Mendota man faces child porn charge

A child pornography investigation left a Mendota man arrested.  Michael Logsdon turned himself in at the La Salle County Jail today.  He was charged with the class three felony after an investigation by the Mendota Police, La Salle County State’s Attorneys Office and Regional Computer Forensics Lab in Chicago.

Logsdon is free after posting bond.

Ill. unemployment rises for second straight month

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Unemployment in Illinois increased to 9.2% in June, the second straight month the state jobless rate increased.

The state Department of Employment Security today laid part of the blame on weak consumer confidence they said was hindering the national economy.

The national unemployment rate hit also 9.2% in June. That was up from 9.1%.

The employment security department said the number of people in Illinois out of work and looking increased by 18,900 to 603,700.

The biggest job losses were in the government and educational and health services sectors. Both shed 3,500 jobs for the month.

The leisure and hospitality sector added 3,900 jobs with the start of summer.

Police warn that “bath salts” are dangerous

While they sound harmless and are legal, drug officers want “Bath Salts” regulated.

Tri-Dent Chairman Thomas Smith says the salts are resulting in violent reactions which lead to hospitalizations and sometimes death.  He says there’s been an increase in bath salt usage since December in the Illinois Valley.

Smith says a gram of Bath Salts is going for the same price as illegal drugs.  He says users have claimed the high they get from Bath Salts is better than illegal drugs.

Smith says members of Tri-Dent are working with area mayors and council members to pass ordinances regulating Bath Salts.  The Illinois House has passed a bill banning harmful chemicals in Bath Salts.

Stabbing Leads To Stolen Car In Peru

An incident involving a teenage girl being stabbed has her and the alleged attacker in the hospital.

Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says they received a call just after two this morning that a 15 year old girl was stabbed several times at a home in the 600 block of 11^th Street.  Her grandmother was also hit in the head with an unknown object.  The man accused of the attacks then stole a car which he wrecked minutes later and abandoned it in the area of Chartres Street and Raccuglia Drive in La Salle.

The attacker allegedly went to steal a second car at a trucking company in La Salle when he was confronted by a worker.  The worker suffered a minor cut from a knife but the alleged thief was seriously hurt when he jumped through a glass window.

Bernabei says officers and a K-9 eventually found the wanted man in a wooded area about 100 yards from the trucking company.  He was arrested without incident less than an hour after the initial 911 call.

The attacker and the 15 year old girl were taken to IVCH and are now being treated at St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.  Their names aren’t being released.

Bernabei says the attacker who is 29, was living at the home in Peru for the past few weeks.

Missing Detassler Was Staying In Spring Valley

A migrant corn detassler still hasn’t been found.

36 year old Humberto Sanchez was last seen getting a drink of water at 11:30 Tuesday morning while detassling corn south of Rock Falls.  More than 50 rescue workers from several police and fire departments searched for Sanchez Tuesday but didn’t go back out Wednesday.  Investigators aren’t sure if he just left the job.

Sanchez is among a large group of migrant workers detassling corn in Whiteside County who have been staying in Spring Valley.

If you have information about Sanchez, call the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department.

Solar Power The Future In La Salle County?

The largest solar farm in the Midwest proposed for Streator has hit a bump in the road.

The La Salle County Zoning Board of Appeals voted 4 to 3 against a special use permit to Invenergy for the purpose of building a 140-acre solar farm in Otter Creek Township.  Board members voting against the unique idea either think it doesn’t fit in with the county’s comprehensive plan or that it takes away valuable farmland.

Invenergy says the solar farm would have enough solar panels to power 29 hundred homes.  They also argue it’ll provide 100 jobs and 300 thousand dollars in increased tax revenues for surrounding tax districts.

The La Salle County Board will have the final say on the solar panel farm.  At least two-thirds of board members will have to approve the project.