Police and Courts

Amid a campaign season in which every constitutional office and seat in the Illinois General Assembly will be up for vote, rising crime and a landmark criminal justice reform passed in 2021 have become dominant topics for Republicans trying to loosen Democrats’ hold on state government.

The police department in Normal relied on officer overtime and mutual aid to staff the Leah Marlene parade and concert in Uptown.

The state turned over evidence to a Woodford County judge on Friday related to an alleged propensity of a 12-year-old boy to start fires, including an April 2019 blaze that killed five people.

Lawyers for Bart McNeil asked a judge on Thursday to approve a full evidentiary hearing on McNeil’s innocence claim in the death of his 3-year-old daughter.

Judges from the Eleventh Judicial Circuit ditched their robes for hairnets and gloves Wednesday night as they spent the night volunteering at the Midwest Food Bank in Normal.

Accusations of child neglect have been proven by the state against a Bloomington mother accused of concealing the death of her infant daughter, a judge ruled on Tuesday in a hearing on the custody of the woman’s two surviving children.

Bloomington Police say the incident happened around 8 p.m. Sunday. Lifesaving measures were attempted, but the 19-year-old was declared dead at Carle BroMenn Medical Center.

Bart McNeil is entitled to a thorough review of newly-discovered evidence in the death of his 3-year-old daughter, McNeil’s lawyers argued in a new court filing related to his petition for a new trial on murder charges.

McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage says anti-police sentiment is a big reason why it's harder to recruit and retain more officers.

Aaron Parlier began grooming his piano students for sexual activity when they were as young as 8, a prosecutor said during Parlier’s bench trial on predatory sexual assault and child pornography charges. Parlier was convicted Tuesday on charges that he sexually assaulted a student.