A current bill in the Illinois General Assembly would make it easier for victims of domestic violence to apply for orders of protection through local courts.

The bill, which has passed Senate unanimously, would allow victims to file for an order of protection online and would require courts in a county larger than 250,000 population to offer the petitioner the option to hold a hearing on that order remotely.

At a Wednesday morning news conference, the bill sponsor, State Senator Steve Stadelman of Rockford was joined by Carrie Ward, executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and Amanda Pyron, executive director of The Network Advocating Against Domestic Violence, to discuss how the legislation benefits victims.

Ward said ICASA hopes the legislation is the first step in increasing the survivor’s ability to receive protective orders in the safest and most efficient way possible. Ward noted they would like to see subsequent legislation that eliminates the population requirements and opens online access to the entire state.

Senate Bill 3667 has arrived in the House today and has picked up a chief sponsor, Representative Maurice West. It is currently awaiting a House committee assignment before a final vote.

Four area students were recently awarded a major scholarship at Illinois College.

Megan Suttles of South Jacksonville and Elizabeth Weber of Jacksonville along with two other students to be named later were recipients of the Howard and Vera Million Endowed Scholarship.

A $1.5 million gift to Illinois College from the estate of the late Howard Million funds the permanent scholarship, which was established following Million’s passing in October 2014 at the age of 102. Million was a distinguished friend of Illinois College. Raised on a farm near Roodhouse, he had a successful career as a farmer and was the founder and president of the former Roodhouse Savings and Loan Association. Illinois College awarded Million an honorary bachelor of arts degree during the 2012 Commencement ceremony.

That same year, Million approached the College about helping ensure deserving students have the opportunity to attend Illinois College and receive the type of education he had not been afforded. Working closely with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, Million established a gift through his estate to provide for the scholarship. Preference is often given to students from Greene, Morgan, or Scott counties.

Information has been released about a Morgan County woman who was jailed after she allegedly made more than $100,000 worth of unauthorized purchases on a Jacksonville business’ credit card.

The Journal Courier reports that 48 year old Stacy S. Brickey of Woodson was arrested on January 19^th by Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputies after it was reported that Brickey made the purchases on a credit card for Production Press without permission. Jacksonville Police Detective Lt. Doug Thompson told the Journal Courier that the employer spotted the fraudulent charges, which prompted an investigation.

Brickey has been charged with felony theft between $100,000-$500,000 and felony unlawful use of an account code. Brickey waived her rights to a preliminary hearing on Feb. 8 and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A jury trial was requested and scheduled for 10 a.m. March 8, with a pretrial conference set for Wednesday. The theft charge carries a sentence of four to 15 years followed by up to 18 months supervised release if convicted; the misuse of a credit card carries a two- to 10-yeard sentence. Both charges are eligible for probation.

However, Brickey pled guilty in 2018 to felony theft between $10,000 and $100,000. Brickey was caught making illegal purchases of over $10,000 for personal use, including groceries, gift cards and a generator using county money while she was an administrative assistant for the Morgan County Highway Department from March 2014 to January 2017. Brickey was also charged with official misconduct in the case, but it was dropped per a plea. She received 2 years of adult probation, 90 days in county jail, a $500 fine, and more than $40,000 in restitution to the county.

Brickey remains free on bond prior to trial.

The 25^th resident of the State of Illinois has been arrested and charged for their role in the Jan. 6^th Washington D.C. Capitol riot.

44 year old Athanasios Zoyganeles of Chicago was charged in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington with misdemeanor counts of unlawfully entering a restricted government building and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds yesterday.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Zoyganeles was charged by the FBI after finding evidence of text messages and information from an anonymous tip about a video that Zoyganeles published on his Facebook page. The FBI also used phone records to determine that Zoyganeles’ phone was in the vicinity of the Capitol on Jan. 6. Surveillance footage showed him in a black and red “Trump” hat entering through the Parliamentary Doors with a mob and taking videos on his phone while inside, according to the complaint.

In October, the FBI met with a close relative of Zoyganeles, who confirmed he was the person in the surveillance images.

According to the Justice Department, more than 725 people have been arrested in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on charges stemming from the Capitol breach.

An Illinois State Senator is resigning amid reports he will plead guilty to federal embezzlement charges.

23^rd District State Senator Tom Cullerton of Villa Park officially resigned today effective immediately. According to the Chicago Tribune, Cullerton’s lawyer revealed in court that he’s planning to plead guilty in a 2019 federal 39-count embezzlement case alleging he took a do-nothing job with the Teamsters union.

The case against Cullerton, who had remained in office and is free on bond, was originally supposed to go to trial this week, but was postponed due in part to a COVID-19-related backlog of cases. Meanwhile, both sides continued to work behind the scenes on a potential deal.

