Partisan politics infiltrating non-partisan local Illinois elections

Illinois Democrats backing candidates in new strategy to get involved in all elections

By BEN SZALINSKI & BRIDGETTE FOX
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD — It’s been just four months since the last election concluded, but another election is on the horizon in Illinois: the April 1 elections for school boards and municipal offices. 

Though municipal and school board races in Illinois are nonpartisan, voters may see many of the same political themes that were hallmarks of races during the 2024 presidential election cycle. The Democratic Party of Illinois is applying many of the same tactics it uses in partisan elections to this year’s local races. 

"We as the Democratic Party of Illinois should be defending Democratic values in every single election in nonpartisan and partisan elections alike, because all of these local offices have jurisdiction over super critical controls and we think our party has the best platform for governance,” Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Ben Hardin said. 

The 2025 local elections are the second time that Illinois Democrats are getting involved in nonpartisan races. After recruiting more than 1,000 prospective candidates last year, the state party is supporting 270 candidates for a variety of local offices in all areas of the state.

The party trained the candidates and attached them to “coaches” experienced in running Democratic campaigns. Candidates will also be supported by a six-figure advertising campaign by DPI in the coming weeks. 

"I think our voters welcome the information,” Hardin said. “They want to know, and they need to know, who the aligned candidates are.”

It’s also part of the party’s strategy to be more active year-round.

"This is how the party operates now,” Hardin said. “We are not going back to closing up shop after an even-year midterm or presidential election, lying dormant for 18 months and then coming alive again for the next even-year general election.”

Hardin acknowledged there could be some voter fatigue after November’s presidential election, but he stressed that’s why the party wants to make Democratic voters aware an election is approaching. 

"These local offices, if we allow them to be uncontested, especially with the Trump administration in office, you know with our lack of control of the wheels of power in D.C., we could allow our state to start slipping to the right at the local level,” Hardin said. 

For example, DPI is getting involved in the mayoral race in Aurora, Illinois’ second-largest city, where incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin and Aurora Ald. John Laesch face off. The election is the first since Irvin’s unsuccessful campaign for governor as a Republican in 2022. Hardin said that’s made Irvin an easy target for a partisan campaign. 

"We’re treating Aurora like the rest of our program across the state,” Hardin said. “In Aurora, you’ve got an executive of the city who is a Republican.”

As a candidate for governor, Irvin faced numerous questions about his Republican credentials. He often avoided answering any questions about President Donald Trump or his position on abortion as he faced accusations from opponents that he wasn’t conservative enough. Irvin later co-hosted a Black Republicans event at the Republican National Convention last year.  

DPI is running a direct mail program this month targeting Irvin. It also plans to reach Democratic voters in Aurora through other mail and digital outreach advertising to let voters know which candidates in the city the party supports. 

Irvin’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. 

Illinois State Board of Elections records show DPI also used its resources to support Peoria Mayor Rita Ali and Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones, who is also a Democratic state representative, during primary elections in February. 

A full accounting of the party’s spending on municipal elections won’t be available until mid-April when reports are due to the state election authority. 

Conservative influence 

Jim Rule, chairman of the Tazewell County Republican Central Committee, said his group doesn’t normally get involved in “consolidated-type elections” like the Morton School Board, which has five candidates running for election — but this year is different. 

Four of those candidates are affiliated with Republican groups despite school board elections being nonpartisan. 

In Illinois, political parties and individuals can still support and endorse any candidates they wish.

Rule said his committee vetted and backs the four Republican-aligned candidates.

“It's important to get the right people in office,” Rule said. “Look, we've all heard the phrase ‘all good government starts locally,’ and this is a classic example of that. School boards are so, so vitally critical to have the right people on them for our kids.”

The four GOP candidates are backed by the Citizens for Morton Schools political action committee, which did not reply to a request for comment.

Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, is also involved in the race. He has donated $1,000 to the group as of March 5, according to the State Board of Elections, while his campaign has provided $2,000 worth of consulting.

“I am supportive of four great candidates for Morton School Board in my hometown,” Hauter said in a statement. “They are great candidates who each have their own unique qualifications that can help Morton students, parents, teachers and taxpayers. This will be a statement election for our community.”

Rule said one of the main goals of Tazewell Republicans this election cycle is defeating Dr. Ashley Fischer, a pediatrician running for the Morton School Board whom Hauter called “too radical for the people and schools of Morton.”

