The Jacksonville City Council has spoken on whether liquor stores will be able to serve alcohol and offer video gaming during their regular meeting last night.

The question was posed after Gary Singh, who owns three liquor stores in Jacksonville, requested modification of his licenses to allow his stores to have what is called a “pour license”, meaning the stores could serve alcohol on the premises in order to qualify for a state video gaming license.

The request came on the heels of the council voting to allow grocery stores to serve hard liquor following a request by Hy-Vee in October.

During the council workshop session Monday night, Mayor Andy Ezard, who serves as City Liquor Commissioner, opened the floor to discuss whether the council members wanted him and City Attorney Dan Beard to explore the development of the new license.

Beard says allowing liquor stores to serve alcohol and have video gaming on-site would call for a whole new classification of license to be developed. “It’s not something that we have on the books now.

It was done in such a fashion that, since we can’t take action in the workshop session, it was presented as a motion in the regular session of the council to either move forward, if anybody wanted to make that motion, with changing the ordinance to allow liquor stores to have a gaming license so to speak, or not. No one on the council wanted to move forward with that motion so it died for lack of a motion.”

Ezard says he and City Attorney Beard wanted clarification from the council members before starting the lengthy task of developing a new class of liquor licenses in the city. “ If the council wasn’t in favor of putting gaming machines in liquor stores, then that’s what snuffed it out tonight. And they obviously weren’t because there was no motion made to move forward and do that new classification.

We’re sympathetic to businesses that are struggling and they look at that as a source of income however, the council spoke, or didn’t speak because they didn’t make the motion, that they didn’t want that in our liquor stores.”

After discussion during the workshop, when called for a motion to direct the Mayor to begin developing a new class of license for council approval during the regular meeting, no one on the council spoke to make the motion, effectively ending the proposal and denying the modification request.

Ezard says ever since gaming was legalized in the state, the city has tried to limit the amount of gaming offered, which included capping stand-alone gaming parlors to no more than two within the city limits.

He says modifying classifications to allow liquor stores to serve alcohol and thereby have gaming on site, meant that convenience stores would also likely fall into the same category and could potentially have qualified to also serve alcohol for the purpose of adding video gaming.

Jacksonville Police visited a residence multiple times Monday night when a man was arrested on drug charges and a vehicle was later stolen.

Police were called to the 1100 block of North Diamond Street at approximately 6:15 pm Monday after a caller told authorities there were people in the house talking to his girlfriend.

During the subsequent investigation, 38-year-old Mario T. Jackson of the same address was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jackson was issued a notice to appear in court and was released from the Morgan County Jail.

Police were called back to the residence a second time at approximately 11:30 pm after a complainant advised there were unwanted subjects inside of his home. According to the report, the complainant’s girlfriend advised there were no unwanted subjects inside the home.

Officers then were called back to the residence a third time just before midnight after a female complainant told dispatchers that her ex-boyfriend stole her vehicle after threatening her with a machete.

She told officers he took her car keys and then drove off in the vehicle. According to the report, officers attempted to locate the vehicle but were unsuccessful.

The vehicle was later located after the complainant contacted police to talk to an officer about her vehicle being stolen. An officer transported her to the vehicle. No description of where and how the vehicle was located was included in the report.

The incident remains under investigation by police.

Multiple area law enforcement agencies are on the lookout after a report of vehicles being broken into turned into a vehicle pursuit and a pair of weapons being stolen.

South Jacksonville and Jacksonville Police responded to the 100 block of Labor Drive at approximately 4:30 Monday morning after a caller reported their neighbor’s truck was in the process of being broken into.

According to a report by the South Jacksonville Police Department, an officer located a suspect vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop but the vehicle fled the area at a high rate of speed.

South Jacksonville Police terminated the pursuit in the vicinity of South Main Street and East Morton Avenue after Jacksonville Police picked up the pursuit. The suspect vehicle continued fleeing east out of town and the pursuit was eventually picked up by a Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy which was led toward Springfield before the deputy also terminated the pursuit.

