BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — An attorney for a Chiddix Junior High teacher asked to delay a detention hearing until next Wednesday.

Andrew “Drew” Miller, 41, of Normal, appeared in McLean County Circuit Court on Thursday, after being indicted on 42 charges that included indecent solicitation of a child, grooming and possession of child sex abuse material.

It’s not uncommon for an attorney to ask for a delay as under the Pretrial Fairness Act, detention hearings are akin to a mini-trial. Both sides are entitled to see as much of the evidence as possible and with 42 counts, there could be a lot of material to sift through.

The new hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. on June 24. Until then, Miller remains in the McLean County Jail pending that hearing.

The charges came after a months-long investigation following the report of a person who said they had sent pictures to Miller that were allegedly sexual in nature. Pictures were also sent when the victim was a minor, and Miller held a position of trust or authority, police have said.

On Feb. 18, detectives searched Miller’s workplace, his home in Normal and his vehicle. Several electronic devices were seized and analyzed by the department’s Cyber Crimes Unit.

On Wednesday, June 17, after the indictment was returned, Miller was arrested after a traffic stop near Bunn Street and Hamilton Road in Bloomington, according to police.

If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison on some counts and up to five years in prison on others. It is not immediately clear if the sentences could be made consecutive.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.

Saluki Local Reporting Lab

For Capitol News Illinois 

Article Summary 

• Alpha-gal syndrome is a little-known allergy caused by a lone star tick bite and can cause severe allergic reactions to red meat. 
• Illinois is among the top 13 states seeing a rise in alpha-gal syndrome cases, with residents living in southern Illinois at the highest risk, according to a 2025 study.
• Research and education efforts continue, and sometimes patients have to press for an accurate diagnosis from their doctors.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories about news and events happening in and around the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.

MURPHYSBORO — Amanda Allen Hall meticulously plans every meal. She avoids restaurants. Spending time outdoors requires careful consideration — a painful reality for the former hiking enthusiast since she developed alpha-gal syndrome eight years ago. A mere step outside leaves her at risk of an anaphylactic reaction, as the threat and population of ticks increases in her own backyard. 

The little-known condition that changed the 45-year-old Murphysboro resident’s life traces back to a 2018 hike in Wears Valley, Tennessee. During the hike, she felt a sharp sting on her leg. It was a lone star tick bite that would eventually lead to her diagnosis.

“It’s a whole mess,” Hall said of the condition, which can trigger severe allergic reactions to red meat. “I’d never dreamed 20 years ago that I’d be dealing with something like this.”

As tick populations expand across the Midwest, a phenomenon scientists attribute to climate change, concerns about tick-borne illnesses are growing. That’s especially true in southern Illinois, home to the Shawnee National Forest, where outdoor recreation and work are a way of life for many. 

Illinois is among the top 13 states seeing a rise in alpha-gal syndrome cases caused by a bite from the lone star tick, with residents living in southern Illinois at the highest risk, according to a 2025 study by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

“We don’t have enough long-term data about the population of ticks, but we do know that the number of tick-borne diseases is increasing,” said Rebecca Smith, a pathobiology professor at the University of Illinois who led the Centers for Disease Control-funded study published in the September edition of the scientific journal “Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases.” 

The CDC estimates at least 450,000 Americans may be affected, with more than 110,000 suspected cases reported from 2010 to 2022. The CDC estimated at least 90 cases across every southern Illinois county, though that’s likely an undercount. (A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public Health said the agency does not have data on alpha-gal syndrome because they don’t track the number of positive cases, unlike Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.)

Smith said many doctors still overlook alpha-gal syndrome when their patients present with common allergic symptoms, and said more education and better tracking are needed to fully understand the scope of the problem. 

“We are seeing an increased reporting of alpha-gal, but we’re also having to inform the medical professionals that it exists and that there is a test for it,” Smith said. “So it might be that it’s increasing because we’re getting better at diagnosing it, and we’re getting people more aware of it, but also, we think that the ticks are moving.”

Illinois lawmakers have sought to improve data collection on alpha-gal syndrome. Last August, Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Tracking Infectious Cases Knowledgeably Act, or TICK Act, into law, expanding on earlier efforts around Lyme disease. It requires healthcare providers to report new alpha-gal syndrome diagnoses to local health departments, which then submit the data to the Illinois Department of Public Health. It also directs IDPH to launch a statewide public awareness campaign and publish annual data on the condition. 

