A former Scott County Health Department employee has pled guilty to computer tampering in Scott County Court.

35 year old Deidre S. Kirchner of Roodhouse pled guilty to the charge on Thursday after negotiations. Kirchner is the former Office Manager at the Scott County Health Department. According to employment records, Kirchner worked with the Health Department from January to December of last year.

Kirchner had a warrant issued for her arrest on May 3^rd on the tampering charge along with a charge of theft between $500 and $10,000. Kirchner was later arrested on May 17^th, posted bond and was released the same day.

According to court documents, the Scott County Treasurer’s Department and the Farmer’s State Bank branch in Winchester noticed some alleged irregularities in the deposit of checks for the health department. The Scott County Health Department also allegedly discovered unauthorized access and alteration of a computer network and program, which allegedly had data deleted or changed.

Kirchner was sentenced to 30 months second chance probation, 100 hours of community service, a $500 county fine, and ordered to pay $4,658.76 in restitution to the county. The theft charge was dismissed per the plea.

A Jacksonville attorney recently received an appointment from the Pritzker Administration.

Eddie Carpenter of Jacksonville was appointed as Public Administrator and Public Guardian of Cass, Scott, and Pike Counties, and will continue to serve in the role for Morgan County.

A public administrator acts as executor for the affairs of someone who has died who has no known or available relatives to serve as executors. Public Guardians are appointed for disabled adults needing guardianship services to monitor their care and administer their estate.

Carpenter, a native of Franklin, has been in law practice for four decades in Jacksonville. Carpenter is a courier for the CNB Bank and Trust. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Illinois College, a Master of Arts in English from the University of Iowa, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois. 

New Directions Warming & Cooling Shelter is asking the City of Jacksonville to help with their finances.

The homeless shelter, which has been in operations for the past 11 years, reopened in June after shutting down due to COVID-19.

New Directions Board Member Gina Eckhouse appealed to the City Council on December 13th to help the shelter stay afloat financially for the upcoming year: “The last few years have been very trying financially. Our United Way grant has been significantly reduced, and this is our only consistent form of income. The rest of our funding comes from donations from the community, businesses, as well as individual citizens. People have been very generous to us, but it is still just not enough. With the staff being the largest portion of our budget, we have felt significant impact with the increase of the minimum wage.”

Eckhouse requested $100,000 from the city to get them through the upcoming year to pay for the staffing at the center. She says the one-time payment will allow New Directions to comfortably pursue other grants and funding opportunities while maintaining their level of service to the city.

The city council did not indicate when they will give an answer to the request. Mayor Andy Ezard suggested that the council return to the discussion at their next regular meeting in January.

The Franklin School District explained to the public on December 15^th why it’s seeking a large tax levy this year during a truth in taxation hearing. In a public notice issued last wee, the Franklin School Board said it would be raising its tax levy – or request of tax money – to 8.4%, triggering a truth in taxation hearing with the public.

Superintendent Jeff Waggener explained during the hearing that because the district is governed by Property Tax Limitation Law, they are capped at receiving a 5% increase in funds each year: “If we do not capture all of the funds available to us at that time, we lose them forever. So, if we put in 4.8%, and we had an influx of taxable income from the county; we can’t go back and say ‘OK, now there’s more taxable revenue, estimated assessed value of property has gone up, there’s more business. We would like to go come back and get another 3%.’ Once we put [our levy] in, we are done. Even though it is 8.4%, we still have to keep in mind our 5% because if we had that 7% in there, there is a little extra money, we can’t gain anymore than 5% so that’s where the confusing thing comes in with the tax cap. Most districts around us are not tax capped. They see this year that they may need to make a building improvement or something like that, they may tax a little bit more and try to capture a bit more tax revenue. Again, we are capped at 5% or CPI increase, whichever is less.”

Property Tax Limitation Law or PTELL was passed in the state in 1991. Previous to that time, if home values were increasing rapidly, tax obligations could also raise at a corresponding percentage. For example, if homes in a taxing district went up 8% in value in a given year, the taxing district could end up with a significant increase. PTELL was passed to allegedly prevent this from happening. The taxing district can only get an increase of CPI and that is capped at 5%. The only exception to this is if the voters in a taxing district approve a referendum to raise taxes by more than this amount. Most PTELL districts seek the maximum amount on their tax levy each year without triggering a truth in taxation hearing, which occurs when a tax levy is estimated above 5%. School districts in the state have long said that the use of local tax dollars and a decrease in state aid and an increase in state mandates have been one of the many reasons local property taxes in Illinois have increased significantly.

Waggener says that some of the frustration in the community lies with the idea of money that was set to come from the Lincoln Land Wind Project. The equalized assessed value in the Franklin School District did receive a little over a $600,000 increase over the year. Despite that, with factors of bonds, Waggener estimates that the rate the district will receive will be lower than last year: “When you add in your bonds…4.7, last year would have been 4.4. This is our bonds and our levy. This year it’s actually going to go down about 1.5%. So our actual estimated rate will be 4.2436%.”

