Peru getting help from other police departments for Black Friday security

If you’re going shopping for Black Friday, expect to see plenty of police presence.

Peru Police Chief Doug Bernabei says as many as eight additional officers will be watching over the big box stores and Peru Mall. Those off-duty officers are on top of police who were already scheduled to work. Bernabei says off-duty officers from La Salle and Spring Valley are even helping Peru during the Black Friday event. Stores are paying for the extra police presence.

Bernabei says he’s hoping for a “busy shopping time but a boring time for police” in the next couple days.

Shoppers gearing up for Thanksgiving night deals

Do your Thanksgiving plans include shopping? If you have the energy to fight the crowds after feasting, plenty of stores will open for business on Thanksgiving evening.

Kohls, Target, Walmart, Dunham’s Sports, Staples and the Peru Mall are opening at six Thanksgiving night. If your not a fan of shopping on Thanksgiving you’ll applaud Menards and Farm & Fleet since they are both closed the entire holiday. Both open with holiday deals Friday morning at six.

Rob Edwards from 96.5 the Wolf will broadcast live from Farm & Fleet in Ottawa Friday morning at six.

Latest unemployment rates released for the Illinois Valley

The local unemployment numbers don’t look so bleak if you compare them to last year’s numbers. The October unemployment rate in La Salle was 7.9 percent down from more than 11 percent the previous October.

Bureau County’s unemployment rate was 7.6 percent, down from 8.8 percent last year. Putnam County October unemployment was 6.6 percent, down from 9.3 percent last October.

The Ottawa-Streator area unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent last month, down from 10 and a half percent in October 2013.

The Illinois Department of Employment Security says jobs were gained in transportation-warehousing and professional business services. Jobs were loss in manufacturing and wholesale trade.

Chicago’s Archbishop backs President Obama’s immigration stance

CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich is praising President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration. But he says the church must continue to push for comprehensive reform for all.

Under plans Obama announced last week, nearly 5 million immigrants illegally in the U.S. will be eligible to avoid deportation and sign up for work permits. Cupich says it’s “a time for momentary celebration.”

He says it’s also time to mobilize communities to help people affected by Obama’s actions. Cupich says the Archdiocesan Office of Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education will prepare parishioners to help immigrants realize the full benefits of the executive order.