The first domino has fallen in multiple cases against a West Central Illinois woman who has multiple charges across the region.

25 year old Abigail L. Martin-Angulo pled guilty in Greene County Court on Friday to deceptive practice at a Greenfield auto dealer back in September 2020. Martin was arrested on Oct. 2, 2020 by Greenfield Police on the charges.

Greene County State’s Attorney Caleb Briscoe outlines the open plea: “Basically, we had alleged that she had written check to Morrow Brothers Ford in Greenfield, and at the time she issued the check to them that she knew that there wasn’t sufficient funds in the bank to be able to cash that. We were set for trial to begin on Tuesday, but last Friday afternoon she ended up pleading guilty to that charge and was sentenced to 3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Morrow Brothers was able to get the vehicle relatively quickly, within the next day or two of the incident, so we weren’t seeking any restitution for that. She was assessed court costs in this felony case, which should be around $600-$700.”

Briscoe says that his office is having to do some extra paperwork on the case, coordinating with several other counties where Martin may have been arrested: “Typically, whenever somebody is sentenced to the Department of Corrections, we issue a mittimus and stand her, basically, and notify the Department of Corrections that she’s been sentenced and is ready to make arrangements to drop her off there to serve it. The issue in this case is because she does have pending cases in several counties in Illinois and I think in other jurisdictions as well. Technically, if she was being held in a different county but our warrant was outstanding, she’s entitled to that credit against our 3-year sentence. We are working with other counties right now just to verify when or when she was not in custody and whether or not she would have been held on a Greene County warrant during that time.”

Martin has pending cases remaining in Madison, Montgomery, Morgan, and Fulton Counties. She recently pled guilty to a similar deceptive practice charge for passing bad checks in Galesburg last month and was sentenced to probation and restitution.

Martin is next due in Morgan County Court on April 26^th for a status hearing on a forgery charge.

She remains held at the Greene County Jail.

A 2018 murder trial that concluded with a guilty verdict will have a final motion to be heard in Morgan County Court before sentencing.

22 year old Dustin A. Finlaw, who was found guilty in the first degree murder of Robert Utter in January, has filed a post-trial motion for a new trial.

Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll says that Finlaw, despite being self-represented, is following common procedure for a case of this magnitude: “Technically, he won’t be able to file an appeal to the conviction until after his sentencing. The pre-appeal motion that is always filed really with any jury trial, whether it’s an individual representing themself or somebody with counsel, is a motion for a new trial. On February 15th, Mr. Finlaw filed his motion for a new trial. In that motion, he outlines what he feels was done improperly both by the court and the prosecution. It is his hope through that motion that the court will grant him a new trial.”

Finlaw argues in his court filing that the state failed to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was guilty of stabbing 42 year old Robert Utter to death on May 24, 2018 in Meredosia. Finlaw says that closing arguments were “prejudicial” and the arguments denied him a right to a fair trial. Finlaw also says in the motion that the jury selection process denied him an impartial jury.

Noll contends that even though the normal jury selection process was rearranged due to Covid-19 protocols, he feels a proper jury was set in the case: “[Mr. Finlaw] didn’t specifically write down what specific objections he was raising about the voir dire process. I don’t know if it was the Covid protocols that were put in place – that he will argue that at his sentencing hearing or the hearing on this motion. I’m confident that the court didn’t err on anything to do with voir dire, and the state did not act improperly during voir dire. I’m at a loss as to what he will argue, but it would surprise me if he would argue that he didn’t receive a fair jury because of the Covid protocols. The protocols that were in place didn’t excuse jurors from serving or affect whether or not they could be impartial. The protocols just basically effected where they were seated in the courtroom, which obviously, didn’t have anything to do with their ability to serve or even judge the case impartially.”

