Death Penalty Saved La Salle County Taxpayers

The end of the death penalty in Illinois has some costs passed down to La Salle County taxpayers.

When the death penalty was still in place, all costs of prosecuting and defending accused murderer Keith Mackowiak were reimbursed by a state litigation fund.  Now expenses like DNA testing or Mackowiak’s lawyers will be billed to La Salle County.

State’s Attorney Brian Towne says this is why he was so vocal in keeping Mackowiak death penalty eligible as long as he could.  Towne got Governor Pat Quinn’s attention a few months ago when he said he wouldn’t change Mackowiak’s case to life in prison before July 1^st.

Towne estimates he’s been reimbursed by the state for well over 10 thousand dollars in expenses prosecuting Mackowiak.  He says defense expenses dwarf that amount.

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Gas Goes Up For Holiday Travel

Here’s a shocker, gas prices have went up at most locations for the start of the July 4^th weekend.

Drivers woke up today to see gas jump by at least a dime at gas stations in places like Oglesby and Peru. Prices are back up to 3.69 a gallon in Oglesby and 3.59 a gallon at most spots in Peru according to IllinoisGasPrices.com.

The cheapest gas in Illinois can be found around Champaign in the area of 3.30 per gallon.  One spot in Chicago is still charging 4.69 a gallon.