Chicago, IL (KTRS) Prosecutors won’t retry former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on the five counts tossed by a federal appeals court and have requested a resentencing date. Federal prosecutors made the filing on Wednesday. This comes two days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Blagojevich’s appeal of his remaining corruption convictions. Those convictions…
( KTRS ) Illinois lawmakers are again trying to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana but face strong opposition from law enforcement and anti-pot advocates. The omnibus bill in the Senate also would set a standard for what’s considered too high to drive. Opponents of the legislation say there should be zero tolerance…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois truck drivers will be the target of a 24-hour traffic enforcement effort by state troopers honoring a colleague who died while on duty. Trooper James Sauter died on March 28, 2013 when his patrol car was struck by a tractor-trailer on Interstate 294 in suburban Cook County. The Wisconsin trucker…
CHICAGO (AP) – Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich could soon learn whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal of his conviction on charges of corruption that included an attempt to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat. The 59-year-old Democrat had five of his 18 convictions thrown out in July…
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) – Southern Illinois University’s board of trustees has voted to increase tuition next year at the school’s Carbondale campus by 3 percent. The vote Thursday means the price of tuition for new students will increase $264 to $9,099. The increase will not affect existing students. The cost of 15 mandatory student fees…
( KTRS ) Illinois’ unemployment rate rose slightly in February to 6.4 percent, increasing for the fourth straight month. The Illinois Department of Employment Security says that the number of people employed across the state increased by 18,100 people. But state officials say that as more people seek jobs Illinois’ economy is not creating enough positions.…
Chicago, IL (KTRS) An alleged sexual abuse victim could testify at Dennis Hastert’s sentencing next month in a hush-money case. That’s according to a federal court transcript. It’s the first time the court has referenced sex abuse in the case involving the former Illinois congressman and House speaker. The Associated Press and other media outlets,…
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) – Police in Illinois and Missouri have identified the woman whose dismembered body was found at an Interstate 70 rest stop more than a decade ago. The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis on Tuesday identified the victim as Deanna D. Howland of Alton, Illinois. A highway maintenance worker found Howland’s…
(KTRS/AP) Illinois homeless shelters struggling to get by without state aid during the budget stalemate could get a much-needed financial boost thanks to specialty scratch-off lottery ticket sales. A measure pending in the Illinois Legislature would create a new $3 scratch ticket and designate all the proceeds for grants to help homeless shelters. The proposal…
PALMYRA, Ill. (AP) – At least 10 law enforcement agencies in Illinois have turned to the Internet to raise enough money to purchase body cameras for officers. As of Friday, departments in Palmyra, Benld, South Pekin, East St. Louis and six other municipalities in the state had signed up for free on the website BodyCameraDonations.com…