Victim of November Plane Crash in Pike Identified
By Harold Smith on December 20, 2025 at 9:08am
According to KHQA, the Pike County Clerk’s Office on Thursday revealed that 56-year-old Scott Schieferdecker of Rockledge, Florida, also a former Quincy resident, died when the private plane he was piloting crashed in a field north of Interstate 72 west of Exit 35 between Pittsfield and Griggsville on November 23rd. In a preliminary report issued […]
Cuts Needed IF the Levy Hadn’t Kept Up
By Gary Scott on December 19, 2025 at 10:50am
The 10-percent increase for Jacksonville school district 117 is now in the books, which school superintendent Steve Ptacek says keeps several key programs in the district operational. Ptacek convinced the board to pass the levy increase this week. He acknowledges the schools will not get the full amount, because the increase is tied to the […]
Two Most Wanted
By Gary Scott on December 19, 2025 at 10:40am
Crimestoppers of Morgan-Scott and Cass counties is asking for the public’s help in the search for a couple of local suspects. One of the two has been identified as 65-year-old Orlinda Stewart, a black male who last lived at 302 North Church. Stewart is wanted for criminal trespass to property. He stands 5-7, weighs 155 […]
Sangamon County wants the Public’s Help in Gun Play
By Gary Scott on December 19, 2025 at 10:23am
The Sangamon County sheriff’s office is reaching out to the area for help in locating an individual after a gun was fired nearby a Springfield last weekend. The Sangamon county sheriff’s office says the incident occurred last Saturday about 5:45 at Quik N Ez Convenience Store at 1101 Stevenson Drive. Deputies say a person made […]
Jacksonville Tax Levy Approved
By Gary Scott on December 18, 2025 at 5:25am
The Jacksonville city council wasted little time in giving final approval for the 2025 tax levy last night. The levy represents the amount of money the Jacksonville is seeking from the 2025 taxes collected in 2026. The final levy approved by the council was 4-percent higher than a year ago. Finance committee chairman Don Cook […]
Salvation Army hands out food boxes
By Gary Scott on December 17, 2025 at 10:17am
The Jacksonville Salvation Army plans to give away food boxes Friday in a drive thru with no questions asked. It will start at 4 PM at the Citadel on Wall Street. Drivers are asked to enter from the east via Veterans Drive, and leave westbound on Wall Street. Captain Justian Corliss says there will be […]
Winchester Convenience Store Loses Liquor License
By Harold Smith on December 17, 2025 at 8:59am
A Winchester gas station and convenience store is losing its liquor license. The Journal Courier reports that Winchester Mayor Rex McIntire has announced that he has revoked the liquor license of the BP station on West Cherry, formerly known as the Winchester Food Mart. According to McIntire, the business has been caught selling alcohol to […]
Perry woman sentenced to prison after repeat Retail Theft convictions
By Benjamin Cox on December 17, 2025 at 8:25am
A Perry woman has been sentenced to state prison following a new retail theft conviction and a violation of her probation stemming from an earlier case in Pike County. Karrie A. Waid, 49, was sentenced on Dec. 9, 2025, to 3½ years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after being convicted of retail theft and […]
Los Angeles man sentenced to prison in Pike County Apple Pay scam
By Benjamin Cox on December 17, 2025 at 8:13am
A Los Angeles man who traveled to rural Pike County to collect tens of thousands of dollars from an elderly scam victim has been sentenced to state prison. According to online court records, Akhmet Kuzgov, 27, was sentenced on Dec. 9, 2025, after pleading guilty to a single count of Class 3 felony theft between […]
Morgan County Court Dispositions for Dec. 16
By Benjamin Cox on December 17, 2025 at 7:59am
A Jacksonville man was sentenced to local jail time on Tuesday. Joshua K. Forsyth, 37, of New Berlin pleaded guilty to a single count of Class 3 felony retail theft under $300 on November 4 in Morgan County Circuit Court. Forsyth was arrested by Jacksonville Police at Wal-Mart after loss prevention employees told police he […]