Alpha-gal is a sugar found in most mammals, excluding humans. When the sugar enters the bloodstream through a lone star tick bite, the body’s immune system can begin treating it as a threat. As a result, people with alpha-gal syndrome may experience allergic reactions after consuming red meat and other mammal-derived products, such as dairy, medication containing gelatin products, some skin-care and household products. Even receiving heart valves from pigs or cows can trigger some people with the syndrome. Consuming chicken and fish is fine.

Reactions tend to occur between two and 10 hours after a person consumes a mammalian product, which can make it difficult to determine the cause. 

Symptoms vary widely. Some experience mild discomfort. Hives, flushing, nausea and diarrhea are common. On the extreme end, the reactions can be life-threatening, as with other common food allergies like peanuts. 

For Hall, just the smell of red meat cooking nearby can trigger an anaphylactic reaction. It has altered her life. For many years, Hall drove semi-trucks with her husband, John. Now, she tends to mostly stay close to home, fearing how her body will react on the road if she inadvertently triggers an allergic reaction.

One mother’s fight for awareness of tick-borne illnesses  

Efforts to improve education and tracking around tick-borne diseases stem from one mother’s long and frustrating fight to get answers for her sick daughter. 

In 2012, Jennifer Russell of Aledo heard the school bus drop off her daughter, Lauryn, but she never came inside. When Russell walked outside, she found her lying in the driveway. Lauryn told her that her legs just stopped working.

For the next three years, the family searched for answers. Lauryn slept 12 to 16 hours a day, frequently became ill and lost much of her short-term memory. Doctors initially suspected leukemia.

“It was a very difficult time,” Russell said. 

After three years, Lauryn developed three bullseye rashes in her armpits.

 “We were told that Lyme disease wasn’t in Illinois,” she said. “And then our dog got Lyme disease. So, that was how we finally got doctors to take it seriously.” 

Russell said it took four years for her daughter to regain her health. The experience led her to found the Illinois Lyme Association, which advocates for people living with tick-borne illnesses. Her advocacy work landed her in the office of State Rep. Dan Swanson, R-Alpha.

“There’s nothing like the passion of a mother with a sick child,” Swanson said. “We’ve passed several pieces of legislation together as quite a team.” 

On Jan. 1, 2019, the Lauryn Russell Lyme Disease Prevention and Protection Act went into effect. It also created the statewide Lyme Disease Task Force. Through the task force, the pair has developed educational materials that it has provided to IDPH, and hosted conferences to educate medical professionals on tick-borne illnesses and prevention 

Then, last year, Swanson, whose mother also has alpha-gal syndrome, expanded on those efforts, this newest law targeting alpha-gal syndrome. 

The Saluki Local Reporting Lab reached out to IDPH, which said it was in the process of developing educational materials for its website. It recently posted flyers online describing alpha-gal syndrome, how to avoid it and how to manage symptoms. Additionally IDPH has posted trail-head signage at popular hiking spots in southern Illinois warning hikers of tick exposure in collaboration with the Illinois Lyme Association.  

A little-known condition, even among doctors 

While scientists say alpha-gal syndrome is on the rise, many doctors still aren’t aware of it. 

Hall spent years searching for answers.

She said that when she first questioned her doctor in Tennessee about it, he told her he’d never heard of the condition. After moving from Tennessee to Murphysboro, she continued experiencing severe allergic reactions. Doctors struggled to identify the cause. At first she cut out gluten, thinking she was intolerant. She continued to have reactions, until she heard fellow hikers warn of threats to alpha-gal. After cutting out meat, she had less reactions and asked her doctor in Carbondale for a test to confirm her suspicion. 

She wasn’t diagnosed until 2025 — seven years after she suspected she was bitten by the culprit lone star tick. Hall said receiving her diagnosis gave her the comfort that there was a medical explanation for the many years of ongoing symptoms she’d been experiencing. 

“It was less of a ‘Now I know what to do’ moment and more of a ‘this explains what has been happening’ moment,” she said. 

Crystal Peairs, who splits her time living between St. Louis and Carbondale at her home near the Shawnee National Forest, ran into a similar problem. Years ago, Peairs, a chiropractor, had researched alpha-gal and told her doctor that she believed that is what was causing her symptoms. Shortly after eating beef, her body would swell. The next day, she’d experience a painful coughing fit after drinking her morning coffee. 

