Police and Courts

Illinois is observing its first-ever Distracted Driving Awareness Week The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and Triple-A created the initiative.

More than 300 law enforcement agencies in the state will focus on violations for distracted driving, including the Town of Normal.

Bloomington Police said a woman whose home was broken into shot the intruder.

The incident happened about 1:32 a.m. Friday. Officers say a home alarm went off from the garage in the 700 block of South Clayton.

A federal court has taken just three days to reject the appeal of imprisoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich seeking a third sentencing.

The unanimous ruling Friday by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago dismissed arguments that the Democrat's trial-court judge should have reduced his 14-year prison term for corruption because of his good behavior behind bars. 

Family and attorneys representing Cleve Heidelberg call yesterday’s court ruling “historic,” for a man who’s spent the last 47 years in prison.

A Peoria County Judge granted Heidelberg a new trial in the 1970 murder of Peoria County Sheriff’s Sergeant Raymond Espinoza.

The McLean County Coroner is continuing its investigation into a pedestrian death on Veterans Parkway.

Coroner Kathy Davis identified the man as 50-year-old Jeffery A. Darr. A preliminary autopsy indicates Darr died from injuries after being struck by a sport utility vehicle on Veterans Parkway, south of Shepard Road in Normal.

Darr was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:19 PM Friday. The Normal Police Department is also investigating the crash. Toxicology results are pending. 

An Illinois appeals court has ruled in favor of WGLT, the Pantagraph Newspaper, and the Illinois Press Association in a dispute with the defense counsel in the Kirk Zimmerman murder case.

Zimmerman's Attorneys had sought to keep secret hearings on some pretrial motions. They argued disclosing those would make it more difficult to find impartial jurors.

Caterpillar Inc. is hiring a former U.S. attorney general to help it sort out matters that sparked a federal raid on its headquarters in central Illinois.

William P. Barr will serve as outside counsel to the large equipment manufacturer.

He'll help Caterpillar review and address issues relating to Caterpillar SARL, a Swiss parts subsidiary, and tax-saving practices.    

Issues with Caterpillar SARL have dogged the company for eight years, sparking a Senate investigation, shareholder lawsuits, and proposed taxes and penalties totaling $2 billion.

The New York Times is raising the question of Tax and Accounting Fraud by Peoria-based Caterpillar, Incorporated, not just negligence in taxes owed. Citing a confidential report to federal investigators, the Times alleges Caterpillar did not comply with either U.S. tax law or U.S. financial reporting rules.

Leslie Robinson of the Accounting Department at Dartmouth is the author of the report. The story quoted Robinson saying she believed the company's non compliance was deliberate and primarily with the intention of maintaining a higher share price.

A Bloomington man has been found not guilty by reason of insanity in connection with the stabbing deaths of his parents last July.

25 year-old Brian Petersen was accused of murdering his parents, Nancy and Bruce, at their rural Bloomington home. McLean County Judge Robert Freitag determined during a 30-minute bench trial Brian Petersen didn't understand the criminal aspect of his actions when he attacked his parents.

Armed robberies and shootings were up in Bloomington last year, but most major crime categories were down.

Police Chief Brendan Heffner said that's according to the annual crime report.

McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage said he is not seeing a big change in immigration enforcement yet from the Trump Administration.

President Trump has made border security and deportation of undocumented immigrants a centerpiece of his policy.

Next week a downstate judge is scheduled to hear arguments whether Illinois state workers should be paid if there’s still no budget. The result could shut down state government.

Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan says if a judge rules employees cannot get paid, the threat of a shutdown could force a budget agreement.

An 80-year old man has died in a crash at Veterans Parkway and Fort Jesse Road in Normal this morning.

McLean County Coroner Kathy Davis identified the victim as 80-year-old Wayne L. Miller of El Paso. Police Chief Rick Bleichner said three vehicles were involved about 9:30 a.m.

A large group of Bloomington residents are upset with the City Council's decision to unanimously approve a lease from Mid-Central Community Action for the property at 828 W. Jefferson Street to serve as a community house.

An Illinois appeals court has rejected a claim by a convicted home invader in Normal that he didn't harm anyone and shouldn't be punished.

Court records show police were chasing Chad Dorsey in March of 2013, trying to arrest him on a warrant. Dorsey broke down a door into a family's apartment.

The Appellate Prosecutor's Office has declined to file charges against Normal Town Council member Scott Preston for inaccurate travel expense reimbursement reports.

McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chambers had referred the matter to a special prosecutor because of his relationship with Preston and his former tenure on the Council.

Judges in the 11th Circuit have retained Kevin Fitzgerald as Chief Judge of the circuit that includes Bloomington-Normal.

Fitzgerald was first elected Chief in 2014 and will serve another one year term.

McLean County Prosecutors have now filed a formal charge of theft of government property against a former manager of U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

Back in July, Curtis Webb told GLT one of his goals was to be a good public steward of funds and to reduce the operating deficit at the venue.

A McLean County Judge has found a 25-year old Bloomington man mentally fit to stand trial for murder.

Brian Peterson is accused of stabbing his parents to death in their rural home.

Bloomington Police report another night of gunfire, this time near Locust and Madison Streets.

A night earlier officers found a car that had been hit by bullets in the same general area.

A central Illinois man has pleaded guilty to charges related to an incident in which he stabbed a man in the Morton Public Library in anger over child pornography charges he faced. 

20-year-old Dustin Brown entered two guilty but mentally ill plea agreements that produced a sentence range of 16 to 94 years in prison. 

Attorneys for former Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock are asking a federal judge to postpone his arraignment on charges alleging he schemed to profit personally from his government job.

In a request to U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, Schock's lawyers say a Nov. 21 arraignment will interfere with a planned international business trip by the Peoria Republican.

Former Congressman Aaron Schock is being indicted.

That's according to the Peoria resident's attorney.