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Senate votes to ban ephedra products
[MARCH
21, 2003]
SPRINGFIELD -- Sen. Larry
Bomke, R-Springfield, talked with Kevin Riggins of Lincoln and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago, following the Senate’s vote to ban the sale
of products containing ephedra or ephedrine alkaloids. Riggins has
lobbied at the local, state and national level against the dangers
of ephedra since his 16-year-old son died last year. Sean Riggins'
death was linked to ephedra products.
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Senate Bill 1418 would limit the access
of any ephedra product not approved by the secretary of Health and
Human Services as safe for its intended use or approved for
over-the-counter sales by the FDA.
Obama and
Bomke sponsored Senate Bill 1418 in the Senate. The legislation now
awaits consideration in the House of Representatives.
[News
release] |
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Proposed law reduces appeals
by dangerous sex
offenders
[MARCH
17, 2003]
SPRINGFIELD -- During a
hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 13, Sangamon
County State’s Attorney John Schmidt testified with Sen. Larry Bomke,
R-Springfield, in favor of a proposed law to save time and money for
the courts.
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Senate Bill 1577 would restrict the
number of times a person committed for sexually dangerous crimes
could appeal for recovery to once every six months. According to
Schmidt, prosecutors, public defenders and the courts spend needless
time and taxpayers’ dollars hearing such cases when the convicted
offenders immediately file for another hearing after losing a
recovery petition, only to lose and file again. The six-month limit
balances the rights of the offenders with the demands on the court
system.
The
legislation was approved and will now be heard by the full Senate.
[News
release] |
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Six arrested for dealing
crack cocaine
[MARCH
14, 2003]
Logan County State's
Attorney Tim Huyett announced the arrests of six individuals
involved in dealing crack cocaine in Logan County over the past
several months. The arrests were made Thursday evening, and two
search warrants were executed at the same time. Warrants are active
for five other individuals who were not immediately located. The 11
are all charged with delivering crack cocaine in varying amounts to
confidential informants or undercover police officers.
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The charges are either Class 1 or 2
felonies, depending upon the weight of the narcotics delivered, and
carry potential prison sentences of up to 15 years and seven years
respectively. Some charged are eligible for extended terms due to
prior drug offenses. All are also eligible for fines of up to
$250,000 for a Class 1 felony and $200,000 for Class 2 under these
circumstances.
The investigation culminating in the
arrests is the result of a joint investigation conducted by the
Central Illinois Enforcement Group in conjunction with the Illinois
State Police, the Logan County Sheriff's Department and the Lincoln
City Police Department.
"This venture required the utmost of
cooperation between all agencies in order to pull it off," said
Huyett. "We wanted to do the arrests as nearly simultaneously as we
could so the individuals arrested would not have an opportunity to
warn their co-conspirators." Accordingly agents of all affected
departments were brought in to assist.
The six who were arrested are:
--Patrick J. Palmer, 19, of Lincoln,
charged with a Class 1 delivery occurring Jan. 28.
--Dejaun G. Mitchell, 26, of Chicago,
charged with a Class 1 delivery occurring Feb. 11.
--Larry G. McCray, 39, of Lincoln,
charged with a Class 1 delivery occurring Nov. 12, 2002.
--Walter L. Richmond aka Maurice L.
Gardner, 22, of Chicago, charged with a Class 1 delivery occurring
Jan. 9.
--Lester R. Stackhouse, 22, of Chicago,
charged with a Class 1 delivery occurring Jan. 28.
--Cynthia L. Parish, 42, of Lincoln,
charged with a Class 1 delivery occurring Jan. 30.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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The individuals not located were not
named by Huyett, and their warrants will remain under seal until
such time as they are apprehended.
"One need only look to this case and
the past few weeks to realize how desperate we are to keep good law
enforcement and to keep it funded in our community," Huyett said.
"Many of the individuals involved have
ties to major gangs in Chicago. Apparently we provide a good market
for their product. Law enforcement activities such as this will
hopefully make the cost of doing business so high in our community
that they will go elsewhere to peddle their wares. It is not so
simple anymore as to just calculate the cost of law enforcement
based on crimes committed by local residents."
"I want to personally commend all the
officers involved," said Logan County Sheriff Steve Nichols, whose
department played a large role in the investigation and roundup.
"For obvious reasons they cannot be publicly named, but they know
who they are, and I thank them on behalf of all of us."
Huyett would not comment at this time
on the results of the executions of the search warrants or the
location of the residences involved. He indicated that those details
would surface over the next few days, and he didn't want to
compromise the ongoing portions of the investigation.
Huyett did
indicate that the known facts suggest that the accused are involved
with each other in the dealing of the cocaine, but he declined to
elaborate further on the details of the case.
[Press
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Mount
Pulaski man charged
with murder in baby's death
[MARCH
13, 2003]
Logan County State's
Attorney Timothy J. Huyett has filed first-degree murder charges
against Louis Russo II, 18, of Mount Pulaski. The charges allege
that he struck and choked his 3-month-old daughter, Jule Russo,
knowing that such acts would create a strong probability of death or
great bodily harm, thereby causing the death of Jule Russo.
