Peru Council Meets With Judge About Overtime Pay Investigation

A retired judge is expected to begin an investigation Monday into alleged illegal overtime pay in Peru.

The Peru City Council met in closed session Friday with William Balestri.  Council members want Balestri to find out who and how many employees were involved and who authorized the pay and how much pay it was.

Peru Alderman Rodney Perez says Balestri will jump into the investigation after getting the needed paperwork from the city clerk’s office.

State Jobless Rate On The Upswing

Illinois’ unemployment rate is down.

It comes in at 8.9 percent for October, down from 9.1 in September, as the state added 25,700 jobs over the last two months. Unemployment is down 12,000 over the last month to 579,000 eligible workers who are not working.

The government shutdown in October caused the unemployment reports to skip a month. There was an expectation that the shutdown would harm the economy too, but the actual damage turned out to be slight.

Careful Who You Donate To

CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois’ Attorney General says she’s opening an investigation into a potential fundraising scam tied to tornado relief efforts.

Lisa Madigan’s office says it received a complaint regarding an unregistered, out-of-state entity that said it was raising funds for victims of last weekend’s storms in Washington. Illinois law requires fundraisers and charities to register each year with the attorney general’s office.

Madigan is urging you to carefully research organizations heading up recovery efforts which are seeking donations.

Conservation Officer Shoots And Kills Driver Near Sterling

STERLING, Ill. (AP) – Illinois Conservation Police say an officer shot and killed a driver who pinned a state trooper with his vehicle during a traffic stop.

The shooting happened Friday along Interstate 88 near Sterling after the trooper stopped the driver. Illinois conservation police say the driver made a u-turn, hitting and pinning the state trooper against his squad car. The conservation officer responded to the scene and saw the pinned trooper.

The conservation officer then shot the driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was not immediately identified.

Both the trooper and the officer were treated at a hospital and released. The conservation officer is on temporary paid administrative leave.

A stretch of I-88 was closed down for several hours after the shooting.