Local Headlines

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law requiring owners of gas storage fields to notify local officials if a natural gas leak threatens drinking water supplies. The Republican signed the law Thursday designed to protect the Mahomet Aquifer in east-central Illinois.

STREATOR – Area thefts were reported in Streator on Wednesday night. The Streator Police were called to the 300 block of Grant Street for a report of a stolen pool filter. The complainant claims it happened sometime overnight and the suspect is unknown. Also Pipes and a water heater were

OGLESBY – Illinois Valley Community College is planning for an increase in their budget for 2019. Following a Thursday meeting, the IVCC Board announced that they had approved a $34.4 million budget for 2019, which will be an 8 percent increase over the previous year’s budget.

CHERRY – North Central Illinois Artworks will put up their 3rd installation of public art in Cherry. NCI ART President, Chris Coughlin teamed up with Chicago and Mendota based artist, Ray Paseka to help build a mural in appreciation to the community. According to Coughlin the goal of the

JOLIET – A woman is dead after a tire blew out on a minivan early Thursday morning. According to the Illinois State Police 54-year-old Linda Reynolds of Morris was traveling south on I-55 near Joliet when she lost control and collided with the center median. An SUV traveling southbound

TINLEY PARK – The Mendota Police Department on Wednesday earned an award for Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety at an awards banquet in Tinley Park.   The 25th Annual Traffic Safety Challenge Awards Banquet honored Mendota Officers for their work over the previous year.  The event, put on by

SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has used a company specializing in DNA analysis to assist in generating leads in a murder case two years ago that killed and mother and son in Sycamore. On August 15th, 2016 85-year-old Patricia A. Wilson and her son 64-year-old Robert J.

  MORRIS – The Morris Narcotics Squad executed a search warrant on a residents home and arrested one man on a Class X Felony Tuesday.  In a release from the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, they say 25-year-old Kenneth Benson Jr. was taken into custody after a lengthy investigation.

DIXON – Joshua C. Wittenauer of Dixon was promoted to the rank of first sergeant during a promotion ceremony at the National Guard Armory in Dixon August 10. Wittenauer enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in July 1995 as a stinger missile gunner in Battery C, 1st Battalion, 202nd

JOLIET – An early Sunday morning incident on I-80 in Will County has left one person dead. Just after midnight the Illinois State Police began investigating the death of a person who was reportedly walking in the lanes of traffic near Joliet. A van was traveling west on the interstate when