The Winchester Civic Group is hosting a special shopping event in Downtown Winchester today.

The Galentine’s Day shopping event is today beginning at 9AM. Co-owner of Winchester’s Rural Cyclery Jackie Kuchy told the Scott County Times that the event will be similar to the Winchester Hometown Christmas event.

Shops in the Winchester Square will open and have specials for shoppers throughout the day. Kuchy told the Times that her business will feature food and drink specials and live music by local artist Gianna Hines from Noon to 2PM.

Organizers hope to make the event an annual outing.

A Sangamon County judge issued a temporary restraining order on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders for public school mitigations late this evening.

In a 30-page ruling tonight, Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow says students attending 170 school districts named in a lawsuit brought by Southern Illinois Attorney Thomas DeVore won’t have to wear a mask if they don’t want to, unless they’re given due process. The same goes for certain school staff who don’t want to take weekly COVID-19 tests for not being vaccinated. They must also have due process.

Pritzker’s mandates for masks and exclusion policies in schools and vaccines or testing for teachers have been in place since last fall.

Grischow wrote in her ruling: “The Illinois General Assembly had foresight when it created certain provisions limiting the authority of administrative agencies. When the Legislature created our laws, they did so knowing individuals have a fundamental right to due process when one’s liberty and freedom is taken away by forcing them to do something not otherwise required of all other citizens. Illinois law prohibits [the Illinois State Board of Education] from making policies affecting school districts which have the effect of rules without following the procedures of the [Illinois Administrative Procedures Act]. Absent this statutory provision, ISBE would be able to on impulse, and depending on who held the Executive Branch, mandate whatever it felt necessary in the most arbitrary and capricious manner without having to follow any due process under the IAPA. As for the matters at hand, it is clear [the Illinois Department of Public Health]/ISBE were attempting to force local school districts to comply with this guidance without any compliance with rulemaking. This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain.”

Grischow also went on to quote sections of IDPH’s definitions of quarantine that were modified in 2014 when the Ebola epidemic was circulating the globe. Grischow says that the Governor’s executive orders and IDPH broke their own rules: “Since 2014 and prior to the recent 2021 Emergency Rules, tests and vaccines were also considered a form of “modified quarantine” because they were a procedures “intended to limit disease transmission.” Under the IDPH Act, individuals had the right to object to these procedures. If they objected, they were afforded due process of law. Likewise, “exclusion from school” was also a form of “modified quarantine” because it was considered a partial limitation on freedom of movement for those who may have been exposed to a contagious disease. At no time did the 2014 emergency amendments take away a person’s due process rights.

“On September 17, 2021, under the guise of an emergency, the Emergency Rules deleted or modified these terms and definitions. Subsection (d) was added pertaining to schools and added a new provision which delegated authority to the local school districts to require vaccination, masking, and testing of school personnel, in addition to masking for all students regardless of vaccine status, exclusion from school, and testing for unvaccinated, healthy students who were deemed “close contacts” by the school. The question before this Court is whether the Governor, under his executive authority, can require his agencies to promulgate emergency rules that go beyond what the Legislature intended or without utilizing the legislative branch of government.”

Grischow says that DeVore’s seeking of relief does not “seek any order of the Court dismantling masking, vaccintation or testing policies in their totality” but only due process be afforded to those who object to being quarantined. Grischow also noted in her ruling in the Illinois General Assembly’s failure to act upon any change to the law: “If the Legislature was of the opinion that the public health laws as written were not satisfactory to protect public health from COVID, it has had adequate opportunity to change the law since March 2020.”

The full ruling can be found at this link provided by The Center Square.

Grischow, earlier in the day, had denied class status to the suit, thus limiting the ruling to just the districts mentioned in the suit. Grischow noted this in her ruling this evening: “Although this Court denied Plaintiffs’ request for Class Certification in [the case], this Court has declared IDPH’s Emergency Rules void. Any non-named Plaintiffs and School Districts throughout this State may govern themselves accordingly.” Grischow did give leave for DeVore to file certification of class at a later time. DeVore told the State Journal Register that a mass joinder of people from across the state may soon sign on to the suits to remedy the issue of class.