Waggener estimates that the EAV of the district will possibly rise next year once the wind project has been online for a full year.

A couple members of the public said during the hearing they thought the increase was in poor timing due to not having a full estimate of the wind farm’s revenue as well as national issues with inflation. Some suggested asking for a smaller rate and then asking for the increase next year.

The 8.4% levy was passed unanimously with one board member absent.

In other business, the school board tabled a decision to proceed with a reorganization feasibility study with Waverly. The study was to be conducted by Midwest School Consultants. Board Member Willie Smith said that Waverly had also decided to table the issue and schedule a public hearing on January 15^th about the study. Smith and Board President Paul Bergschneider said they would attend the meeting and gauge the public’s input before bringing the item back to the board for consideration.

The City of Jacksonville will no longer have a familiar face representing them in the Illinois General Assembly.

Current State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer announced today he would be moving into the newly drawn 100^th Legislative District to Jacksonville’s south.

The City of Jacksonville proper has been drawn into the 99^th Legislative District, and will presumably be represented by current Quincy state representative Randy Frese.

Davidsmeyer will now more than likely primary with Amy Elik of Fosterburg in Madison County, who currently represents the 111^th District in the Metro East.

In a press release, Davidsmeyer chided the highly partisan map that drew him out of his hometown. Elik has not said whether she will seek to primary against Davidsmeyer.

A phone call for direct comment from Davidsmeyer has not been returned as of press time.

The trial for the man accused of carjacking, home invasion and sexual assault of a 70-year-old Adams County woman has been pushed back a month after the alleged victim died in recent days.

WGEM reports that Adams County Assistant State’s Attorney Joshua Jones made the motion asking the court to push the court date back for more time to investigate the matter of 34 year old Bradley Yohn of Springfield.

Yohn faces two counts of home invasion, one count of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking, one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, all Class X felonies, and residential burglary, a Class 1 felony. Those charges are in connection with a Nov. 9 incident that allegedly began along the North Bottom Road. The victim’s car was later found near a residence in Springfield where Yohn was apprehended.

He also faces felony charges in two other cases. He was charged with vehicular hijacking, a Class 1 felony, stemming from an Oct. 31 incident, and he faces charges of residential burglary, a Class 1 felony; two counts of theft or unauthorized control of property over $500 but under $10,000, Class 3 felonies; and criminal sexual abuse, a Class 4 felony. Those charges stem from an Oct. 14 incident.

The other defendant in the Nov. 9th case, Karen Blackledge, appears in court tomorrow morning.

The Adams County States Attorney’s Office has not indicated whether more charges will be filed in the case.

The Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office has yet to file any charges in the death of 30 year old Derek J. Banker Barnett of Virden. Yohn and Blackledge were apprehended by U.S. Marshals at a residence in Springfield, and Banker Barnett’s body was located in a nearby alleyway dead in a car from a gunshot wound. Both Yohn and Blackledge were compelled by the Adams County Circuit Court to submit to DNA swabs earlier this month.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service will be hosting an upcoming meeting for seniors to help problem solve with filing taxes for the upcoming year.

A Zoom Meeting is being held today at Noon at the following link: https://irs.zoomgov.com/j/1602441999?pwd+N0pUaXZIVGpRb1NNZEh0Ri9nTjRPUT09

Taxpayer Advocate Melissa Smith says the upcoming tax season has many complications and hurdles to jump over. Currently, the IRS has a backlog of 6.5 million tax returns from this year they are working to complete. If your tax return is not complete, Smith says you have some additional steps to complete this year. Smith recommends using a professional tax preparer this year to combat any problems in filing taxes.

For further information, visit TaxpayerAdvocate.irs.gov.

The defense in the John Michael Dean murder trial in Brown County Court rested yesterday after calling one final expert witness.

Defense attorney John Leonard called Dr. Jane Turner of St. Louis, Missouri to the stand as a final expert witness. Dr. Turner is a forensic pathologist since 1992 at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, and has been an assistant medical examiner for the City of St. Louis for 18 years. Turner was noted to have been an expert witness in several cases that was presided over by Special Appellate Prosecutor Ed Parkinson, who is working with the prosecution in this case.

The jury heard details of the mental health history and the events that led up to the shooting death of of 44 year old Rebecca Niewohner on the evening of June 14^th, 2019 in Mt. Sterling. Dean is charged with one count of first degree murder in the case for allegedly shooting Niewohner in the head.

Dr. Turner described several medications that had been prescribed to Niewohner. The medications indicated treatment for ADHD, panic disorder, clinical depression, insomnia, and anxiety. Dr. Turner noted that Niewohner had been prescribed lithium, a common medication for those diagnosed with bipolar disorder, in May 2019. Dr. Turner testified that the medication bottle for lithium found at the residence of incident had been left unopened at the time of Niewohner’s death. Dr. Turner said that lithium is an anti-suicide medication. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Lithium is classified as a mood stabilizer.