Upon further investigation, South Jacksonville Police found a total of three vehicles were broken into and had items removed, including one vehicle that had two firearms removed during the break-in. A wallet and a cup of change were removed from the other two vehicles and according to the report, the wallet was recovered sometime later.

Jacksonville Police also received reports of vehicles being broken into early Monday. A caller in the 1000 block of West College Avenue reported to police at approximately 2:00 am that his vehicle had been broken into and a firearm was stolen. In total, an estimated $950 worth of items were removed from the vehicle.

Just before 9:00 am, a caller in the 1000 block of West College reported to police that sometime overnight someone broke a window in her vehicle and her purse was removed from the backseat. Another report of an overnight vehicle break-in came in later Monday morning from the 200 block of Park Street.

South Jacksonville Police say the suspect vehicle in the Labor Drive thefts has not been located at this time and the incidents are all under investigation.

Area residents are asked to keep their vehicles locked up and not leave any valuables in them overnight. Anyone with information on these break-ins is asked to contact the South Jacksonville Police Department at 217-245-9222, the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630, or leave an anonymous tip with Morgan, Scott Cass Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300.

Jacksonville Police are conducting an investigation into an alleged shooting that occurred Sunday afternoon.

Officers were called to the vicinity of Pine and Freedman Streets a 1:45 pm after a caller to West Central Joint Dispatch reported he heard six gunshots fired and then saw a red van take off over the railroad tracks.

A resident of Pine Street reported to police that their residence was hit by an undisclosed number of shots during the incident. Upon further investigation, a vehicle containing two adults and two juveniles was checked. No one from the vehicle was detained.

The incident remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Jacksonville Police Department Investigations Division by calling 217-479-4630 or leaving an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties at 217-243-7300.

An event aimed at bringing the excitement of Black Friday to small businesses is set to hit Downtown Jacksonville soon. The 2^nd annual Pinkmas event is happening downtown on Friday, November 17^th, and Saturday the 18^th.

Bailey Evans, owner of Modern Groove Boutique located in the Hockenhull Building on East Central Park Plaza, says Pinkmas aims to bring the excitement of Black Friday to shopping local.

“It’s basically like a small business Black Friday it originated from Pink Friday which was a boutique hub made up holiday just to promote small business shopping before people hit the big box stores. Just trying to bring the excitement back to small business shopping and make more like a Black Friday like it used to be.”

Colleen Flinn, who co-owns Flinn’s Mercantile with her husband Tim, says just about every downtown proprietor will have special offers during the two-day event. “The stores will be open later and the stores downtown- everyone is participating, and everyone has their own deals going on. You can go to the individual stores’ Facebook pages to see what they are, or there is a Pinkmas Facebook event and people have posted what they are going to be offering.”

Flinn says Evans and a couple of the other clothing boutique owners brought the idea of Pink Friday to the downtown business owners group and momentum for Pinkmas grew from there. Flinn says that the downtown group now has an active social media presence that is now known as Pretty City Jacksonville.

“We meet once a month to kind of talk about events and things we can do together. Pretty City was an Instagram started during Covid by Don’s Place owner Rachael Kesler, and she let us take it over so we could kind of feature things that we have going on downtown.”

Flinn and Evans say they feel they have advertised really well throughout Central Illinois so they are hoping for a good turnout for all of the downtown businesses of visitors and locals alike.

The second annual Pinkmas in Downtown Jacksonville is happening from 10 am to 5 pm next Friday and Saturday, November 17^th and 18^th.

For more information, go to your favorite downtown business or their social media. You can also find information via the Pretty City Jacksonville and Jacksonville Mai Street Facebook pages, as well the as Pinkmas Downtown Jacksonville Facebook event page.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott & Cass Counties are requesting information to assist the Jacksonville Police Department in their investigation of a recent burglary.

Some time previously, unknown person(s) entered a building located in the 1500 block of West Walnut Street and removed a number of items. Among the Items taken were various tools, ladders, and copper.

The police are asking that anyone who has information concerning this incident or any other crimes within the three-county area submit an anonymous tip online by going to the Morgan, Scott, Cass Crime Stoppers Facebook page and clicking the Contact Us button on the home page or calling Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300.

