Shirley man faces child pornography charges

Austin Graf
Austin Graf, 20, has been jailed in McLean County on a $500,000 bond. (Photo courtesy McLean County Jail)

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – A Shirley man has been jailed on child pornography charges.

Police say they found hundreds of pornographic images of children on 20-year-old Austin Graf’s cellphone. He has been charged with possession and solicitation of child pornography.

Illinois State Police launched an investigation last fall after a report that a child had been sexually assaulted at Weldon Springs State Park in Clinton.

Graf is being held at the McLean County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…