Braun left as main black candidate in Chicago race

CHICAGO (AP) – U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun has emerged as the sole prominent African American candidate in the Chicago mayor’s race after the withdrawal of U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.

Braun was the first black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate.      Davis’ announced his decision at a New Year’s Eve news conference after weeks of pressure from African American leaders. They contended only a consensus black candidate would have a chance to beat former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and other prominent contenders in the race to replace retiring Mayor Richard Daley.

The 63-year-old Braun faces questions about miscues during her time in Washington and about being out of the spotlight for years.

Shooting In Sheridan

A man was shot after an apparent attempted home break-in near Sheridan.

Deputies were called to house on Bowen Road west of Sheridan this morning at 5 o’clock about a residential burglary and shooting.  The homeowner tells deputies he woke up after hearing breaking glass and someone attempting to break into his front door.  He confronted two people and fired one shot from a .45 caliber pistol after no one responded.  The shot apparently hit a man who was found by deputies lying outside the house.

The shooting victim was taken to Ottawa Regional Hospital.  He’s not being identified.

The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office says more information will be released later.

Storms Leave Power Outages

While Friday’s storms caused damage to homes in parts of Illinois and the midwest, there were not reports of major damage in La Salle County.

The storms caused power outages in the Marseilles and Streator areas though.

Deal Struck At Streator High

There’s no need even to think about a teacher’s strike in Streator.

The Streator High School Board of Education approved a new three-year contract last night with the Streator Federation of Teachers Council.  The vote was 6 to 1 in favor.

Teachers made concession in salary by agreeing to no pay increase in their base salary while the board in return added two more sick days for teachers and also raised early retirement benefits by 6 percent.

Teachers had been working without a new contract since June.

Cocaine Bust In DePue

A man from DePue is ringing in the New Year by getting arrested for drugs.

Members of TRIDENT did a search warrant Thursday and arrested Rogelio Mata Jr. for unlawful possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver.  He’s accused of selling cocaine to TRIDENT agents a number of times in DePue over the last two months.  When he was arrested yesterday, Mata allegedly had with him 26 grams of cocaine with him.

He was taken to the Bureau County Jail.

Rainfall and snowmelt spells flood advisory for the Illinois River

The Illinois River is rising and it’s prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flood advisory.

It’s for the river at Ottawa through Sunday afternoon.  They say the new rainfall and snowmelt will make the river rise slightly over flood stage Saturday evening.  They say to watch out for flooded roadways.

Rivers rising but flooding not predicted

A combination of melting snow and rain over the next day or so will have area rivers rising.

The Illinois River in La Salle is expected to rise three feet by Saturday afternoon.  The river is expected to peak at around 15 and a half feet, the flood stage is 20 feet.

The Illinois River in Henry is expected to rise about a foot today to over 16 feet.  The flood stage in Henry is 23 feet.

The National Weather Service says another concern is ice jams.

Layoffs Could Be Coming To La Salle Plant

Rumors are swirling that a major employer in La Salle could lay off workers.

Workers at Illinois Cement are not commenting if they are planning temporary layoffs of nearly 100 workers next year.  An employee at the plant told AM 1220 WLPO that management officials won’t be back in the office until Tuesday.

The Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development lists Illinois Cement with 100 employees.

Child Porn Sending La Salle Man To Prison

A man from La Salle arrested as part of a statewide crackdown on child porn is headed to prison.

Wade Coop was sentenced to 12 years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography.  He admits to having child pornography images on a computer.  Coop also pled guilty to possession of cannabis plants and received three years which he’ll serve at the same time as his child porn sentence.

Coop was arrested September 30^th as part of a crackdown on child pornography by Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office.  Lance Greathouse of Peru was arrested along with Coop.

Coop was already a convicted sex offender when he was arrested for the latest crime.

Lovejoy To Be Remembered

Princeton’s most famous son celebrates his 200^th birthday on January 6^th.

Next Thursday marks the Bicentennial Celebration of Reverend Owen Lovejoy’s birth.  To celebrate the day, members of the Lovejoy Bicentennial Committee are planning a festive gathering at the Elks Lodge, a former Lovejoy property at 6:30.  Activities will include a presentation on Lovejoy by Festival 56 co-founder Dexter Brigham.  The event is free and open to the public.

Lovejoy’s Princeton home is now a museum.  He used the house to harbor fugitive slaves as part of the underground railroad.