The Community Food Basket of Ottawa is asking for the public’s assistance. In a recent post on their FaceBook page, they said that they have noticed that a large number of their shopping carts have gone missing over the past two years. In 2022, the agency had thirty carts, but now they only have seven left. This has affected their ability to help their clients. The Community Food Basket is requesting anyone who may have the missing carts or information about their location to kindly return them to the west entrance of their building at 725 Fulton Street. They have assured that no questions will be asked. Meantime, the Community Food Basket of Ottawa will host another River Bend Food Bank Mobile Food Pantry this Saturday, August 10th, on the west side of the OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus on East Norris Drive in Ottawa. Registration is from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Distribution begins at 10 a.m. The event is open to anyone in need of food assistance and will operate as a drive-thru. Volunteers will be on hand to load food directly into the trunks of vehicles, so attendees are asked not to arrive more than 30 minutes before distribution. For more information, visit riverbendfoodbank.org
—————————————————————–
On Saturday, a pickup truck carrying three individuals, including a child, crashed into a tree on the east side of Spring Valley. The accident occurred just after 10 a.m. while the truck was traveling westbound on Route 6. Bystanders acted swiftly to rescue the occupants before the arrival of fire personnel. Subsequently, all individuals were transported to a local hospital for treatment. The Spring Valley police will be documenting the incident, with assistance from the Peru Fire Department at the scene.
—————————————————————–
The Streator Police Department is alerting local businesses about recent incidents involving fraudulent checks. After a burglary at a safe storage facility, the department has issued guidelines to help companies protect themselves. These guidelines include setting check acceptance policies, verifying customer identification, thoroughly examining checks, maintaining customer files, and avoiding acceptance of high-value checks. Deputy Chief Robert Wood confirmed that the department is actively addressing multiple cases involving stolen and altered checks. He also encouraged individuals to follow the Streator Police Department on Facebook for updates.
—————————————————————–
Fernando Martinez is currently on trial in LaSalle County Court for a home invasion and a separate burglary charge, which are contributing to a noticeable increase in the county’s felony statistics. The implementation of the SAFE-T Act has led to a complex and potentially misleading reflection of the actual state of criminal activity in the county. Although there appears to be a rise in felony cases, data from local police departments suggests that this reported increase may not be consistent across all county areas. Furthermore, the drug task force has observed a significant increase in drug-related arrests, which some attribute to the potential impact of the SAFE-T Act on the behavior of drug dealers.
—————————————————————–
A group of Illinois Republicans are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris’ in her presidential bid. Harris’ campaign launched “Republicans for Harris.” Those who have endorsed the VP include former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and Congressmen Adam Kinzinger and Joe Walsh. The group will be sent on the road to persuade Republicans to vote for Harris. The Democratic National Committee says Vice President Kamala Harris has enough delegates to be the official party nominee for the White House. Party Chair Jaime Harrison said it will become official when a virtual roll call vote ends today. The vote comes after President Biden dropped out of the race and before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago later this month.
—————————————————————–
The city of Chicago is providing Democratic National Convention protesters a speaker’s platform. A platform with sound amplification equipment will be located near the United Center during the DNC from August 19th through the 22nd. The Chicago Department of Transportation will begin accepting applications for time slots to use the speaking platform tomorrow. The window to apply will close August 10th.
——————————————————————
Illinois is attempting to remove language barriers for Illinoisans seeking to access state agency resources. Governor Pritzker signed the Language Equity and Access Act into law. The bill requires the Governor’s Office of New Americans to craft, implement, and oversee statewide language access requirements. Nearly 24 percent of Illinois households speak a language other than English in the home.
—————————————————————–
The Illinois DCFS is reminding parents and caregivers to supervise children who are in and around water. Twenty Illinois children died last year due to accidental drowning. The CDC says drowning is the leading cause of death for
children ages one to four. There’s an increase in water-related deaths, especially with children, during the summer when pools are open and lakes, ponds and other bodies of water are more accessible.
—————————————————————–
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is in a race against the clock to spend close to two billion dollars in pandemic relief funds. The administration reported yesterday that it has spent 83 percent of federal stimulus money. Johnson faces a December 31 deadline to use all of the money to avoid losing federal funds. The cash comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, also known as ARPA.
—————————————————————–
The Peoria County Coroner’s Office is revealing a cause of death for an eight-year-old Missouri girl who died following a medical emergency on a plane that was forced to land in Peoria in June. The coroner says Sydney Weston died from complications from chronic primary adrenalitis in the setting of multiple infections, including strep and enterovirus. Weston was traveling with her family on vacation in June when she suddenly became ill and then unresponsive on a Chicago-bound flight. The plane was then diverted to Peoria.
—————————————————————–
Authorities are investigating after a man attacked several people at a McDonald’s in Chicago with a hatchet-like object. Police say the attacker walked into the fast food restaurant yesterday morning in the 78-hundred block of South Western Avenue and demanded free food. When the cashier refused, the suspect began to hit the victims with a hatchet-like object. An 18-year-old and two women were sent to the hospital. No one is in custody.
—————————————————————–
Federal prosecutors say they have uncovered a plot to kill two witnesses in an upcoming murder trial in Chicago. Christopher Yates is accused of providing a gun and a 250-dollar downpayment to a hitman last month. The murder-for-hire plot was foiled after an undercover informant offered information to the feds. This led to secret recordings and meetings. The witnesses targeted for the hit are scheduled to testify against Brandon Wilson. He is accused of a September attack that killed a woman and injured a man on the city’s West Side in September 2022.
—————————————————————–
A DuPage County man faces prison time for selling ghost guns and a machine gun conversion device. The Illinois Attorney General’s office prosecuted Jeffrey Levander, who was found guilty of several gun charges last week. Levander was charged in December 2023 after an investigation revealed he agreed to sell two unserialized firearms, a machine gun conversion device, and a spring-loaded knife to an undercover investigator on three separate occasions in suburban Cook and DuPage counties.
—————————————————————–
Melvin L. Smith was arrested at the Sands Motel Saturday. Ottawa Police charged Smith with domestic battery and resisting arrest.
——————————————————————
A 41-year-old Ottawa man has charges of retail theft, possession of methamphetamine, and violation of conditions of pre-trial release. Timothy J. Stanford was arrested by Ottawa Police Sunday in the 4100 block of Columbus Street.
——————————————————————
A Coal City man was stopped by Ottawa Police Saturday at LaSalle and Jackson Streets. 25-year-old Dylan N. Stark has two charges of driving under the influence, disobeying a stop sign, and criminal trespass to a vehicle.