A family of 4 was displaced by fire last Friday in rural Virginia.

The Cass County Star Gazette reports that a home located at 1392 Walnut Road, about 7 miles southeast of Virginia, was fully involved with fire in the second story when first responders arrived shortly after 12:30PM on Friday.

The Ashland Fire Department gave mutual aid as knock down of the fire took approximately 5 hours. Virginia Fire Chief Donnie Reynolds told the Star Gazette that the home was a total loss. No cause or origin of the fire was reported.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross provided immediate financial assistance to the family. All occupants of the home, which included two adults and two children, made it out safely. A mild burn on the hands of one of the occupants was reported, but there were no other serious injuries.

The Illinois Attorney General has weighed in on a ruling that was vacated in Adams County in a sex assault case last month.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul says he is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to order Judge Robert Adrian to impose a lawful sentence to 18 year old Drew Clinton in accordance with state law. Adrian found Clinton guilty of felony criminal sexual assault in October 2021 to a 16 year old female minor victim. On January 3^rd, Adrian vacated the conviction and said that Clinton’s 148-day imprisonment in the Adams County Jail “was punishment enough.” Adrian’s admonishments from the bench and his vacated conviction drew international outrage. Adrian was later removed from the criminal docket by Chief Judge of the 8^th Judicial Circuit J. Frank McCartney on January 13^th. Calls for Adrian to resign from the bench have been ongoing.

Clinton was originally charged with 3 counts of criminal sexual assault for assaulting the victim at a graduation party in Quincy. The 16-year-old victim was unable to give consent when she was assaulted by Clinton because she had passed out after consuming alcohol, and according to the victim’s testimony at trial awoke to find Clinton on top of her with a pillowcase shoved over her face.

Adrian found Clinton guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault, a felony, after a bench trial that included testimony from the victim and witnesses at the party. However, when sentencing Clinton, Adrian plainly stated his intention to not sentence Clinton to prison due to his age and lack of a criminal history, as mandated by Illinois’ mandatory minimum sentencing requirements. Instead, Adrian vacated the conviction and released Clinton from custody. Raoul’s mandamus complaint urges the Supreme Court to order Adrian to reinstate the verdict and issue a sentence consistent with the mandatory sentencing range set in statute.

Raoul said in a press release today that the mandatory sentencing range for the offense is 4-15 years in prison according to state law: ““The mandatory sentencing range set by the Illinois General Assembly for felony criminal sexual assault is four to 15 years in prison. In addition to the insensitivity to the victim in this case, the judge’s decision to vacate the conviction and call the 148 days Clinton served in county jail ‘plenty of punishment,’ demonstrates an abuse of power.”

Raoul’s actions comes after collaboration with the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor’s Office and Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha’s Office. Farha put out an appeal to David Robinson, the chief deputy director at the State’s Attorney’s Appellate Prosecutor’s Office in Springfield on January 19^th. Robinson is also the deputy director of the Fourth Judicial Appellate District.

Adams County State’s Attorney Gary Farha says that he hopes that this will show victims that the justice system does work: “Victims of sexual assault often make the decision to not come forward because they believe that the criminal justice system will not believe them nor protect them. The victim in this case took the brave steps of reporting the crime, cooperating with the investigation, and testifying at trial. Because of her courage, the defendant was convicted of his crime. There is nothing more frustrating and disheartening to our community, this victim, and to all victims of sexual assault when any defendant avoids the legal consequences of his conduct. We appreciate the hard work of the Attorney General and the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office in ensuring that this brave young woman have the opportunity to see her attacker held responsible.”

Raoul points out in the mandamus that by refusing to enforce a valid criminal statute, the judge acted as a quasi-legislator and usurped the authority of the legislative branch while undermining confidence in the judicial process. Raoul further argues that Adrian’s comments at the sentencing hearing demonstrate his own recognition that he lacked the authority to depart from the mandatory minimum sentencing range.

The victim at the center of the case, 16 year old Cameron Vaughan of Quincy has since come forward to discuss her struggles throughout the case. Vaughan appeared on Wednesday on Dr. Phil in an exclusive interview discussing details of the case and the fallout of coming forward.

A bill to protect DCFS caseworkers in the line of duty is gaining traction in the General Assembly.

Senate Bill 3070, known as the Knight-Silas Act, would make DCFS workers a protected class, similar protections afforded to first responders. 48^th District State Senator Doris Turner, who is chief sponsor of the bill, drafted the bill after the murder of Deidre Silas in Thayer last month while Silas was on a call about child endangerment at a residence.

Under Turner’s measure, if a person assaults someone they know is a DCFS caseworker or investigator, it will be considered aggravated battery rather than battery, a felony. A perpetrator of the crime must also be 21 years of age since children can be under the care of DCFS until the age of 21.

