Category Archives: WCMY News
Ottawa Festival of Lights cancelled
Ottawa's Festival of Lights is cancelled-another COVID-19 casualty. The city's Special Events Committee decided the best decision was not to have it because of the social distancing rules. The event d...
Oct 30, 2020 WCMY file photo of the holiday lights in Ottawa's Washington park in 2017
Barge traffic to resume with Illinois River locks open again
Barges will move freely again soon on the Illinois River. The last locks and dams closed for improvements are open again. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the Peoria and LaGrange locks reopened d...
Oct 30, 2020
Downtown Ottawa can expect wifi and holiday music on loudspeakers in place by Thanksgiving
The Ottawa City Council announced this week a speaker system that will allow for music to be played throughout downtown will be in place before Thanksgiving. Mayor Dan Aussem says the goal is to have ...
Oct 30, 2020
I-80 overnight closures coming for bridge work
A bridge being constructed at E. 12th Rd. and Interstate 80 five miles west of Ottawa will cause overnight closures on Interstate 80. The Illinois Department of Transportation will detour traffic to I...
Oct 30, 2020
Coronavirus claims 67th and 68th lives in LaSalle County
Two elderly women were added to the LaSalle County coronavirus fatality count Thursday. The county's health department says the women were in their 80s and 90s. They bring the total to 68. As of Thurs...
Oct 29, 2020
Mail-in voting window closing; voting in-person is still an option
With the window for mail-in voting closing, in-person voting is still underway. LaSalle County Clerk Lori Bongartz says her office at the Etna Rd. courthouse in Ottawa will take you from 8am to 7pm Th...
Oct 29, 2020
Peru opens Plank Rd.-Peoria St. roundabout--partially
Peru Mayor Scott Harl expects traffic to flow well at the new roundabout at Plank Rd. and Peoria St. The Plank Rd. connections were opened yesterday after a ribbon cutting. Harl says Peoria St. won't ...
Oct 29, 2020
William "BJ" Elias of Streator, 52, unable to appear in court Thursday due to poor health
A former Streator funeral director, 52 year old William BJ Elias, could not be in court Thursday due to health issues. Elias allegedly pocketed money that clients gave him to pre-pay their funerals. H...
Oct 29, 2020
City of Ottawa took another step toward stopping heavy rains from releasing a mixture of rainwater and some sewage directly into the Illinois and Fox Rivers
The Ottawa City Council authorized a grant agreement Wednesday morning between the City of Ottawa and the Illinois Department of Commerce to help fund a project to separate storm sewer flows. Ottawa M...
Oct 28, 2020
LaSalle County coronavirus case count up by 85; fatal case count climbs to 66
UPDATED LaSalle County has 751 active COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon. That's with 85 newly confirmed cases added to the count-a record for the county for one day. LaSalle County Health Depar...
Oct 28, 2020