Noll says that the remainder of the motion presents unspecific objections to the state’s expert witnesses from the Illinois State Police and what Finlaw says was “hearsay” testimony: “It’s difficult to say [what his arguments will be.] Again, he didn’t spell out exactly what his arguments will be in his motion. He just indicates that he has a problem with the expert witnesses that were called and their qualifications. Obviously, the jury heard their qualifications at the time that, for example, the Illinois State Police forensic scientists were tendered to the jury as expert witnesses. [Mr. Finlaw] didn’t object to their qualifications. He didn’t object that they were expert witnesses. Nor was there ever an objection made to any testimony coming in that was based on hearsay. A lot of these issues that he’s raised, if he did have legitimate objections to them, he should have made them at the time the evidence was being presented. It’s the state’s position that they were legitimate objections and that’s why he didn’t make them at the time that he should have made them. They were done in a timely manner.”

Noll says it’s a common attempt by any counsel to see if the court will grant the defense a new trial. Finlaw faces 20-60 years in prison on the conviction. Noll says if the court finds that Finlaw’s actions were premeditated with wanton cruelty, he could be sentenced to natural life in prison. Finlaw’s sentencing is scheduled for April 1^st.

Michael Madigan’s inner circle defense team asked for a surprise move in federal court on Wednesday.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that they wish to keep their September 12^th trial date and that they would prefer a bench trial.

In federal court, it is rare to have a bench trial rather than a jury trial. According to the Sun-Times, U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber was told by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachuit that Wednesday was the first time the federal prosecution had heard of the defendants’ preference for a bench trial.

Leinenweber set an April 26^th status for the case. Both parties have to agree to the stipulation. According to the Sun-Times, the bench trial could signal that there is a disagreement over interpretation of a law or a charge in the case rather than on the facts of the case.

Quincy Lobbyist Michael McClain’s defense attorney Patrick Cotter told the court that a number of motions would be filed if a bench trial would not be allowed to proceed. The case, separate from Madigan’s and McClain’s federal rackateering case, also involves former Commonwealth-Edison CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, and former City Club President Jay Doherty.

The four were indicted in November 2020 and accuse the group of arranging for Madigan associates and allies to get jobs, contracts, and money in order to influence Madigan as key energy legislation worked its way through the General Assembly.

The inner circle’s September trial is largely considered to be a preview of the forthcoming Madigan trial.

The Illinois Senate took a rare step Tuesday in rejecting one of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s appointments.

The Democratic-controlled Senate’s 22-19 vote fell short of the 30 votes needed to confirm Jeffrey Mears’ nomination to the Prison Review Board. All 18 Senate Republicans voted against Mears’ confirmation along with one Democrat, Patrick Joyce of Essex. 18 Democrats were not present in the chamber for the vote on Tuesday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham of Chicago told the Tribune he plans to vote against the nominations of Oreal James and Eleanor Wilson to the Prison Review Board in the coming days. The two were appointed by Pritzker and voted last year to grant parole for two men who killed police officers in the state five decades ago. Cunningham says that people who kill police officers in the line of duty should serve a life sentence without possibility of parole. Republican State Senator Terri Bryant also voiced concern over Mears’ vote to grant parole for Paula Sims, convicted in 1990 for killing her two daughters in Alton. Sims had been serving a life sentence for the crime. The board voted 12-1 to allow Sims’ release.

Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abbudayyeh told Capitol News Illinois that Senate Republicans are trying to dismantle the board, which she called a constitutional obligation.

The review board is responsible for hearing parole hearings 15-20 times a month at various locations around the state. Three board members must be present at each hearing to render a decision on whether to terminate an offender’s parole, otherwise the offender would be released and deemed not in violation of parole.

According to Capitol News Illinois, the Pritzker Administration urged the Executive Appointments Committee to act quickly on the appointments to address the potential of not having enough board members for the parole hearings.

Three area businesses were honored during the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting Tuesday night.

The Chamber said good-bye to several retiring members and honored retiring member and past president Maryjane Million.

Three annual awards were presented.

Worrell Land Services was honored as Small Business of the Year, with under 25 employees.

Business of the Year went to CassComm, with over 25 employees.

The Non-Profit Business of the Year was the Morgan County Health Department. Specifically mentioned during the health department’s honor was the employees and organization’s response locally to the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years.

Governor J.B. Pritzker and state Democrats are celebrating passage of legislation that designates funds to pay down the state’s deficit in the unemployment insurance trust fund. State Republicans say that the legislation will eventually lead to a tax on businesses and the elimination of a safety net to the state’s unemployed.

