The National Weather Service is confirming that eight tornadoes hit the Chicago area Wednesday. An EF-1 tornado touched down in Gary, Indiana. Gary also experienced two EF-0 tornadoes later in the day. An EF-0 tornado hit Highland, Indiana, as well as rural southeastern Joliet, the east side of Frankfort, and in the Lynwood area of far southeastern Cook County. Finally, an EF-1 tornado hit the Steger area.
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A Streator man charged with strangling a woman is still without legal representation and not ready to proceed with his detention hearing. Joshua R. Casey, 38, appeared Thursday in La Salle County Circuit Court, where prosecutors are seeking to have him held in jail while awaiting trial for the alleged murder of Jessica Balma. Casey requested an additional week to secure private counsel, with his next hearing set for March 27. He faces first-degree murder and concealment of homicidal death charges after Balma, 37, was found dead from manual strangulation earlier this month. Meanwhile, a separate Streator murder trial was postponed as Malcolm Whitfield, 31, charged in a 2023 triple shooting that left Shaquita Kelly dead, requested a continuance, and agreed to waive his right to a speedy trial. Whitfield remains in custody, facing up to 145 years if convicted.
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A Spring Valley man, 22-year-old Cole R. Wozniak, was sentenced to four years of conditional discharge on Thursday after pleading guilty to financial institution fraud. Prosecutors dismissed an additional forgery charge in exchange for his plea. Wozniak admitted to attempting to defraud La Salle State Bank on November 5th by trying to open an account with a $17,562 check drawn from a local credit union account. Although the Class 2 felony carries a potential prison sentence of three to seven years, Wozniak was granted probation.
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Ottawa Mayor Robert Hasty delivered an optimistic state-of-the-city address at Thursday’s luncheon, highlighting the city’s fiscal health and a promising future. He reported advancements in public safety, noting the police department’s extensive training in high-risk traffic stops, rapid deployment, and emergency medical response. Hasty outlined a busy year of community events, including Music in the Park, the Starved Rock Country Marathon, and downtown Christmas celebrations. He announced that the Amazon Distribution Center is nearing completion and shared updates on the Ottawa Center for the Arts, which recently purchased the Open Table Church and is close to acquiring Christ Episcopal Church as an additional arts venue. The mayor also celebrated the success of the riverfront YMCA, where membership has nearly doubled since its opening last year, and revealed that the design for a multipurpose riverside amphitheater—reflecting the city’s two rivers and nearby state parks—is nearly finished. The luncheon was sponsored by the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce and held at the American Legion Hall on La Salle Street.
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Belinda Foreman, 61, was released Monday morning under a pretrial release agreement and is scheduled to return to court in Ottawa on April 17. She is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after Streator police responded to reports of gunfire near Park and Sumner Streets last Wednesday night. Investigators say an argument with neighbors escalated, leading to multiple shots being fired. Foreman allegedly admitted to firing her 9mm semi-automatic handgun to “send a message” and made racially charged remarks about her neighbors. She has no prior criminal history in La Salle County.
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The office of LaSalle County Sheriff Adam Diss announced it made one DUI arrest and issued no seat belt citations during the St. Patrick’s Day enforcement period. Other citations included two for Expired Registration, four for Speeding, five for No Insurance, one ticket for Driving While License Revoked, one for Illegal Transportation of Alcohol by a driver, one for Disobeying a Stop Sign, one citation for Disregarding a Traffic Control Light, one for Failure to Signal When Required, and one citation for Improper Lane Usage. The LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office joined forces with state and local law enforcement and highway safety partners in the St. Patrick’s Day enforcement campaign. The safety effort was funded by federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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A Bakersfield, California man faces life in prison after allegedly being caught with massive amounts of heroin and cocaine in Grundy County. Tirath Singh, 28, was charged with multiple felonies, including Manufacturing and Delivering over 900 grams of both heroin and cocaine—super class X felonies—as well as Unlawful Possession of the same amounts. Authorities say Singh was found with more than 360 pounds of cocaine and nearly 90 pounds of heroin, valued at over $11 million, during a safety check of his semi-truck parked for over 16 hours at Romines Truck Stop on Route 47 in Morris early on March 6th. The drugs were discovered in the cab and trailer after Singh consented to a search. He was taken to Grundy County Jail, denied pretrial release, and faces 15 to 60 years in prison if convicted.
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Democrat Amy “Murri” Briel is spearheading House Bill 871 in the Illinois House, which aims to amend the Children and Family Services Act by disqualifying individuals convicted of human or sex trafficking from adopting children or becoming licensed foster care parents. If passed, the measure would establish a first-of-its-kind law in Illinois. The proposal is currently under review at the committee level in Springfield.
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Governor Pritzker is blasting President Trump’s Executive Order to dismantle the Department of Education. Pritzker released a statement saying eliminating the Department of Education will likely have harsh and immediate impacts on Illinois’ students, especially students and their families in rural communities who rely on federal funding to keep their schools open. The governor says Trump’s order will lead to potential cuts to federal education funding, special education funding, Pell Grants, and Student Loan Programs.
