IL Route 125 to Receive Repairs After Local Rancor Over Potholes, Damaged Vehicles
By Benjamin Cox on April 15, 2022 at 5:32pm
Cass County residents and local representatives raised enough of a ruckus this past week about the deterioration of Illinois Route 125 that Illinois Department of Transportation officials are attempting to fix the road. Several reports of large potholes and damaged or disabled vehicles from those potholes prompted residents in Beardstown and Virginia as well as […]
Barefoot Restaurant In Hardin Set to Return
By Benjamin Cox on April 15, 2022 at 5:24pm
Calhoun County’s most notable eatery will be making a return soon. Final preparations are being made for the Barefoot Restaurant at a new location. The famed Illinois River eatery located north of Hardin on Illinois Route 100 closed in 2019 after historic flooding. The Barefoot was originally called Melody Trail Harbor and was established in […]
Collective Soul, Candlebox to Play Sangamon County Fair
By Jeremy Coumbes on April 15, 2022 at 2:18pm
Rock returns to the stage at this year’s Sangamon County Fair. The final acts of the grandstand lineup have been announced for the 2022 fair which will take place June 15-19, 2022. Rock bands Collective Soul and Candlebox will perform on Friday night, June 17 at the Sangamon County Fair grandstand. Officials say this is […]
Lincoln Impersonator Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography, Solicitation of Prostitute
By Benjamin Cox on April 15, 2022 at 11:28am
A Freeport, Illinois man who has spent the last several decades impersonating Abraham Lincoln throughout the state and the country has pled guilty to producing child pornography and patronizing a prostitute. 64 year old George A. Buss pled guilty to the charges in Stephenson County Court yesterday. Buss was arrested by police at his home […]
Crisis Center Foundation to Benefit as New State Budget Increases Funding for Domestic Violence Shelters
By Jeremy Coumbes on April 15, 2022 at 10:29am
A local domestic violence shelter will benefit from the new state budget. The Crisis Center Foundation in Jacksonville along with other members of the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence put together a plan in December to request more funding for domestic violence services from the state. Crisis Center Foundation of Jacksonville Executive Director Donna Leanard […]
New Wind Farm Being Planned For Near Virginia & Ashland
By Benjamin Cox on April 15, 2022 at 6:15am
Apex Clean Energy is moving into Cass County. The Cass County Star-Gazette reports that the wind developer has set up an office in Virginia ahead of preparations to build a 250-megawatt project. Apex, notable for the Lincoln Land Wind project development in Morgan County, is planning on putting up 80-86 wind turbines in an area […]
Springfield Man Cited For DUI in Single-Vehicle Crash
By Benjamin Cox on April 15, 2022 at 6:02am
Jacksonville Police arrested a Springfield man after a single vehicle crash this morning. Police were called to the intersection of Lincoln and West Morton Avenue at 4:01AM. Witnesses told police that two subjects had fled the scene on foot eastbound. Upon arrival, police arrested the driver of the vehicle, 20 year old Alex J. Nossem […]
IDOC Employees Sue Over State Covid Testing, Vaccine Mandate
By Benjamin Cox on April 15, 2022 at 6:00am
46 Employees of the Illinois Department of Corrections from 18 separate correctional facilities are suing the state over Covid-19 testing and vaccination mandates. A lawsuit filed in Christian County Circuit Court requests a temporary restraining order. Attorney Thomas DeVore contends in the filing that under Illinois law, “an individual may refuse to receive vaccines, medications […]
Prairieland United Way Celebrates Annual Campaign, Helen Baldwin Award Winners
By Benjamin Cox on April 14, 2022 at 7:06pm
Prairieland United Way got together last night to celebrate the wrap up of the 2021-2022 annual campaign last night. The goal for the campaign was just a bit over $460,000. This year’s campaign surpassed that raising $462,000. Executive Director Karen Walker says the campaign really came together in some tough moments down the stretch. She […]
Chapin Police Chief Released from Hospital
By Jeremy Coumbes on April 14, 2022 at 3:24pm
A West Central Illinois Chief of Police who was shot in the line of duty last month has been released from the hospital. According to a press release by the Village of Chapin, 39-year-old Chapin Chief of Police Steven Helmich, of Jacksonville was released from Memorial Medical Center this morning. Helmich was shot in March […]