A Springfield man will have his mental fitness evaluated, while his alleged cohort in a November 2021 carjacking and sexual assault has requested a bench trial in Adams County Court.

WGEM and the Quincy Herald Whig report that 34 year old Bradley Yohn of Springfield will have his mental fitness evaluated prior to trial. Chief Judge of the Circuit Frank McCartney ordered an evaluation of Yohn on Friday after Yohn’s counsel, Adams County Public Defender John Citro raised questions about his client’s fitness. Yohn will return to Adams County Court on March 22^nd for a status hearing.

Yohn’s co-defendant, 32 year old Karen Blackledge waived her right to have a jury hear the case. Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones told WGEM that means the matter could become a bench trial or there still could be a negotiated plea. Jones says that no negotiated plea has been entered into at this time.

Yohn and Blackledge each face two counts of home invasion, one count of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, all Class X felonies, and residential burglary, a Class 1 felony. Those charges are in connection with a Nov. 9 incident that allegedly began along the North Bottom Road. The victim in the case has since died from injuries sustained in the incident.

Yohn also is charged with vehicular hijacking stemming from a separate Oct. 31 incident.

And he faces charges of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony; two counts of theft or unauthorized control of property over $500 but under $10,000, Class 3 felonies; and criminal sexual abuse, a Class 4 felony. Those charges stem from another Oct. 14 incident.

Both have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Blackledge is being held at the Adams County Jail on a $5 million bond. Yohn is being held on a $15 million bond, which is believed to be the largest bond amount ever set in the county.

The Illinois State Board of Education announced today that it is putting $2 million into an effort to support and retain teachers of color.

ISBE will establish a statewide system of affinity groups in partnership with Sangamon-Menard Regional Office of Education 51 and Teach Plus. The groups will bring teachers of color together to examine issues facing them, including the causes of attrition, and to develop policy recommendations. The recommendations will inform local district leaders on ways to improve working conditions and experiences for teachers of color.

ISBE data shows that the state retains Black teachers at the lowest rate of all teacher groups. State Superintendent Carmen Ayala says that the effort is another way to create an equitable education system for the state.

The program will run for two and half years and be funded with federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief II funds. ROE 51 will administer the program in partnership with Teach Plus, a national nonprofit organization that develops and empowers teacher leaders. Teach Plus has facilitated projects focused on retaining teachers of color in Illinois and has implemented an affinity group structure in other states.

Educators interested in learning more about or participating in this initiative can contact Teach Plus Illinois Executive Director Josh Kaufmann at jkaufmann@teachplus.org.

This month’s winter storms had an impact on the state’s blood supply.

ImpactLife says the need for blood donors is urgent. The supply for all blood types are at less than 3 days, and even lower for Type O red blood cells and platelets of all blood types.

ImpactLife says that the winter storms caused numerous blood drives to be canceled as recently as last week.

To schedule appointments for donation, call (800) 747-5401, online at www.bloodcenter.org, or by using the blood center’s mobile app.

The Jacksonville Public Library will have a familiar face as a consultant.

The Jacksonville Public Library Board has tapped former director Sharon Zuiderveld as an administrative consultant while the board searches for a new full-time director.

Zuiderveld served as director from 2001 until her retirement in 2011. She began her duties last week. She takes over for Chris Ashmore who resigned on February 9^th. President of the Library Board Mary Fergurson says in a press release says the board is happy to partner with a familiar face as they go through a period of transition.

Ferguson says they will begin searching for a permanent executive director of the library in the coming weeks.

A popular rite of Spring returns this year in South Jacksonville.

Lori Hanson of the Prairieland Heritage Museum says the consignment auction is returning Saturday, March 12^th: “Gates open at 7AM. The auction starts at 9AM, and it will go until the last item is sold or we run out of daylight. The Boy Scouts will be out there serving food starting at 7AM, and they’ll go until the run out of food.”

Hanson says item drop off for the auction begins on Friday, March 4th from 8AM-6PM. People dropping off items are instructed to notify the ladies in the main office. People dropping off items or wanting an auction number should contact Rosemary Wertz at the office at 217-452-3249. For additional questions or about item placement, contact the Auction Coordinator Norman Wertz at 217-248-1038, auctioneer Brian Curless at 217-242-1665, Roger Strang at 217-370-2530, Larry Derricks at 217-370-7007, or Gary Hollock at 217-473-8223.

Hanson says the consignment auction is the museum’s largest fundraiser of the year and that the profit it brings in varies from year to year based on the number of items and the amount of bids. For more information about the museum or the auction, visit prairelandheritage.com or follow them on Facebook.

