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.

The Greene County Health Department announced yesterday that it had received additional funding this fiscal year.

In a press release yesterday, the Greene County Health Department announced its receiving an additional $170,000 this year to expand its service due to receiving competitive grants. Greene County Health Department Administrator Molly Peters says the additional funding came from three separate entities: “One of those is an opioid awareness grant, which is focused on identifying some surveillance and data information about what locations are really experiencing high needs and are concerned troubled areas within the county so we can better prepare and provide prevention efforts to that area. The other one is a NACCHO grant, which is the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and this grant is specifically about vaccination awareness. It includes standard vaccines and helping people understand the need for vaccines and why we have been providing them for decades. We want to encourage folks to continue to get vaccinated for various things, as well.

Peters says the increased funding will help to provide two additional services from the health department: “Family planning clinics and an STD clinic is going to be opened as walk-in clinics Mondays and Thursdays from 1-3PM. These services are going to be walk-in. Individuals that would like to see a nurse practitioner, which is that person is only here one day a week…so if they are wanting to see them, they would likely schedule an appointment. In general, though, walk-in clinics would be available for family planning and we are going to attempt to broaden that scope. We know that these services are definitely needed and it’s something that the community is looking for.”

For more information about the department’s childhood immunization program, visit greenecountyhd.org.

COVID-19 vaccinations are still available every Wednesday at the North Greene office, located at 205 S. Morse Street in Roodhouse, and every Friday at the Carrollton office, located at 310 Fifth Street.

Hours for some clinics may vary. Visit the Greene County Health Department’s website or Facebook Page for more details.

A Southern Illinois attorney that has made a name for taking on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Covid mitigations and the school mask mandate has informally announced he’s seeking a higher office.

Thomas DeVore appears poised to seek the Republican nomination for the Illinois Attorney General’s office. According to the Cook County Record, DeVore has begun distributing petitions to supporters to place his name on the ballot in June.

DeVore made the announcement in a live-stream video Monday night on his Facebook Page. DeVore said he decided to opt for the higher office after hearing stories from young children around the state after he secured a temporary restraining order against the governor’s school mask mandate earlier this month.

DeVore had initially signed on to run in the Republican primary for a spot on the 5^th Appellate Court but says the stories compelled him to aim higher to protect the people of Illinois: “I said to myself ‘I can’t sit by and do nothing,’ and these children have convinced me of that. So I’m like, ‘What can I do?’ And I made the decision that there is only one way that I can help, and that’s making myself available to the people of this state as Attorney General. I don’t know if I’m the right guy for the job. Only you guys know if I’m the right guy for the job, but I do know that we have to have somebody in that position that is going to stand up for the people. When you have a choice as an attorney, as any attorney, let alone the Attorney General of this state…when you have a choice between defending someone against the people – you always choose the people!”

DeVore said prior to his announcement that he was mostly apolitical, but that his views align with Republicans. He said he only chose to get involved in politics to help people and as a means to help people.

In announcing his candidacy for Attorney General, DeVore will oppose attorney Steve Kim, a Rockford lawyer and former candidate for Illinois Lieutenant Governor, in the Republican primary in June.

Kim is believed to have been selected for the race as part of a slate of statewide candidates, along with gubernatorial candidate Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who is financially backed by billionaire Ken Griffin, in the race against unseating Pritzker.

It is not known if DeVore would also be part of a rival slate of Republican candidates, led by State Senator Darren Bailey of Xenia, and potentially backed by billionaire Richard “Dick” Uihlein, who recently donated $1 million to Bailey’s gubernatorial campaign.

DeVore said in the video yesterday that he plans to make a formal public announcement in Springfield on Monday at a public event.

The Jacksonville Farmer’s Market is changing locations this year.

The farmer’s market has been at Lincoln Square since 1997. Michael Meyer, director of the market, says in communication today that the market is changing locations this year because the rate structure charged by Lincoln Square changed this year.

Meyer says the increase would increase vendor fees, which would likely be passed along to customers. Meyer says due to the increase, the market is moving to the Pathway Plaza lot on West Morton Avenue.

