Illinois
DeKalb County tribal land recognized by federal government, first in Illinois
SHABONNA – The first federally-recognized tribal land in Illinois is in DeKalb County, after portions of the Shab-eh-nay Reservation were placed into a trust for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation on Friday.
Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation said Friday was a victory in a battle his family has been fighting for most of two centuries.
“Words can’t describe the feeling that I’m feeling today,” Rupnick said. “My grandfather, Chief Shab-eh-nay, four generations removed, has been fighting for 180 years. I’ve got pictures of my grandmother and great grandmother coming up to Illinois in the 60′s trying to get this land issue settled.”
The Nation once occupied much of the Great Lakes region but was forcibly removed in the 19th century and now has its headquarters in northeast Kansas, Capitol News Illinois reported.
[ Native tribe seeks return of ancestral land in DeKalb County ]
The United States Department of Interior placed the reservation, which is in Shabbona, into a trust for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation on Friday, according to a news release from the department.
“Words can’t describe the feeling that I’m feeling today. My grandfather, Chief Shab-eh-nay, four generations removed, has been fighting for 180 years. I’ve got pictures of my grandmother and great grandmother coming up to Illinois in the 60′s trying to get this land issue settled.”
— Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick
“My mom, who was the chairperson, really started the push 30 years ago and today we finally got it done,” Rupnick said.
The Potawatomi Nation and other tribes ceded land in northern Illinois in a treaty signed July 29, 1829, commonly known as the Second Treaty of Prairie du Chien, according to legislation filed in 2023 by members of Congress from Illinois and Kansas.
Potawatomi Chief Shab-eh-nay and his Band at their village near Paw Paw Grove, however, were allowed to keep two parcels of land, totaling 1,280 acres. That land became known as the Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation. In 1849, while Shab-eh-nay was visiting relatives who had been forced to move to Kansas, the land was sold by the General Land Office of the United States at a public auction, according to the bills filled in Congress.
U.S. reps Lauren Underwood, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, D-Chicago and four others cosponsored House Resolution 3144, which would allow the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation to acquire 1,280 acres of land near Shabbona State Park in compensation for what the Nation has long held was illegal acquisition of the land by the U.S. government 173 years ago.
In a statement provided in a news release from her office on Friday, Underwood – who’s 14th Congressional District includes portions of DeKalb, Kendall, La Salle and Will counties – said Friday’s news is one step along the way.
“175 years ago, our federal government unlawfully sold the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation’s land in Illinois,” Underwood said in the release. “In Congress, I’ve been working in partnership with the Nation to correct this historic injustice. The decision to put portions of the Shab-eh-nay Reservation into Trust is an important step to returning the land that is rightfully theirs, and I am so honored to represent the first federally-recognized reservation in Illinois.”
Illinois
Where to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois today: TV channel, time
Iowa basketball (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten) welcomes in No. 16 Illinois (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a top-25 conference tilt.
The 19th-ranked Hawkeyes are looking to get the taste of a frustrating road loss at Minnesota out of their mouths. Iowa trailed by as many as 14, but rallied back to take the lead in the game’s final two minutes. The Golden Gophers hit a go-ahead 3-pointer from Jaylen Crocker-Johnson and then watched as a series of potential game-tying Iowa threes wouldn’t drop in a final, frantic sequence from Williams Arena.
Illinois enters winners of four straight and six of their past seven. The Illini rolled past Rutgers on Thursday, 81-55.
Watch Iowa vs. Illinois
Iowa owns a 57-24 all-time record against Illinois in Iowa City, though the Illini have owned the series of late. Illinois has won four straight over Iowa and nine of the past 10. That stretch of success from the Illini comes on the heels of a five-game Iowa win streak in the series from 2018-20.
As tipoff approaches, here’s how and when Hawkeye fans can watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois:
How to watch Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
TV: Fox
Tipoff Time: 11 a.m.
Iowa battles Illinois on Fox in its “Gold Out” game from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Jason Benetti (play-by-play) will be joined by Steve Smith (color).
How to stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois
Hawkeye fans can stream Iowa basketball vs. Illinois with Fubo, which offers a free trial to first-time subscribers.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnHawks
Illinois
Ex-husband charged in Tepe murders, held in Illinois jail
The ex-husband of a woman found shot to death with her current husband Dec. 30 in Columbus’ Weinland Park neighborhood has been charged with murder in the deaths.
Michael David McKee, 39, of Chicago, faces two counts of murder, according to Franklin County Municipal Court documents.
According to online court records, a warrant was issued Jan. 10 for McKee’s arrest. Winnebago County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office records indicate he was booked into jail there shortly before noon local time. He will remain there until authorities extradite him back to Franklin County.
Winnebago County court records show McKee is scheduled for a hearing there on Jan. 12, likely an extradition hearing to begin the process of his return to Ohio.
Monique Tepe, 39, and Spencer Tepe, 37, died Dec. 30, just after their five-year wedding anniversary, after being found shot inside their home on the 1400 block of North 4th Street in Weinland Park. The couple’s two young children, both under the age of 5, were found physically unhurt inside the home.
Columbus homicide detectives identified McKee through neighborhood video surveillance, police alleged in court documents. They tracked the suspect “to a vehicle which arrived just prior to the homicides and left shortly after.” They found the vehicle in Rockford, Illinois, and found evidence that McKee had the vehicle before and after the killings.
Columbus police have not publicly identified a potential motive in the couple’s deaths.
In a statement released after McKee’s arrest, the Tepe family thanked Columbus police for their “tireless” work to find the suspect.
“Nothing can undo the devastating loss of two lives taken far too soon,” the Tepe family said. “We thank the community for the continued support, prayers and compassion shown throughout this tragedy. As the case proceeds, we trust the justice system to hold the person responsible fully accountable.
“Monique and Spencer remain at the center of our hearts, and we carry forward their love as we surround and protect the two children they leave behind,” the statement said. “We will continue to honor their lives and the light they brought into this world.”
McKee and Monique married in 2015, according to Franklin County Domestic Court records. She filed for divorce in May 2017 with the formal divorce decree being issued about a month later. Court filings indicate the divorce was amicable. Monique did not share any children with McKee, whom the divorce filings identify as living in Virginia at the time.
Around 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, coworkers of Spencer’s from the dentistry office where he worked in Athens called Columbus police after Spencer did not show up for work and no one could reach Spencer or Monique by phone.
An officer went to do a well-being check but went to a home on Summit Street instead of the Tepe home, according to Columbus police body camera video. About 40 minutes after that check, friends of the Tepes found them dead in their home.
Police have focused the investigation on the window of time between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Dec. 30, which is when they believe the couple was killed. On Jan. 5, detectives released video from a security camera showing a person walking in an alley near the Tepes’ home during that time frame, calling the person a “person of interest.”
That person is now believed to be McKee.
Medical licensure databases show McKee has active licenses in both Illinois and California. He is identified as working as a vascular surgeon in a practice in the Rockford area, the same area where his vehicle was found.
McKee went to medical school at Ohio State University and has family in the Zanesville area, according to publicly available information.
A public visitation for the Tepes will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Schoedinger Northwest funeral home on Zollinger Road in Upper Arlington. An additional gathering for a celebration of life will occur from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Due Amici in Columbus.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
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