One person was reported to be in a residence on South Church when fire and EMS crews responded to a reported structure fire Friday morning.

A Jacksonville Police officer confirmed to West Central Joint Dispatch at 9:10 am that fire was showing from a residence located at 735 South Church Street.

The Jacksonville Fire Department along with South Jacksonville, as mutual aid both responded to the call. Jacksonville Fire Department Lieutenant Josh Sorrill says crews were able to contain the blaze before it could spread.

“We were initially dispatched to a structure fire on North Church Street. Upon arrival, we found heavy fire coming from a second-story window, believed to be just one room involved. We made an initial fire attack with a quick knock down before it spread to any other parts of the house.

One person was reported inside [the home] prior to our arrival. They made an exit and no injuries are noted at this time.”

No one was injured in the in the fire. Sorrill said at the scene this morning that it was too soon to determine any kind of cause of the fire however, at this time it is being deemed under investigation.

Crews remained on the scene late into the morning. The Jacksonville Police Department is in charge of the ongoing investigation.

The Jacksonville School District 117 Superintendent has taken to social media to help explain PTELL and the annual property tax levy.

In the 1990s the State of Illinois changed how school districts could request funding through property taxes.

District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek says years later, the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, also known as PTELL, is actually hurting many districts and taxpayers alike, and the confusion of how PTELL works only adds to the problems each year during tax time.

He says to help more people understand how and why the system works the way it does, he has taken to YouTube to help answer the many questions he and the administration are asked on a regular basis.

“I know individuals who are even involved in schools and in taxing bodies that still don’t fully understand PTELL and how it works. So I made the video series to do kind of like those old books like Windows for Dummies. Just a breaking it down to the nuts and bolts of PTELL and really explaining it in a way that anybody who watches it could understand.

Because if more and more people understand PTELL, they see how districts are limited, and they will see how it’s really causing one of the largest problems that we are facing in not being able to answer up to our property taxpayers.”

The videos are hosted on the District 117 YouTube channel and break down over a four part series an understanding of PTELL and balloon levies, to why it was created.

Ptacek says two videos are already on the district’s page with more coming in the next month.

“In late January I’m putting out two more videos. In one I’m going to explain why PTELL was originally developed in the 90s. That will be a shorter video, and then a longer video that will discuss the actual negative consequences of PTELL to the taxpayers. Things like why the district can’t abate money back- give refunds to the taxpayers without substantial penalty moving forward. We will show data on how it penalizes us, and I’m working on a possible solution that I think would benefit both the taxing bodies and the taxpayers.”

Ptacek says he has had some initial conversations with local legislators about possible solutions to the PTELL problems and hopes more will come in the near future.

To access the free videos explaining PTELL and the property tax process, go to the District 117 YouTube page by searching JSD117.

You can also listen to the full What’s On Your Mind interview where Ptacek explains more on PTELL and taxing as well as plans for a new School in the Woodson/Murrayville area by going to the audio archive on our home page at wlds.com.

Several customers and a few employees of a major state agency were victims of a data breach earlier this year.

The Illinois Department of Human Services announced today the agency experienced a privacy breach in April where multiple employee accounts were accessed by an outside entity’s phishing campaign.

Officials say the files accessed included the social security numbers of 4,701 IDHS customers as well as three employees.

IDHS has sent written notice to all of the individuals whose information was compromised and who had a current address on file with the agency.

According to the release, more than 1.1 million individuals with a public assistance account on file with IDHS also had their information exposed. Agency officials say the account information is significantly less sensitive, however, substitute notices were also sent to these individuals.

All of the written notices contained information on resources for available credit monitoring and IDHS says an in-depth forensic analysis, followed by a manual review of all compromised files to determine the nature of the breach was conducted. IDHS says it continues to train its employees on how to avoid and report phishing attempts.

The trial of a now more than four-year-old murder case may finally get underway in Morgan County Court early this upcoming year.

