South Jacksonville and Jacksonville Police responded to a call Sunday morning of a vehicle striking a business on Comfort Drive.

An initial call came in at 7:16 Sunday morning from an employee of the Qik-N-Easy at 103 Comfort Drive about an individual striking the building multiple times. 

According to a South Jacksonville police report, a vehicle driven by 48 year old Jose A. Aviles of the 600 block of Reid Street struck the northeast side front of the building near the entrance while attempting to pull into a handicap parking space. The impact damaged both the exterior and interior wall causing an interior counter to separate from the wall. 

Aviles then allegedly reversed the vehicle, made a loop around the building and proceeded to strike the southeast front exterior wall and an ice machine causing interior and exterior damage. Officers were able to stop the vehicle before it left the scene and arrested Aviles from criminal damage to property over $10,000 and reckless driving. 

Aviles remains held at the Morgan County Jail awaiting a first appearance in court.

Multiple fire departments were called out to a large structure fire near Loami on Saturday afternoon.

The Loami Fire Department received a call out at 2:35PM on Saturday to a structure fire to 9328 John’s Creek Road. Upon arrival, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Huesing says that a garage and a portion of a two-story barn-style home was fully involved with fire. Mutual aid was radioed for water tankers as attack on the structure and rescue efforts began. The homeowner along with a number of pets were able to get out of the home to safety. 

Responding to mutual aid was Waverly Fire & Rescue, Auburn, Chatham, New Berlin, and the Sangamon County Rescue Squad. Waverly Fire & Rescue transported one Loami firefighter from the scene to Springfield Memorial Hospital for severe smoke inhalation. Huesing says that the firefighter was released from the hospital on Sunday and is recovering at home. No other injuries were reported.

Firefighters were on the scene for approximately 6 hours. Huesing says that the fire’s origin was in the connected garage, but what started the fire is still under investigation. Firefighters were called back out to the scene Sunday morning for a rekindle, and quickly suppressed it. Huesing says the home is likely a total loss.

“Operation: March Madness” in Cass County has netted three more arrests on various charges.

Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn says that deputies were dispatched to a call of suspicious persons at a business in Virginia just before 10AM on Saturday. Deputies were able to locate the suspicious persons at a nearby business.

Subsequent to an investigation, three individuals were arrested on various charges:

45 year old Robert O. Poole of Waverly was cited for possession of a narcotic instrument, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction of justice, possession of methamphetamine between 100 and 400 grams, possession of a controlled substance, and a Menard County warrant for aggravated fleeing or eluding a peace officer.

34 year old Christine M. Marcum of Mason City was cited for possession of a controlled substance and illegal possession of adult use cannabis in a vehicle.

30 year old Rachel O. Power of Springfield was cited for possession of a controlled substance, illegal possession of adult use cannabis in a vehicle.

All three remain lodged at the Morgan County Jail awaiting a first appearance in court. 

The Illinois Supreme Court says a Louisiana, Missouri man will remain in the Illinois Department of Corrections after a failed appeal.

45 year old Charles T. Allen’s 2020 first degree murder conviction will not be considered by the state’s highest court 

According to KHQA, in an order dated October 15th the Illinois Court of Appeals for the Fourth District upheld Allen’s conviction by a Pike County jury for the 2019 stabbing death of Donald J. Collard. Pike County State’s Attorney Zachary Boren’s Office says that the Supreme Court delivered its mandate effective March 2nd.

A Pike County jury found Allen guilty of first degree murder on January 17, 2020.
In March 2020, Pike County Resident Circuit Judge J. Frank McCartney sentenced Allen to 44 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Illinois College nursing students are reaping the benefits of a special grant from the Springfield Memorial Foundation last year.

The $50,000 grant provided for the purchase of a variety of equipment for nursing students to use in non-clinical settings to gain crucial hands-on experience.

Executive Director for the Springfield Memorial Foundation, Melissa Hansen-Schmadeke, says that the patient simulation equipment purchased for the campus is technology that will help many students who pass through IC’s nursing program: “The simulation equipment is current technology. Technology changes rapidly. It’s a great opportunity for the Memorial Foundation to provide the newest, greatest technology to the students so they can learn right there on campus, and learn right alongside the amazing nursing instructors that they have at Illinois College.”

Schmadeke says that they hope to have some of the future nurses training on the equipment will join Memorial Health sometime in the future.

The grant was used to purchase a variety of items for the program, including IV infusion pumps, SimScreen Panels, ECG equipment and carts for medication and storage. Much of the equipment has enhanced simulation exercises in the nursing labs.

The pre-clinical equipment will allow students the opportunity to learn in a simulated setting in a safe and controlled environment before they set foot in a hospital.

The equipment is all a part of the ever-expanding nursing program at IC, which began its nursing program in April 2020. The program has quickly grown to enroll more than 100 nursing majors and pre-nursing students.

Jacksonville Memorial Hospital has recently received its re-designation as an acute stroke-ready hospital.

The Joint Commission, a national healthcare accreditation group, gives this designation for hospitals and emergency rooms that have a dedicated stroke response program.

Jacksonville Memorial Hospital Emergency Department Nurse Manager Rachel Moore says the hospital designation means that JMH is ready to give urgent care for a patient exhibiting stroke symptoms at a moment’s notice: “This re-designation means our Emergency Department is able to provide patients with rapid lab and image testing, stabilization treatment such as TPA, which is a medication used to break up blood clots and restore blood flow to the brain, and it also means we are able to quickly transfer patients to a comprehensive stroke center like Springfield Memorial Hospital.”

Moore says the re-designation occurs every 2 years. She says the metrics for the designation are all based on time – from the time the person enters the hospital to the time they receive life-saving tests and treatment.