Turner told WAND-TV yesterday that the bill is receiving bi-partisan support, as language of the bill continues to be amended and provisions continue to be added.

SB 3070 passed the Criminal Law Committee yesterday and now heads to the full Senate for further consideration.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association have teamed up for a new proposal to fight organized retail crime.

Rauol is pushing legislation that would give prosecutors more power to go after crime rings and allow the Attorney General’s Office to convene a statewide grand jury: “By improving the ability of the Attorney General’s Office and state’s attorneys to prosecute these crimes, we can deter these smash-and-grab crimes and other violent thefts we have become too accustomed to seeing on our daily news. These crimes are perpetrated by sophisticated criminal enterprises coordinating the thefts of many items of high value. Those items are often sold and re-sold, and the funds are often used to fund drug trafficking and human trafficking.”

IRMA Chief Executive Rob Karr says that organized retail crime has grown exponentially over the last 5 years resulting in a changed shopping experience across the state – from the small mom & pop store to the high-end retailers: “O.R.C. is an insidious crime and often it has tentacles that spread into other areas of illicit activity. While organized retail crime has been an issue for many years, over the last 5 years, it has grown over 60%. We have all borne witness, as Illinois has become a national epicenter. Despite the hundreds of millions Illinois retailers spend on security every year, we see the result of this unchecked plague everywhere. We see it in the headlines of our news feeds. We see it when we go to the store when everyday items like toothpaste and razor blades are behind cages or a coat we want to try on is tethered to a rack.”

Karr says its the first time in his 30 years of working in retail that safety and crime are top priorities for retailers across the state. Karr says that not only will it go after the criminal doing the crime, closing loopholes in the court, but it will also go after a criminal attempting to fence stolen merchandise: “The proposal would also propose adopting regulation for the online third-party marketplaces where some people are fencing their stolen goods by seeking to adopt the INFORM Act being discussed in Washington D.C. We would hope to enhance public and private coordination statewide through all stakeholders. This all out collaboration is designed to provide real-time information, intelligence gathering, and collaboration in addition to the task force the A.G. has started. We would also require timely and proper notice to the victims of organized retail crime.”

The third-party electronic marketplace provision mirrors a current provision before Congress proposed by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Illinois Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. The proposal by the Attorney General’s Office and IRMA now heads to the General Assembly for consideration.

The City of Winchester is clamping down on delinquent utility bills.

The city has been reviewing budget billing practices over the last month after it was revealed at the January business meeting that several people weren’t keeping up with payments.

The city installed a 3% extra charge last year to help residents catch up from historically high natural gas bills during the month of February after a polar vortex shut down half the nation’s natural gas infrastructure causing record-high prices.

Last night at the Winchester city council meeting, Mayor Rex McIntire says there are approximately 97 delinquent accounts in the city, which accounts for about 12-and-a-half-percent of the city’s total customers.

He says the city has been lenient to help people get caught up, but time is now up for people to pay up and get caught up: “We were pretty lenient after the Covid situation and then the [polar] vortex that happened in February of last year. We were trying to get along and help people, but there are certain people that are just taking advantage of the situation and abusing our generosity. I’m just getting to the point…that every month we have the same people that are late paying. Some of them want to pay a partial payment. They won’t pay their payment off. We’re just to the point where we are going to go back to the way the language in the ordinance reads. In fact, like I said at the meeting, I want to change one of the ordinances to stiffen the penalties.”

The city’s ordinance says that anyone who is late one month on their level pay bill would be immediately kicked off of level pay and be required to immediately pay their balance.

McIntire says that for certain people who are delinquent the city may be lenient, but it’s a case-by-case basis: “I’m not saying we won’t look at situations. There are certain people sometimes maybe they are sick. We do that anyway. Someone might be suffering from cancer or something or other happens and they are having a difficult time. We bend over backwards to try and help them. I’m mainly looking at the people that just abuse the system on a regular basis.”

McIntire proposed doubling re-connection fees for customers who get utilities shut off by the city in order to curb frequently delinquent accounts. He says by doubling the fee, it should make people want to pay their bill on time each month. McIntire says that the city’s budget billing will be recalculated in April and customers on budget billing will likely see a change on their monthly bill in May based upon the recalculations.

McIntire once again emphasized that any customers with the City of Winchester has their bill due on the 25^th each month, regardless of if they receive a bill in the mail or not. He encourages any customer of the city to call or come to City Hall and ask questions or if they need assistance.

13^th District Congressman Rodney Davis spoke on the House floor yesterday in support of United States Postal Service reforms that are receiving bipartisan support.

