Man dies after motorcycle crash in Marseilles

The Annual Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run drew hundreds of motorcyclists to Marseilles. While nearly every made it there and back safely a man from Algonquin did not.

Police say 43-year-old Douglas Peters was riding west on Route 6 Saturday when he lost control on a curve and hit a guardrail. Peters was taken by helicopter to OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa where he was pronounced dead Saturday night.

The accident is being investigated by the Marseilles Police Department and the La Salle County Coroner’s office.

Attempted kidnapping under investigation

Your kids will be spending a lot of time outside this summer. Take time to remind them what to do if they are approached by a stranger.

A 10-year-old girl in Utica claims she was approached and grabbed by a man around 8:30pm Saturday in Utica. The girl was able to pull away. The police were notified about 45 minutes later.

The girl described the man as being white with black and wavy shoulder length hair; side burns, a goatee and a mustache. He was about 5’10” and looked to be in his 30’s. He was wearing a red T-shirt with an eagle on it, blue jeans and black shoes.

If you know anything, call the Utica Police Department or the La Salle County Sheriff’s Department.

Homeless man arrested for heroin in Ottawa

Heroin continues to be an issue in the Illinois Valley.

The drug group Tri-DENT arrested Houston Rios in Ottawa on Thursday for unlawful possession of a controlled substance. He’s accused of having a gram of heroin. At the time he was arrested, Rios was also wanted out of Kendall County for missing a court date for obstructing identification.

Rios was taken to the La Salle County Jail. He’s being held on $20,000 bond.

Search underway for man missing in the Illinois River

Taking a dip in the river can be a fatal decision.

Conservation Police and river rescue members are searching the Illinois River for a man who jumped out of his boat to cool off Sunday afternoon near Marseilles. Conservation Police Sgt. Hank Frazier says the man from the Naperville area never came back up after jumping in the Illinois River near Illini State Park.

The search was cut short Sunday night due to storms.

Majestic Theatre in Streator goes digital

Moving away doesn’t mean you have to forget where you came from. People running the Majestic Theatre in Streator are glad that’s true.

Robert Endres got his interest in film projectors watching movies as a kid in Streator and went on to become head projectionist at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Wanting to give back, he has footed the majority of the bill to convert Majestic’s theater’s into digital film.

Before the donation, about $28,000 had been raised thru bake sales and car shows for the digital conversion. The total cost is around $120,000. Movie companies have phased out non-digital films so places like the Majestic and the Route 34 Drive-In in Earlville faced a deadline to go digital.

“Transformers: Age of Extinction” will be Majestic’s first digital film. It opens Thursday night.

Driver hurt after pickup truck spins out near Peru

The rainy weather is being blamed for a crash on Interstate 80 near Peru.

State troopers say Iqbal Athwal of California was driving east on 80 Sunday night when he fishtailed due to the wet road. He ended up crashing into a guardrail. Athwal was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru.

No one else was involved in the crash.

Flood warnings issued along the Illinois River

It’s not a major flood, but the Illinois River is rising above its banks.

A Flood Warning is in effect for the river at both La Salle and Ottawa.

The Illinois at La Salle is a foot over flood stage . It’s supposed to rise just a bit more Monday before leveling off.

In Ottawa, the Illinois is right at flood stage and isn’t expected to go much higher. However the river right now is up on Allen Park’s entrance and boat ramp.

Minimum wage increase will be put to the voters

CHICAGO (AP) – What’s your opinion on raising the state’s minimum wage? You can give your answer by voting in November.

Gov. Pat Quinn has put on the November ballot a question asking if Illinois should boost the state’s minimum wage from $8.25 to $10 an hour by 2015. The question is non-binding so even if it passes, lawmakers don’t have to change the minimum wage. Illinois’ current minimum wage is a dollar higher than the national rate.

Business groups oppose raising the rate, saying it’ll kill jobs.