Fischer said she’s an anti-bullying advocate, which includes respecting all aspects of students’ identities like race, gender and sexuality.

“We want to send a message, not only to the residents of Morton, but to the community around us,” Rule said. “That this is something that — this woke agenda — is something that we need to rid ourselves of, and it has no place in the school system, especially with young kids.”

Fischer said Republicans are trying to scare voters.

“They're basically stoking hot button topics to get a fear response out of parents, to try to get them to vote against me out of fear,” Fischer said. “I have never once brought up any policy to do with transgender children, except that I think no child should be bullied in the school, regardless of their race, orientation, medical conditions, anything. They are in that group. I don't think any child should be bullied. That is my stance.”

Fischer also criticized Republicans for their online rhetoric, which she said promotes hate.

Fischer’s advocacy has also been scrutinized by Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group that advocates for conservative curricula in schools, such as by opposing LGBTQ lessons.

Virg Cihla, chair of the Tazewell County chapter of Moms for Liberty, said his group does not endorse any candidates.

The Illinois Republican Party did not reply to request for comment about their involvement in any April 1 elections.

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. 

Lisa Hernandez, a state representative and chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, speaks to members of her party at a Democratic National Convention delegation breakfast. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)


‘Right to Play’ bill that would affect high school athletes advances in House

Bill would allow students to compete on school and nonschool teams simultaneously

By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD – A House committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would give high school student athletes the right to participate in both school-sponsored teams and nonschool teams in the same sport at the same time, despite concerns that such a policy could create friction between coaches and jeopardize students’ safety.

House Bill 3037 would create the “Right to Play Act” in Illinois and override existing rules of the Illinois High School Association, which sets eligibility rules for student athletes and strictly regulates their ability to participate in nonschool programs.

Those rules generally prohibit students who participate on a school team from also participating on a nonschool team in the same sport during the high school sport’s season. 

IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in an interview that currently students may participate in as many as three outside contests or tournaments during the season, but only if those events are sanctioned by the sport’s national governing body and the student receives permission from both their school and IHSA.

Rep. Janet Yang-Rohr, D-Naperville, the lead sponsor of the bill, told the committee that the rules have resulted in students being disqualified from competition over seemingly minor infractions.

“We have cross country runners who are running a charity race during the cross country season. IHSA found out and disqualified that runner for the rest of the season,” she told the House Education Policy Committee. “We have members of a high school pom squad in Will County. Members of that pom squad went to a dance competition, and IHSA found out and disqualified those dancers for the rest of the season.”

Libby Magnone, a junior at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein told law makers that during her first two years of high school she was prohibited under IHSA rules from playing soccer at her school because she also played in the Girls Academy League, a program that sponsors tournaments that are eyed closely by college recruiters.

“The best soccer players across the state have to choose between having to forgo showcasing their talents to college coaches that recruit from these tournaments, or sitting out their high school season,” she said. “Issues like these disproportionately affect girls and young women because unlike football or basketball, college coaches and scouts rarely go to high school events.”

But Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, who serves on the committee, said the rules restricting participation on multiple programs exist for several reasons, including protecting the health and safety of student athletes.

“If there's a kid in a concussion protocol, if there was an event that happened, maybe in a soccer game with one team or the other, I don't know that that coach has to communicate with the other coach to make sure that the kid is rested,” she said. “And so I just have issues with that overlap.”

Stuart said the policy change could also create friction between coaches, and put the students and their families in awkward positions, if both teams have games or activities scheduled on the same day.

“They're in a spot,” she said. “Their high school coach says, ‘If you don't go to practice, you're not playing the next 10 games,’ or whatever the typical thing is. And then you have a traveling coach who says, ‘Well, if you don't show up for our practice, then you're not playing.’ And then the kid has to choose. ‘Which one do I not have an opportunity in?’ I think you're going to have a lot of issues with that.”

The bill passed out of the Education Policy Committee on a 12-0 vote, with Stuart voting “present.” The measure will go next to the full House for consideration.


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. 


Rep. Janet Yang-Rohr, left, and Carmel Catholic High School student Libby Magnone testify before a House committee on legislation that would let high school student athletes compete on both school-sponsored and nonschool teams in the same sport during the same season. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)

‘You are flying.’ Inside the harrowing 100-mile police chase in Sangamon County 

Motorcycle shop burglary suspect died in the triple-digit pursuit 

By BETH HUNDSDORFER  
Capitol News Illinois 
bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com 

SPRINGFIELD — When Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Pearce saw a white pickup spotted outside a motorcycle shop that had been burglarized earlier that night, he punched the gas and chased the fleeing truck, reaching race car speeds and screeching his tires through hairpin turns.

