Quick reminder: The 200 block of West Main Street between La Salle and Clinton Streets in Ottawa will be closed to all traffic and on-street parking beginning at 10 a.m. today to around 2 pm.
———————————————————————
The City of Peoria Mayor Ali and former United States Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced that the City of Peoria was selected for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Corridor Identification Program. In the Peoria to Chicago passenger rail project announcement that will impact Ottawa, Peoria will receive $500,000 to fund Step 1 of the Service Development Plan, in the Corridor Identification Program. The Service Development Plan will determine engineering and cost requirements.
in a statement from Ottawa Mayor Robert Hasty, he was quoted as saying.
“This is a big step forward in bringing passenger rail service back to the Ottawa area,” Mayor Hasty stated. “This passenger rail project, along with our planned Riverfront Development and our Downtown Atmosphere will allow Ottawa to continue growing into the Midwest destination we’ve become.”
———————————————————————
La Salle County’s quest for its morgue faces a setback due to a nationwide shortage of forensic pathologists. La Salle County Coroner Rich Ploch informed county board members Thursday night that plans for a morgue are on hold, revealing that a forensic pathologist, who had committed to working part-time at the county morgue while also working elsewhere, is set to retire in two years. He highlighted counties are paying over $300,000 to secure forensic pathologists. Ploch acknowledged La Salle County’s financial constraints, as a feasibility study indicated a $1.7 million cost for adding a morgue and autopsy suite to the Oglesby office. Currently, the absence of a local morgue necessitates transporting bodies to Bloomington or DeKalb for autopsies.
———————————————————————
The Marseilles City Council adopted on a 5-nothing vote the 2023-24 fiscal year tax levy ordinance at Wednesday night’s meeting. For Marseilles property owners the tax rate dropped to just over 2 dollars and 7 cents per 100 dollars of assessed valuation. Per the ordinance, Marseilles is asking for a 4-point-99 percent increase in the levy which is just under the 5-percent threshold requiring a truth-in-taxation public hearing.
———————————————————————
All but two of the parking lots at IVCC’s Oglesby campus will close next Wednesday, December 13th, a week before the campus closes on December 20th for the winter break. During the week that the campus is open, only Lot 7 east of the Community Technology Center as well as the ADA-compliant parking lot in front of the building will be open. The lot closures are necessary for the completion of a lighting and security upgrade project. Both the IVCC Main Campus and Ottawa Center will be closed for winter break from December 20th through New Year’s Day.
———————————————————————
Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs is offering a reminder that unclaimed property and money can still be claimed at the “i-Cash” website. An estimated one in four adults in Illinois who search the treasurer’s database find missing money, and the average claim is $1,000. Unclaimed property can also include unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts, and unused rebate cards. The website is Illinois-treasurer-dot-gov-slash i-cash
———————————————————————
Former NFL player Sergio Brown is pleading not guilty to first-degree murder related to the death of his mother in Illinois. Brown is accused of killing 73-year-old Myrtle Brown and hiding her body near their home in the Chicago suburb of Maywood in September. Sergio and his mother were both reported missing on September 16th and her body was found less than 50 yards from the back door of their house. The former NFL player had flown to Mexico on September 15th and was taken into custody by Mexican police in early October. A status hearing is set for January 24th.
———————————————————————
Ronnie Denson, an eighteen-year-old from Peru and recently Chicago, has been sentenced to four years of probation and county jail time, which was negated by time served, after pleading guilty to felony burglary. In March, Denson was arrested for forcibly entering a driver’s education car at L-P High School, attempting unsuccessfully to hotwire and steal the vehicle. Notably, he was also wanted on a Cook County warrant for armed robbery at the time of his arrest.
———————————————————————
Rachael Carter, 37, pleaded guilty in an Ottawa courtroom Thursday, admitting to aiding a fugitive and being a felon in possession of a weapon; she awaits sentencing by Judge Cynthia Raccuglia on February 22nd. Carter, held in La Salle County Jail since May, provided ammunition and a ride to Malcolm Whitfield, 30, accused of shooting three people, including the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Shaquita Kelly in Streator. Police tracked down Carter and Whitfield in Memphis, Tennessee, and, in exchange for her guilty plea, a weapon possession charge was dropped.
