The Morgan County Emergency Management Office is still gauging its response to the Wednesday, June 18 series of tornadoes that hit in and around the Jacksonville area.

Morgan County ESDA Coordinator Phil McCarty says his office and city officials had lengthy meetings on Monday afternoon discussing the response to and the aftermath of the storms in the city. He says there are a lot of lessons to be learned from this particular event.

McCarty says the city and Morgan County ESDA has been in contact with officials from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. He says they were on the ground for the initial response last week.

The tornadoes hit the City of Jacksonville almost 14 years to the day of the Town Brook Flood of June 2011. Mayor Andy Ezard likened the severe weather outbreak last week to that catastrophic event that crippled the city for several days. McCarty thanked the city’s department heads for coordination, communication and action last week. He says he’s still trying to gather some of the greater lessons learned from the entire event.

The City of Jacksonville was bequeathed new downtown public restrooms on Monday, June 24 from the Sherman-Pershing Group – a company owned by Rabbi Rob & Lauren Thomas.

Throughout their many real estate purchases over the last two years, the Thomases bought the vacant lot at 42 North Central Park Plaza. The green plot of land lies directly west of the Andre & Andre Building – another of Sherman Pershing LLC’s renovation projects. Sherman Pershing is set to relocate its global headquarters in the former Viles Auto dealership building just north of Downtown. 

The City of Jacksonville will now have open, public bathrooms for downtown events and will be required to maintain the space for future use. The bathrooms will only be open for events in an effort to prolong their longevity and reduce maintenance. The Thomases received a round of applause as the gift of the property was approved unanimously by the city council during the regular business meeting on June 24. The bathrooms are expected to be in use as early as June 27, as final details on engineering and legal language for the gift were still being finalized as of press time.

A Jacksonville man was arrested after a parked vehicle was struck, causing the moving vehicle to rollover. The driver then allegedly fought with police during the arrest.

According to a Jacksonville Police report, officers were called to the 500 block of South Diamond Street at approximately 12:45 a.m. Sunday for a blue Jeep that had rolled over. The caller was unsure if anyone was injured in the collision. Upon arrival, police determined that the driver of the Jeep, Bradley G. Sample, 56, of the 800 block of North Diamond had been traveling in that vicinity before, for an unknown reason, the Jeep left its lane of travel and struck an unoccupied vehicle on the side of the street. The Jeep then continued forward before rolling onto its side and coming to rest. Both vehicles were towed from the scene with disabling damage

Sample was treated at the scene by EMS but refused transport to the hospital. Sample was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol and improper lane usage. He was later released with a notice to appear in court.

A Beardstown man who got into a fight with police in September 2024 has received a conditional discharge sentence in Cass County Circuit Court.

Patrick Nshimiyimana, 30, of Beardstown pleaded guilty to Class 2 felony aggravated battery to a peace officer on May 29 in Cass County Circuit Court in front of Judge Timothy J. Wessel. Nshimiyimana was initially cited for 4 counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer with threat of great bodily harm after attempting to break into an Illinois State Police squad car on the evening of September 29, 2024. Beardstown Police reports at the time say that officers found a naked man pulling on the handles of vehicles. When an officer started questioning the man, later identified as Nshimiyimana, he reportedly became combative and began fighting. The man was Tasered once, but it did little to stop him, according to the police report. Three officers were eventually able to subdue the man and take him into custody. He and a police officer were reportedly treated at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital for minor injuries from the incident.

Nshimiyimana’s case was delayed for several months as his defense attorneys and the State’s Attorney’s office sought a mental health evaluation and short-term treatment in an Illinois Department of Human Services facility. Nishimiyimana was eventually found fit to stand trial in late March.

Per Nshimiyimana’s plea, Judge Wessel sentenced him to 12 months Conditional Discharge and ordered payment of $200 county fine plus court costs. Nshimiyimana was given credit for 242 days served in the Menard County Jail.

More than 160 communities around the state have decided to keep the 1% grocery tax that was eliminated at the state level by legislation last year. Jacksonville added its name to that ever-
growing list on Monday night.

The Jacksonville City Council voted 7-0 to pass the Municipal Grocery Retailers’ Occupation Tax on Monday night. New Ward 3 Alderwoman Terissa Heape voted to abstain on the measure.
Alderwomen Alison Rubin de Celis and Eren White-Williams were both absent from the meeting.

During the city’s workshop session, City Attorney Dan Beard said the city would be missing out
on just over $748,000 annually if they decided to get rid of the tax. There was no further
discussion about the measure. Several other municipalities have either reinstated the tax via an
ordinance while others have made it a ballot initiative to let voters to decide.

