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.

Illinois legislation has been filed to rid utility bills of a special surcharge. The Qualified Infrastructure Plant, or QIP Charge has been in effect in 2013.

The charge allows Ameren-Illinois and other utility companies in the state to raise bills to pay for natural gas pipe replacement and urgent infrastructure repairs. Much of the 2013 bill was due to the replacement of cast iron pipes, but lawmakers are saying that much of that work has been completed.

According to the Citizens Utility Board, Ameren raised its gas delivery rates by $76 million during the pandemic. CUB says the state’s utilities are aggressively over-spending on fossil fuel infrastructure that may soon be phased out by climate change legislation.

State Senator Cristina Castro held a press conference on Monday with the Illinois Chapter of AARP to make the public aware of the increased heating cost problem and lack of transparency by the state’s utility companies: “The bill is about transparency and holding utilities accountable. People’s Gas is overhauling their entire system rather than focusing on the most dangerous projects. Ameren and Nicor are still charging their natural gas surcharge despite already replacing their most risky systems. Together, these projects are costing hundreds of millions of dollars being paid for by the companies’ customers. By ending the surcharge, sooner rather than later, we are doubling down on the state’s commitment to protecting taxpayers and increasing transparency when it comes to our energy companies.”

AARP IL Associate State Director Jeff Scott says he’s heard stories this year of some of the state’s elderly having to make tough choices when it comes to paying their utility bill this winter: “As a part of the advocacy effort, we have worked to fight against the gas Qualified Infrastructure Plant and its assault on ratepayers’ pocketbooks since the inception of the idea nearly a decade ago. We consistently hear from our members that their utility bills force them to make extremely difficult decisions. Many of our members are on fixed incomes, and they must make unfortunate decisions between other necessities such as food, medicine, rent, or just simply taking care of themselves and their loved ones by living in hospitable conditions. Just last month, we heard heartbreaking stories from hundreds of members across the state. Some have seen their gas bill tripled in the last couple of months, and many are unfortunately behind on their bill.”

This bill is in its second life as it was introduced by State Senator Ram Villavilam in February last year. Both the House and Senate bills are currently in Assignments.

The trial for a Quincy woman charged in connection to a 2020 crash that killed a Rushville grandmother and her three grandchildren has been pushed back to the Spring.

Muddy River News reports that Public Defender Todd Nelson filed a motion last Wednesday in Adams County Court to continue the case against 37 year old Natasha McBride of Quincy to April.

A jury trial was set to begin Feb. 7. However, Nelson’s motion to continue the case attributed the delay to the state. A 17th count against McBride, aggravated driving under the influence, was added to McBride’s charges on Jan. 11. Nelson argued that the amended charge should have been filed sooner because the evidence had been in the state’s hands since December 2020.

Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Jones didn’t object to the request to move the case off the February trial docket but did object that the continuance be attributed to the state. Adams County Judge Amy Lannerd eventually ruled against Nelson’s motion to attribute the delay to the state. She then moved the case to the April docket, then said Nelson could file a motion on the late filing of the new charge.

The hearing on Nelson’s second motion is set for Feb. 28. If no additional motions are filed, that Feb. 28 year also will be a status hearing. A jury pre-trial has been set for April 1, with the jury trial reset for April 11.

McBride remains lodged at the Adams County Jail on $5 million bond.

Two individuals who were arrested in Springfield after a violent incident in Quincy in November have had their trials pushed back to the Spring.

Muddy River News reports 34 year old Bradley S. Yohn of Springfield and 33 year old Karen Blackledge of Quincy saw continuances in their cases in Adams County Court last week.

Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Todd Eyler filed a motion on January 19^th for a continuance on the six counts Yohn faces in connection with an incident on Nov. 9 along North Bottom Road in Adams County. , Yohn has been charged with two counts of home invasion, and one count each of aggravated kidnapping (allegedly using a knife), aggravated vehicular hijacking, and residential burglary. He also was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault for knowingly committing the act of sexual penetration through the use of force on the victim. The 70-year-old victim Adams County woman who was the victim in the incident died in December.

Yohn also faces additional counts in a separate case from October. Eyler says the state needs the continuance in the case as they await results on DNA evidence.

Blackledge faces two counts of home invasion, one count of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and residential burglary from the incident in question. Josh Jones, lead trial attorney for the Adams County State’s Attorney’s office, had filed a motion to continue as he waits for lab reports from the state.

Blackledge and Yohn are scheduled to return to court for status hearings on Feb. 15. Their pretrial hearing is set for Feb. 25. Both cases are now on the March 7 jury docket.

18^th District Congressman Darin LaHood has joined a group of bi-partisan, bicameral group to help address the country’s supply chain issues by making changes to the commercial drivers licensing requirements.

Their bill, the Licensing Individual Commercial Exam-takers Now Safely and Efficiently or “LICENSE” Act, would streamline licensing regulations by making permanent several waivers that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration implemented in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic last November.

The bill would allow state and third-party examiners who have maintained a valid commercial driver’s license test examiner certification and have previously completed a CDL skills test examiner training course to administer the CDL knowledge test without completing a CDL knowledge test training course.

It would also remove the requirement that CDL holders who accompany commercial learner’s permit holders to be seated in the front seat; as long as they are elsewhere in the cab.

Finally, the bill would allow states to administer driving skills tests to applicants from other states.

LaHood says some of the biggest issues he’s heard about in his district with the supply chain is the lack of truck drivers. LaHood says by streamlining the procedures for a CDL, it will loosen some of the nation’s ongoing struggle to get groceries, medical supplies, and inventories across the nation delivered into the hands of businesses and consumers.

The bill has received national support from the American Trucking Association among other trucking groups.

The bill now heads to committee assignments in the House.