According to The Center Square, the Illinois Attorney General’s office didn’t immediately respond to the order when asked for comment. Governor Pritzker was asked about when he might lift the statewide mask mandate earlier today in a press conference held at a Jewel-Osco in Chicago promoting his suspension of the state’s 1% grocery tax. Pritzker said, “I believe that we should remove masks as soon as we possibly can. I’m constantly listening to the doctors and scientists and encouraging them, ‘when can we do this, what’s the right time, what’s the right way to do it.’ And so, very hopeful we can make an announcement about that.” Despite being pressed further, he would not give a timeline.

The TRO will remain in place until there is a definitive ruling on the lawsuits at a later time.

A message left with Jacksonville School District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek at this time has not been returned.

The lawsuit names Carrollton, Jersey, Pikeland, PORTA, Camp Point Central #3, Jacksonville, Ball Chatham, Quincy, Schuyler-Industry, Pleasant Hill, North Mac school districts among others.

UPDATE 9:15PM Feb. 4: Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Office is asking for an immediate appeal of Judge Grischow’s ruling. In a press release tonight, Pritzker has asked the Illinois Attorney General’s office for an immediate appeal of Judge Grischow’s decision to restrain the State from enforcing his executive order’s Covid mitigations in schools. The Attorney General is seeking an expedited appeal from the Fourth District Illinois Appellate Court.

Pritzker says in the press release: “The grave consequence of this misguided decision is that schools in these districts no longer have sufficient tools to keep students and staff safe while COVID-19 continues to threaten our communities – and this may force schools to go remote. This shows yet again that the mask mandate and school exclusion protocols are essential tools to keep schools open and everyone safe. As we have from the beginning of the pandemic, the administration will keep working to ensure every Illinoisan has the tools needed to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.”

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul responded in kind: “This decision sends the message that all students do not have the same right to safely access schools and classrooms in Illinois, particularly if they have disabilities or other health concerns. The court’s misguided decision is wrong on the law, demonstrates a misunderstanding of Illinois emergency injunction proceedings and has no relation to the record that was before the court. It prioritizes a relatively small group of plaintiffs who refuse to follow widely-accepted science over the rights of other students, faculty and staff to enter schools without the fear of contracting a virus that has claimed the lives of more than 31,000 Illinois residents – or taking that virus home to their loved ones.”

UPDATE 2/4/2022 9:35PM: Jacksonville School District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek sent an email communication to parents tonight saying the district was in a “wait and see” mode this weekend in regards to the TRO being issued by Judge Raylene Grischow.

Ptacek says he will be meeting with the district’s legal counsel on Sunday to clearly understand what the TRO means for the district’s day-to-day operation. Ptacek says that he had been receiving updates throughout the evening that a stay of Grischow’s TRO could be heard as early as Saturday morning or sometime this weekend: “As the Board and I have stated since the beginning, we will ‘stay in our lane’. Our role is not to develop safety guidelines. We are educators, not medical experts. Our role is to develop local plans on how to implement guidelines. I will send out another communication Sunday following the meeting detailing if and how the rulings alter practices. Currently, we have no idea how this impacts Monday. This is not about personal opinions; this is about the application of the law.”

Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery issued this statement following the release of the TRO late Friday evening: “The Illinois Federation of Teachers is greatly distressed at the judge’s temporary restraining order (TRO) in this case. Hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, and staff across Illinois are doing their best to remain healthy and keep schools open. We believe what the judge ordered today is legally faulty and a threat to public health and, most importantly, a threat to keeping Illinois schools open for in-person learning. Our children and their families need certainty and some normalcy at school, not legal wrangling managed by a small minority of citizens.

“We urge the judge to stay her ruling and the state to appeal it as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to advise our members on how to remain safe and healthy at work. We insist that school districts statewide abide by existing agreements on health and safety. In fact, the safety mitigations encompassed by the State’s guidance, as well as vaccinations for children and adults, are the best ways to keep schools open and everyone healthy. And we will stand with our local unions to protect our members and the students they serve.”

The Northwestern Fire Protection District in Palmyra fought the elements and a single story structure fire Tuesday evening.

According to reports, Northwestern Fire and Northwestern Ambulance received a page to a fire at a residence on West Oak Street at 6:30PM.

Upon arrival, first responders found the structure fully engulfed. Ameren-Illinois was called to the scene to assist in disconnecting both electricity and natural gas.

Assistant Fire Chief Zac Meisenheimer says that the home was unoccupied at the time of the fire and it is believed that the fire was electrical in nature, but the cause remains undetermined at this time.