Tips may also be submitted by texting to the word CRIMES (274637). The first word of the text tip must be “payout”. Crime Stoppers says if your tip leads to an arrest, you are eligible for a cash reward.

More information has become available on the identity of a Cass County man who went missing Wednesday.

According to a report by WAND-TV this morning, Shannon Graham was last seen walking into a wooded area near the bridge that crosses the Sangamon River in Chandlerville at approximately 11:00 am yesterday.

Graham reportedly left with no water or food and was not wearing a coat. He is described as being in his late 40s and wearing a dark green button-up long-sleeve shirt, orange and yellow construction vest, blue jeans, sneakers, and a ball cap.

According to the report, Graham’s family says due to health issues, he could be suffering from issues such as seizures, psychosis, and delirium.

According to an announcement by Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn on social media early this morning, police and fire department officials have been searching through the night with a larger search group being organized to begin searching early this morning.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cass County Sheriff’s Office at 217-452-7718.

According to a release by Pleasant Hill Community Unit School District Superintendent Kylee Orr at approximately 8:00 pm Wednesday, Orr says it is with deep sadness that she informs Pleasant Hill families about a tragic accident that has resulted in a significant loss in both their schools and community.

She says on Wednesday afternoon, a sixth-grade student at Pleasant Hill Elementary died from injuries he sustained in an accident. Orr says the district is committed to doing everything it can to help students with the grieving and healing process.

School is in session today and Pleasant Hill has activated their crisis counseling team to be at the schools. She says there will be counselors and therapy dogs at both schools to support students throughout the day.

Orr goes on to say this loss will affect everyone in their school family and in the Pleasant Hill Community, students may have a difficult time dealing with the loss, and they are encouraging parents to talk with their child.

She says at this time, the district will not be releasing the name of the student out of respect for the privacy of the families.

According to a separate and initial report by the Illinois State Police, at approximately 3:15 pm Wednesday, officers responded to a fatal incident involving a truck and a pedestrian on a bicycle that occurred in the vicinity of West Quincy Street and IL-Route 96 in Pleasant Hill.

IL Route 96 was closed until approximately 6:00 pm according to ISP. No further information has been released by either the Illinois State Police or Pleasant Hill School District at this time.

Authorities are searching for a missing person in Cass County at this hour.

According to an announcement by Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn early this morning, police and fire department officials are searching for a man who has gone missing in the Chandlerville area.

Ohrn says they are looking for a man in his late 40s who was last seen wearing a dark green shirt and orange vest. He said law enforcement would be in the Chandlerville area throughout the night and into the morning, with a much larger search group planned to start soon.

Again, authorities are currently searching for a missing man in the Chandlerville area who is described as being in his late 40s and wearing a dark green shirt and orange vest.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Cass County Sheriff’s Office at 217-452-7718.

As of approximately 6:15 am, Sheriff Ohrn told WLDS News there is no further information available at this time. This is a developing story, we will bring you more information once it becomes available.

A Schuyler County man was arrested by Illinois State Police investigators in Beardstown yesterday.

According to an announcement this morning by ISP Division of Criminal Investigation officials this morning, on October 19^th, Zone 4 investigators were contacted by the Rushville Police Department to investigate a report of a local man who was communicating with minor females through an online platform.

On Monday, 30-year-old Dallas Wilcoxen of Rushville was taken into custody in Cass County after State Police investigators alleged Wilcoxen had traveled to Beardstown to meet a 14-year-old female.

Wilcoxen was transported to the Schuyler County Jail and is being held pending a detention hearing. He was booked into the jail on charges of traveling to meet a child, a Class 3 felony, and for indecent solicitation of a child and grooming, both Class 4 felonies.

Investigators say that anyone with information concerning this case is asked to contact ISP Zone 4 Investigations at (217) 782-4750.

Zone 4 was assisted by the West Central Illinois Task Force. The investigation is open and ongoing and officials said in the release that no further information will be provided.

 Anonymous tips on child pornography and abuse can also be reported through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) cyber tip line at cybertipline.com.