———————————————————————
Thursday Mark Thrower, a 41-year-old from Louisiana, faced the dismissal of charges in La Salle County as he is already serving a 28-year prison sentence in McLean County, having pleaded guilty to 10 felonies in October. The La Salle County charges, including two counts of traveling to meet a child and one count of indecent solicitation of a child, were dropped during a status hearing in Ottawa. Thrower, initially jailed in February 2022 for allegedly picking up a 13-year-old girl he met on a dating app, is set to remain in prison for over two decades, rendering further legal proceedings in La Salle County unnecessary.
———————————————————————
WEATHER:
Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 59. South southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
———————————————————————
Friday Night
Rain. Low around 43. South wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. The chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch possible.
———————————————————————
OBITUARIES:
Nancy Louise Cochran, age 77 of Ottawa, passed away Friday, December 1st, at Aperion Care in Marseilles. Private services will be held with burial in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Illinois. Gladfelter-Roetker Funeral Home is assisting the family.
———————————————————————
Joanne “Jo” Olson, 91, of Ottawa, passed away on Sunday, December 3rd, at OSF St. Anthony in Rockford. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today the 8th, at Mueller Funeral Home and Crematory. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 9 to 11 a.m. today, at the funeral home.
———————————————————————
Ralph S. Johnson, 84, of Marseilles, passed into the arms of Jesus on Friday, December 1st, at Aperion Care Marseilles, surrounded by his loving family. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, December 9th, at Marseilles First Baptist Church. A celebration of life will follow at noon at the church. Seals-Campbell Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.
———————————————————————
Curtis J. Rasmussen, 90, of Standard, passed away on November 29th. Funeral services will be on Sunday, December 10th, at 2 p.m. at Gladfelter-Roetker Funeral Home. Visitation will be an hour before service.
———————————————————————
Stanley L. Peca, Jr., 77, of Ottawa, passed away on Friday, December 1st, at his home. Private Graveside services will be held at Clarendon Hills Cemetery in Darien, where full Military Honors will be accorded. A Celebration of Life will be held in the Spring of 2024, with the date to be announced. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa.
———————————————————————
Patricia “Pat” Munari, age 93, of Marseilles, passed away Sunday, December 3rd, at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, December 12th, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marseilles. The interment will be in Oakwood Memorial Park, Ottawa. Visitation will be from 10 AM to the time of service at the church. Arrangements are with the Gladfelter-Roetker Funeral Home.
———————————————————————
Ann Katherine (Stohr) Reynolds, 91, of Ottawa went to be with the Lord on Tuesday evening, December 5th. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, December 11th, at the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa. Burial will follow at Oakwood Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, December 10th at the funeral home.
———————————————————————
Richard “Rick” Lyle Strobel, 69, of Ottawa, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. Visitation will be on Saturday, December 9th, from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Ottawa Funeral Home. Cremation rites have been entrusted to Ottawa Funeral Home.
———————————————————————
LOCAL SPORTS:
Shepherd Boys Basketball
7th grade defeated Mendota Northbrook 30-21. Leading the way for Shepherd: Keandre Miller with 11 points, Luca Fernandez with 6 points, Joseph Donahue with 5 points, and Mason Mucci with 4 points. 7th grade is now 9-4.
———————————————————————
8th grade defeated Mendota Northbrook 38-35 in overtime. Leading the way for Shepherd: Nevan Holloway with 20 points and 5 steals, Amari Molina with 10 points, Quinn Windy with 4 points and 4 assists, Nico Kimes had 2 points and Jett Johnson had 2 points. 8th grade is now 8-5.
———————————————————————
Serena 36, Bourbonnais 31 in OT: From Wednesday night the Serena 8th grade Girls’ Basketball team defeated Bourbonnais for the Sectional Championship at Seneca Grade School. This is the first year for Serena to be in IESA. Serena advances now and will take on a tough Paris-Crestwood team on the 9th at 11:30.