The season for the grower’s only market begins in May. Meyer says that the number of vendors varies during the season, but Saturdays traditionally remain the market’s most popular day.

Vendors sell everything from seasonal fruits and vegetables, baked goods, honey, flowers, plants, meat, homemade soaps and eggs. Arts & crafts are still not accepted at the market.

Meyer hopes the change in location will provide more space for this year’s vendors and customers, and increase visibility to drive-by traffic.

Masks continue to stand in the way of the Illinois General Assembly from doing business.

In the first half-hour of House session yesterday at the Capitol the leaders of each party made calls for civility.

House Speaker Chris Welch and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin had a message for all the members of the chamber: the public is watching and it’s time to get to work.

Tensions have been high in the chamber. Tuesday to Thursday last week, several GOP members refused to wear face coverings, accusing Democrats of hypocrisy for enforcing mask requirements on the House floor, but not at fundraising events, and faulting the majority party for not taking votes on the governor’s authority to issue statewide mask mandates. That led to a Thursday motion by Rep. Lakesia Collins, D-Chicago, to remove nine Republicans from the floor for failing to comply with House rules.

According to Capitol News Illinois, three members were removed yesterday, Reps. Dan Caulkins of Decatur, Blaine Wilhour of Beecher City, and Adam Niemerg of Dietrich. All three were allowed to participate in remote voting. Wilhour currently has an active lawsuit about the removals, suing Welch for the mask mandate. Wilhour is being represented by Attorney Thomas DeVore.

The House rules about masks and temperature checks were approved last Spring when the House convened in an abbreviated session after canceling multiple sessions due to Covid-19’s delta variant surge.

The Illinois Supreme Court it is removing requirements for masks in state courts on Monday.

The court published the amended order yesterday afternoon making masks optional for attendance in state courts. The order’s wording defers to local circuits to set their own rules requiring the wearing of masks in accordance with public health guidance at the local level.

According to the order, persons choosing to wear a mask may be directed by a judge to remove their mask if deemed necessary for court purposes such as addressing the court or testifying during proceedings.

An initiative to beautify and clean up the City of Jacksonville is expanding. The “Litter Getter” campaign with several of Jacksonville’s service organizations occurred last summer. Ward 2 Alderwoman and Chair of the City’s Parks & Lakes Committee Lori Large-Oldenettel organized the initiative.

She says this year the initiative is expanding in two different ways after a community meeting held last Wednesday brought up several ideas: “One is we are going to expand that ‘litter getter’ campaign, and the service groups that participated last year are going to pick one Saturday a month. Every month on their particular Saturday, they are going to go out and collect trash and debris from the curbs and city streets. That’s one part of it – collecting trash and debris from city streets. Families would be able to do that with those groups.”

The extended “litter getter” campaign will run from March through October.

Oldenettel says the bigger effort will concentrate on particular neighborhoods and certain properties that have debris and trash: “We are going to get permission to help property owners remove trash, debris, items from their property that maybe they didn’t know how to get rid of or where to get rid of it. We’re going to partner with Buster Sanitation and bring in dumpsters. Our volunteers will do the heavy lifting of removing items from property that we get permission to remove it from. Then, we will also have a beautification work crew that will help remove overgrown brush or do trimming, and kind of bring things back in line with what the property owner might have in mind and how we can help them get to that idea.”

Oldenettel says that Community Development Director Brian Nyberg is currently working with City Attorney Dan Beard to draft a waiver for property owners who grant permission to have trash removed from the property. Nyberg says that this is not a code enforcement opportunity for the city and no tickets will be issued. He says people who are currently before the municipal court for their property won’t be eligible to enroll in the property clean-up efforts.

Volunteers for the property clean up must be 18 years of age to participate. Oldenettel hopes that neighbors and property owners will come out and pitch in to help beautify neighborhoods around the city.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Oldenettel at 217-370-4597 or via email at llarge238@gmail.com or Nyberg at 217-479-4620 extension 3521 or via email at bnyberg@jacksonvilleil.gov.