Crash at West and Shooting Park Road in Peru injuries three

Traffic is back to normal on Shooting Park Road in Peru after a crash that sent three people to an area hospital.

It happened at about 11:15am Tuesday at West Street and Shooting Park Road and briefly blocked traffic.  Three people were taken to St. Margaret’s Hospital with injuries that weren’t thought to be serious.  Both cars had to be taken away on flatbed trailers.

Quinn hopes Sears won’t close stores in Illinois

CHICAGO (AP) – Gov. Pat Quinn says it’s bad news that Sears Holdings Corp. plans to close up to 120 stores nationally after poor holiday sales. But he says the news doesn’t directly affect Sears’ agreement to keep its headquarters in Illinois.

Quinn says he hopes Sears won’t close stores in Illinois.

Sears’ decision to close stores was made public less than two weeks after Quinn signed legislation guaranteeing the company $15 million in tax breaks. The Hoffman Estates-based company had threatened to move its headquarters from the state.

Illinois Sen. Ira Silverstein says he feels betrayed by Sears. He says company officials should explain whether they knew about the potential store closings when lawmakers were considering the tax breaks.

Quinn and Silverstein spoke to reporters in Chicago after a Hanukkah event today.

Record Year For Charity Christmas Light Display

Christmas is over but you still have time to catch the Weber light display in La Salle.

For the fifth year in a row, Scott Weber has put together a light show set to music on Mary Senica Court off Route 6. As in past years, Weber is collecting food and monetary donations for the Illinois Valley Food Pantry. Since he started the light display on black Friday, Weber has collected 75 hundred dollars and 24 hundred pounds of food. Weber says the cash amount is a record.

The display will continues through New Year’s Eve.

Local Theater Group Fundraising For New Roof

Members of Stage 212 in La Salle are still raising funds in hopes of raising a new roof.

During a recent holiday show, around 20 thousand dollars was raised through ticket sales and donations. The Stage 212 Management Board says there’s no definite fundraising goal yet and they’re still considering options for the roof repair. They do expect to repair the roof sometime in 2012.

In the meantime, donations are still being accepted at the Stage 212 box office in downtown La Salle.

Car Crashes Thru Exelon Gate

Want to cause a stir? Try crashing the gates of a nuclear power plant.

Kevin Wegner of Plainfield was arrested for DUI yesterday morning after deputies say he crashed thru the main gate of the Exelon Nuclear Station in eastern La Salle County. He was also wanted on a warrant in Will County for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Wegner and his passenger Nicholas Sass of Bolingbrook were both taken to Morris Community Hospital. Wegner was eventually released and taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Exelon security personnel say they didn’t consider the crash to be a security threat.