Heroin arrest made near city offices in Peru

An alleged heroin dealer was tracked down and arrested not far from city hall in Peru.

Joseph “Jilla” Adams of Peru was arrested Tuesday afternoon in the area of 5th and Peoria Street for two counts of delivery of a controlled substance. He’s accused of selling heroin several times to undercover informants with the drug group Tri-DENT.

Adams was taken to the county jail with his bond set at $500,000. Drug officers say Adams is part of a multiple county investigation and more arrests are coming.

2016 will bring improvements to Mill Street in Utica

The main drag in Utica will be a construction site this spring.

According to the NewsTribune, the village wants to put in new water mains and handicapped-accessible sidewalks. Because of the big tourism draw in Utica, the hope is that the construction gets going in March and wraps up before Memorial Day weekend.

The village took ownership of Mill Street from the state when Route 178 was realigned.

Oglesby Couple Arrested for Sex Crimes Allegedly Involving a Minor

An Oglesby home was the scene for a lot of police activity Tuesday evening. Both the Peru and Oglesby police made arrests at the E. Walnut Street home of Shaun and Nancy Youmans.

Oglesby Police Chief Jim Knoblauch says Nancy was arrested around 5pm for aggravated criminal sexual abuse after she allegedly arranged to have sexual contact with a minor. Shortly after her arrest, Peru police paid the place a visit to arrest Shaun for sexual exploitation of a child. He allegedly either knew about or was present Nancy’s suspected actions.

Knoblauch says he believes the two are married.

Last month, Shaun Youmans was arrested for domestic battery, aggravated battery, and resisting arrest in Oglesby. Nancy’s bond was set at $25,000 while Shaun’s was set at $10,000.

Michigan man charged in Peru coffee shop attack is indicted

Remember the horrific story of an elderly man being randomly attacked outside a popular Peru breakfast hangout? The alleged attacker has officially been indicted.

Thirty-four-year-old Roberto Medina of Grand Rapids, Michigan is charged with two counts of aggravated battery and a count of obstructing justice. He was arrested the morning of December 16th minutes after attacking a 70-year-old man near John’s Place. The victim spent some time at Illinois Valley Community Hospital.

Medina allegedly hit his victim with gloves that had metal inserts in them. Investigators thought that robbery was the motive.

Medina needs $7,500 to get out of jail on bond. He’s due back in court Thursday.

Besides the three things he was indicted for, Medina is also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and being a fugitive from justice. He’s wanted out of Michigan for robbery.

Ottawa driver flown to Peoria after Interstate 80 crash

A crash that snarled traffic for several hours on Interstate 80 happened after an Ottawa man lost control.

Just before six Wednesday night, state troopers say Jerry Webber of Ottawa was westbound just east of the Route 71 exit in Ottawa when he crashed into the median guard rail cable. He decided to come back into the left lane and was hit by a semi driven by a man from Las Vegas. Both the car and semi ended up in the median. Westbound traffic was diverted between Seneca and Ottawa last evening as the crash was cleared up.

Webber was taken initially to OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Ottawa before being flown to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He was last listed in critical but stable condition.

Another scam going around involving electric bills

If you think a scammer is calling you, call the police department. Many in Mendota are apparently taking this advice to heart.

Mendota Police say they’ve received several reports from local businesses about a scammer saying they’re calling on behalf of ComEd about a past due electric bill. The scammer asks the potential victim to send cash through a Money Gram immediately to avoid power getting shut off.

It’s a scam because ComEd will never ask you to send cash using a third party.

Despite public outcry, wind farm approved by the Bureau County Board

The landscape of Bureau County will soon include over a hundred more wind turbines.

According to the NewsTribune, the Bureau County Board Tuesday night approved 118 new wind towers as part of the Walnut Ridge wind farm which includes land near Ohio, Bureau, Walnut and Manlius. The board did say no to nine wind towers because they were said to affect airplane landing strips.

The county board approved the wind farm despite nearly a dozen people from the public speaking out against the towers and despite the Bureau County Zoning Board of Appeals recommending they say no to the entire wind farm.

The board did put in a dozen conditions with their approval including a site restoration plan and a way to tax the turbines if current state law expires.

Indicted McLean County Board Chairman resigns

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) – The chairman of the McLean County Board has resigned his seat a week after being hit with federal fraud charges. Republican Matt Sorensen submitted his resignation Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors last week indicted Sorensen for defrauding State Farm and a consulting firm of more than $400,000 in unearned consulting fees. Sorensen and a co-defendant are accused of billing clients for consulting work that never was done.

The 49-year-old Sorensen was first elected chairman in September 2007 and was re-elected in 2008, 2010 and 2012.

Senators return to Springfield with no budget agreement in sight

It’s time to get back to work in Springfield for at least some state lawmakers.

The state Senate is expected to start a two-day session Wednesday afternoon. The House won’t be back in Springfield until two weeks from now.

State Senator Sue Rezin says there’s some unknowns going into this week. Rezin says for the budget impasse to end, Democrats need to be willing to support business reforms instead of just wanting to ask taxpayers for more money. She’s not sure if Democratic leaders will bring up an income tax increase this week.

The state is going on seven months without an approved budget. Fewer votes are needed now to pass a budget than when lawmakers were last in Springfield.