Peru Man Faces Minimum 6 Years in Prison after Drug Plea

A Peru man who was busted for selling drugs knows he’ll be going to prison, but he doesn’t yet know for how long.

Daniel Buster appeared in court Thursday to plead guilty to the charge of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance against him. Because of his criminal history, which includes 3 felony burglary convictions in LaSalle County, Buster faces decades behind bars.

For the charge he faces between 6 and 30 years in prison, which could jump to between 6 and 60 if he’s eligible for an extended term. In addition, he was allegedly selling a substance containing fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times stronger than morphine. Because of that, he will have an extra 3 years added to his sentence.

While Buster did plead guilty, a sentence was not part of the agreement. He’s due back in court for a sentencing hearing at a later date.

Church Sustains Minor Damage, No Fire Following Lightning Strike

Fortunately for one church, the saying is “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” instead of lightning.

Despite being hit by lightning during Wednesday morning’s storms, the Ottawa Fire Department says St. Columba Church didn’t catch fire. The department used thermal imaging, and checked the roof lines for heat and smoke damage but didn’t find any.

The church didn’t get away unscathed, though. A large piece of concrete and several bricks and tiles were blown off the roof by the strike.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident. Firefighters estimated about $12,000 worth of damage was done to the church.

Streator Armed Robbery Trial Pushed Back to December

A Rockford man won’t be standing trial in a Streator armed robbery case on Monday as expected.

Prosecutors asked that the trial be moved back because they were still waiting on DNA evidence to be processed and did not expect it to be completed in time for 51-year old William Webb’s trial. Webb is accused of shooting at a Streator Police officer while trying to escape after robbing the south side Circle K back in August.

At the time of his arrest, Webb was on parole for a murder conviction in Winnebago County. He’s been charged with attempted first-degree murder, armed robbery, and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

Judge H. Chris Ryan agreed to move the trial back to December 5^th. Webb is still in custody where he would need to come up with $200,000 to be released.

Democratic representative does his best to try and distance himself from the establishment

For the first time since 1974, someone without the last name “Mautino” will be elected to the 76th District Stare Representative seat.

One candidate answered questions in front of an unlikely audience, in the hopes that it’ll help lead him to a victory in 12 days. Democrat Andy Skoog took questions from moderator Brad Spelich of Classic Hits 103.9 WLPO and members of the LaSalle County Tea Party for more than an hour Wednesday night.

Skoog covered policy issues ranging from his stance in favor of term limits to denouncing Springfield Democrats on issues that he says would hurt his district. He tried to distance himself from the establishment with statements like “I’m not Madigan’s yes-man, I’m not Mautino, I’m just Andy.”

Skoog is running for his first full term as State Representative against Republican challenger Jerry Long. The forum was meant initially to be a debate, but Long cited a sudden family obligation as his reason for not being in attendance.

Fire department accepting coats for those in need

There is a homeless shelter coat drive going on in Dalzell.

If you have any extra or unused coats at home you can drop them off on Thursday nights from 6 until 8 at the Dalzell Fire Department. All the coats will be donated to Illinois Valley PADS.

Earlier this week folks at the shelter in Peru put out a request for adult over the county medications like cold, sinus and decongestants. They could also use bottled water.

Infamous “Starved Rock murderer” up for parole again

The state’s longest serving inmate is trying yet again to get out on parole.

Seventy-seven-year-old Chester Weger of Oglesby was denied parole last December for the 20th time. On Wednesday he got his turn once again to plead his case to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. Last year the board voted 9 to 4 in favor of keeping him behind bars for killing a suburban Chicago woman at Starved Rock State Park in 1960. Two other women were also killed but Weger was only charged in one death. The crime has become known as the “Starved Rock Murders”.

La Salle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne testified last week and again argued how it would send the wrong message to the community about guilt or innocence if they let Weger go free. The parole board is expected to decide on Weger’s fate within the next two months.

Wind, rain and lightning wreak havoc in the Illinois Valley

Along with the rain, some thunderstorms blew through the Illinois Valley, and an Ottawa church won’t be forgetting those any time soon.

St. Columba Church in Ottawa was reportedly hit by lightning Wednesday morning. According to the Ottawa Fire Department, the steeple was hit by lightning, and the sidewalk below was roped off because of blocks from the tower falling to the ground. Thankfully no one was hurt. The lightning strike apparently affected the water lines at nearby Marquette Grade School and students were sent home early due to water quality concerns.

The windy and rainy night also wreaked havoc in La Salle as thousands of Ameren customers were without power late Wednesday night. A transformer blew at around 10 Wednesday night leaving some in the dark until about 5 Thursday morning.