Police Looking for Information on a String of Burglaries in DeKalb

Your help is needed in finding the source of recent burglaries in DeKalb and LaSalle Counties.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office is looking to find the person or people behind 3 business burglaries that seem to be connected, according to police. The first two took place on Valentine’s Day. One happened south of Cortland, the other was near Hinckley.

On Tuesday, an unknown amount of cash was taken from a Sandwich business. In all of the thefts, a glass door or window was broken to get in and cash was stolen. The LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office says they also had a report of a different burglary Tuesday night, that one was just south of Sandwich.

Anyone with information is being asked to call Crime Stoppers at 895-3272. You could get a reward up to $1,000.

Discussion about depression and substance abuse coming to St. Bede

Do you know what signs to look for if your child is suffering from depression or substance abuse?

A discussion about these tough topics called “Hidden in Plain Sight” will happen next Wednesday from 7 to 8:30 in the Abbey Church at St. Bede. Anyone who wants to attend is welcome.

Members of CPASA, or Community Partners Against Substance Abuse want to talk about local trends and signs of depression or drug use with not only concerned parents but also kids.

For more information about CPASA and what they do, click Hidden In Plain Sight

Tax votes will show up on next month’s election ballots

Besides casting a ballot for president, voters in La Salle, Bureau and Putnam Counties have tax questions to answer.

In La Salle County, the struggling Streator Elementary School District is asking for a property tax increase. The ballot question asks to raise the district’s tax rate from 1.3 to 2 percent. If the tax increase passes, the district could see over a million dollars in new revenue.

In Bureau County, the Dalzell Fire Protection District is seeking a tax increase to help pay for equipment and other costs. In Bureau and Putnam County, voters will say yes or no to the Tiskilwa Fire Protection District asking to levy a service tax to pay for an ambulance service.

Potential serial rapist arrested in downtown La Salle

A really bad man has been taken off the streets in La Salle.

Back on Monday, La Salle Police heard accusations that a man had sexually assaulted several boys in the La Salle area. After some police work, they arrested 50-year-old Eric Travis on Tuesday in his La Salle apartment on First Street.

Travis faces felony charges of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sex abuse. Investigators say they are looking into the possibility that there may be “numerous more victims” of Travis in the last 30 years. For now officers say they identified two victims of Travis being boys between 12 to 14 years old.

He’s now sitting in the La Salle County Jail.

Alleged identity theft in La Salle involved thousands of dollars

Seemingly every week there’s a new scam trying to take advantage of the elderly. A La Salle woman is accused of stealing thousands from a 78-year-old man.

Twenty-five-year-old Ranelle Mond was arrested by deputies in rural Dimmick for felony identity theft. She’s accused of stealing an elderly man’s credit cards and stealing thousands of dollars from him.

While she was arrested in Dimmick, the identify theft allegedly occurred in La Salle. Mond is in the county jail needing $2,500 to bond out.

She’s due back in court next Friday.