Turner went on to say that she employed a commonly used suicide checklist in evaluating the manner of death for Niewohner. Turner indicated that by evaluating the decedent’s text message exchanges with several people in the months leading up to her death that she believed the decedent struggled with alcoholism, migraine headaches, financial problems, and relationship issues with the accused.

In evaluating crime scene photographs, Turner testified that she believed the gunshot that caused Niewohner’s death was self-inflicted based upon gunpowder residue analysis, blood spatter analysis, and the belief that Niewohner used her non-predominate right hand to pull the trigger of the gun used in her death.

Citing a study, Dr. Turner noted that about 32% of individuals who commit suicide, use their non-predominate hand in a gun suicide.

During cross examination, Brown County State’s Attorney Michael Hill used other text from the same study that Turner had quoted from to contradict her testimony.

Hill also noted that the study used to show Dr. Turner’s statistics used cases of suicide where homicide was never in question. Hill also noted in his questioning from the same study that the trajectory of the bullet would not commonly match up with that of a suicide, but rather a homicide.

Hill showed that the study also noted that a lower percentage of American women committed suicide by gun and that the study cited another study saying that 92% of people who commit suicide use their predominant hand to perform the act.

Hill asked if Turner had taken into account that Dean had confessed to a friend via text message the evening of the incident that he had shot Niewohner. Turner said that she did, but did not use it to come to her conclusions. Despite being presented with the contradictory information from the study by Hill, Turner maintained that she believed Niewohner’s manner of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

The defense continued to maintain that Niewohner was able to use her right hand to pull the trigger despite being predominantly left-handed.

After an hour and fifteen minutes of testimony, Turner was excused and the defense rested. The jury was dismissed for the day with instructions from Judge Charles H.W. Burch to return this morning at 9AM to hear closing arguments and begin deliberations for a verdict in the case.

A Springfield couple recently made a quarter of a million dollar gift to Lincoln Land Community College’s Foundation to provide scholarships to nursing students.

Drs. Pradeep and Manjula Mehta of Springfield made the donations to ensure scholarships for the next decade for LLCC students pursuing their associate degree in nursing, licensed practical nurse, and basic nurse assistant programs. The amount of each scholarship award will vary based on student needs.

Dr. Pradeep Mehta served the local community as a nephrologist for 35 years. Dr. Manjula Mehta taught psychology for 18 years at LLCC and was the recipient of a Distinguished Service Award for adjunct faculty.

Recently 19 students were named the first recipients of the Mehta scholarships including students from Jacksonville, Arenzville, New Berlin, Oakford, and Springfield.

The City of Jacksonville swore in their new City Treasurer tonight.

Beth Hopkins, Emergency Management Systems Program Coordinator, was appointed by Mayor Andy Ezard to fill the role left by the late Ron Smiljanich. Smiljanich died at his home on November 23rd at the age of 73. Smiljanich was in the midst of his fifth term in office at the time of his death.

Ezard tearfully recounted Smiljanich in the announcement tonight at the Jacksonville City Council’s regular meeting saying that both he and Ron eventually wanted Hopkins to step into the role at some point in the future.

Ezard said through tears that he has the utmost faith in Hopkins in fulfilling the duties of her late predecessor: “Ron wanted this, and I wanted this. I miss Ron Smiljanich. He was my go-to. Everything went through Ron and me about money [for the city], but I have the most faith in Beth Hopkins to fill his seat. I’m so proud…I grew up with Beth. We went to Franklin Elementary School together…It is what Ron wanted, and I wanted it, too. I am so looking forward to working with you, Beth as City Treasurer…I think it would be appropriate to take 20 seconds and bow our heads and remember Ron. He was a gem. He was a true gem to Jacksonville…He really did a great job as a treasurer. He had the best interests at heart and he worked the banks on behalf of the city, and he was one of my best friends.”

Hopkins says she hopes to maintain the level of service that Smiljanich gave in his 21 years in office to the Jacksonville community: “Very big shoes to fill. Ron did a great job for this community. He served this community very well. I’m looking forward to continuing that service. I want to maintain the legacy that’s been set forth. I need to get in and see what Ron has done. I’m sure I’m going to have a big learning curve, and again, they are big shoes to fill.”

Hopkins says that she’s stepping into a good situation in the Treasurer’s Office. The city council passed the second reading of the 2022 tax levy tonight with a 0% increase, and police and fire pension funding has improved over the last year.

Hopkins says she’s fortunate in the timing and with the people that surround her in the City Treasurer’s Office. She says her current job in the Emergency Management Office and her prior work in the police department afford her a broad view of the city’s operations: “I have worked for the city for a very long time, and I’ve been kind of all over with the Emergency Management. You kind of work with all of the departments. There is a lot of grant management, and many things like that to make us constantly work with the other departments.” Hopkins believes that working in various capacities over the years provides a unique versatility to the office: “I know a lot of what the city does to operate, but I know there is a lot left to learn.”

Hopkins’ official term begins on January 3^rd.