“I would cough until I started to wheeze,” she said. “And then I would wheeze until I was gasping for air. And it would take me about an hour to recover from it. I was not okay. I was exhausted. I didn’t understand what was going on.” 

She raised the possibility of alpha-gal syndrome with her doctor. 

“He was like, ‘You don’t have alpha-gal,’” she recalled. “And I said, ‘No, I think I have alpha-gal. Here’s why.’ And he goes, ‘I’ve never seen alpha-gal. You don’t have it.”

Smith, the UofI professor, said it remains underrecognized among many medical professionals in Illinois. In a recent survey by Smith, only 25% of medical professionals had heard of the condition, and just 12% knew there was a test available to diagnose it.

Crystal was formally diagnosed in 2023, through an immunoglobulin-E-antibodies blood test. The IGE blood test is the only manner in which alpha-gal is diagnosed.

Peairs and her wife, April, bought their southern Illinois home here during the pandemic, when they were seeing fewer clients at the family chiropractic clinic they run together in St. Louis. They’ve always loved the outdoors, and spend their weekends in the woods camping and hiking, though they’ve now had to take extra precautions because of alpha-gal syndrome.

Her wife, April, a social worker, received her alpha-gal syndrome diagnosis last year, after she began experiencing similar symptoms to Crystal’s. 

“I was in St. Louis, and there’s this really great calzone place, and I ordered a calzone that was basically, like, a cubano, so it had pork, it had ham, it had three types of cheese. It was basically an alpha-gal bomb,” she said. 

“It was delicious, and I ate half of it, and then I proceeded to have what I thought was a panic attack. Like, my hands were shaking, I was sweating. It was bizarre. I have a history of panic attacks, but I hadn’t had one in years, and I thought I was having a panic attack, because it felt very, very similar.”

Dr. Jason Knuffman, an allergist and immunologist with Quincy Medical Group in Downers Grove, said alpha-gal syndrome is one of the newest food allergies on the scene, first recognized only 15 years ago. It’s taking the medical community by surprise, he said. Knuffman says he sees patients with the condition from Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. 

“I’m definitely talking about it several times a day,” he said. “I think this is truly a condition where patients can educate their doctors.” 

Navigating alpha-gal ‘a loss’ for some 

Patients are often relieved to receive an accurate diagnosis, Knuffman said, though there’s not much he can do for them, beyond advising them to alter their diets. That can be a hard reality for some. 

“That’s what nobody tells you about it,” Hall said. “It will change the way you eat, unless you eat like a rabbit anyway.”

Although there is no cure for alpha-gal, many people have cited lessened symptoms with Soliman Auricular Allergy Treatment or SAAT, a form of acupuncture where a small needle is placed in the ear for three weeks. Crystal underwent SAAT, and said she has seen improvements in her symptoms, including that she can once again consume dairy. 

“It’s really nice to be able to eat a cheese pizza again,” she said.

In a 2021 study published by the National Institute of Health, 96% of 137 patients were in remission after receiving SAAT, though the treatment doesn’t work for everybody. 

Dining out can especially be a concern, though eateries are catching on — maybe quicker than doctors. A late May post in the popular Facebook group Southern Illinois Eats asked for restaurants that could accommodate people with the allergy. More than 150 comments followed. Numerous restaurant owners chimed in about alpha-gal-friendly meals they offered, as well about their conscientious cooking methods to prevent cross contamination with red meat. Several said they were increasingly hearing such requests. Friends tagged one another. 

The University of Illinois study reported 10 southern Illinois counties with particularly high clusters of lone star ticks: Union, Johnson, Hardin, Jackson, Williamson, Saline, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson and Perry. But anyone can get the condition, even if they don’t live in a wooded area, Smith said. The active season for tick diseases is also expanding. 

Southern Illinois University Zoology Professor Agustin Jiménez said lone star ticks are a growing problem in the area. In 2020, he advised a master’s student on a tick survey of 11 southern Illinois counties for her thesis project. 

Through her research, the student, Victoria Phillips, found the lone star tick to be the most abundant, consisting of 80% of the ticks she collected. Further, she found the Shawnee National Forest to be a perfect habitat for lone star ticks as they require predators such as racoons or skunks to complete their life cycle. As well, the large number of hikers and campers create a perfect feeding ground for ticks, she found.