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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is taking legal action to preserve Illinois’ clean energy grants. Raoul joined three attorneys general on Wednesday in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration to keep federal grant dollars flowing into Illinois for clean-energy projects. The suit claims since February, the EPA has been illegally trying to prevent a 20-billion-dollar appropriation Congress made to Illinois and other state green banks. The coalition claims the EPA has terminated the grants due to the Trump administration’s opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act.
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A Sangamon County judge will hear arguments next month on whether to relocate the trial of the former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy charged in the killing of Sonya Massey last year. Sean Grayson’s lawyers filed a motion last month saying they don’t believe he can get a fair trial in Sangamon County due to multiple factors, including extensive media coverage of the case. Grayson is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the 36-year-old Black woman last July inside her home in an unincorporated neighborhood of Springfield. The judge will hear the motion for a change of venue on April 8th.
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A man is dead after being hit by a vehicle on I-55 in McLean County. Authorities say the man was killed after a pick-up hit him yesterday near Shirley. The incident is under investigation. No arrests have been made.
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The University of Illinois Springfield is expanding a program that allows the university to offer in-state tuition to select out-of-state residents in counties next to Illinois. The University of Illinois Board of Trustees today approved the expansion yesterday, authorizing UIS to market in-state tuition to six additional counties in Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. The expansion adds Lake, LaPorte, and Porter counties in Indiana, Clinton and Muscatine counties in Iowa, and Marion County in Missouri.
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There is some bad news for music fans who plan on attending Lollapalooza this summer in Chicago’s Grant Park. Four-day tickets are sold out. They were all gone in less than an hour. But one- and two-day tickets remain on sale. Concert organizers announced that Lollapalooza will open on July 31st with Tyler the Creator and Luke Combs as the headline acts. The event will end on August 3rd.
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LaSalle County Deputies investigated a single-vehicle accident in the area of Lowell Bridge on IL Rt-178 (Vermillion TWP). Justin Szewczyk (24) of Dana was the driver; no injuries were reported. The Vermillion Bridge sustained damage and the vehicle was towed from the scene.
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WEATHER:
Today
Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Breezy, with a south-southwest wind of 10 to 15 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph.
Tonight
Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low of around 29. Blustery, with a southwest wind of 15 to 20 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. The chance of precipitation is 30%.
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OBITUARIES:
Joretta Emily Ewald, 89, of Ann Arbor, MI, formerly of Ottawa and Naperville, passed away Friday evening on March 14th, at Birchwood Gardens in Ann Arbor. A Funeral Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 22nd, at the Shrine of Rest Mausoleum in Oakwood Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. in the mausoleum. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa, an interment will follow.
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Betty A. Pakenham, 97, of Earlville, passed away Monday, March 17th, at The Pavilion of Ottawa. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 24th, at St. Theresa Catholic Church: 221 W. Union St. in Earlville, with an 11:00 a.m. funeral mass following the visitation at the church, burial will follow at St. Theresa Catholic Cemetery in Earlville.
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LOCAL SPORTS:
Baseball:
Marquette @ Genoa-Kingston
Softball:
Marquette @ Riverdale
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PRO SPORTS:
The Chicago White Sox held the Los Angeles Angels to just five hits during a 2-1 Spring Training win at Camelback Ranch. Andrew Vaughn drove in both of Chicago’s runs. Martin Perez earned the win after tossing four shutout innings. The Southsiders send Sean Burke to the mound against Cincinnati today.
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Bulls legend Derrick Rose will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on White Sox Opening Day. The team announced the news with a promotional video yesterday on X. The video shows the former MVP in full White Sox uniform throwing a pitch. Chicago’s opening day is March 27th, and it is at home against the Angels.
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The Chicago Cubs return from Tokyo to take on the San Diego Padres in a Spring Training game at Sloan Field today. The Cubs lost two regular-season games against the Dodgers at the Tokyo Dome earlier this week. The Northsiders haven’t announced a starting pitcher for today’s game. The first pitch is at 3:05 PM.
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Coby White poured in a game-high 35 points as the Bulls knocked off the Kings 128-116 in Sacramento. Kevin Huerter netted 25 points against his former team, while Nikola Vucevic added 24 to go with 14 rebounds and eight assists. Chicago has won six of its last eight games and sits ninth in the Eastern Conference at 30-and-40, now a half-game ahead of Miami. The Bulls visit the Lakers tomorrow night.
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The Chicago Blackhawks got off to a slow start during a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at United Center. The Blackhawks gave up two goals in the first period and managed just 18 shots in the losing effort. Connor Bedard scored his 19th goal of the season in the second period. The Hawks are in last place in the Central Division with 49 points. They visit the Blues tomorrow.
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COLLEGIATE SPORTS:
The Illinois men’s basketball team is ready to take the court tonight for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Illini earned a six-seed in the Midwest region and will face 11-seed Xavier in Milwaukee at Fiserv Forum. The Illini have never faced Xavier in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois is 2-and-2 all-time against the Musketeers.
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In other college hoops action this weekend, Bradley takes on George Mason in the NIT tomorrow. On Sunday, Loyola has an NIT game against San Francisco, and Illinois State plays Presbyterian in the College Basketball Invitational.