Sgt. James Hayes, his supervisor, asked whether he had enough gas.

“I got a full tank, baby,” Pearce said on a dispatcher’s recorded line.

Hayes OK’d the chase. As it turned out, he would need all that gas. 

The chase tested the limits — not only Pearce’s driving abilities, his cruiser’s performance and Hayes’ supervisory skills in ensuring his officers act under policy, but the limits of newly appointed Sheriff Paula Crouch to enforce those policies. 

Capitol News Illinois first reported on the pursuit in September, but the Sheriff’s Department released scant details. CNI filed a Freedom of Information Act request to review police reports, dispatch records, and dashcam video of the pursuit, but the request was denied. CNI then filed a lawsuit against Sangamon County to get access to the records. Afterward, the county relented.

The records showed a pursuit that clocked triple-digit speeds, winding through downtown streets, past city parks, neighborhoods lined with million-dollar homes, golf courses, on country roads, down a major interstate, over railroad crossings, across narrow bridges and even past two local police stations.

The pursuit that averaged 100 mph at times ended more than 100 miles from where it started with a man, later identified as suspect Kirtis Davenport, barely breathing on the side of a black-topped country road. Davenport, police said, fell from the bed of the speeding truck as it made a sharp turn.  The driver kept going. 

"When you are on a pursuit, your adrenaline is pumping. You are flying. The lights and sirens are going. You are multitasking — using the radio to send your location, update the dispatchers and supervisor, keeping an eye on the road, watching your subject,” Christopher Burbank, a former police chief who now serves as a consultant for the Center for Policing Equity, told Capitol News Illinois.

“And at speeds like that you are outrunning the sound of your siren. You will come upon drivers that can act erratically because they don’t hear your siren until you are right on top of them.”  

The U.S. Justice Department called vehicular pursuits “the most dangerous of all ordinary police activities.” According to a study by the Police Executive Research Forum, 4,415 people died during a police pursuit from 2017 to 2021.

In 2023, the Illinois State Police annual report on police pursuits contained 1,023 reports of chases, up from 834 in 2022. The report found that the average pursuit lasted under five minutes with an average law enforcement speed of nearly 80 mph. The pursuits ended in 131 crashes. 

What is notable about the Sangamon County pursuit is the duration, Burbank said. In fact, it is one of the longest he can recall. Unpredictable drivers, wildlife, unfamiliar roads, high speeds, and adrenaline compounded the danger, Burbank said. 

Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office engaged in 11 pursuits in the last five years, not counting the 100-mile pursuit, according to records from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standard Board. The agency requires police to submit a report for all pursuits. 

Of the 11 previously submitted reports, the longest Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office pursuit was 20 miles at speeds of more than 105 mph. Pearce traveled five times that distance at speeds that topped 110 mph. 

Police initiated many of the pursuits for property crimes, such as possession of a stolen vehicle or burglary, or traffic violations. Two pursuits were initiated for violent felonies — armed robbery and homicide. Four gave the reason for the pursuit as a felony with no further details.

In the Pearce pursuit, it all started with a burglary call.

Details of the chase

The call came in just before midnight Sept. 21 as an alarm at a local motorcycle dealership. 

Hayes and Pearce responded and found the front door smashed. A witness reported seeing a new, white Dodge pickup truck pulling a box trailer. 

Almost an hour later, a Dodge Ram pickup truck was spotted — without a trailer, but two dirt bikes in the bed. Pearson tried to stop him, but the driver fled.

The pursuit wound south, then west through Springfield, dropped south at Washington Park and through Leland Grove. Hayes, the sergeant who authorized the chase, by now had joined in and attempted to put up stop sticks — hollow spikes that flatten the tires of cars that drive over them — at South Grand and 11th streets but was unable to get them set up before the cars passed. 

In Leland Grove, a city adjacent to Springfield, the pickup turned down a dead-end road, then turning around and heading straight for the squad car. 

“He’s trying to ram me!” Pearce told the dispatcher. 

About 5 minutes later, on the northern edge of Springfield, the pickup — followed by Pearce — turned south in the northbound lanes of Veteran’s Parkway, a major state highway, for two miles before getting into the southbound lane. 

