Marion and Wayne Counties have both been added to the COVID-19 warning list after their positivity rate jumped above eight percent. Clinton, Effingham, and Washington County are repeating for another week. Marion County Health Department Administrator Melissa Mallow says making the weekly warning list does not result in any new sanctions, but is a signal…… Read more »
The Marion County Health Department is reporting 18 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. Health Department Administrator Melissa Mallow says all are doing well and are on isolation. Of the new cases, nine are community spread and nine are household/close contacts to cases. There are now 134 active cases, including seven in the hospital. Two of…… Read more »
A Marion County Jury deliberated four hours before returning a guilty verdict to Lorenzo Patton of Chicago for the first-degree murder of Precious Jones at her Centralia home. Patton who was removed from the courtroom when refusing the Judge’s order to stop proclaiming his innocence during the rebuttal portion of the closing arguments showed no…… Read more »
Aerial photo of Ameren repair crews lined up to work on at least six broken power poles and downed power lines shutting down McCord Street through part of downtown Centralia. Photo by Tim Ferguson. Westbound traffic on Route 161/McCord Street through downtown Centralia was rerouted for around six hours on Thursday after a truck got…… Read more »
The man accused of the September 2018 first degree murder of Precious Jones of Centralia took the stand in his own defense Wednesday afternoon. The jury is now set to hear closing arguments Thursday morning before beginning deliberations. Defendant Lorenzo Patton told the jury he knew Jones and called her ‘his friend’ and denied any…… Read more »
The Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting two new COVID-19 deaths in South Central Illinois. The daily report for Wednesday indicates 35 additional deaths, including a male in his 90s in Clinton County and a female in her 50s in Wayne County. The death is the 20th in Clinton County and the fifth in…… Read more »
The Big Ten is going to give fall football a shot after all. Less than five weeks after postponing fall sports to spring because of the pandemic, the conference changed course. The Big Ten says its Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously to restart sports. The Big Ten plans to begin its season on…… Read more »
Lake Centralia is being closed by Centralia city officials due to high levels of a toxin produced by cyanobacteria formerly known as blue-green algae. Centralia City Manager Lowell Crow says the bacteria is caused by the dry weather during the past several weeks. Samples received on Wednesday show cyanobacteria levels at 10 parts per billion,…… Read more »
CHICAGO (AP) — A former longtime Illinois state legislator has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. Former Sen. Terry Link appeared in Chicago’s federal court Wednesday via video. The Democrat who first took office in 1997 resigned last week. He’s the latest state legislator to be charged in the federal government’s ongoing criminal…… Read more »
CHICAGO (AP) — Western Illinois University says a student suspected of shooting his roommate in their dorm room has turned himself into police. The 18-year-old student’s arrest means that the school will resume classes Wednesday. It had locked down after Tuesday night’s shooting. The shooting at Thompson Hall on the Macomb campus stemmed from what…… Read more »