The length of time that people are at risk of tick-born illnesses is also expanding. 

“People think spring, summer, fall — they don’t think winter,” said Smith, the UofI  researcher. “And we definitely know that people are getting tick-borne disease in the winter in Illinois. That’s a climate change thing.” 

It’s not just food that can set off a reaction. 

Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs contain gelatin, a mammal-derived ingredient that can trigger reactions in some people. And Crystal and April Peairs discovered an allergic reaction to — of all things — toilet paper, some of which contains gelatin derived from mammals. They now buy speciality toilet paper made from bamboo. 

“If you have a product that may contain trace amounts of mammal, there’s enough of the population that could die from that, that they should be able to see that on a label, but you can’t. 

You have to go down rabbit holes and Facebook posts of people reacting, going, ‘I didn’t know that’ and we learned a lot,” April said. 

Two-thirds of respondents afflicted with alpha-gal reported anxiety or depressive disorders in a 2025 University of Missouri survey. Nearly half said the condition affected daily life, and 63% reported avoiding restaurants or social events because of concerns about food contamination.

“Everything we do surrounds food. People — they care about you, they want to cook for you,” Crystal said. “But I really think it’s more like a depression, like a loss. What you love to eat, you can’t eat anymore. The restaurants that you go to, the people that you would see and visit — that for me is gone.”

Staff Reporter Kristin Borchers can be reached at kborchers@dailyegyptian.com. Staff photographer Riley Sembler can be reached at @riley_sembler@dailyegyptian.com.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Captain James Schreiber, 53, died suddenly while he was off duty at his home, according to Bloomington Fire Chief Cory Matheny.

He said Schreiber started his career with the fire department on March 10, 1997. He was promoted to engineer in 2008 and to captain in 2019.

Matheny described Schreiber as a pillar of the department and said his loss will be felt by every member of the department and the community.

“Captain James Schreiber was the very definition of what it means to serve,” Matheny said. “For over 29 years, he showed up for this department, for his crew, and for the citizens of Bloomington with integrity and heart.”

“On behalf of the entire Bloomington Fire Department, I extend my deepest condolences to James’s family and to every member of this department who is grieving alongside them. His memory will live on in everything we do.”

According to his obituary, he was a 1990 graduate of Normal Community High School and got an associate degree in fire science from Illinois Community College in 2006.

Over the course of his career, Schreiber was recognised with the Life Saving Award, the Unit Citation Award, the Chief’s Vision Award and the Advanced Education Award, Matheny said.

His funeral arrangements are being handled by Carmody Flynn Funeral Home in Bloomington. Visitations will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m on Friday, June 19.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 20.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A jury next month could decide if Peoria Heights Mayor Matt Wigginton is guilty of DUI stemming from his arrest in April in a Downtown Peoria parking deck.

During a five-minute hearing Thursday in Peoria County Circuit Court, Judge Nate Bach set a July 20 trial date for Wigginton, who was charged in April after Peoria police reported finding him slumped over the wheel of his parked Lexus SUV after the Gridiron dinner.

The charge is a misdemeanor and carries a possible fine and up to one year in the county jail which is highly unlikely. He could also lose his license for up to one year, according to state law.

His attorney Kevin Sullivan said Peoria police officers were called to the Hotel Pere Marquette at about 2:30 a.m. on a report of a man who was sleeping in his vehicle, according to police reports obtained by WMBD.

“Upon arrival, I observed the male to be slumped over the wheel of the vehicle. I know this male on sight to be Matthew Wigginton and proceeded to his driver’s side door to ensure he was okay,” one officer wrote in his report. “I also smelled the odor of an alcoholic-based beverage to be coming from his body and mouth.”

“When speaking with Wigginton, I discovered Wigginton to have slurred speech,” the officer wrote.

The keys to the SUV were found in his front right suit jacket pocket, an officer wrote. It was not clear from the report if the Lexus LX570 SUV was running or off.

Sullivan, however, has said that he believed the car was off.

A manager at the hotel told police Wigginton had attended an event within the building that night. The manager told police he “was notified of Wigginton sleeping behind the wheel of his vehicle by another employee and found Wigginton asleep at the wheel.”

Wigginton was elected mayor of the village of Peoria Heights last year. He has more than three years before he’s up for reelection. He will next appear in court on July 6 for a pretrial conference.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.

