Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced today that his Organized Retail Crime Task Force recovered thousands of stolen goods at several storage units in Chicago. This is the first major bust as a result of the work of the Organized Retail Crime Task Force that is spearheaded by the Attorney General’s office.

Investigators with Raoul’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force, with support from Chicago law enforcement including the Chicago Police Department, executed search warrants at eight storage units in two locations. The units contained four semitrailers of merchandise, including apparel, beauty products, furniture, food items and electronics from multiple nationwide retailers. While a complete inventory is ongoing, the stolen goods are estimated to be worth millions of dollars.

Raoul says organized retail theft usually leads to other crimes: “The actual operation of these organized schemes are a lot more sophisticated than might be reflected in the footage of the commonly seen ‘smash-and-grab’ group thefts. There is a well-organized secondary market [of stolen goods]. Our goal is to disrupt the criminal enterprises that engage in the overall scheme and send a message to these criminal operations that we will identify them and end the destruction they cause to our communities. That’s why I’m proud to announce the first major seizure of stolen items by the task force…Frequently, the criminal enterprises behind these crimes are connected to other crimes, such as the drug trade and human trafficking. I am committed to identifying the perpetrators behind this and other organized retail crimes in Illinois.”

Charges into the seizure of the goods have not yet been announced. Raoul says the task force’s investigation is ongoing and an announcement about more details would be coming in the next few weeks.

Natural gas prices have doubled this year and are expected to continue to rise throughout the winter.

In February of this year, a cold snap across the country caused a huge spike in prices that caused several municipal utilities to put in emergency use alerts to customers, and in some cases shuttered schools for a short time in the area.

The City of Winchester saw a gas bill of over $459,000 during the week of February 12th-19^th causing the city to take out a low-interest loan with the state to keep from hitting customers with massive bills. According to Winchester Mayor Rex McIntire at the time, it was a 300% increase in the city’s bills.

McIntire said on Wednesday that the city hopes to avoid any massive bills with the currently inflating costs this winter: “Let’s hope we don’t have another spike. If you read the experts, they are saying that natural gas is going to increase in price again, which is kind of normal. Hopefully, we won’t have that ridiculous spike that we had last year. We have hedged more, which I’m hoping will help, but we have started urging people to begin to conserve and do their best to keep their [bills] low.”

McIntire characterized the February polar vortex that crippled natural gas refineries in Texas a perfect storm of problems.

Experts say if it’s an especially cold winter this year for the Midwest, due to a lack of production and rising demand in the global market, natural gas prices are still going to be the highest they have been in over a decade.

A new bed & breakfast venue is hoping to start a holiday tradition this upcoming week.

Villa DeWolf Bed & Breakfast, formerly the Ayers Family Home built in 1857 located at 876 West State Street in Jacksonville is hosting its inaugural Christmas Open House on Saturday December 11^th And Sunday December 12^th from 1-4PM. Owner Scotty DeWulf will be conducting tours describing historical elements, stories about the mansion, and the upcoming uses of the home with tours every hour starting at 1:30.

On Saturday, Tim Chipman will perform in the mansion’s ballroom. On Sunday, entertainment will be provided by Wild Columbine. Suggested donations are $10.

The Esprit de Corps Music Academy is the benefactor from the income generated of the Villa DeWolf Bed & Breakfast and the AirBNB Ayers II Extended Stay properties. To learn more about the mission & vision of the Esprit de Corps Music Academy serving children in the Jacksonville area, visit theespritdecorps.com.

Freshman Republican Congresswoman Mary Miller says she will run for another term in Congress but hasn’t decided where she will run and which other Republican she will run against.

Miller told POLITICO this week she plans to seek reelection, but Illinois’ new congressional map splits her downstate district in two, leaving her in the undesirable spot of choosing between challenging either Mike Bost in the 12^th District or Rodney Davis in the 15^th District. Miller’s current hometown of Oakland is in Bost’s district.