The early vestiges of the most recent winter storm hit the scene, and firefighters battled sleet and freezing rain along with the fire for 6 hours without mutual aid. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze from igniting neighboring homes.

Meisenheimer says that by the time the blaze was knocked down, there was a quarter to an eighth inch of ice on the department’s equipment. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire fight.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the state’s Worker’s Compensation Act doesn’t preempt claims for statutory damages under Illinois’ biometic privacy law.

The ruling now obliterates a defense that’s been used by employers in biometric privacy lawsuits in the state. It will now provide clarity for rulings in paused lawsuits against employers.

Illinois’ Biometric Privacy Act, enacted in 2008, mandates that private entities inform an individual in writing that their biometric identifier or biometric information is being collected or stored; share the specific purpose of why they’re collecting or using the biometric identifier or biometric information; and share the length of term for which the biometric identifier or biometric information will be collected and stored.

Employers have argued that any biometric privacy “injury” occurs while in the course of an individual’s employment and must therefore be adjudicated before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission pursuant to rules under Worker’s Compensation.

The Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling upholds previous rulings in lower courts.

This will now allow lawsuits like Rene Reyes v. The Maschhoffs, LLC, that challenges the pork producer’s handling of clocking in to work by using fingerprints to proceed. Reyes claims in the suit that the company violated her privacy by improperly storing and handling her biometric information, making it susceptible to hacking and manipulation.

The Maschhoff’s case was continued in US District Court for Central Illinois on January 12^th for a possible settlement between the two parties. The next hearing on the case is April 5^th.

A former Morgan County woman facing a slew of charges across Central Illinois plead guilty to two counts of forgery today in Knox County Court.

25 year old Abigail L. Martin, now going under the name of Abigail Angulo, plead guilty to the two charges filed against her dating back to October 14^th of last year.

Martin was arrested by Galesburg Police on January 12^th after a fraud complaint was filed by Galesburg Nissan over a bad check written for a vehicle that was over $37,000.

Martin-Angulo was sentenced to 2 years probation, plus fines, fees, and court costs. She was given credit for 28 days served in the Knox County Jail. 7 counts of forgery, 1 count of writing bad checks, and 1 count of theft was dropped per the plea. Martin-Angulo was remanded back to the custody of the Knox County Jail after the plea was given.

Martin still faces outstanding charges in Morgan, Macoupin, Greene, Montgomery, Fulton, and Madison counties. She also has non-extraditable warrants in the states of North & South Carolina.

Messages to the Knox County State’s Attorney’s Office for comment have not been returned as of press time.

Jacksonville businesses have been getting hit with a rash of counterfeit money.

Morgan-Scott-Cass Crime Stoppers reports that over the past few weeks, several businesses have been receiving counterfeit cash in the form of $20 bills.

The police are asking that anyone who has information concerning these incidents or the individuals connected to them, to contact Crime Stoppers by leaving an anonymous tip online at morganscottcrimestoppers.webs.com. Click on the leave a tip button on the homepage and fill out the form.

You may also call anonymously at 217-243-7300. Tips may also be submitted through the mobile app found on ITunes or the Google App Store. You may also text in tips anonymously to the number 274637. The first word of the text tip must be PAYOUT.

Remember, if your tip leads to an arrest you may be eligible for a cash reward.

Six Illinois State Troopers have been struck along state highways over the last two days as they were responding to the recent winter storm.

Yesterday, at approximately 7:40 a.m., an ISP District 9 Trooper was on the left shoulder of Interstate 72 westbound at mile post 122, near Illiopolis, assisting a stranded motorist who had slid off the roadway due to weather conditions. The squad car was stationary with all of its emergency lights activated. A gray Chevrolet Impala traveling westbound failed to yield to the stationary emergency vehicle, slid on the roadway and struck the rear end of the ISP squad car. The driver of the Chevrolet, 29-year-old Anthony L. Newman of Springfield, was uninjured. The Trooper was transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and has since been treated and released. While this crash remains under investigation, a violation of the Move Over Law was a contributing factor.