Article Summary 

• The now-cleared “Broadview Six” protesters are asking a federal judge to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate government lawyers involved in the case, which imploded in dramatic fashion last month after the judge discovered prosecutorial misconduct in transcripts from usually secret grand jury proceedings.
• Appointing special counsel to investigate how prosecutors — including U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and his supervisors in Washington, D.C. — strategized to finally get the grand jury to indict the protesters after previously refusing to do so would be a rare step, but defense attorneys argue it’s necessary to repair public trust in Chicago’s U.S. attorney’s office.
• Filings from defense attorneys also reveal the Department of Justice has agreed to the former defendants’ earlier demand that the government pay their attorneys’ fees, though they posited that a cynical reading of the agreement may reveal it “was made largely to avoid having to produce” communications that may embarrass the office.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. 

CHICAGO — Attorneys for the now-cleared “Broadview Six” protesters are asking a federal judge to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged misconduct by those in Chicago’s U.S. attorney’s office and their supervisors in Washington, D.C. — and, if warranted, prosecute them for contempt of court.

If the request is granted, it would be yet another extraordinary move in a case that has been full of remarkable twists, especially in the lead-up to its implosion just before it was set to go to trial last month, and the last few weeks of aftermath.

Last week, U.S. District Judge April Perry cleared the way for the incredibly rare public release of transcripts from inside normally secret grand jury proceedings from last fall, where it took federal prosecutors an astonishing three sessions to secure an indictment from the majority of grand jurors. In the second of the three sessions, one grand juror made clear to the lead prosecutor his feelings on having to hear the same case again:

“I heard this case like last week and I thought it was a crock of s— then and I still think it is,” the grand juror said.

In response, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sheri Mecklenburg dismissed the grand juror, telling him to “have a good evening.” The dismissal of at least one more member of the grand jury, in addition to speaking to two of them outside the grand jury room the next week when they apparently apologized to her — plus inappropriately “putting her personal credibility and trustworthiness on the line in support of the charges,” as Perry put it during a closed-door hearing in late May, amount to alleged prosecutorial misconduct in the case, the judge said

Attorneys for the former defendants are pushing for a special prosecutor in part to interrupt what they allege is the government’s “determined effort to blame a single prosecutor” for the misconduct in the case when they say it actually “runs much deeper.”

Mecklenburg, a near-20-year veteran of Chicago’s U.S. attorney’s office, left her job in February for a Department of Justice assignment staffing the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. After her alleged misconduct came to light last month, Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, announced her termination.

When she went before the grand jury in October, Mecklenburg was then the lead prosecutor in the case against the protesters who would later become known as the “Broadview Six” for their demonstration outside a federal immigration facility in Chicago’s near-west suburb of Broadview. 

But in their 27-page motion field late Tuesday night, defense attorneys again alleged the tainted efforts to secure an indictment from the grand jury went “well beyond the mistake of any single Assistant United States Attorney.” They suggested the efforts were directed by leadership inside the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office, including U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros himself, “and likely to the Department of Justice in Washington D.C.”

“To not appoint a special prosecutor here would enable the government’s strategy to lay all that has happened on a single scapegoat, a convenient outcome for those who are eager to turn the page,” defense lawyers wrote.

‘A cover-up … worse than the crime’

The filing appealed to what Perry stressed multiple times on May 21, the day the case imploded after she’d read the grand jury transcripts. 

The judge said she was “incredibly shocked” by the mismatch between a redacted version of those transcripts provided to her by prosecutors a month prior and the full transcripts that included Mecklenburg’s apparent misconduct, and said it she found it to be the “most problematic.” Perry rebuked prosecutors for hiding the misconduct and told them the trust she normally extended to them “has been broken.”

Defense attorneys pointed to both the redactions made before filing the grand jury transcripts to Perry in April, plus their silence on multiple occasions in open court when the judge suggested to defense counsel that the redacted transcripts were only missing a dozen or two lines, which she understood to be the result of “IT issues playing the video” evidence during grand jury proceedings. 

“In reality, the transcripts had more than 215 lines redacted,” the defense filing said. “The government knew the extent and content of the missing information in the transcripts yet did not correct this Court’s stated misunderstanding in an obvious effort to avoid drawing attention to the misconduct that the redactions and removed pages were obviously meant to hide from this Court.”

