No Rush To Announce Winner In Governor’s Race

CHICAGO (AP) – Gov. Pat Quinn is refusing to officially declare victory even though he’s proclaimed his lead
“insurmountable.”

Quinn today also wouldn’t call on Republican Bill Brady to concede. Quinn says that decision is up to the state
senator from Bloomington. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Quinn has a lead of more than 19,000 votes over Brady out of more than 3.6 million ballots that were cast.

Quinn was out at lunchtime today, thanking voters at a Chicago deli. He told reporters that Illinoisans know he won the
election.

Transformer Delivery To Exelon Causes Road Closures

A couple roads in and around Seneca will be closed in order to haul a 388-ton transformer to the Exelon nuclear plant.

The transformer is arriving today in Seneca by barge after coming all the way from Spain.  The transformer will remain on barge until Monday when it’s delivered to the nuclear plant.

Route 170 from the Seneca Bridge to Grand Ridge Road and Grand Ridge Road from Route 170 to the station will be closed Monday from 7 until 3 in the afternoon while the transformer is delivered.

Two more transformers will be delivered next year with another in 2012.

Alcohol Related Crash Near Oglesby

Two women were hurt after a rollover west of the Oglesby spur.

State Police say Deziray Diehl of Oglesby was westbound on North 25^th Road just west of Route 251 when she slammed on her brakes thinking a deer was crossing the road.  Diehl ended up fish tailing her car, driving it into a ditch before overturning several times and coming to a rest on its roof.

Diehl and her passenger Courtney Umphress also of Oglesby were taken to IVCH.  Diehl was arrested for DUI, no insurance, failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident and improper lane usage.  Umphress was ticketed for illegal consumption of alcohol and failing to wear a seat belt.

Bureau County man dies after becoming pinned under tractor

An accident involving an end loader killed a 70 year old man in rural Tiskilwa.

Bureau County Coroner Janice Wamhoff says Don Frasier was spreading gravel on his driveway using an end loader Tuesday afternoon.  She says Frasier apparently backed up too far, and the back wheels of his tractor became stuck on an embankment to a creek near the driveway.  The end loader rolled over, pinning Frasier beneath it.  He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Illinois governor race is still up-in-the-air

CHICAGO (AP) – Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bill Brady are still waiting for results in the governor’s race – leaving them both in a kind of limbo.

Quinn leads by more than 19,500 out of the 3.6 million votes cast. But an Associated Press survey of 90 percent of the state’s election jurisdictions found as many as 50,000 absentee and provisional ballots had yet to be counted.

Waiting won’t be easy as Brady will have to persuade supporters to stay optimistic instead of launching a transition team.

And Quinn may have to face a fall legislative session without any certainty he’ll be governor come January. He’ll get an early look at that situation today, when the Senate has scheduled a vote to deal with a key issue – borrowing $3.7 billion to make Illinois’ payment to its pension system.

IVCC group plans party and workshops for high school students

A computer related student organization at Illinois Valley Community College is hoping a day of gaming workshops will draw teens out for a day.

Kelly Rawlings is a member of IVCC’s Associated Information Technologies Club.  She says they realized there’s a need to reach out to high school students who share interests in computers and gamers.  Given the risks of drug abuse and suicide, they thought it would be good to allow those teens to connect with a day of gaming and computer related activities at the college.

Activities will run from 11am until 5pm Saturday. Teens younger than 18 will have to have their parents sign a release since some of the games are rated M for mature.

You can find out how to register and download a copy of the permission slip online at their web page.

Area man to be sworn in as a new attorney

Fresh off being retained as a Supreme Court judge, Chief Justice Tom Kilbride will swear in new attorneys.

59 new lawyers will be given the oath by Kilbride Thursday morning in Moline.  Besides members of the Third District Appellate Court in Ottawa being on hand, La Salle attorney John Balestri will make the motion to admit the latest class of attorneys.  His son, Nicholas is in the latest class of lawyers.

The younger Balestri was a former intern at AM 1220 WLPO.