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Bill Brady Hits Local Tea Party Meeting

The republican candidate for governor in Illinois echoed a favorite sentiment of tea parties while in Oglesby Tuesday night by promising to “take back our government”.

Bill Brady spoke for about 20 minutes at the La Salle-Bureau Tea Party meeting before giving brief answers to a set of questions and then hitting the road around a half hour after the meeting began.  Brady went on the attack right away grouping Governor Pat Quinn with ex-governor Rod Blagojevich on a handful occasions, saying they’re part of a “machine style system leaving a legacy of deficit and debt for children”.

Brady blasted Quinn for wanting to raise taxes, saying the right thing to do is to cut taxes by a billion dollars to help create jobs and sustain revenues.  Brady also wants to eliminate the state gasoline tax and estate tax penalty.  He says businesses are dying to invest in the state but there is too much bureaucracy and litigation.

Brady promised a balanced budget and said his first thing as governor would be to open the state books and do a complete audit so taxpayers see where their money is going.  He promises to reduce spending “no less than a dime for every dollar”.

Brady no doubt raised a few eyebrows when he said the president’s health care overhaul is unconstitutional and that Rod Blagojevich needs put behind bars.

Dangerous Heat Setting In

The National Weather Service out of the Quad Cities has issued a Heat Advisory for Bureau and Putnam Counties.

The advisory is in effect Wednesday from 10am until 9pm.  Temperatures in the low 90s will produce heat index figures of between 100 to 110 degrees.

Blagojevich prosecutors rest their case

CHICAGO (AP) – Federal prosecutors have rested their case in the corruption trial of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

But the former governor’s defense attorneys won’t start their case until Monday. U.S. District Judge James Zagel said Tuesday that he’d delay the trial to allow the defense time to prepare witnesses.

When the trial began June 3 it was widely believed prosecutors could take as long as two months to get through their case.

Blagojevich’s attorneys said some of the defense witnesses had not expected to take the stand until August.

Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to scheming to trade or sell President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat and plotting to launch a racketeering operation in the governor’s office.

Heroin charge sends man back to jail

A parole check in Streator has sent a man back to jail.  Police with TRIDENT and a department of corrections parole agent say they found three jeweler’s bags containing heroin after searching Alex King’s home Monday.

They also say they found a syringe containing heroin.

King was arrested for unlawful possession of a controlled substance and was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

House Fire In Princeton

Everyone is okay after a house fire this morning in Princeton.

Princeton firefighters were called out to a one-story home at 235 North Mercer Street just before 5:30.  They found a fire below the floor in the crawl space.  They couldn’t get to the crawl space due to the intense fire and it being a confined space.  The severity of the fire caused firefighters to evacuate the building.

The fire was brought under control in under an hour.  No one was hurt although property damage is estimated to be 125 thousand dollars and contents loss over 62 thousand dollars.

Justin Hamm and Tracey Merkel live at the house and were home when the fire broke out.  Firefighters credit smoke detectors with getting the tenants out okay.  Cause of the fire is under investigation.

The home is owned by Clay Skinner of Princeton.

Lady A Sold Out

Almost exactly a month before the concert, the “Concert for a Cause” featuring Lady Antebellum has sold out.

The last tickets were sold over the weekend at AT&T in Peru.  Organizer Merry Noonan said they planned on printing upwards of six thousand tickets for next month’s show, meaning Lady Antebellum is certain to pass Sugarland in becoming the best attended “Concert for a Cause” put on by Lou’s La Grotto in Peru.  96-5 the Wolf is also sponsoring the Antebellum show.  Proceeds will help JFK Elementary in Spring Valley.

Lady A will play at the Cedar Point Sportsmen’s Club Saturday, August 14^th.  Gates open at four.  There will be two opening acts before Antebellum takes the stage.

Cherry Mine Exhibit Comes Back Home

Like the 259 victims of the Cherry Mine Disaster, the crowd at last night’s Cherry Mine exhibit grand opening was all ages.

“The Flames Caught Us: Cherry Mine 1909” is on display in the lower level of Building E at Illinois Valley Community College through October.  The exhibit is fresh off a four-month run at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield.

The exhibit takes you through the disaster from the morning of the fateful day, Saturday, November 13^th all the way to September 10^th of 1910 when the remains of the last known victims was found.  The display features several newspaper accounts of the disaster, photos after the fire and first hand accounts from the miners themselves.

One miner, John Lorimer has a hand written letter in the display that he wrote to his wife while trapped for eight days.  Lorimer ended up being one of the 20 miners rescued more than a week after the fire.

The exhibit also goes in-depth into what went wrong before, during and after the fire and even mentions the National Guard having to restore order after many of the victim’s family members grow angry with the St. Paul Mine officials.

The exhibit is free and is open Monday through Thursday, 8am-9pm.

Soap Stars Helping Tornado Rebuilding Effort

It’s a case of theatre people helping theatre people.

Cast members of the upcoming Ottawa production “Arsenic and Old Lace” will have a cast party July 25^th from 5-7 at JJ’s in Ottawa to benefit the Engle Lane Theatre group.  Walt Willey and Julia Barr of “All My Children” will be available at the meet and greet and to sign autographs.  Tickets to the benefit cast party are 25 dollars a person or 20 dollars with a ticket stub from “Arsenic and Old Lace”.  Proceeds go to the Engle Lane Theatre group’s “The Show Must Go On” tornado rebuilding fund.

“Arsenic and Old Lace” meanwhile runs from July 23^rd-25^th at the Ottawa High School Auditorium.  Tickets are available thru the Ottawa Visitor’s Center.

Plans For New School Moving Forward

The first round of bidding to help build a new elementary school in Ottawa is underway.

The elementary school board Monday night approved going out for bids for site work, roofing, and masonry and concrete.  The bids will be opened in early September with construction on the new school set to start September 13^th.  Bidding for electronic works, walls, technology and furnishings will happen later this year or early next year.

As part of the roofing bid, the school board is seeking bids on a “green roof” which includes vegetation instead of traditional roofing materials.  The “green roof” is better for the environment and said to last longer.