Governor to speak Monday in Ottawa

The Governor’s office doesn’t give the City of Ottawa a lot of time to prepare for a visit. Ottawa Mayor Bob Eschbach told “Classic Hits 103-9 WLPO” news the Governor’s staff called Friday asking apparently for City Hall on Monday afternoon.

Eschbach said the governor should arrive by 1:45pm, but as for his topic the Mayor isn’t sure.  He believes Republican Rauner is here to rally support for education funding.  It’s not known if other state officials are traveling with the Governor and will speak also.

Convicted murderer Peterson loses hefty pension

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (AP) – The Bolingbrook police pension board has revoked the pension of Drew Peterson.

The board voted unanimously to end the former Bolingbrook officer’s $79,000-a-year pension. The decision came a day after Peterson was convicted in a murder-for-hire case in southern Illinois.

Peterson’s attorneys say his oldest son uses the pension money to support Peterson’s two children with his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who disappeared in 2007.

Alleged La Salle truck thief working towards a deal

A La Salle man who was accused of stealing a pickup truck that was left running at a gas station appeared in court Friday.

Prosecutors told Judge H. Chris Ryan that “negotiations are ongoing” in the case of 31-year old Ronald Catalanello of La Salle. Catalanello is charged with the felony of unlawful possession of a stolen motor vehicle. He’s accused of hopping into another man’s pickup truck back in March after the owner left it unlocked and running at a gas pump outside Becks in La Salle.

That’s not the only incident he’s dealing with however. Catalanello has also been charged with Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance. He’s accused of messing around with heroin back in December.

Heroin treatment soon to be available in Ottawa

There were triple the amount of deaths from heroin overdose in LaSalle County last year compared to 2014, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. With this sharp increase, it seems fitting that more Opioid Treatment Programs would pop up in the Illinois Valley.

The latest place to offer those treatment programs is Great Heights Family Medicine in Ottawa. They recently received a license allowing them to give methadone to help those fighting heroin and prescription opioid addiction. Before this, the practice says patients on methadone treatment would have to travel as far as Bloomington or Peoria up to 6 days a week to receive treatment.

The program expects to begin accepting patients for the methadone treatment starting June 16th.

No comment is Mautino response to being asked to step down

It doesn’t look like Auditor General Frank Mautino has any intentions of giving up his job.

In response to State Senator Sue Rezin calling for the Spring Valley Democrat to step aside while an investigation into his campaign spending is ongoing, a Mautino spokesman simply says “we’re offering no comment on the senator’s statement.” Mautino has hired Ryan Keith of RK PR Solutions to handle all media questions since he’s come under fire for how he spent money when closing out his campaign fund as a state representative.

The Illinois State Board of Elections has given the longtime Illinois Valley politician until July 1st to provide more details about money spent at a bank and gas station in Spring Valley. Mautino’s spokesman told Classic Hits 103.9 WLPO that “the process continues for the Board of Elections ahead of July 1.”

Peru Police crack down on seat belt law

Is buckling up automatic for you? Despite aggressive enforcement by police, some drivers or passengers still aren’t wearing a seat belt.

The Peru Police Department recently wrapped up a two-week long seat belt enforcement effort called “Click It or Ticket.” During that time, they handed out 11 seat belt tickets along with making four DUI arrests and writing a couple speeding tickets.

Peru Deputy Chief Bob Pyszka says “these numbers are more than statistics, they offer hard evidence that some people still choose to practice unsafe driving behaviors.”