Bost has already drawn endorsements from former Representative John Shimkus who held Miller’s current district for 12 terms. According to POLITICO, Bost called Miller a month ago to talk about the 2022 election cycle but she hasn’t returned his call or spoken with him.

Davis told POLITICO he isn’t afraid to take on the challenge against Miller if she would run in the 15^th District, which covers the entire WLDS/WEAI listening area.

Illinois’s candidate filing deadline is in mid-March of next year, and the primary is scheduled for June 28^th.

The Village of Bluffs has found a new police chief.

The Journal Courier reports that Bluffs Board members approved hiring Patrick Johnson as the village’s new police chief. He has been performing the duties of the position for the past six month as a interim chief. According to the report, the village board had used the interim period to let board members gauge Johnson’s performance before making the position permanent.

Johnson was given the interim tag back in June when Chief of Police Bob Smith stepped down to due scheduling conflicts. Smith had taken over the position on January 1^st after Dorman Deeder announced his retirement after serving in the position for 3 years.

The City of Beardstown may be making significant changes to their zoning ordinances for mobile homes and store fronts soon.

The Journal Courier reports that the Beardstown Planning Commission is suggesting that zoning for mobile homes be changed in Beardstown for new sites. The proposed ordinance would not affect any existing mobile homes unless the home is removed. Several areas in Beardstown are zoned as mobile home parks, but there are also locations throughout the city that have mobile homes on them that are not zoned for mobile homes. Some of those that lie in incorrect zoning have applied for variances in the past and received them from the city.

The Planning Commission Board is suggesting once an existing mobile home is moved, another mobile home would not be able to be placed there unless the area is already zoned for mobile homes.

The commission is also suggesting that store fronts in the downtown area not be allowed to convert into apartments buildings. The ordinance would allow residential areas in other parts of a downtown building, but 100% of the building would not be allowed to be turned into apartments in an effort to continue to attract businesses to Beardstown’s downtown business district.

Another meeting will be held by the Planning Commission board later this month to discuss the city attorney’s drafting of the new zoning ordinance, with the final draft expected to be presented to the Beardstown City Council for their business meeting on December 21^st.

A recently retired State Representative says his new job shouldn’t run afoul of the state’s registered lobbyist requirements.

Mike Murphy, who announced his resignation from the General Assembly as the 99^th District Representative on Wednesday, says his new job as the head of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce won’t cause a conflict with the state’s “revolving door” rules for former lawmakers.

Murphy told WMAY that he will take advantage of his ties to the legislature to advocate on behalf of Springfield business interests, but says he doesn’t believe that would violate any state rules on lobbying activities by former lawmakers. Murphy says if he is required to register with the state as a lobbyist, he would do so.

Murphy’s district got absorbed into the newly drawn 107^th legislative district, which also houses 95th District Representative Avery Bourne of Morrisonville. Murphy said earlier this summer if he was placed in a district that would require him to primary Bourne, he would retire from the General Assembly because he feels that Bourne is a part of the future of the state Republican party and wants her to continue her work in the General Assembly.

Veterans wishing to participate in a special Christmas Remembrance Ceremony for POW and MIAs will have the opportunity this weekend.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will host the annual Christmas Remembrance Ceremony for Illinois soldiers listed as POWs or MIAs during the Vietnam War tomorrow at 1PM at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield at the Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The public is invited to the ceremony. Family and friends will have the opportunity to hang ornaments adorned with the name of their loved one who is listed as a POW or MIA on a tree near the memorial. The Black Tiger Honor Guard will serve as color guard. The names of the POWs and MIAs will be read aloud. The ceremony will also include music courtesy of the Land of Lincoln chorus.

According to the Illinois Vietnam Vigil Committee, there are still 63 men unaccounted for from Illinois from the Vietnam War. IDVA Acting Director Terry Prince says it’s important to remember those who never came home and continue to support families and friends of those who have been denied closure and continue to mourn their loved one each day.