The legislation places $2.7 billion in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, which had become depleted due to the payout of benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic. Pritzker touted the move by the General Assembly saying it puts the state in better financial standing: “Today we mark yet another milestone in getting Illinois’ fiscal house in order — paying down $4.1 billion in debt for health insurance, college programs, pensions and unemployment. These actions are saving Illinois taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments and reducing the burden that would fall onto businesses and workers over the next decade. Democrats in the General Assembly are overcoming the difficult circumstances of our past and putting working families first.”

The legislation also pays $898 million in legacy debt for state employee health insurance, a $300 million payment to the state’s pension funds, and more than $200 million to pay off the College Illinois tuition contracts. According to the Pritzker Administration, the 1990s-era prepaid tuition program has been on the verge of insolvency for years and the payoff will allegedly save taxpayers $75 million in unnecessary costs over the remaining life of the program.

State Republicans’ opinions of the bill say it’s not going to save the state’s businesses or taxpayers in the long run, and will cause a tax hike. Republican State Senator Win Stoller of Peoria said in a press conference yesterday that the bill will have dire consequences: “We are facing the possibility of one of the largest tax increases on employers in Illinois history. We are facing the possibility of significant benefit cuts to people who need them most – unemployed workers. And, we are facing the possibility of trying to borrow our way out of this problem.”

GOP gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan says it’s another tax increase by the Pritzker Administration: “J.B. Pritzker has never met a tax hike he doesn’t like. And his failure to pursue commonsense budgeting is now costing Illinois families and businesses millions of dollars. The governor could have fixed this problem more than a year ago by using federal aid money to replenish our unemployment insurance trust fund, as more than 30 states have done. Instead, he went on a corrupt spending spree, including $1 billion in capital projects controlled by Democrats. Taxpayers and small businesses deserve better.”

Aurora Mayor and current GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin’s campaign echoed similar criticisms: “After trying to pass the largest tax hike in our state’s history, the Tax-Hiker-In-Chief is trying once more to tax Illinois families and businesses out of this state. Thanks to his reckless disregard for shoring up the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, Illinois employers and workers will have to make up the difference, resulting in billions of dollars in tax increases and benefit cuts. Tonight’s vote is yet another example as to why voters don’t trust Pritzker and Springfield politicians to do anything right, and exactly why we must take our state back.”

Lawmakers are up against an April 1 deadline to allocate the federal relief dollars to the unemployment fund. If they don’t act by then, rules from the U.S. Treasury Department would prohibit Illinois from reducing the amount or length of unemployment benefits until 2025. All Republicans voted no on the measure on the bill in the House on Wednesday with Democrats once again going alone on Thursday night.

It’s widely believed among Springfield insiders that the State may once again enter the the bond market to raise a yet-to-be-agreed-to sum. And like it’s already done twice in the past two decades, Illinois may trade one interest rate for another, borrowing from private lenders to pay back what it borrowed from the feds.

Area first responders are mourning the loss of two pillars of their community this week.

The South Jacksonville Fire Department announced the passing of retired South Jacksonville Fire Chief David Hickox. Hickox was a firefighter, paramedic and mentor in the South Jacksonville community with over 30 years of service. Hickox retired as Fire Chief in 2019, after 22 years in the position. Hickox was a part of the building of the new Fire and Police Department on Sequoia Drive in 2004, and helped to establish the South Jacksonville Ambulance service in 2008.

On Tuesday, several area fire departments and EMS groups announced the passing of long-time Winchester EMS volunteer Lynette Schafer. Schafer was an active member of the Winchester EMS for 31 years. She taught multiple fire, police and other agencies CPR.

Funeral services for Schafer will be held 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 12th with a visitation held Monday, April 11th from 4-7PM at Daws Family Funeral Home in Winchester.

Services for Hickox are pending and have not yet been announced.

South Jacksonville Fire Officials are sharing their condolences with the Hickox and Schafer families, and ask the community to their families and friends in their prayers at this time.

Jeremy Coumbes assisted with this report.

