Ottawa Police looking for men accused of robbing pizza delivery man

One down, two more to go as Ottawa Police investigate the robbery of a pizza delivery person.

Police say a person delivering pizzas for a local restaurant was robbed just before 12:30 last Friday morning while working on the west side of Ottawa.

Based on what the worker told them, detectives narrowed their investigation down to three men.  The La Salle County State’s Attorney’s office issued arrest warrants for Johhny Ford of Streator, Jessie Phillips Jr. and Joseph Allen of Ottawa.

Allen was arrested Thursday.  Police are still looking for the other two.  If you know where they are call the Ottawa Police Department.

December unemployment numbers show little improvement

The Ottawa-Streator area continues to have higher unemployment rate than most other areas in central Illinois.  December unemployment numbers show La Salle County unemployment at 10.8%, down slightly from the same time last year.

Bureau County unemployment was 9.6% and Putnam County unemployment was 10.5%.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says that jobs were lost in manufacturing, educational-health services and government while jobs were added in transportation-warehousing.

I-80 crash sends two people to local hospital

A crash that stopped traffic on Interstate 80 sent two people to a local hospital.  It happened around 7:15am Friday near La Salle.

Police say Carolyn Copeland of La Salle was heading west on I-80 near the Route 351 exit when she apparently lost control of her mini van, crossed the median and hit a car heading east.

Copeland and the man in the car, Micah Robinson of Ladd were taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital.  Copeland was treated and released while Robinson was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.  He was listed in fair condition.

Eastbound traffic was affected for about an hour.

Peru Public Library to offer Nooks

          Technology is changing the way you read books.  And that has the Peru Public Library making available Nook eReaders. 

          You would be able to checkout the device for up to two-weeks with a maximum of four eBooks loaded on to it.

          The Peru Library and many others have been offering eBooks for several years.

          To checkout a Nook you must be a member of the library and sign a loan agreement. 

          The Nooks were purchased by The Friends of the Peru Library.

GOP Rep. Aaron Schock considering run for governor

     CHICAGO (AP) – Does age matter when it comes to the governor?  Republican Congressman Aaron Schock of Peoria says he’s considering a run for governor.

      Schock told WMAQ-TV in Chicago that he hopes other GOP hopefuls will step aside. Schock says “the less bloodletting, the better.”

      The 31-year-old congressman and former state representative says he knows he can’t “tell them not to run.” But Schock says other candidates from his party who have run before are wasting their time.

      He says his age won’t be a factor in whether he runs for governor.

      Schock was first elected to Congress in 2009.

      Other Republican candidates who have shown interest in the Illinois governor’s race include state Treasurer Dan Rutherford, and state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard.

      The next general election for Illinois governor is in November 2014.