Illinois, Peoria | featured news

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Hunters will get to use Illinois State Police firing ranges to test fire and sight their shotguns in anticipation of deer hunting season.Illinois State Police Director Hiram Grau said Thursday five ranges will be open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.They're located in Joliet, LaSalle, Macomb, Pawnee and Pittsfield.Grau [...]

PEORIA -- A team of thieves who break into homes in the middle of the night, tie up residents and steal their belongings and vehicles have struck for a fifth time since July. Police were called about 3:15 a.m. Friday to 2901 N. Winterberry Lane. The vehicle that was loaded with items and stolen was recovered about an hour and a half later in the immediate vicinity. The incident appears to be related to a [...]

PEORIA — An Ameren Illinois employee was hit in the face and chest with bleach after disconnecting a customer’s gas, according to police.David Pollitt, 51, of Mapleton arrived at 1108 E. Virginia Ave. about 9 a.m. Wednesday. As he was disconnecting the gas, the customer and resident, Veronica T. Warfield, 35, came out and was notified of the disconnection. Pollitt was heading to his truck when Warfield began yelling at him while approaching him [...]

PEORIA — The Victoria’s Secret at Northwoods Mall was robbed of more than $4,000 worth of lingerie Tuesday night.According to police reports, an assistant manager was opening the store Wednesday when he realized items were missing. More than 60 sensor tags had been removed from lingerie and hidden in display drawers.The manager stated the items must have been taken before closing, between 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday night. The area in which the sensors [...]

GALESBURG — A Chicago woman will serve three years in prison in a case involving the sexual abuse of a child.Angel B. Holloway, 27, said Thursday during her sentencing that she loves her daughter and feels she did all she could do to keep her from harm. She pleaded guilty to charges of endangering the life of a child and obstruction of justice in August. "I felt like I did do my job as a parent," said Holloway, whose daughter informed her of sexual [...]

VARNA — Midland School District officials were celebrating recent state test scores this week even while passing a new tax levy in circumstances that left Superintendent Rolf Sivertsen worried about future finances.The district's School Report Card showed Midland performing well on the Prairie State Achievement Exams in comparison to other comparable districts in the area as well as statewide, Sivertsen said after the School Board's monthly meeting.

PEORIA — Jurors took about two hours Thursday to find a Peoria man guilty of participating in a botched robbery two years ago that led to another man's death.It took Anthony D. Barlow Jr., 25, 901 E. Republic St., a few minutes to absorb the guilty verdicts and then voice his displeasure, hurling profanities at the jurors and then at prosecutors before he was ushered from the second-floor Peoria County courtroom and into one of the holding cells. The [...]

HAVANA — While other county boards in central Illinois seem wary of embracing a regional economic development overhaul, the Mason County Board is all in.The County Board approved its fiscal year 2014 budget Tuesday, and included in the appropriations are $19,500 for the county’s share of contributions to Focus Forward CI and the newly reorganized Central Illinois Economic Development Council. The board also unanimously approved the county’s [...]

ROSCOE, S.D. — Robert Malsam nearly went broke in the 1980s when corn was cheap. So now that prices are high and he can finally make a profit, he's not about to apologize for ripping up prairieland to plant corn. Across the Dakotas and Nebraska, more than 1 million acres of the Great Plains are giving way to corn fields as farmers transform the wild expanse that once served as the backdrop for American pioneers. This expansion of the Corn Belt is fueled [...]

He left Peoria to get away from crime.He'd been beaten and robbed here once. So the 24-year-old moved far, far away. But his grandmother got sick. He didn't have the cash to come to Peoria to visit, but his pals passed the hat and got him a plane ticket. So he returned to his old home town. On his first night back, he was careful as he walked to visit a boyhood friend on the East Bluff.As you might guess, because this story played out on the [...]