Yesterday, at approximately 12:36 p.m., a Trooper working in ISP District 10 was traveling on Interstate 57 southbound at milepost 181, south of Mattoon in the right lane, without emergency lights activated. A black 2016 Chevrolet Trax driven by Dalton M. McCarthy, a 20-year-old male of Maryland Heights, Missouri was traveling in the left lane. As McCarthy passed the Trooper’s squad car, McCarthy lost control on the slick pavement and struck the rear of the squad car. Neither McCarthy nor the Trooper were injured in the crash. McCarthy was cited for Following Too Closely.

Yesterday, at approximately 3:22 p.m., a Trooper working in ISP District 9 was on the right shoulder of the ramp from southbound Veterans Parkway to Interstate 72 eastbound, in the southwest corner of Springfield, handling a crash. The fully marked squad car was stationary with its emergency lights activated. A vehicle traveling on the ramp lost control on the ice, struck the rear bumper of the squad car, and pushed the squad into the initial wrecked vehicle. The driver of the offending vehicle was uninjured; however, the Trooper was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. While this crash remains under investigation, a violation of the Move Over Law was a contributing factor.

Today, at approximately 2:00 a.m., an ISP District 10 Trooper was handling a crash on the right shoulder of Interstate 74 eastbound at mile post 188 near Urbana. The squad car was stationary with all of its emergency lights activated. A Truck Tractor Semi- Trailer driven by Leonard A. Smith, a 30-year-old male of Trenton, New Jersey, sideswiped the ISP squad car. Neither Smith nor the Trooper were injured in the crash. Smith was cited for Driving Too Fast for Conditions.

Today, at approximately 5:19 a.m., an ISP District 5 Trooper was in the right lane of Interstate 80 westbound at mile post 139 near New Lenox, conducting traffic control for a tow truck. The marked squad car was stationary with all of its lights activated. A red Mazda traveling westbound failed to yield to the stationary emergency vehicle, slid on the roadway and struck the rear end of the ISP squad car. Neither the driver of the Mazda nor the Trooper were injured in the crash. The driver of the Mazda was cited for Driving Too Fast for Conditions, Improper Lane Usage, and Scott’s Law Violation.

Today, at approximately 10:00 a.m., an ISP District 10 Trooper was traveling westbound on Interstate 74 at mile post 203 near Muncie. A blue Volkswagen Passat traveling westbound struck the rear end of the ISP squad car. Neither the driver of the Volkswagen nor the Trooper were injured in the crash. This crash is still pending further investigation.

ISP Director Brendan Kelly says in a press release today that driving during inclement requires even more obedience to Scott’s Law: “As the officers of the Illinois State Police continue to put their lives on the line, we ask you, the motoring public, to help them out by Slowing Down and Moving Over while they do their jobs.” So far this year, there have been four ISP squad cars struck in relation to the Move Over Law and
two Troopers have sustained injuries from Move Over Law-related crashes.

The Morgan County Jail is not feeling the pinch yet.

The Illinois Department of Corrections stopped intake of new inmates over two weeks ago due to rising numbers of Covid-19. As of last week, 34 prisons in the state were on some form of lockdown status.

Morgan County Sheriff Mike Carmody says that locally, numbers at the jail have stayed below 50 so far: “As of Friday, we had 43 inmates all of which that were infected are off quarantine. We had one employee who is out with Covid, and one jailer who came back last Wednesday. It’s all actually going pretty well. We’ve gotten up into the 50s over the last couple of weeks, which does put a strain on staffing. Some of them have been released either by bond or by the courts.”

The Morgan County jail’s capacity is 65. Other area jails, like the Sangamon County Jail is getting back-logged with inmates sentenced to IDOC, which has placed them under some overcrowding concerns.

Carmody says that shuffling inmates between other county detention facilities hasn’t been discussed recently, but it’s something that he has prepared for when and if the time comes: “We really haven’t gotten to that point yet. It’s one of those things that you can think about and plan for, but there is no reason to discuss it until the time is necessary. The Sheriffs’ offices usually cooperate with each other. Sometimes there is an inmate that I can’t necessarily keep because he or she has knowledge of the layout of the place, so one of the other area sheriffs steps up in Sangamon, Pike, or Schuyler.”

Carmody says that policing in the county was at a point where I-bonds and notices to appear were issued for traffic offenses like driving with a suspended license for a short time. He says currently that deputies are back to regular routines of bookings for arrests when it’s necessary. He says warrant suspects will always be arrested and booked because the sheriff’s department doesn’t have the ability to quash warrants or issue notices to appear under a bench warrant.