The pursuit left Springfield, to Riddle Hill, Berlin, New Berlin, Maxwell, Auburn, Divernon, Waverly. North of Loami, Pearce reported to dispatch that objects were being tossed onto the road at him. His car was hit by a flying wrench. The chase continued south on Interstate 55. 

The written statement added ISP would not advise other agencies to terminate a pursuit acknowledging that they operate according to their own policies and procedures.  

The pickup and the pursuing squad car traveled at 106 mph through a construction zone, just north of Litchfield. 

At the Litchfield exit, the driver was able to avoid stop sticks. The truck traveled east into downtown Litchfield to Cherry Street where it turned and headed south out of town. 

Hayes stopped chasing. He was miles away from Sangamon County and low on gas, he wrote in his report. 

Pearce’s radio signal cut out, according to the dispatch recordings, but he continued to pursue, traveling south, skirting Staunton and Williamson. 

“Piece of s--- radio,” Pearce said. 

The pursuit continued down darkened rural roads, flanked on either side by cornfields that would have obstructed cars entering intersections, then over a high railroad bridge that ends in T road. The truck made the sharp turn and so did Pearce, but on his bodycam video his headlights caught something on the gravel shoulder. 

"Oh s---! Oh s---! I think someone just fell out of the truck. ... Damn it!" Pearce said.

Pearce ended the chase to render aid. The bodycam video showed Pearce approaching the man, who was on the shoulder barely breathing. The truck kept going, and Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies continued to chase, but they lost sight of the fleeing truck and gave up.

After Pearce called for an ambulance, deputies who had joined the chase began to give first aid. 

Later, they found a wallet with three unscratched Missouri lottery tickets, five milligrams of methamphetamine, and $122 in cash. The man had no identification, only a tattoo that said “Davenport” across his abdomen.

The chase took just over an hour — a route that would take two hours in normal traffic and following the speed limits. 

The man on the road was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital with life-threatening injuries. He had sustained severe head injuries. Police later identified him by his fingerprints as Kirtis Davenport, 43, of Kansas City. Davenport was on federal parole for theft. When he was arrested at a Kansas car wash for that case, court records stated he was carrying a loaded 9 mm handgun.

Police found the 2022 Dodge Ram truck reported stolen out of Kansas with stolen Missouri plates abandoned six miles south on a street in the Madison County town of Livingston. Inside, they found guns, including a stolen handgun, and ammunition. Two new dirt bikes were still in the truck bed.

They also found a cell phone under the passenger seat belonging to Davenport. The vehicle pursuit had ended, but the pursuit of the driver was just beginning.

Digital detective work

A search of Davenport’s phone turned up pictures of bikes from inside the dealership on Sept. 19 — three days before the burglary, according to a cellular data analysis report by Sangamon County Sheriff’s detectives. 

The digital analysis of the phone also turned up Facebook messages with a Kansas man named Ryan O’Neal, a former motocross rider, known to local police to steal bikes and sell them to support his narcotics habit, the report said.  

O’Neal and Davenport were suspected of a similar burglary in Olathe, Kansas six weeks earlier, according to a Sangamon County report documenting a conversation with Kansas police.

The digital trail showed O’Neal’s and Davenport’s phones stayed together from Kansas to central Illinois. Police pulled surveillance video at a New Berlin gas station. In that video, Davenport uses the bathroom and buys a hooded sweatshirt. They could also see another man with him putting gas in a white, Dodge Ram pickup, pulling an enclosed trailer. 

The trail would later put them at the parking lot of a Springfield hotel for an hour after the heist. Employees would later say the trailer, with two flat tires, was picked up by another truck and hauled away.

Cell phone analysis showed their phones were together during the pursuit. After he fell out of the truck Davenport’s cell phone stayed with the truck until it was towed back to Sangamon County. O’Neal’s phone went south and stopped in Livingston, made calls for a time, then headed north, stopped, then continued further north to O’Hare Airport in Chicago, then later to Kansas City.

O’Neal had gotten away for the moment.

After four days in critical condition at the St. Louis hospital, Davenport died. His organs were donated, according to his family’s wishes.

Prosecutors issued a warrant for O’Neal on Oct. 17.  He was still on the lam. 

It was late November when federal marshals arrested O’Neal in Kansas. He was extradited to Sangamon County to answer the charges. Under the SAFE-T Act, an Illinois judge found that the charges did not meet the legal qualifications for O’Neal to be detained until trial. Over prosecutors’ objections, he was released.