The Jacksonville Fire Department had a busy Sunday, fighting two garage fires hours apart.

Dispatch was called just before 10AM to 266 Marnico Lane of a structure on fire. According to fire department reports, personnel could see heavy black smoke from the location prior to arrival. Upon arrival, firefighters could see that fire had engulfed a garage and made its way into a residence.

An off-duty firefighter had alerted residents to get out of the home. A resident who was inside the home at the time the fire started said they had felt heat in their bedroom and witnessed the garage on fire and called 9-1-1.

Upon investigation, the fire was undetermined in origin. The residents of the home said they had a heater lamp plugged in between the house and garage for a makeshift greenhouse and/or chicken coop. No injuries were reported. Damages were reported to be approximately $50,000. The scene was cleared shortly before noon.

The Chapin Volunteer Fire Department assisted the Jacksonville Fire Department with fire suppression efforts.

Emergency dispatch received a second garage fire call at 2:28PM for a garage fire at 1153 West Lafayette Avenue. The caller told dispatch they had been working on a carburetor on a Jeep and it caught on fire, igniting a single-car garage.

According to the Journal Courier, neighbors said they heard a loud explosion and then saw flames and smoke.

The heavy flame spread into the East to a 2-car garage attached by roof overhangs. The east garage had another Jeep that was on fire along with a Chevy Impala in the far east end of the second garage. The fire was also spreading into a neighboring 1-car garage to the West.

The 2-story home to the west also received significant heat damage to the vinyl siding, but it never was able to spread into the structure, according to reports.

Damage was estimated to be approximately $55,000. Suppression efforts by Jacksonville Police and South Jacksonville Fire Departments lasted until around 3:40PM yesterday. No injuries were reported.

The Illinois State Police are preparing for possible disruptions to the state’s interstates this week due to a possible convoy protest.

Illinois State Police officials say they have become aware of a planned event along several interstate corridors scheduled to begin this weekend and run through next Saturday where truck drivers are allegedly planning to conduct a “Convoy” causing traffic delays.

Illinois State Police Division of Patrol Colonel Margaret McGreal said in a press release Saturday afternoon that the Illinois State Police respects the rights of citizens to express their opinions in a lawful manner, but her office has great concern with any event meant to impede the normal flow of traffic.

She says a planned event to impede traffic is a top cause of motor vehicle crashes that can result in property damage or injuries. She says anyone who chooses to participate in such events that intentionally endanger the public will be subject to the enforcement of applicable laws and could potentially be held liable for traffic crashes as a result of their actions.

The U.S. convoy is the counterpart to Canada’s “Freedom Convoy.”

“The People’s Convoy” is set to bring attention to COVID-19 mandates and restrictions. The group is slated to roll through Illinois tomorrow, stopping in Indianapolis, Indiana tomorrow night.

The group has raised over $1.5 million and there is no word of how long the alleged convoy will be as it makes its way across the state this week.

Jacksonville Memorial Hospital has completed its community needs assessment and has identified three priorities for outreach and education for the next two years.

The nonprofit hospital has developed an implementation plan to address mental health, obesity, and cancer over its next two fiscal years.

Mental health was also singled out as a system-wide priority for all five hospitals in the Memorial Health system.

To complete the needs assessment, Jacksonville Memorial Hospital collaborated with the Morgan County Health Department and other health and social service providers that represent vulnerable members of the community.

Completing a community health needs assessment is required of nonprofit hospitals every three years as part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

To view Jacksonville Memorial Hospital’s community health needs assessment, visit memorial.health/CHNA.

The Morgan County Fair announced their 2022 Grandstand line up in a special kickoff event on Saturday.

Country musician Cody Johnson is returning to headline the Saturday night of the fair after his concert was canceled last year due Johnson contracting a lingering, severe sinus infection. Opening act for Johnson will be fellow country singer-songwriter Drew Parker.

The Friday night headliner will be Walker Hayes. Hayes will have viral TikTok sensation Cooper Alan as the opening act. Tickets will be available starting March 18th through the Morgan County Fair website. The fair will run July 6-11, with the concerts being held on Friday, July 8th and Saturday, July 9th.

The Morgan County Fair will also be hosting “Homegrown: Farm-to-Table Entertainment” this Saturday, March 5th starting at 6PM at the 4-H Building. Proceeds of this dinner are to benefit youth programs, scholarships, and events of the Morgan County Fair.