According to Cullerton’s indictment, then-Teamsters boss John Coli conspired with Cullerton in 2013 to give the newly elected senator a do-nothing job with the clout-heavy union. Over the next three years, the two ignored complaints from supervisors when Cullerton failed to even show up for work, according to the charges.

In all, Cullerton was accused of fraudulently obtaining $188,320 in salary, bonuses and cellphone and vehicle allowances from the Teamsters between 2013 and 2016, as well as $64,068 in health and pension contributions. Coli pleaded guilty to extortion charges and agreed to cooperate with federal authorities in August 2019. Cullerton’s charges came three days later.

Cullerton, a distant cousin of former Senate President John Cullerton, had been a state senator since 2012. Sentencing for Cullerton has been set for March 8^th.

Three West Central Illinois Sheriff’s have been named to a Republican gubernatorial candidate’s proposed criminal justice council.

Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn, Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood and Scott County Sheriff Tom Eddinger have been named to Republican gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan’s 20-member Safe Streets Leadership Council.

Also chosen for the council are Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha, Menard County State’s Attorney Gabe Grosboll, and retired Menard County Sheriff and former president of the Illinois Sheriff’s Association Larry Smith. The council would be co-chaired by current Menard County Sheriff Mark Oller and McDonough County Sheriff Nick Petitgout.

Sullivan’s Safe Street’s initiative was unveiled on January 25^th in television ads and announcements. The plan calls for fully staffing law enforcement agencies, using National Guard assistance in areas in which crime is surging, repealing the elimination of cash bond for violent offenders, and sharing information and tactics with neighboring states.

The plan also calls for the repeal of the SAFE-T Act passed by the General Assembly last year as part of a large criminal justice reform initiative.

Sullivan also has a third prong that calls for an increase in penalties for crimes against police, improve pay scales for law enforcement officers, and create incentives to retain experienced officers. It also would create a statewide anti-violence director to oversee efforts, strengthening collaboration among local and state agencies, ensuring there are resources to train prisoners, and increasing a tax credit for those who hire people who have been released from prison.

The 37 year old Sullivan is a cryptocurrency venture capitalist originally from Petersburg. He is vying for the Republican gubernatorial nomination among a field of five others to take on Democrat incumbent J.B. Pritzker in November.

Sullivan and his Lt. Governor running mate Kathleen Murphy made the council announcement last night at a “Save Illinois” rally at Church Street Brewing Company in Itasca.

Two men with Jacksonville connections have been charged in connection to a triple homicide in Springfield last year.

On August 9^th, three people were found shot to death inside a home in the 2500 block of South 10^th Street in the Harvard Park neighborhood in Springfield.

Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon identified the victims as 27 year old Savante English, 25 year old Keyera Gant both of Springfield, and 27 year old Bryant K. Williams of Houston, Texas. All died of multiple shotgun wounds. According to an article in the State Journal Register at the time, English and Gantwere cousins. English and Williams were childhood friends from Springfield. English, who worked at JBS in Beardstown rented the residence where the three victims were discovered the afternoon of August 9th by a friend. The friend went to a neighbor’s home, where the 911 call to police came from.

Gant had worked for Home Instead Senior Care for the last five years. Williams was an up and coming rapper in the Houston-area who went by “BK Yola” and several of his videos are posted on YouTube. Authorities confirmed that Williams had been in Springfield for several days prior to the shooting.

Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon would later say the scene inside the house was “one of the most horrific scenes” he had ever seen in his 20 years at the coroner’s office. Investigators at the time believe that the home was targeted by the perpetrators in the case.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright’s Office today filed three counts of first degree murder against 21 year old Kelton C. Galmore of Chatham and 33 year old Joseph W. Hembrough of Jacksonville.

Galmore was arrested at the Morgan County Courthouse by U.S. Marshals yesterday after a court hearing. Galmore was in court for a pre-trial conference for an arrest in April 2020 for manufacture and delivery of cocaine.

Hembrough has been in custody at the Morgan County Jail.

He was due in Morgan County Court on March 3rd for an October 20th arrest for illegal possession of a weapon by a felon. Hembrough previously served 2 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to felony theft in May 2009.

Each count of first degree murder carries a possible sentence of 45 years to life behind bars. Galmore was arraigned today in Sangamon County Court according to WICS Newschannel 20. Hembrough is awaiting extradition from the Morgan County Jail. Both have bonds of $5 million.

Anyone with any information on this incident is urged to call Springfield Police at 217-788-8311 or the Sangamon-Menard Crime Stoppers at 217-788-8427.