Illinois
9 children, 2 adults injured in LaSalle County crash, Illinois State Police say
Sunday, September 24, 2023 3:43PM
LASALLE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) — Two adults and nine children were injured in a rollover crash in LaSalle County Saturday night, Illinois State Police said.
A Ford transit van traveling south on Interstate 39 near milepost 68 just before 7 p.m. drove off the roadway for unknown reasons, police said. It then rolled over onto its side in the west ditch.
SEE ALSO: Woman crossing street critically injured in South Side hit-and-run crash: Chicago police
In addition to the driver, there were three adult and 10 child passengers, police said. The children ranged in age from 5 to 12.
Two adults and nine children were taken to area hospitals with injuries.
Police did not immediately provide any additional information about the extent of those injuries.
Copyright © 2023 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Illinois
Illinois Senate passes $53 billion state budget, advances bill to House
Monday, May 27, 2024 3:39AM
Lawmakers in the Illinois Senate passed a $53 billion state budget Sunday night and advanced it to the House as the spring legislative session ends.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) — The Illinois Senate has passed a $53 billion state budget.
Lawmakers spent hours discussing the plan, wrapping up late Sunday night.
The bill now heads to the Illinois House, which could take up the matter after the Memorial Day holiday.
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One of the main challenges for Democrats was Governor Pritzker’s request for $800 million in new tax revenue.
The money would come from extra revenues on items like an increased sports wagering tax and a cap on corporate tax deductions.
Earlier this month, the governor’s office warned the leaders of agencies across the state to prepare for cut-backs if lawmakers don’t pass the budget.
Copyright © 2024 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Illinois
Illinois man extorted and cyberstalked gay men using dating app
An Illinois man admitted in federal court to sexually exploiting gay men online in a multi-state scheme.
Omoruyi Uwadiae, 28, entered guilty pleas Wednesday to 22 criminal charges, including cyberstalking, in U.S. District Court in Ohio. He will be sentenced at a later date.
As part of a plea agreement, the Chicago man admitted to eight counts of cyberstalking, seven counts of interstate communications with the intent to extort and seven counts of unlawfully using a means of identification.
Each cyberstalking count carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, as do the unlawful use of identification charges. The extortion charges carry a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment each.
According to court records, Uwadiae communicated with at least eight victims online in 2019. In each instance, Uwadiae would connect with the young men on social media or a dating application like Grindr that targeted gay men and begin communicating with the victim.
Court records said the victims would communicate consensually with Uwadiae and send him sexually explicit photos or videos.
After receiving the images or videos, Uwadiae would then threaten the victims, some of whom had not disclosed their sexual orientations to their families or publicly. Uwadiae would tell them that he would send the photos or videos to friends, family members or employers and followed through at least once on those threats, according to court records, sending pictures to a victim’s mother and siblings.
In other instances, court records say, Uwadiae demanded money while threatening to release images or videos of his victims.
If the victim refused to pay, Uwadiae demanded they meet up with him for a sexual encounter or force them to make incriminating statements, such as admitting to being racist, for further virtual ammunition to keep them under control.
More: Coroner identifies woman found dead in Illinois River
Court records say Uwadiae targeted at least one Ohio State University student, whom he met through Grindr. Uwadiae demanded $200 or sex. When the student didn’t comply, Uwadiae made fake social media accounts using the victim’s name and actual photos of the victim, outing him as bisexual to his family.
Uwadiae created fake social media accounts for other victims as well, according to court records. In some instances, Uwadiae posted photographs of the victims on “Male General,” a blog targeting young gay men, court records say.
Victims are spread across multiple states, including Ohio, Colorado and Washington, court records say.
bbruner@gannett.com
Illinois
Will Illinois make the NCAA Baseball Tournament? Everything to know
How to Watch the NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show
Game Time: 11 a.m. Monday
TV Channel: ESPN2
Online Streaming: NCAA.com
Illinois’ Resume (34-19, 18-6 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Dan Hartleb (19th season)
Best Batting Average: Camden Janik (.368 BA, 7 HR, 49 RBI)
Ace Pitcher: Jack Crowder (6-2, 82.1 IP, 5.25 ERA, 75 K)
Last Game: 4-2 loss to Michigan in Big Ten Tournament Losers’ Bracket
RPI: 47 overall
Selection Show Day Reading:
How does the tournament work? (from NCAA.com)
The 64 teams will be placed in 16 different four-team regions, with teams seeded one through four to compete in a double-elimination format.
Games start with regionals and continue on to super regionals before the Men’s College World Series begins Friday, June 14, at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. Click or tap here for this year’s MCWS schedule. LSU won the 2023 title, beating Florida in the Finals.
So will Illinois make it?
Is water wet? Is a hot dog a sandwich? Is a Big Ten regular season title enough to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament? All tough questions, but the latter shouldn’t be too hard. Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb and his squad will wait to hear their name called on Selection Monday with the belief that they’ve done enough through 34 wins to earn the respect of the committee.
The Big Ten hasn’t sent four teams to the Big Dance since 2019, when five teams made the field of 64.
Arizona, the last at-large team to make last year’s tournament, was ranked 52nd in the RPI when they made the field of 64. As of Sunday, Illinois sits at 47.
D1Baseball’s most recent bracketology Sunday morning has the Illini as the third seed in the Terra Haute Regional, hosted by No. 15 Indiana State.
The Illini split a pair of weekday games with the Sycamores this season, including a 21-11 win on April 30.
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