39-year-old Kenneth J. Acree of Murrayville was in court for a pretrial hearing Friday afternoon. Acree faces 3 counts of first-degree murder and a single count of concealment of a homicidal death in the shooting death of 32-year-old Robert Schofield in October 2020 near Nortonville.

Visiting 7^th Circuit Judge Ryan Cadigan set a final pre-trial hearing for January, 17^th with the case then set for a jury trial to begin on Tuesday, March 25^th.

Morgan County State’s Attorney Gray Noll says after a number of delays in the case, he is hopeful this trial date will hold. “The case obviously has been pending for four-plus years now and I certainly would like to thank the Schofield family for their patience in waiting for this to finally be resolved.

But given that it has been pending for four years, there have been pre-trial motions that have already been heard, discovery has already been exchanged, and there are currently no pre-trial motions that would necessarily move the date from the March setting date.”

The trial had been set to start this past Tuesday until Acree’s longtime defense attorney W. Scott Hankin of Springfield withdrew from the case in early November.

Since then Daniel Fultz of Springfield has taken over as defense counsel along with Morgan County Public Defender Devin Vaughn.

Noll says there currently are no pending motions before the court in the case however, the recent change in counsel could delay the case further. “Obviously anything could change. The new attorneys could find something and want to file some sort of pre-trial motion that the previous attorneys did not.

So it’s possible that the case could be continued from the March date but the judge has certainly made it clear to both parties that he would like to see this resolved sooner than later.”

A year ago, Hankin filed motions suggesting Acree may claim self-defense during the trial. The motions requested would allow the defense to present character testimony about Schofield and prevent the prosecution from referring to him as a victim during proceedings.

Schofield was reported missing after he did not return home from work on October 4^th, 2020. Four days later his body was discovered buried in a field off of Gobbler Road in rural Murrayville.

Acree was arrested one day later on October 9^th and then in January of 2021, both wives of the decadent, 30-year-old Sara M. Schofield, and the accused, 37-year-old |Laura C. Acree, were arrested and each charged with concealment of a homicidal death and obstructing justice.

Each of their cases has been continued until after the first of the year.

Sounds of the holiday season will ring through Rammelkamp Chapel at Illinois College on Saturday as the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra takes the stage for this year’s program Scenes of Holiday Joy.

Music Director and Conductor Garrett Allman says this year’s program has a varied mix of some endearing classics with a few new surprises for fans of the JSO. “It’s an exciting combination of various styles of music. We’ve got “A Christmas Festival” a famous piece by Leroy Anderson which has about eight familiar carols in it.

The “Christmas Song” of Mel Torme, four dance movements from “The Nutcracker”, the Wizards in Winter which is a piece made famous by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and new this year is music from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Which should appeal to the whole family including the kids. We want the whole family to come out and hear this program.”

Allman says another selection in this year’s program has a unique tie exclusive to Jacksonville. “Fantasia on Christmas Carols of English composer Vaughan Williams for the strings, actually arranged by Todd Parrish who years ago was the strings teacher at Jacksonville School District here in town. A wonderful arrangement by Todd.”

Also new this year is the brand new piece “A Christmas Tiding” which is an arrangement of both God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen and ‘Twas in the Moon of Wintertime that Allman says is sure to be a hit during the show. Other notable selections include In the Bleak Midwinter and Fantasy on “Auld Lang Syne”.

The single performance kicks off at 3:00 p.m. Saturday at Rammelkamp Chapel. Tickets are available at the door for $20.00 for adults; children and students are admitted free of charge.

For more information go to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra’s website at jaxsym–il.org.

Firefighters were on scene for several hours Sunday after a fire broke out in another vacant building on the shuttered Jacksonville Developmental Center grounds.

Both the Jacksonville and South Jacksonville Fire Departments responded to what has been commonly referred to as the old veteran’s building on the north side of the campus near the intersection of West Morton Avenue and South Church Street just after 10:00 am Sunday.

