Felony charges for mother and son in Utica

A mother trying to protect her son from police got herself in trouble.

La Salle County deputies say it all started with Cory Pawlak of Utica allegedly getting physical with a young relative and another juvenile at his house Tuesday night. During the investigation, Pawlak’s mom Bonnie Lucas of Utica is accused of lying to police and driving her son, Pawlak, to another location.

Lucas was arrested for felony obstructing justice. Pawlak was arrested for two counts of battery, domestic battery, aggravated assault and underage drinking.

Both mother and son were taken to the La Salle County Jail.

Ottawa keeping its lobbyist in Springfield

Whether you like what they do or not, there’s long been a role for lobbyists in Springfield.

The Ottawa City Council is happy enough with their lobbyist that they’re willing to extend his contract by two years. The city pays Jeff Torricelli of Torricelli Lobbying and Consulting $3,000 a month to be their voice in Springfield.

Ottawa Mayor Bob Eschbach says Torricelli has been “invaluable” and instrumental in getting the city grant money for things like cleaning up blighted properties and expanding the industrial park.

Almost time to go swimming in the Illinois Valley

Summer time is almost here, and with summer comes the opening of area city swimming pools.

The La Salle and Marseilles pools will be the first ones to open for the season with both scheduled to open this Saturday. Mendota and Spring Valley pools are set to open Memorial Day, Oglesby will open May 30th, Ottawa is set to open June 1st, and the Princeton pool will open June 7th.

Of course, all start dates depend on the weather.

Bicyclist hurt after being hit by a van near Princeton

A cyclist hit southeast of Princeton was a long ways from home.

Jeffrey Mortelette of Waterville, New York was riding his bike on Route 26 Tuesday morning when he was hit by Matthew Noll of Princeton. Mortelette was taken to Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton.

Noll was given a ticket for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Easter Seals still trying to reach fundraising goal

Just because their annual telethon is over doesn’t mean the Easter Seals of La Salle and Bureau Counties has stopped raising money.

The telethon over the weekend at Skydive Chicago helped to bring in nearly $40,000 but their goal is $50,000. You can help them reach their goal by donating at their website or dropping by their office in Ottawa.

Easter Seals mission is to provide services to children with or without special needs so they can “live, learn and play in their community”.

Click here to donate http://www.eastersealslbc.org/

Grand Jury indicts two La Salle County men for murder

Two men charged with last month’s murder in Dayton have officially been indicted.

A La Salle County Grand Jury Tuesday decided to proceed with murder and concealment of a body charges against William Horman of Dayton and Jonathan Beckman of Wedron. They’re accused of killing Robert Dowd and then burning his body north of Ottawa along the Fox River. Both were alleged to have a work history with Dowd who owned a truck wash near the Interstate 80 and Route 71 intersection in Ottawa.

The murder charge brings a maximum of 60 years while the concealing the body charge is 5 years at most. Beckman and Horman will be tried separately.

Beckman’s next court date is Thursday with Horman due back in court Friday.