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The child was brought to the Abraham
Lincoln Memorial Hospital on Monday, March 3, by the defendant at
approximately noon. Doctors at the scene indicated that the baby had
been dead for at least an hour before arrival. X-rays and CT scans
showed the presence of pre-existing brain damage as well as rib
fractures. An autopsy conducted the following day by Dr. Viollette
Hnilica showed that Jule suffered much abuse and died as a result of
blunt force trauma to the head and chest.
The Logan County sheriff's office was
contacted by hospital personnel, and an inquiry into the
circumstance of Jule's death was begun. After a weeklong
investigation Louis Russo was arrested without incident by state
police on Saturday afternoon in Clinton. The Illinois State Police
led the investigative team at the request of Logan County Sheriff
Steve Nichols. "The state police have the manpower and the equipment
to more efficiently spearhead a multicounty complex investigation
such as this, and I want to thank them for so quickly responding to
the citizens of Logan County " Nichols stated.
"I want to thank and commend all law
enforcement which were involved in bringing this incident to a rapid
conclusion. The Logan County Sheriff's Department, the Illinois
State Police, the Mount Pulaski Police Department and the law
enforcement agencies of Clinton, Ill., where the arrest was made,
were all invaluable members of the team," said Huyett. "This is an
extreme tragedy, and I will do everything I can to seek some justice
for Jule," Huyett stated.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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This is the second infant murder in the
last three years in Logan County. Edward Lascola was convicted by a
Logan County jury in October of 2002 for the murder of 11-month-old
Daneysia Williams. Daneysia's mother, Kimberly Williams, awaits
trial on an accountability theory in the same case.
"I only hope that people will pay
attention to the signs of abuse and begin protecting our children,"
Huyett said. "It's up to all of us to begin to end the cycle of
violence in which we appear to find ourselves."
Russo appeared in court Tuesday. He
received a court-appointed lawyer, Patrick Timoney. Russo faces six
charges of first-degree murder. If found guilty, he could receive
life imprisonment with no chance of parole.
Russo's bond
was set at $2 million. He continues to be held at Logan County Jail.
He returns to court April 8.
[Press
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Police
Reports
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Two
arrested in connection with area burglaries
[MARCH
18, 2003]
The Logan County Sheriff's
Department is investigating the activities of two young Peoria men.
The 17- and 18-year-olds were arrested following a traffic incident
Saturday morning. They had apparently committed burglaries in Logan,
Sangamon and Menard counties. The burglaries included a house in
Menard County, two cars in Sangamon County, a house and business in
Hartsburg, and a house in Elkhart.
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The alleged thieves are being held in
the Logan County Jail on various counts of burglary, aggravated
assault and traffic violations.
The state of Illinois investigated the
traffic accident. Sgt. Doug McCartney, a detective with the Logan
County Sheriff's Department, is coordinating the investigation of
the burglaries.
[News
release] |
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Link
to Illinois sex offender information provided by the Illinois State
Police:
http://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/frames.htm
Searches available by city,
county, ZIP code and name.
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Community
Policing Activities
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Some that still don't get it, got it
[MARCH
1, 2003]
From Feb. 9 through 22,
the Lincoln Police Department, with a grant provided by the Illinois
Department of Transportation, conducted a seat belt enforcement
detail within the city of Lincoln. Nine officers participated in the
enforcement detail and stopped 119 vehicles during this detail. The
results are as follows:
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As we
approach spring and a busy traveling season, the Lincoln Police
Department continues to encourage the motoring public to use seat
belts and child restraint devices while traveling.
[Officer Tim Butterfield,
Lincoln Police Department] |
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Court
News
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Name,
age, address; date, charge; sentence
(No postings for week ending 3-13-03)
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Marriage
Licenses
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(Week ending 3-13-03)
-
Sedrick L.
Cunningham, Lincoln
Liashawn R. Johnson, Decatur
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Seth A.
Turner, Lincoln
Sarah J. Anderson, Lincoln
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Mike L.
Johnson, Lincoln
Deborah K. Siltman, Lincoln
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Douglas N.
Gellner, Lincoln
Amber D. Senters, Lincoln
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Tommy J.
Poe, Lincoln
Susan E. Deason, Lincoln
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Robert J.
Twyman, Atlanta
Elizabeth T. Lonsdale, Atlanta
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Dissolutions |
(Week ending 3-13-03)
- Helmuth G. Kiliman, Lincoln
Deanna J. Kiliman, Lincoln
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Most
Wanted
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[Click here] |
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Anyone with information concerning crimes
in the Lincoln and Logan County area is urged to call Crime Stoppers at
732-3000 or send a message to
crime@ccaonline.com. Your information will be kept confidential and
you may remain anonymous. If your information leads to the arrest of
people involved, Crime Stoppers will pay you a cash reward up to $1,000.
Crime Stoppers has an answering machine to
answer your calls. This is to protect you if you wish to remain
anonymous. (Your calls cannot be traced with the machine.) You need to
let us know how you can be contacted about the incident, or you must
watch to see if the subject has been arrested. This is so we can make a
payout. |
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