Peru considers health insurance change

Changing health insurance providers could leave you searching for a new doctor or with less coverage.  People who work for the City of Peru are insured through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois but with rates expected to rise by more than eight percent at the start of the year, a different provider is being considered.

Alderman Dave Potthoff says a plan through United Health Care River Valley would cost $941,000 next year, much less than renewing with Blue Cross Blue Shield which would cost $994,000.  He explained it to the city council Wednesday night.

He says a change in plans would mean some employees would have to change doctors.  He also says the less expensive plan doesn’t consider O.S.F. to be in-network.

66 employees have health insurance through the city.  They pay 10% of the premium.  The council will take a closer look at the policies at Monday’s meeting.

Downtown Ottawa added to the National Register of Historic Places

Ottawa takes a lot of pride in its downtown and with good reason.  The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency announced Wednesday that 12 blocks of downtown Ottawa is included in the National Register of Historic Places.  Nearly 200 buildings are included in the district which includes six blocks on Columbus Street and six blocks on La Salle Street.

Buildings inside the designation are eligible for 20-percent federal tax credits to make renovations.

Electric service restored in La Salle

The lights are back on in La Salle after being out during the 2pm hour Wednesday.  Leigh Morris with Ameren says power was out because of a broken insulator.  More than 1000 in La Salle were affected.

Another outage affected nearly 50 customers in Tiskilawa.

Crime doesn’t take a holiday

Your wallet is thick with cash and credit cards as you stop by the mall and the big box stores.  You only have a couple of weeks left to finish your Christmas shopping.  And as you look for the best parking spot and then the best deal, are you letting your guard down?

Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says they’ve been lucky this season hasn’t brought many pick-pocket crimes or car break-ins, though criminals are still in the stores.   He says a popular thing for thieves is to use stolen credit cards to purchase large quantities of gift cards .     Bernabei says many criminals come from the Chicago area to target Peru’s stores.

His department has also been investigating an increasing number of online crimes where shoppers from Peru will have their identity and credit card numbers stolen.

His advice for keeping your property safe this season, if you have to keep gifts in your car, lock them up in the trunk.

You can hear more with Chief Bernabei in an interview available at the AM 1220 WLPO news page.

Major Pot Bust Near In Peru

A traffic stop on Interstate 80 in Peru involves nearly $600,000 worth of cannabis.

State Police say they pulled over Alison Mei Lan Jim of California Tuesday morning and allegedly saw a small amount of cannabis near the front seat. Troopers searched her SUV and say they found 150 pounds of cannabis hidden inside moving boxes, sports equipment bag and a backpack.

Jim was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Lotto Winners from Tiskilwa and Minoonka announced

A pair of over-sized checks await a woman from Tiskilwa and a couple from Minooka.  They’re recent winners of Illinois lottery games.

Roxanna Nye of Tiskilwa won $1 million after buying a scratch off ticket at Beck’s West in Princeton.

Craig and Janet Gossett of Minooka had the winning numbers in an $11 million lottery drawing.  The ticket was purchased at a BP in Morris.

Suspicious Fires In Streator

Two fires within an hour just a few blocks apart. Seems fishy doesn’t it?

The State Fire Marshal’s Office is helping to investigate the cause of a pickup truck and garage fire in Streator. Firefighters were first called to the truck fire just after 4am Tuesday on West LaRue Street. Damage was also done to a nearby camper, garage, and car.

Less than an hour later, Streator firefighters went to Madison Street for a garage fire. A car was damage as was a neighbor’s garage.