Federal court returned a guilty verdict on a Houston, Texas man on Wednesday busted for a half ton of marijuana in South Jacksonville over four years ago.

25 year old Muhammad Usama was found guilty by a jury for knowingly possessing 100 kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance, with intent to distribute it. Sentencing for Usama has been scheduled for September 9, 2022, at the federal Courthouse in Springfield.

Usama and 43 year old Syed Fraz Ahmad were stopped at Love’s Travel Stop by a Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy on New Year’s Eve 2017 after the deputy noticed an R.V. With Idaho plates. According to an article in the Journal Courier at the time, the deputy struck up a conversation with the two men but portions of their story didn’t add up prompting a drug dog to be called to search the vehicle.

Both men consented to the search and police found 1,000 pounds of pre-packaged marijuana valued around $5 million. The RV housed about 30 duffel bags that contained around 34 pounds of cannabis that was individually packaged in various amounts and vacuum-sealed. After the men were arrested, they told authorities the cannabis came from California and was going to be delivered to three places on the East Coast. Sheriff Mike Carmody said at the time it was one of the largest pot busts the county had ever seen.

The two men also were traveling at the time with an 8-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, both of whom were turned over to the Department of Children and Family Services.

Over three days of testimony in federal court in Springfield, federal prosecutors established that Usama was attempting to travel across the country to sell the cache of drugs.

Usama remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals. At sentencing, Usama faces statutory penalties of up to 40 years imprisonment, up to a life term of supervised release, and up to a $5,000,000 fine.

The case investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, Illinois State Police, Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, South Jacksonville Police Department, and the Jacksonville Police Department. The Morgan County State’s Attorney’s Office also assisted in the case.

The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal was investigating an arson incident in Jacksonville’s north end from yesterday morning.

An initial call was placed at 3:56AM yesterday for a structure fire at 603 North Fayette Street in Jacksonville. Upon arrival, Jacksonville Fire officials spoke with Jacksonville Police and found that the structure was unoccupied. Heavy fire involvement was shown on the first floor of the two-story structure.

According to a fire department report, the main body of the fire was at the center of the home on the first floor and they were quickly able to knock it down. A search for potential victims of the home was made with no one found. Jacksonville Police noted in their report that the back door to the home was open when they arrived and a foot print was found on the back deck. Police believe the home has been sitting empty for at least the past two years, as there was no gas meter on the home and the electrical meter was off. Ameren-Illinois representatives came to the scene and disconnected power to the home in case of a potential re-kindle.

According to the Fire Department report, a can of Red & Tacky spray lube had been shoved into the wall with a small burn pattern with no spread. The main burn pattern was found on a western interior wall.

The Fire Department was able to clear the scene by 6AM with no further hot spots and no injuries to report.

Jacksonville Police, Jacksonville Fire, and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal continue to investigate. If you have any information, please call Jacksonville Police Investigations at 217-479-4630 or call the Morgan, Scott, Cass County Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300 if you wish to remain anonymous.

13th District Congressman Rodney Davis wants the federal government to help uphold parental notification of abortions when a minor child crosses state lines to get one.

Davis wants a federal law in place if the minor goes across state lines to receive an abortion he wants to uphold the minor’s home state’s law of parental notification.

H.R. 2223, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, would make it a crime to knowingly transport a minor across a state line to obtain an abortion without satisfying the requirements of a parental involvement law in the minor’s resident state. A parental involvement law requires parental consent or notification, or judicial authorization, for a minor to obtain an abortion. The legislation also makes it a crime for a physician to knowingly perform or induce an abortion on an out-of-state minor without first notifying the minor’s parent.

Davis says the impetus for the bill is the State of Illinois repealing the Parental Notification Act in December: “I am proudly pro-Life and strongly support the rights of parents to be involved in their children’s lives. This legislation I’m supporting would make sure that when a minor crosses state lines into Illinois to receive an abortion, their home state’s parental involvement in abortion laws are upheld. This is a small step we can take to protect Life and ensure parents can be there for their children during an incredibly difficult moment in their life.”

The House Resolution was initially introduced in October when it was introduced to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security and then, referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary at the beginning of this week.