———————————————————————
Live broadcast:
Join us tonight for an Ottawa Pirates Boys and Girls double-header from Sycamore. Tip-off is at 5:30 pm the Boys are playing first tonight, and the girls will play at 7 pm. Bryer Lehr with the call for both games tonight.
———————————————————————
Boys basketball
Bureau Valley and St. Bede won their crossover games in the Colmone Classic Thursday night to improve their seeding for Saturday’s finals. The Bruins held on for a 65-62 win over Stillman Valley for their first win of the tournament. With the win, the Bruins will meet the Storm in Saturday’s ninth-place game at 1:30 p.m.
Thursday’s nightcap saw host Hall fall 75-31 to Pontiac. The Red Devils will play in Saturday’s seventh-place game against the loser of Friday’s opener between Princeton and Marquette.
Friday’s semifinals will match up LaSalle-Peru vs. Fieldcrest at 6:30 p.m. followed by Rock Falls vs. Mendota at 8 p.m.
———————————————————————
Earlville 63, Amboy 30: At Amboy on Wednesday, the Red Raiders moved to 7-0
———————————————————————
Girls basketball
Midland 42, Marquette 21: The Marquette girl’s basketball team shot just 12.2% from the field and fell to Midland on Thursday night.
———————————————————————
Earlville 35, Hiawatha 26: At Kirkland, the visiting Red Raiders won in Little Ten play
———————————————————————
Seneca 55, Roanoke-Benson 39: At Seneca, the host Fighting Irish (6-5 overall, 2-3 Tri-County Conference)
———————————————————————
Peotone 47, Streator 16: At Peotone, the visiting Bulldogs (0-12 overall, 0-4 Illinois Central Eight) couldn’t get on track.
———————————————————————
Girls bowling
Herscher 2,192, Streator 1,859, Peotone 1,780: At Peotone, the Bowlin’ Bulldogs finished second in an unofficial Illinois Central Eight Conference triangular.
———————————————————————
Boys bowling
Geneseo 3,349, Ottawa 2,925: At Geneseo, the visiting Pirates were defeated by their former conference foes despite Aaron Wiltfong’s 515 series (193 high game) and Robbie Burke’s 511 (187).
———————————————————————
Boys wrestling
Rochelle 57, Ottawa 17; Ottawa 46, La Salle-Peru 32: At Rochelle, the Pirates suffered a loss but earned a win in the Interstate 8 Conference triangular.
PRO & COLLEGE SPORTS:
>>Bears Host Lions In NFC North Showdown On Sunday
(Chicago, IL) — A pair of NFC North rivals will clash at Soldier Field on Sunday. The Bears kick off against the Lions in Chicago. The Bears are last in the division at 4-and-8.
———————————————————————
>>Former Bears K Gould Retires
(Lake Forest, IL) — The top scorer in Bears history is calling it quits. Kicker Robbie Gould announced his retirement yesterday.
———————————————————————
>>Blackhawks Blank Ducks
(Chicago, IL) — Petr Mrazek stood on his head all game long to lead the Blackhawks to a 1-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks at United Center. Chicago snapped a four-game losing streak. Chicago takes on St. Louis tomorrow night.
———————————————————————
>>Bulls Visit Spurs
(San Antonio, TX) — The Bulls go for their fourth win in a row when they visit the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center tonight.
———————————————————————
>>Illinois Takes On Tennessee
(Knoxville, TN) — The number-18 Illinois Fighting Illini will try to knock off a ranked opponent for a second time this week when they visit number-13 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena tomorrow.
———————————————————————
>>Northwestern Welcomes Detroit Mercy
(Evanston, IL) — The Northwestern Wildcats return to action for the first time in over a week when they host Detroit Mercy at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday.
———————————————————————
>>Notre Dame Travels To Marquette
(Milwaukee, WI) — The Notre Dame Fighting Irish go for a massive upset when they visit number-seven Marquette at Fiserv Forum tomorrow.
———————————————————————
>>College Basketball Round Up
In college basketball action tonight, UIC visits Jacksonville State. Tomorrow, DePaul hosts Louisville, Loyola welcomes Goshen, Illinois State is at home against Northern Kentucky, and Northern Illinois travels to Monmouth.