Jacksonville’s revenue from the tax will be placed into the city’s General Funds for use on the
city’s bills and projects. The state version of the tax expires at the end of this year. Other
municipalities have until October 1 to pass a similar tax if they have not already. Collection on
the tax at the local level will begin on January 1, 2026.

The saga to convict and possibly imprison former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan may soon be drawing to a close.

Madigan, 82, and long-time confidant Michael McClain of Quincy were indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2024 in one of the largest and highest profile public corruption trials in the United States. The indictment came after over a decade of FBI and prosecutors investigating and digging for evidence against what the indictment called the “Madigan Machine.” On February 12, 2025, Madigan was convicted by a 12-person jury of conspiracy and bribery charges for using his official position to corruptly solicit and receive personal financial rewards for himself and his associates. A mistrial was declared in McClain’s case.

Madigan was ultimately convicted on 10 of 23 counts against him including: one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, four counts of using interstate facilities to promote unlawful activity, three counts of wire fraud, and two counts of bribery. The jury acquitted Madigan on four counts of using interstate facilities to promote unlawful activity, two bribery counts, and an attempted extortion count. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey declared a mistrial on six other counts for which the jury did not reach a unanimous verdict – one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of wire fraud, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, and one count of using interstate facilities to promote unlawful activity.

The jury returned its verdicts against Madigan after a four-month trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago. According to multiple Chicago media outlets on May 30, 2025 and online federal documents, federal prosecutors are seeking a 12 1/2 year prison sentence and a $1.5 million fine for Madigan in the case. Madigan’s attorneys have asked for a sentence of 5 years of probation including 1 year of home detention and community service requirements. Madigan is due to be sentenced on June 13.

Two Jacksonville men were arrested early Saturday morning for alleged fetanyl trafficking.

Jacksonville Police officers initiated a traffic stop in the 500 block of East Morton Avenue at approximately 2:35AM Saturday. During the course of the investigation, officers called on a K-9 officer to search the vehicle.

Subsequent to the investigation, officers arrested the driver of the vehicle David E. Grandadam, 47, of the 500 block of South Church Street on citations of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Officers also arrested a passenger Matthew J. McCauley, 35, also of the 500 block of South Church on citations of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and obstruction of justice. McCauley allegedly provided officers with a false name during questioning.

Both men were being detained at the Morgan County Jail as of Saturday.

Chapin Police Chief Steve Helmich is alerting the public to scammers specifically targeting seniors.

Helmich says that scammers are hammering seniors in the tiny town, attempting to dupe them out of several thousands of dollars. He says that fraudsters are impersonating government officials and law enforcement over the phone, often frightening victims with threats of arrest or imprisonment of a loved one if they don’t send along money or reveal personal information to them.

Helmich cited a recent scam of a pretender identifying themselves as a DEA agent to a 72-year old Peoria woman. The fake federal agent then demanded the victim pay $17,000 in gift cards after threatening her with a fake arrest warrant.

He says other scams have involved someone identifying themselves as an IRS agent or a law enforcement agent who has a loved one in jail or in an emergency situation that urgently needs money.

Helmich says everyone should stay vigilant to unsolicited calls, texts, and social media messages from people claiming to be members of the government, police, or federal agencies. Legitimate agencies will never threaten arrest or demand money over the phone or online on the spot. He says to guard your personal information at all costs. Verify all emergency claims of distress by calling family members or the agency directly. Never make any quick payments to strangers. The big thing, Helmich says, is to not be fearful or panic because that’s what scammers want you to do.

Lastly, he says report any and all suspicious activity to local law enforcement, even if you have been duped out of money. The reports may not get your money back but it will help law enforcement investigate fraudsters and warn others of their schemes.

The District 117 Early Years Program has a new principal.

The District 117 Board of Education approved the hiring of Lindsay Wayne as the new Pre-K program’s principal.

Wayne is a Jacksonville native, and is the daughter of the late Diane Wayne, a long-time speech and language pathologist at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired.

Superintendent Steve Ptacek says he’s extremely excited for the Early Years Program under Wayne’s leadership: “She’s originally from Jacksonville. She lived in Colorado and Missouri for a while. She has 18 plus years in dealing with early years students, especially special education early year students. She’s currently back in town working for Four Rivers in their earlier special education program, and she saw this opening and she said it’s always been kind of a dream of hers to become an early years building principal. And this opened up. We interviewed her and we were all just blown away. She’s amazing. So really look forward to it. It’s a huge talent added into the district.”

Wayne takes over for Sarah English, who had been principal of the program since 2017.