ST. LOUIS (AP) — The man who became the first U.S. priest to be labeled sexually violent for crimes in Illinois has admitting abusing two boys in Missouri. Fred Lenczycki pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts for crimes that occurred in the early 1990s. He was serving at a parish in north St. ...Read more
LASALLE – The dirt track racing facility east of LaSalle will be closing. LaSalle Speedway announced their decision Thursday on social media to cease operations. The track was opened in 1992 and held many races, including those with a number of notable NASCAR drivers like Kasey ...Read more
DIXON – Due to the unexpected amounts of rainfall, Lee County Sheriff John Simonton will be re-instituting the “NO WAKE” ordinance – effective this morning. Simonton apologizes for the short turnaround on this change, but the rainfall was much greater than expected, causing the river ...Read more
LASALLE – LaSalle-Peru High School’s new principal hire announced he will not be taking the position this fall. In a special board meeting on Wednesday, it was announced that Christopher Jackson of California will no longer be able to serve this next school year due to ...Read more
AMBOY – Boats and Humvees were called to rescue over 40 people in a campground in rural Lee County from rising floodwaters. Amboy Fire Chief Jeff Bryant said a call came in around 6 AM for a camper worried about the flooding from the Green River in the 900 block of Green Wing Road. ...Read more
DIXON – The first day on the job for a Lee County Sheriff’s Department K9 was a productive one, with an arrest for alleged drug possession. Nemo began his first shift on Wednesday and after a traffic stop around 11:30 AM, he detected the presence of alleged narcotics, leading to the ...Read more
WAUPACA, Wis. (AP) — Three Wisconsin men are charged after a homemade “cannon” exploded in Marion, killing an Illinois man last weekend. The three are charged in Waupaca County with homicide by negligent handling of explosives, a felony. Forty-two-year-old Kenneth Niemer of ...Read more
GENEVA, Ill. (AP) — A 25-year prison sentence has been handed a Kane County man who was holding a gun to a woman’s head when he called her children into the room. Prosecutors say Chad W. Conway told the children to come watch their mother die. The 40-year-old Conway of Roscoe was ...Read more
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois gun owners will be fingerprinted and will pay more for firearm owner identification cards under legislation approved by the Illinois House. The bill passed Wednesday is designed to address what Democratic Rep. Kathleen Willis of Addison calls deficiencies in ...Read more
CHICAGO (AP) — The bodies turned up in some of Chicago’s most derelict places: alleys, abandoned buildings, weed-choked lots and garbage containers. The victims were mostly black women who had been strangled or suffocated. Authorities believed many were prostitutes or drug addicts or ...Read more
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