House Resolution 3076 known as the Postal Service Reform Act is slated to make the postal service financially viable by 2030 and expand services and renew reliability.

Davis told Congress from the floor that the postal service is vitally important to rural communities across the nation: “I have been a strong supporter of the Postal Service throughout my time in Congress. The Postal Service serves as a lifeline to rural communities across our country, especially in Illinois’ 13th district which I represent. For many families, the Postal Service delivers live-saving medication, benefits, and messages from loved ones. Its services are critical. That’s why I have been a leader in supporting it and its employees like the Letter Carriers and Postmasters who are truly essential.

Because of the Postal Service’s importance to my constituents, I have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to lead on initiatives to ensure it is not privatized, delivers mail on Saturday’s, and retains strict service standards.

The Postal Service keeps us all connected in ways electronic communication and other services cannot. Additionally, it finishes delivering packages for private companies in more rural regions like mine.

I’m glad we are here today voting on this vital piece of legislation that will provide more funding and resources to our postal employees.

This bill importantly makes the Postal Service financially viable for generations to come and implements efficiencies that will protect taxpayers and consumers alike. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy projects this legislation will save the Postal Service $58 billion over next 10 years and correct the agency’s long-term financial problems by 2030. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office estimates this legislation will save the federal government $1.5 billion over 10 years.“

The bi-partisan bill will maintain six-day delivery services for both mail and package delivery and mandates an “integrated delivery network” of both. It also creates a public accountability data portal for weekly performance information, as well as mandates reporting to Congress every 6 months. It also makes changes to postal service retiree benefits and health insurance plans. It also allows the postal service to enter into agreements with state, local, and tribal governments to offer services such as the processing of hunting and fishing licenses.

The bill ultimately passed the House yesterday 342-92 and now heads to the Senate for consideration. Congressman Darin LaHood and Congresswoman Mary Miller voted against the bill.

A temporary restraining order on the state’s judicial subcircuits taking effect was suspended yesterday by the Fourth District Appellate Court.

Madison County State’s Attorney Thomas Haine filed for the TRO in Springfield late last month. Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadigan granted the TRO.

Haine expressed his disappointment in a press release yesterday, but did find a silver lining in the Appellate Court’s ruling: “We find significant encouragement in the Appellate Court’s analysis. In today’s summary order, the Appellate Court pointedly asked for a deep consideration of one of our central concerns: ‘the issue of whether the General Assembly can eliminate all at-large judgeships within a particular judicial circuit.’ The Appellate Court then ‘encourage[d] the parties and Circuit Court to proceed expeditiously in this matter given the implications on the upcoming elections.”

Haine said in the press release that he’s confident that the Constitutional questions at the center of his argument will ultimately fall in his favor. A preliminary injunction to the Circuit Court is scheduled to move forward next Tuesday.

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is launching a series of virtual town hall meetings to engage with community members across the state to gather input as the state prepares for its regular review of Illinois child support guidelines.

The virtual town hall meetings will be held on Wednesday evenings beginning on Feb. 9 and running through the spring. Each meeting will target a certain geographic region of the state that corresponds with one of the Division of Child Support Services regional office service areas.

The first two virtual town hall meetings will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 9 and Feb. 16, and will target residents of the counties the Springfield regional office, which serves the entire WLDS/WEAI listening area.

Participants are asked to register online in advance of those events at the HFS website.

Governor J.B. Pritzker says the state is moving quickly to get a recent temporary restraining order against his mask mandate in schools overturned.

Pritzker said yesterday that the Friday ruling by Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow is out of step with public health guidance and is causing chaos for schools: “Judge Raylene Grischow’s ruling is out of step with the vast majority of legal analysis in Illinois and across the nation. Most importantly, it constrains the ability of the named school districts to maintain safe in-person learning requirements…Hundreds and even thousands of people in a community are affected when there is an outbreak in a school that’s gone maskless. That affects not only whether a school will go remote, but also whether workers at local businesses will get sick; and therefore, whether those businesses can stay open. Poor legal reasoning should not take one of our most effective tools off the table. So, again, I’ve asked the Attorney General to continue to aggressively appeal this decision so that school districts can do what they need to do to keep students, staff, and the community safe.”

Jacksonville School District 117, Virginia School District, and several other districts in the region have gone to mask-optional policies awaiting the ruling.

The Southern Illinois attorney at the center of the suit, Thomas DeVore, says school districts are on notice and he told the State Journal Register yesterday that any district enforcing the mask rule would be doing so at their own legal and financial peril.

DeVore told WMAY that he would seek a contempt of court ruling against Chicago Public Schools, who was planning to keep the mask mandate in place despite the TRO.

A ruling on the stay of the TRO has yet to be issued by the Fourth District Appellate Court.