Legislators face tough votes after spring break

     SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Illinois lawmakers have left Springfield for a two-week Spring Break before their final eight-week push toward resolving the state’s most pressing problems.

      Legislators went on break Friday after arguably making some progress this week toward fixing Illinois’ nearly $100 billion pension crisis that is derailing the state’s budget.

      But they have yet to find traction on the proposed approval of same-sex marriage and a contentious oil-drilling practice.

      Lawmakers will attempt to regulate the carrying of concealed weapons upon their return from break. They face a summer deadline imposed by a federal court to that struck down Illinois’ conceal carry ban in December.   

      Also looming is yet another push for a gambling expansion calling for five new casinos and the need to approve a budget.

Man accused of selling cocaine at Peru gas station

 Some people go to the gas station to fill up their tank or get a cup of coffee- and apparently some go to sell cocaine. 

          Officers in TRIDENT arrested a man they say sold a small amount of cocaine to someone working with the police at Beck’s in Peru Thursday. 

          Terence Miller of Peru was arrested for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and was taken to the La Salle County Jail.  His bond was set at $750,000.

Man accused of having heroin and pills in La Salle

           Something fishy in La Salle had police at a house on Bucklin Street.  Officers say they arrested Steven Ward of La Salle Thursday because of a call of suspicious activity.

          Police say Ward had one gram of heroin and about 100 various pills.  He was arrested for unlawful possession of a controlled substance and was taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Vigil Planned To Remember Dalton Mesarchik

STREATOR, Ill. (AP) – Many in Streator plan to mark the tenth anniversary of the bludgeoning death of a 7-year-old boy with a memorial.

A memorial starts at 6:30 Saturday outside the Streator City Hall for Dalton Mesarchik. Mesarchik was abducted from his front yard on March 26, 2003. A fisherman found his body in the Vermilion River the next day. An autopsy showed he was beaten to death with a 3-pound sledgehammer that could only be bought at a Kmart.

The boy’s mother, Michelle Mesarchik, says she’s still hopeful and organized the vigil to keep her son’s memory alive. A state police task force continues to investigate the death.

State Jobless Rate Inches Towards 10 Percent

Illinois’ unemployment rate jumped to 9.5 percent in February. This is up from 9 percent in January, despite an increase in the number of jobs of 12,400.

From January to February, while 12,400 jobs were added, the number of officially unemployed grew by 34,900. The unemployment rate in Illinois hasn’t been this high since November 2011.

The state has 5.8 million people working, and 629,400 looking for jobs.