Jacksonville Fire Department Lieutenant Josh Sorrill says fire was showing from a portion of the vacant building when crews first arrived on scene. “Upon arrival we found heavy fire and heavy smoke conditions coming from the second story. Upon a 360 [exterior search] we found a partial collapse of the second-story roof. No injuries at the time and no one else was found upon arrival.

At this time we are deeming the cause undetermined but suspicious in nature due to the fact there are no utilities [active] to the property it’s supposed to be an uninhabitable building and all around it being secured as well.”

Jacksonville Fire crews used the aerial ladder truck to knock down the bulk of the fire before personnel made entry into the second story to continue suppression efforts.

Sorrill says the age and length of time the building has been vacant made extinguishing the fire and searching for any potential victims more difficult.

“Due to the age of the structure and points of entry for us to do searches being welded to be secured, it made it a little bit harder for access. But upon major fire knockdown, we were able to do primary and secondary searches.

This is one that just due to the suspicious nature, we are going to let the Office of the State Fire Marshal handle the investigation.”

Crews were on the scene well into Sunday afternoon, and an Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office Investigator was combing the scene. The incident is just the latest in a history of fires and vandalism at the now boarded-up complex located in the heart of the Jacksonville and South Jacksonville areas.

Sunday’s fire was at least the sixth suspicious fire within the last four years on the grounds. In August of this year, crews battled a fire in the Gillespie Building on the west side of the campus for several hours. In January, a homeless man was arrested for trespassing after setting a small fire in one of the structures.

Crews from both municipalities were also called to fires in June of 2023, and November of 2022, each in separate buildings. The Developmental Center campus has sat dormant since November 2012 after then-Governor Pat Quinn announced the closure of the facility.

Legislation filed by 99th District State Representative Randy Frese last year to remediate and demolish buildings on the JDC grounds failed to pass out of committee in the General Assembly. The bill estimated the costs needed to remove asbestos and get demolition going at more than $67 million.

A surplus property bill by State Senator Steve McClure that was passed and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2021 has also not brought any movement from the state.

Jacksonville Police responded to the 100 block of Meadow Ridge Lane just before 4:00 pm Friday after West Central Joint Dispatch received a call from the address in which the caller whispered someone get out here and then hung up.

Upon arrival, 37 year old Jonah D. Smith of the 200 block of King Court was arrested for criminal trespass to property after he was found on the property for which he had been previously issued a letter of no trespass.

Officers were called back to the same address at approximately 11:45 last night where Smith was again found on the property, this time on the porch of the residence causing a disturbance with the residents.

He was booked into the Morgan County Jail for criminal trespass to real property and violating a stalking / no contact order of protection. Smith remains held this morning pending an appearance in court.

A St. Clair County man has pleaded guilty to an accident that claimed the life of a Greene County man earlier this year.

According to an announcement this morning by Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison, 52-year-old Scott L. Kraut of Belleville, Illinois pleaded guilty to one count of Class 2 felony driving under the influence causing death.

Illinois State Police reports at the time said that at approximately 12:30 p.m. on April 5th of this year, Kraut was driving a white Dodge Ram pickup truck on Illinois Route 267 near FS Road in Medora when the truck crossed the center line and struck a vehicle occupied by 52-year-old Craig R. Gillmore of Roodhouse.

Gillmore was airlifted to an area hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Kraut was also transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Lab testing during the subsequent investigation found that Kraut had methamphetamine in his system at the time of the crash. He was arrested in late April and charged with two counts of Class 2 felony DUI causing death, and cited for improper lane usage. Kraut initially pleaded not guilty in May of this year and had remained held at the Macoupin County Jail during court proceedings.

Macoupin County Associate Judge Joshua Meyer accepted Kraut’s guilty plea to the single count this week and scheduled His sentencing for January 29th. Kraut faces up to 14 years in prison, with 85% of the time to be served.