from it by taking Jackson’s rental car after the murder took place. Court records also show that Overton allegedly tried to get a gun just days before the murder, and that cellphone records and social media records show that Overton was at the scene of the crime.

During her testimony at Blake’s trial, Overton alleged a third person of interest was a part of the night of crime and that individual was also a witness to Jackson’s murder. Identified as “K.J.”, Sonnega says the true identity, if they exist, is still being investigated: “The initials K.J. could be many different people. We are not sure if we have the right K.J. and we don’t really have any evidence linking the person that we believe to be the right K.J. to the scene. Right now, I guess it’s just fair to say that it’s still in the investigatory stages. Is it possible that K.J. was fabricated? Sure. When you deal with Alex being deceased and then two or three other people that wait years before they come forward or they are charged, it’s a little hard to know for certain who was really involved.

“The strength of the case against Justin Blake was mainly in his confession to his grandmother. That confession really didn’t implicate himself and another person…it was just himself. We are certainly looking, and anyone that has information, our detectives are always all ears. I think at this juncture it’s going to take some pretty powerful physical evidence to identify K.J. for sure and then link him to the crime scene.”

Blake and Overton were apprehended and identified as the prime suspects in Jackson’s murder after a nearly 13-month long investigation by the Morgan County, Indiana Sheriff’s Office. Sonnega says that Overton’s potential sentencing if found guilty of the charges will be similar to Blake’s under Indiana law despite not being the person who committed the actual murder.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois announced yesterday they have new leadership.

Stephen Harris is now listed on the company’s website as president. Steve Hamman had served in that position since being appointed in 2019, according to another press release on the company’s website.

In the announcement yesterday, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois says they “announced several leadership transitions at Health Care Service Corporation today that reflect a thoughtful and strategic approach to long-term growth and succession planning for the company.”

The regime change comes amid the company recently being fined by the Illinois Department of Insurance for terminating its contract with Springfield Clinic. Leadership from both entities were scheduled to testify before the Illinois General Assembly’s Insurance Committee last week, but was left off the hook after chair of the committee, Representative Thaddeus Jones canceled the meeting at the last minute.

Jones later told WGN-TV Chicago that he wanted more information about the dispute. Both entities returned to the Capitol yesterday and discussed the ongoing rift with lawmakers in front of a separate committee.

WCIA’s Mark Maxwell obtained a copy of an internal memo about the leadership change that say Hamman left Blue Cross Blue Shield “to pursue new endeavors.” Maxwell concluded that Hamman was firedndue to WCIA’s reporting on exposed overcharging of consumers while also cutting down or cutting out the insurance network’s provider options after he spoke with BCBS-IL employees at the Chicago office.

According to Maxwell, Hamman was directly involved in negotiations with Springfield Clinic to remain in the insurance provider’s network. Other sources would not confirm or deny if Hamman was fired.

An Illinois watchdog group has accused an Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate of improper electioneering in a recent campaign ad.

Illinois Leaks, also known as the Edgar County Watchdogs, believe that GOP candidate Jesse Sullivan has “improperly used public property for campaign purposes” due to the depiction of 5 Illinois county sheriffs appearing in a campaign commercial. You can view the commercial here.

In the video, the five sheriffs which includes Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn, appear in support of Sullivan’s campaign platform on crime and support of law enforcement. Some of the sheriffs are seen in their official uniforms and badges or appear driving official police vehicles.

Illinois Leaks, citing sections of the Illinois State Constitution governing elections, says that the video depicts official misconduct and illegal use of public property for electioneering purposes. According to the section that Illinois Leaks cited from the State Constitution, the Sullivan campaign could be cited for a Class B misdemeanor.

Ohrn specifically appears in the video dressed in a suit standing outside of a police vehicle. The Cass County Sheriff’s logo or a Cass County Sheriff’s badge is not shown nor does it appear directly or indirectly in the video.

When asked for a comment about the accusation from Illinois Leaks, Ohrn says he has no public comment at this time.

Illinois Leaks has threatened to file a formal complaint about the video with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Illinois Leaks says they have reached out to the sheriffs in the video and the Sullivan campaign for comment but have received no response at this time.

Another Central Illinois private liberal arts college is closing its doors permanently in May.

WAND-TV reports that Lincoln College will officially cease operations permanently on May 13^th after 157 years in existence.

According to a press release from the school, it went through difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation hurt recruitment and fundraising efforts, sporting events and other campus life activities. Admissions activities and access to institutional data were both hurt by a December 2021 cyberattack. Leaders said attack created an “unclear picture” of fall 2022 enrollment projects. All systems the school needed for recruitment, retention and fundraising efforts became inoperable.

Even though there was no personal identifying information exposed, the system’s projections, once fully reported in March, showed significant enrollment shortfalls. To sustain Lincoln College beyond the current semester, leaders said a “transformational donation or partnership” would be needed.

Lincoln College has produced several notable alumni over the years, including NBA point guard Kevin Gamble, UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker, Hollywood producer and director Bruce Block, and animation story artist & director for Disney Brenda Chapman.

Lincoln College follows MacMurray College in Jacksonville who permanently closed less than 2 years ago.