Moore says people presenting with stroke-like symptoms is a regular occurrence at JMH and she urges anyone who begins having those symptoms to immediately seek medical attention: “We are seeing 10 to 20 patients per month that present with stroke-like symptoms, and we are able to provide that rapid medical access within that narrow 60-minute treatment time. With that, I would encourage patients that if they are experiencing any change in neuro-status – severe headache, weakness especially on one side of the body, numbness, tingling, things like – to make sure they come right to the hospital. Don’t delay. Call an ambulance if you can’t get yourself here safely. We are ready to help you. We just need you to get here to the hospital as quickly as possible.”

The CDC says that patients who arrive at the emergency room within three hours of their first symptoms often have less disability three months after a stroke than those who received delayed care.

Moore says the re-designation indicates that JMH is ready to provide care at the highest level for patients who reach the hospital within that crucial three-hour window of presenting stroke symptoms.

Ameren Illinois wants to alert customers that are struggling to pay their utility bills that assistance is available on a current deadline.

Mary Heger, Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Ameren Illinois says people who meet certain income requirements should look to a federal program first: “The first program we want to make sure people are aware of is that at the state level there are almost $350 million worth of funding available through the LIHEAP program – the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. These dollars are available to customers that qualify based on income in the form of direct grants. So, customers that go to agencies and apply for this funding will get grants that we will apply to their energy bills – either their electric or their gas bill at Ameren-Illinois. That is a significant benefit that customers can take advantage of at the state level.”

Customers in the listening area can enroll for LIHEAP through May 31^st at MCS Community Services in Jacksonville. Information on LIHEAP can be found online at HelpIllinoisFamilies.com.

Heger says the second program is for people with a past due balance on their current bills who simply need an extra shot at catching up: “We really encourage customers to act quickly because by taking advantage of a repayment plan that we have available, customers can up to only 10% down in order to establish a repayment plan if they come to us and sign up before the end of March. Beginning April 1st, the required down payment will increase to about 25% of their outstanding balance. Again, we encourage our customers throughout the state to really think about contacting us. We can get information to them about LIHEAP. We can help them determine if they are eligible for the LIHEAP program, and we can also make our programs available to them in order to help manage their energy bill moving forward.”

To establish a payment plan with Ameren, call their customer service hotline at 1-800-755-5000 and select ‘billing and payment’ from the menu options. Agreements can also be made by logging into an active Ameren Illinois account at AmerenIllinois.com.

Menard County Sheriff’s Deputies are investigating a case in which a man shot a dog with a compound bow.

According to a press release from the Menard County Sheriff’s Office, on February 21^st, Menard County Animal Control was called to a residence in the 13000 block of Deer Path Lane in rural Athens regarding a dog that had been shot with a compound bow.

Animal control notified the sheriff’s office of the incident and requested assistance. Deputies and animal control investigated the matter and learned that a male subject, later identified as 41 year old S. Patrick Cannedy had allegedly shot the dog with the compound bow. The dog owners are nearby neighbors to Cannedy. The dog was reported to be on Cannedy’s property at the time of the incident.

The dog was treated at a local veterinary clinic for injuries sustained from the arrow near it’s front chest. WAND-TV’s Caryn Eisert reports that the collie named Carly is current home and is recovering.

The matter continued to be investigated by Menard County Sheriff’s Deputies, Menard County Animal Control, and the Menard County State’s Attorney’s Office. The investigation resulted in the issuance of an arrest warrant for Cannedy, charging him with Aggravated Cruelty to an Animal, a Class 4 felony. Cannedy was arrested by Menard County Deputies yesterday morning without incident.

Cannedy is now being held at the Menard County Jail.

If convicted, he faces a possible fine of up to $25,000, probation of up to 30 months, 1 to 3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and one year of parole. Cannedy could also be required to undergo a psychological or psychiatric evaluation as well as treatment if convicted.

Carly’s owners have set up a GoFundMe for her vet expenses. The owners mostly recently lost a garage due to a fire damaging their personal vehicles and portions of their home, and need the extra financial support at this time to offset Carly’s recovery.

A GOP gubernatorial candidate released a series of FOIA-requested emails that allegedly connect the Pritzker Administration to the now-indicted Michael Madigan.

Petersburg native Jesse Sullivan, one in a large field of Republican hopefuls to take on incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker, says in a press release today that Pritzker has deep ties to what Sullivan characterizes as the “Madigan enterprise.” The enterprise is in reference to language in the former Illinois House Speaker’s federal indictment on corruption charges.

Sullivan cites a 2020 WBEZ report about the Pritzker Administration’s hiring of 35 individuals from the then-House Speaker’s “clout list.”

Sullivan is publishing emails obtained by his campaign that show Madigan confidant, Michael McClain of Quincy, lobbying officials in the Pritzker Administration for jobs to offering condolences and accolades.

The emails show McClain recommending for an ally to get a job in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, helping lobby for a job candidate on the Prison Review Board, sending resumes to the office of Deputy Governor Christian Mitchell for various people, and offering condolences to Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh about a federal investigation into Pritzker’s removal of toilets from a Gold Coast mansion to allegedly attempt to reduce the governor’s property tax burden.

The emails also mention then-Pritzker senior advisor and current 13^th District Democrat Congressional candidate Nikki Budzinski.

Names of the people that McClain was lobbying on behalf of have been redacted by the Sullvian campaign. Sullivan is calling for all of the patronage hirings to be immediately removed from state employment.

Full text of the emails can be read at this link.

The release of the McClain emails come on the heels of the Sullivan campaign releasing an anti-corruption plan for the state.