Defense attorneys wrote that the government also knew “the likely result of” disclosure of the grand jury transcripts, including “dismissal of the charges and possible investigation of misconduct before the grand jury.”

“But instead of accepting that consequence, they dug the hole deeper, engaging in a cover-up that is worse than the crime,” they wrote.

The filing also points to Boutros’ “continuing and unqualified support for” the prosecutors who handled the case aside from Mecklenburg, citing his statements to Perry on May 21, when he took the extraordinary step to appear in Perry’s courtroom to drop the remaining charges against defendants. 

The U.S. attorney told the judge it was his “very sincere belief … that no prosecutor acted intentionally in misleading you” — a sentiment he echoed later in an office-wide email that described the prosecutors as “courageous,” and “having fought for the rule of law,” which was  obtained by the Chicago Tribune. 

“Had Mr. Boutros truly just learned of the redactions made by his underlings to cover up the grave prosecutorial misconduct revealed by the transcripts, one would think he would be outraged — or at least inquisitive,” the filing said, suggesting the U.S. attorney should have instead referred them to DOJ’s internal Office of Professional Responsibility for an investigation. 

“His unqualified support without any such referral to an investigation begs the question of the extent of Mr. Boutros’s knowledge of, or involvement in, the underlying misconduct and/or subsequent cover up — to include vindictive or political motives behind that conduct originating in Washington D.C,” the attorneys wrote.

‘Chastened’ grand jury

Lawyers for the former defendants also pointed to Boutros’ recent disclosure of a short speech to the grand jury the morning of the third time and final time it heard the case, on Oct. 23, 2025. 

In that approximately four-minute monologue, given at the peak of the Trump administration’s Chicago-focused “Operation Midway Blitz” mass deportation campaign, the U.S. attorney acknowledged, “these are trying times, these are emotional times.”

“If there’s anyone here who is struggling with a certain type of cases, such as the immigration cases or other cases where they do not believe that they can set aside their personal — their personal emotions, that they cannot listen and deliberate honestly and objectively, I would ask that you raise your hand and identify yourself, because we have a different procedure for that,” Boutros said.

Apparently, no one raised their hand. But defense attorneys alleged the U.S. attorney’s “personal appearance and pointed comments clearly directed at this case” had chastened the grand jury. And even though they’d already heard the case twice, grand jurors “finally acquiesced and returned an indictment that day.”

The filing also pointed to Mecklenburg’s acknowledgment to the grand jury later that day regarding having improperly spoken to two grand jurors outside of the grand jury room, relaying that “she had accepted apologies from the grand jurors whom she had improperly expelled from the room the week prior, rather than the apologies going from her to them.”

“This underscores the fact that Mr. Boutros’s statement to the grand jurors earlier that day was understood as a reprimand that they were acting improperly by not returning the indictment sought in this case,” defense lawyers wrote. 

Fallout spreads to D.C.

Another defense filing late Tuesday revealed that Department of Justice attorneys have agreed, at least in an email to the former defendants’ lawyers, to pay all attorneys’ fees demanded in a motion earlier this month.

But while it was “welcome” news for the now-cleared protesters, lawyers suggested that to a “cynical observer,” it might look like “the government’s agreement to pay Defendants’ legal fees was made largely to avoid having to produce the requested discovery (which appears to have struck a nerve) and a full accounting of its conduct.”

The suggestion pointed back to defense’s push for an independent special prosecutor from outside the Department of Justice.

“Obviously, no one can credibly investigate themselves,” defense lawyers wrote. 

Separately on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to both the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Illinois Supreme Court’s Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, which can suspend law licenses or disbar lawyers altogether.

In his letter, Raskin demanded both entities immediately open investigations into Boutros and his office.

“It is imperative that your offices investigate the blatant abuses of the grand jury process that Mr. Boutros has perpetrated,” Raskin wrote. “Mr. Boutros’s misconduct has done incalculable damage to public confidence in his office, in the Department of Justice (DOJ), and in the rule of law … Investigations into those violations are critical first steps to begin rebuilding the public confidence that Mr. Boutros has smashed up and destroyed.”

In response Wednesday, Boutros issued a statement calling the letter “incomplete, ill-informed, and severely distorted,” though he voiced support for both entities if they “look into the Broadview Six prosecution.”