O’Neal could not be reached for comment. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 21.

Aftermath of the pursuit

At the time of the pursuit, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department was under scrutiny after the officer-involved fatal shooting of an unarmed Black woman in her kitchen after calling to report a prowler outside her home.

Deputy Sean Grayson was charged with murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct for the shooting of Sonya Massey on July 6.

Massey’s death brought a civil rights probe by the U.S. Justice Department. It also launched a wrongful death suit by Massey’s family that recently ended in a $10 million settlement.

There were widespread calls for reform, including from Gov. JB Pritzker, and for then-Sheriff Jack Campbell’s resignation. Campbell announced his retirement effective Aug. 31.

Three weeks later, Pearce and Hayes were involved in a high-speed, multi-jurisdictional pursuit of this Dodge Ram they suspected of being involved in a burglary, a violation typically considered a property crime. 

Due to the inherent risks, each law enforcement agency adopts their own policies to set forth rules regarding police pursuits. The Illinois State Police, who have patrol units that work the interstates, did not participate in the pursuit, stating it did meet their policy requirements, a state police spokesperson said.

As a precaution, troopers were reminded over the radio that permission was not granted permission to get involved in the pursuit, a state police spokesperson said.

Sangamon County Sheriff Office’s pursuit policy is 16 pages and sets out how and when to pursue a fleeing vehicle, when it should end, and delegates responsibility for assessing risk between the deputy and his supervisor. 

“Deputies and supervisors must objectively and continuously weigh the seriousness of the offense against the potential danger to innocent motorists and themselves when electing to continue a pursuit,” the policy states.

The policies, obtained by Capitol News Illinois, state that deputies should not pursue a vehicle solely for property crimes, and non-forceable felonies.  

Such policies are intended to protect the officer and the public, Burbank said, and have been adopted by police departments and sheriff offices around the country. 

“No one needs to die over stolen motorcycles,” he said. 

But the ISP report on pursuits found that the top reasons for initiating police pursuits are overwhelmingly minor traffic violations, followed by suspected stolen vehicles.

Sangamon County's pursuit policy also states that if a pursuit leaves the jurisdiction, the supervisor should decide whether to continue, based on the circumstances. The police chase traveled through at least seven different jurisdictions, including Springfield, Litchfield, Leland Grove, as well as Montgomery, Macoupin and Madison counties.

Ten days before the chase, Hayes, the supervisor who authorized the pursuit, had notified the sheriff’s office that he intended to retire, effect Oct. 2. Hayes submitted that notice just two weeks after former Sheriff Jack Campbell retired. 

Crouch, who had been on the job for two days when the chase occurred, placed Pearce and Hayes on paid administrative leave until an internal investigation was completed. 

Crouch recommended a two-day unpaid suspension for Hayes and Pearce.With the internal affairs investigation pending, Hayes pulled back his retirement. In December, he gave notice on Dec. 9 that he would begin his retirement two days later.

Hayes, whose annual salary in 2023 was $122,000, and Pearce, who received $55,000, filed a grievance with their police union challenging the discipline, Crouch said, stating that burglary is a forcible felony. Crouch confirmed that grievance is still pending.  Tamara Cummings, General Counsel for the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, declined to comment, citing pending litigation. 

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.  


The police pursuit took an hour, beginning in Springfield and ending over 10 miles away. (Capitol News Illinois map by Andrew Adams/map assets from Leaflet, OpenStreetMap and CARTO) 

Local Group Exploring Emergency Cell Phone Alert System

With the threat of severe weather Friday night, the Wabash County Emergency Responders Group met yesterday afternoon to make some preliminary plans for the predicted storms.

One of the things the group has identified as an issue is communicating with the public. That issue may soon be solved though. At Wednesday’s health board meeting, Tristan Barbre said the group has explored a new communication system that would send alerts to cell phone users in Wabash County….

TRISTAN BARBRE COMMUNICATION #1 3 12 25

Barbre said the alerts could be targeted to a certain part of the county. For example, if a storm was threatening Allendale, only people there would receive the alert. The alerts could also be used for chemical spills, power outages, or other situations affecting the public. The cost of the system is $5,500.

