Local Headlines

CHICAGO(AP)-  A published newspaper report says the longest-serving state House speaker in modern U.S. history is a subject of inquiries in an ongoing federal corruption investigation that has already entangled several top Illinois Democrats. Four unnamed sources interviewed by investigators ...Read more

BROOKLYN- Singer R. Kelly is facing new bribery charges that appear to be related to his 1994 marriage to then 15-year-old R&B singer Aaliyah. A revised indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn accuses R. Kelly of scheming with others to pay for a fake ID for someone ...Read more

STREATOR – OSF HealthCare and community partners re-opened their brand new facility in Streator on Thursday. OSF HealthCare’s Vice President for Ambulatory Services Don Damron says the hub is one of six initiatives to improve and redefine rural health care. The 5-floor facility ...Read more

  OTTAWA – A plumber and a bio-mechanic scholar gave expert witness testimonies on behalf of prosecution at the trial of a former Ottawa fireman accused of murder. 52-year-old Kenneth Cusick faces a charge of first degree murder for allegedly drowning his wife in a toilet January 2006. ...Read more

CHICAGO (AP) — Two reports show staffing cuts and dwindling funding at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in recent years. An Environmental Integrity Project report released Thursday shows the agency’s workforce was reduced by 38% between 2008 and 2018. A November report by the ...Read more

  WOODSTOCK, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois woman charged in the beating death of her 5-year-old son has pleaded guilty to murder. Thirty-six-year-old JoAnn Cunningham of Crystal Lake entered the plea Thursday in the April slaying of Andrew “AJ” Freund. The Chicago Tribune reports ...Read more

ELGIN – A Kane County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant has been charged with unlawful possession of cocaine. Aaron Feiza, 44, was taken into custody Wednesday after an investigation found he allegedly had drugs in February of 2019. In a statement released jointly by the Illinois Attorney ...Read more

DIXON – Retail and tech giant Amazon has announced plans to build a solar farm in Lee County. Specifics were not announced in the press release put out on Tuesday, but the project is part of the company’s climate pledge. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that “Illinois is proud to have ...Read more

INDIANAPOLIS – A judge says a relative of John Dillinger who wants to exhume the 1930s gangster’s gravesite needs the cemetery’s permission. Marion County Superior Court Judge Timothy Oakes granted Crown Hill Cemetery’s motion to dismiss Michael Thompson’s lawsuit ...Read more