Local Headlines

URBANA, Ill. (AP) — The University of Illinois says a student charged with a hate crime for leaving a noose in a residence hall elevator is no longer enrolled at the school. Champaign County prosecutors allege 19-year-old Andrew Smith of Normal found some rope in an elevator over the weekend ...Read more

CHICAGO (AP) — Corruption charges against former Rep. Aaron Schock have been officially dismissed six months after prosecutors’ surprise announcement they’d struck a deferred prosecution deal with the defense. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly ordered the formal dismissal of ...Read more

o   SPRING VALLEY – Spring Valley’s Police Department is ready to hire on a full time officer. In May, Spring Valley’s city council agreed to allow the police department to begin searching for at least one new officer after Chief Sangston addressed the need. At Wednesday ...Read more

OTTAWA – A pedestrian bridge over Goose Creek in Ottawa will undergo repairs. Currently, the bridge next to Champlain Street is closed due to deterioration. City Engineer Tom Duttlinger says the underlying issue is a water main attached to the bottom of the pedestrian structure. He says ...Read more

  STREATOR – State Rep. Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, is touring local businesses throughout the Illinois Valley to discuss the state’s balanced budget along with tax credits that will help businesses grow. He recently toured the new Vactor Manufacturing plant in Streator to attend its ...Read more

HENNEPIN – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) visited Marquis Energy, meeting with its leaders and touring the ethanol facility, highlighting the importance of ethanol production to our nation’s economy and the damage being caused by the Trump Administration’s inappropriate use of small ...Read more

  STREATOR – A man in Streator Tuesday morning escaped serious injury after colliding with a train. The Streator Police Department reported that 36-year Matt Weibel was traveling west on Bridge Street around 9 AM when he crossed the Norfolk Southern tracks near Illinois Street. Weibel ...Read more

STREATOR – Garages and homes were targeted by apparent burglars Tuesday in Streator. The Streator Police department took a number of reports of items being missing, including a home burglary in the 400 block of Bluff Street. A bicycle was reportedly taken from an unlocked garage in the 300 ...Read more

CHICAGO (AP) — R. Kelly is expected to appear at a status hearing a day after jail personnel moved him into the general inmate population following a complaint from his his attorneys that he was being held in solitary in a restrictive section of a federal jail in Chicago. Questions about the ...Read more