Early Voting Open in LaSalle County Over the Weekend

If you want to avoid the long lines for voting Tuesday, why not vote early?

Saturday you can vote early from 8 to 3 and 9 to 4 Sunday.  La Salle County Clerk JoAnn Carretto says more than 6,000 people had already voted early in LaSalle County as of Friday.

She says that’s already surpassed the previous early vote high by about 1,000 votes.

Gas Prices Up from a Week Ago, Still Cheaper than 2015

If you’re headed into the city for the big Cubs celebration, you can fill up your tank for less than two dollars a gallon.

At least one station in Peru has unleaded for $1.97.  Stations in Ottawa, La Salle, Princeton, Mendota and Streator all range from $2.05 to $2.09 a gallon.

The cheapest gas in the state is in Momence at $1.81 while the most expensive place to fill up is in Chicago at $3.39 a gallon.  The statewide average for unleaded is $2.21, up two cents from a week ago but 13 cents cheaper than a year ago.

Runaway Car Causes Crash Crossing Street

An Ottawa man went outside to find his car wasn’t where he’d left it, and it has caused some damage.

According to police, 62-year old Carl Whitney said he had parked his vehicle in a driveway. Then, for unknown reasons, the vehicle allegedly rolled down the driveway and across the road on its own before hitting a parked vehicle in the parking lot of the Dayton Tap shortly before 2:00 Thursday.

The vehicle that was hit is owned by 56-year old Chirs Jones from Ottawa. Nobody was injured and no tickets were given out.

Man Arrested after September Break-in Due in Court Friday

A Streator man who was arrested for robbery and thought to be involved in a number of other incidents will be in court Friday.

Juan Garcia Nunez was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury for one count of residential burglary. He’s set to be arraigned today, where he will enter a plea on the count of residential burglary against him.

The 30-year old is accused of breaking into a Streator home in September. According to States’ Attorney Brian Towne, actions allegedly done by Garcia Nunez during the break in may tie him to a number of other incidents under investigation.

Police claimed it is possible Garcia Nunez could’ve been involved in more than 20 other incidents in the area. Garcia Nunez is in custody at the LaSalle County Jail where he’d need to come up with $100,000 cash to be released.

Fog May Make Travel Tough According to National Weather Service

You’ll want to give yourself a little extra time on the roads this morning because of the fog.

The National Weather Service has put out a Dense Fog Advisory for LaSalle County. They say the fog will reduce visibility and that could impact your drive if you take Interstate 39 or I-80.

The Fog Advisory is expected to be lifted by noon.

Elwood Woman Arrested After Allegedly Hitting Family Member with Car

An order to stay away from a Ransom home wasn’t enough to keep an Elwood woman at bay.

LaSalle County Deputies received a call about a domestic disturbance around 4:30 yesterday afternoon. When they got to the home, they would arrest 35-year old Jennifer McElroy for domestic batter, criminal trespassing to a residence, and leaving the scene of an accident with vehicle damage.

According to deputies, McElroy allegedly struck a family member with a vehicle and drove into another. They say she then stuck around at the home after being told she wasn’t allowed.

She was taken to the LaSalle County Jail where her bond will be set. Fortunately the person who was hit didn’t require medical attention.

Sales Tax Revenue Down for Fourth Straight Month for LaSalle County

For the fourth straight month the amount LaSalle County received in sales tax revenue fell when compared to the same month last year.

According to the latest report, the county took in a little more than $228,000 in July. That was a decrease of more than 11% from the $257,000 it received in July of 2015.

The amount was the least the county had taken in for the month of July since 2013. So far this year, the county has taken in more than $60,000 less than it did for the first seven months of 2015.

California Man Arrested in Record Meth Bust Appeared in Court Thursday

If you get caught driving around a county record-amount of drugs, you can bet the penalty will be pretty stiff.

That’s the situation 33-year old Edgar Coronel from California is faced with. He pled “not guilty” Thursday in court to one count of unlawful possession of meth with the intent to deliver.

Police allegedly pulled Coronel over for a traffic stop at which time they found drugs in his car. The 13 pounds of “finished crystal meth” was reportedly the most ever found in LaSalle County.

If convicted he faces 15 to 60 years in prison. He’s currently at the LaSalle County Jail where he’d need to come up with $200,000 to get out.

Man Allegedly Busted with Hundreds of Pounds of Pot Pleads Not Guilty

It’s not often you hear about someone driving around hundreds of pounds of pot, but a California man is facing that allegation in LaSalle County.

The attorney for Lehel Garami pled “not guilty” in court yesterday to the one count of possession of cannabis with intent to deliver. According to police, the 57-year old Garami was busted with more than 500 pounds of marijuana in his vehicle.

Because of the amount, he faces between 6 and 30 years in prison if convicted. He remains in the LaSalle County Jail needing $100,000 to be released from custody.