Mt. Carmel Man Picked Up On FTA Warrant

   On 3/09/25, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Nicholas M. Irelan, age 38, of Mt. Carmel on a Wabash County Warrant for Failure to Appear.  The arresting officer observed Irelan walking at 3rd & Ash Street, where he was taken into custody without incident.  Irelan was transported to the Wabash County Jail, where he was issued the warrant and held pending a pre-trial release determination by the court. 


Mt. Carmel Man Arrested Twice On Wednesday

  On 3/12/25, at approximately 12:46 am, Mt. Carmel Police arrested two Mt. Carmel men identified as Brandon L. Reed, age 31, on a Richland County Warrant for Failure to Appear along with David Ryan Harms, age 37, for Unlawful Possession of a Hypodermic Syringe after an officer observed Reed operating a brown Buick that had pulled into a parking lot near the intersection of 9th & Poplar Street.  The officer knew of the warrant and took Reed into custody.  During the arrest, Harms approached and stated he had belongings in Reed’s vehicle.  Harms wished to remove his property before the vehicle was secured.  Harms was allowed to do so; however, the officer requested a search of his belongings due to Harms being on Mandatory Supervised Release (Parole) from the Illinois Department of Corrections.  Harms agreed and attempted to show his belongings while trying to conceal (5) used hypodermic syringes in his property.  The officer placed Harms under arrest as well, taking the hypodermic syringes as evidence.  Both men were transported to the Wabash County Jail, where Reed was issued his warrant and held pending extradition back to Richland County. Harms was charged, processed, and released on a Notice to Appear in court. 

      On 3/12/25, at approximately 8:46 am, Mt. Carmel Police received a complaint about a burglary to a vehicle parked at a residence in the 500 block of Chestnut Street.  Upon arrival, the officer found that overnight, an unknown individual(s) had unlawfully entered the complainant’s 2015 GMC, removing a purse, wallet, and numerous cards that included social security and credit cards.  During this time, an individual walking north on Chestnut found several of the cards lying on the roadway.  The individual contacted the family and notified them of their findings.  The investigating officer utilized video footage from several different surveillance cameras nearby and observed a male subject known to him as David Ryan Harms, age 37, walking while looking through a bag.  As Harms examined the contents of the bag, he was seen throwing cards on the ground which were later found by the good Samaritan.  The officer then responded back to the brown Buick, still parked at 9th & Poplar Street, where they encountered Harms.  The officer advised Harms he was under arrest, at which time Harms took off running, resulting in the officer discharging his Taser to stop Harms’ flight.  Harms was placed under arrest and transported to the Wabash County Jail.  Harms was issued charges for Burglary, Theft, and Resisting/Obstructing a Peace Officer.  Harms remains in custody at the Wabash County Jail, pending a pre-trial release determination by the court.

      Later, on this date, with the assistance of Wabash County States Attorney Kelli Storckman, a request for a search warrant of the brown Buick was sought and granted by Wabash Circuit Court Judge William Hudson.  Officers recovered mail belonging to three other individuals, unrelated to Harms or Reed.  The mail was taken as evidence with further investigation pending due to this discovery.

David Ryan Harms

Judge Comments On Proposed State Spending Plan

As lawmakers in Springfield debate how to close a proposed $3 billion budget deficit, Mayor Joe Judge has seen Governor JB Pritzker’s spending blueprint and he offered his reaction at last week’s City Council meeting….

JOE JUDGE STATE BUDGET 2025

Judge said there will still be grant opportunity the city can pursue once the money is allocated. He said quarterly reports on the lead service lines and police retention grants were recently submitted.

Bids Opened For City Pool Demo

Bids were opened last week to demolish the Mt. Carmel City Pool to make way for the new aquatic center. Before the bids were opened, Mayor Joe Judge explained what was being explored…

JOE JUDGE POOL DEMO BIDS

The first bid submitted was for the roof only portion of the project while the second bid was for demolition of the building, pool, and pump house. On the roof only portion, Guisewite Excavating had the low bid at $12,500 while Swanson Excavating was low bidder on the second portion at $107,900. Judge said the bids were being taken under advisement before being formally awarded.

2022 WSJD File Photo

UPDATE: Ramp restriction planned for U.S. 41 in Knox County

KNOX COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces a ramp restriction for U.S. 41 in Knox County.

Beginning on or around Thursday, March 13, crews will begin a ramp restriction to the south bound on ramp from Hart Street to U.S. 41 in Vincennes.

This restriction will allow for maintenance operations. Traffic flow will be managed with a signal. Work is expected to take a day to complete, depending on the weather.