“When they do so, we are confident that upon careful, unbiased consideration, neither entity will find misconduct by the United States Attorney because there was none,” he said.

Boutros is also facing calls to resign from Illinois congressional Democrats including from Durbin and Illinois’ junior U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, along with U.S. Reps. Mike Quigley, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and Jan Schakowsky.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A Chiddix Junior High teacher has been arrested Wednesday after he was indicted for alleged child exploitation.

A 42-count bill of indictment was returned by a McLean County grand jury Wednesday that included charges of indecent solicitation of a child, grooming and possession of child sex abuse material against Andrew “Drew” Miller, 40, of Normal, said Bryce Janssen, a Bloomington Police Department spokesman.

The charges came after a months-long investigation following the report of a person who said they had sent pictures to Miller that were allegedly sexual in nature. Janssen said the pictures were also sent when the victim was a minor, and Miller held a position of trust or authority.

On Feb. 18, detectives searched Miller’s workplace, his home in Normal and his vehicle. Several electronic devices were seized and analyzed by the department’s Cyber Crimes Unit.

Janssen said after a review of a large amount of digital evidence, investigators identified more victims and gathered evidence that ultimately led to charges.

On Wednesday, June 17, after the indictment was returned, Miller was arrested after a traffic stop near Bunn Street and Hamilton Road in Bloomington.

He was taken to the McLean County Detention Center. A pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for June 18.

Paul Deters with the Lexington School District also said that on Feb. 27, Miller had been fired from his position as a volunteer coach with the Lexington-Ridgeview cheer program.

After his arrest, McLean County Unit School District 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle released a statement to families where she said Miller has been on administrative leave since Feb. 18, while a police investigation had been ongoing.

“This news is deeply unsettling, and we share the concern that many in our school community are feeling regarding this type of alleged behavior,” Weikle said. “The safety and well-being of our students and families are our highest priorities, and behavior that compromises that will not be tolerated in our district.”

The statement also said that for parents wanting to talk to children about the situation, Unit 5 recommends reviewing the parent resources available through Erin’s Law, which offers guidance on personal safety and how to talk with children about these topics.

Additionally, Stepping Stones through the YWCA McLean County provides 24-hour support for survivors of sexual assault and abuse and their families. Trained advocates are available at (309) 556-7000.

Anyone with additional information related to this case or who believes they may have had similar interactions with Miller should contact Detective Weston Gresham at (309) 434-2570 or wgresham@cityblm.org.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — In the past week, Country Financial received 1,700 claims, with 70% of those claims in Illinois and the vast majority reporting property losses.

That’s according to Jesse Kohlbecker, the vice president of claims and client services. He said they’ve had a busy month due to the storms.

“About 40% of those claims have already been estimated at this time. So, we’re working very, very hard to stay ahead of the losses to make sure our clients are taken care of quickly,” he said.

With severe weather hitting Wednesday, and definitely in the near future, Kohlbecker shared some strategies for reducing storm damage.

He said, if possible, keep a car sheltered in a garage, secure patio furniture, keep gutters clear and most importantly, have an emergency plan.

“We can fix cars and we can fix homes, but we want to make sure that our clients are safe,” he said.

Patio furniture can go flying during high winds, hitting vehicles and windows, causing significant damage, Kohlbecker said.

There are also ways to reduce more damage after a home has been hit, he said. If the roof is leaking, if safe, Kohlbecker recommends putting a tarp on top. He also said if there’s water in the basement, begin drying it up with fans and dehumidifiers.

“If our clients are uncomfortable doing so, they can always hire a third party to help them with those activities,” he said.

When severe weather hits, Country Financial sends in its Catastrophe response team alongside adjusters from other states. With more boots on the ground, they can begin reporting damage, streamlining the claims process to reduce delays.

When filing a claim, insurance companies have websites, phone apps and accept phone calls for claims. It’s important to get as many images and videos as possible to report damage.

Kohlbecker said it’s best to plan for the storm before it even hits.

“It’s so critical to have that annual meeting with your insurance agent to really understand what your planning and protection needs might be,” he said. Our agents do a fantastic job helping our clients select the appropriate policies and coverages.

“They take the time to explain those policies and coverages so our clients aren’t unsure of what will happen if they should encounter a storm loss,” he continued.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.

EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Several people were hurt as severe weather swept through Effingham County on Wednesday evening.

