Guilty plea made in million-dollar embezzlement case involving Oglesby mother and daughter

An Oglesby woman accused of embezzling a million dollars from her employer has pleaded guilty.

As part of a plea deal, fifty-seven-year-old Connie Steinbach cannot get probation and is looking at 4 to 15 years in prison. Before pleading guilty, Steinbach was looking at potentially 6 to 30 years in prison for a class X felony instead of a class 1.

She was arrested in November for stealing over a million dollars while working at JB Contracting in La Salle. The embezzlement happened over a six year period.

Her daughter, Ashia Kolodziej of La Salle is accused of taking part in the scheme with her mom. She is out on bond after coming up with $5,000.

Steinbach will be sentenced in November and is out of custody until then.

Students raising money for scholarship honoring former L-P teacher

The old saying goes, ‘Don’t wear white after Labor Day,’ but it doesn’t say anything about bright yellow.

The La Salle-Peru High School yearbook staff is selling bright yellow shirts in memory of Georgia Stohr, a former teacher at L-P who died after a battle with cancer in May. Proceeds will be split between Stohr’s family and the Georgia Stohr Scholarship Fund.

Shirts are $10 and can be ordered by emailing yearbook@lphs.net or by going to the greeters’ desk at the high school. The deadline to order a shirt is Friday.

Clean-up at Illinois River scheduled for Saturday

It’s time for fall cleaning along the Illinois River.

Friends of the Illinois River are doing a sweep of the river in Ottawa this Saturday starting at Allen Park. Cleanup starts at 9 and goes until about noon.

Gloves and t-shirts will be provided as long as they last to volunteers. This is the 16^th year the group “Friends of the Illinois River” have been cleaning up the stream.

For more information click Illinois River Clean-up

Over 27 pounds of pot confiscated after traffic stop on I-80

Two men from opposite ends of the country are accused of hauling a lot of pot through the Illinois Valley.

Andrew Pulliam of Oregon and James Hutchinson of Massachusetts were pulled over last week near the La Salle-Bureau County border on Interstate 80 for allegedly speeding. A drug dog showed up to the scene and according to police, led them to finding 27 pounds of marijuana.

Pulliam and Hutchinson were arrested for unlawful possession of cannabis with the intent to deliver. They were taken to the Bureau County Jail.

Register for deer permits this weekend at Catlin Park

Deer hunting season is quickly approach and you can get an antlerless deer permit starting this Saturday to hunt at Catlin Park near Ottawa.

If you want to hunt deer with a bow and arrow then you need to register for a permit either this Saturday or next Saturday between 9 and 5 at the Catlin Park Office off Route 71 between Ottawa and Utica. The hunt in the county-owned park begins November 1^st and runs until the end of the state archery season.

Up to 20 approved hunters will be allowed to hunt deer in the park on any given day. Tree stands are allowed as long as they aren’t homemade and are taken down when the hunting season ends.

For more information, click Catlin Park permit.

Final pre-trial date today for alleged JB Contracting embezzler

An Oglesby woman accused of embezzling a million dollars from her employer is due back in court today.

Fifty-seven-year-old Connie Steinbach was arrested in November for allegedly stealing over a million dollars while working at JB Contracting in La Salle. The alleged embezzlement happened between 2008 and 2014.

If there’s no deal reached today, Steinbach is scheduled to go to trial on Monday. She’s currently out of custody after posting $10,000 for bond.

Her daughter, Ashia Kolodziej of La Salle is accused of taking part in the scheme with her mom. Prosecutors say at one point she had nearly $300,000 of the stolen money in her possession.

Kolodziej is also out on bond after coming up with $5,000.