Effingham Fire Chief, Brant Yochum, said crews responded to “numerous storm-related” emergencies, mainly in the Shumway and Siegel areas. This included reports of heavily damaged homes, collapsed structures, motor vehicle crashes, downed power lines, gas leaks, blocked roadways, and more.

Yochum said several people had minor injuries within the Effingham Fire Department’s response area. But, none of those injuries were life-threatening.

“We are also thankful to report that no Effingham Fire Department personnel were injured during response operations,” Yochum added.

It remains unclear if anyone in the wider county was hurt more severely.

Wednesday night’s storm response included teamwork between multiple fire, EMS, law enforcement, and utility crews. Yochum added that this incident highlighted the importance of preparedness, training, and regional cooperation.

“The Effingham Fire Department extends its appreciation to all fire departments, law enforcement agencies, EMS providers, emergency management personnel, utility crews, public works employees, and volunteers who assisted throughout the evening,” Yochum said. “Our thoughts are with the residents and property owners impacted by this storm.”

Damage assessments remain ongoing. Community members are asked to be cautions around damaged structures, downed power lines, and debris fields. Hazardous conditions should be reported to local authorities.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.

The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of Central Illinois under a Level 4 (Moderate Risk) for severe weather.

This upgrade was driven by the high likelihood of tornadoes, some intense, across the region. With a tornado outbreak likely, we have designated Wednesday, June 17 a Severe Weather Alert Day.

Key Takeaways

• Level 4 Risk (Moderate Risk) for most
• All severe hazards are expected
  • Intense tornadoes
  • 80+ mph wind gusts
  • 2-inch diameter size hail
  • Localized flash flooding

Second Round: 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Storms that develop within this time frame are expected to be the most severe of the day.

The morning storms are expected to lay down an outflow boundary that will enhance tornado potential with any storms that interact with it. It’s not yet clear where this boundary will end up, but chances are it will set up somewhere between Interstates 72 and 80.

Unusually strong wind shear will favor the development of intense, long-tracked tornadoes with any discrete supercells. These storms will also be capable of producing destructive wind gusts of more than 80 mph and large hail up to 2 inches in diameter.

Areas north of the boundary will be heavy rain producers, and in addition to carrying some severe weather risk, will carry a risk of flash flooding.

Widespread rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected for most with localized amounts of 3 inches or more possible. Right now the heaviest totals are more likely to fall near and north of Interstate 74.

Make sure you have multiple ways to receive life-saving weather alerts including a NOAA Weather Radio and the CiProud 2 Go Weather App.

We’ll have updates throughout the night and throughout the day on Wednesday on our website Ciproud.com, on air, and on our social media channels.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.

MINONK, Ill. (WMBD) — With a drum roll from the audience and a flip of a switch, a new clean energy source became available for the residents of Minonk.

Nearly two dozen community members and dignitaries gathered June 16 on a windy day at the Woodford County village’s new Community Solar Farm. It’s the county’s first Illinois Shines community solar development program.

Built on a former coal mine, the 16,000-panel farm will generate more than 9.8 megawatts of renewable energy. That’s enough to power more than 7,000 homes a year.

The 42-acre farm, built and operated by Nexamp, TurningPoint Energy, and ComEd, consists of two separate fields about a football field apart. Those who want to get power from the facility can subscribe, a move that officials say could save people money.

According to a fact sheet from Nexamp, there is no enrollment or cancelation fee for subscribers and people only pay for what they get from the solar farm.

“Anyone can subscribe, regardless of the status of your roof or if you own or rent,” said Jessica Collingsworth, Nexamp’s central policy director. “So, this is a great opportunity to bring clean energy to community members by being subscribers of this project, as well as big companies like Rush Medical or the College of DuPage.

“They can also lower their electricity bills by paying subscriptions,” she added.

Fully funded by Illinois Shines, the farm took around two years to take from concept to final product.

“These projects are just two of the five projects that we’ve permitted in the city of Minonk. So, we plan to also construct three more projects. Those projects are a little further down the line in their ability to interconnect with the grid,” said Jordan Belknap, TurningPoint’s director of development. “There’s a there’s some upgrades to the electric grid that need to happen first. But we’re fully committed to seeing those projects through as well.”

The Minonk project are some of the first in the ComEd system to use distributed energy resource management systems, or DERMS. These systems use smart grid technology to better balance and manage energy flow across the system.

WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.