Illinois
Eye On Illinois: State Police looking to consolidate, triage corruption tips
:quality(70):focal(284x243:294x253)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/5WJFJII57FB43HI5ECJQAZDMRU.jpg "Eye On Illinois: State Police looking to consolidate, triage corruption tips")
Do you think your state Senator is on the take? Is the city building inspector turning a blind eye to obvious violations? Is the school district CFO skimming off the top?
These and other examples of public corruption are often rumored and rarely corroborated, but perhaps a new Illinois State Police tool can improve outcomes. The agency issued a news release Thursday detailing its new online form allowing average Illinoisans to report public corruption directly to the Special Investigations Unit (tinyurl.com/ISPcorruption).
Reports do not need a name or location, but do require a phone number and email address. Respondents must name the government agency involved, the name and title of the reported subject and offer a detailed summary. The form has optional fields to indicate other agencies notified along with information on witnesses.
“Examples of public corruption may include an elected official steering contracts to friends in exchange for a monetary kickback, overbilling a contractor and embezzling the money, personally benefiting from federal/state-funded programs, wire fraud and money laundering,” according to the release. “Having allegations reported to one place will streamline the process and allow ISP to respond more quickly. ISP will triage all online submissions and determine the correct agency to handle the investigation.”
Thursday’s column explored ISP’s fresh data on its updated Clear and Present Danger report system. Here’s hoping the agency is similarly detailed on this new effort nine months from now.
RECONSIDERED PRAISE: On Aug. 23, I examined General Assembly turnover data. That column included “a little praise for state Sen. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, and state Reps. Mike Marron, R-Fithian, and Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa, who recently announced they won’t seek reelection in 2024. All three men have committed to completing their terms and did so with enough time for candidates of all parties to mount clean, incumbent-free campaigns.
“These moves are refreshingly distinct from the mid-term resignation/appointment process, which often triggers downstream vacancies. Retiring without leaving voters a direct voice in your replacement shows sincere respect for the office.”
Some slight reconsideration is in order. On Monday, Marron announced he would be leaving his post earlier, resigning Dec. 18 to begin working as president and CEO of Vermilion Advantage, a chamber of commerce based in Danville.
“My new position is nonpartisan, and I am therefore removing myself from all political activity,” Marron said in a news release announcing the change.
That’s fair, but this choice still creates a vacancy, which means party officials will name a replacement who can enter the 2024 campaign as an incumbent, the end result being another person serving in Springfield without being directly elected – a problem made only worse when the departing lawmaker also has the political power to name their own replacement.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
Illinois
'Our world has been shattered': Family of fallen Illinois trooper speaks out after fatal I-55 crash
Illinois state trooper killed by passing vehicle just before Christmas
An Illinois State Trooper was killed Monday night in Will County when he was struck by a car while removing debris from an expressway.
WILL COUNTY, Ill. – The family of Illinois State Trooper Clay Carns, who was struck and killed on I-55 near Channahon just before Christmas, has expressed gratitude for the support they’ve received during this tragic time.
Carns died Monday night after being hit by a vehicle while removing debris from the expressway.
On Saturday, his family issued the following statement:
Pictured is Trooper Carns with his two children, Ally and Gray, and wife Meghan. (Illinois State Police)
“The Family of Trooper Clay Carns mourn the loss of their treasured husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend. We could never begin to thank law enforcement nor the thousands from our community who have reached out to us to express their love and support.
“To the public, Clay became a hero on December 23, 2024, when he was killed in the line of duty. To his family, he has always been a hero.
“Our world has been shattered, and we will never be the same. But we take comfort in knowing that he lived his life with such purpose, he loved his family and friends fiercely, and he took great pride in his work.”
What happened
The crash occurred on Monday, Dec. 23 – the very same day that was designated as “Scott’s Law Day” in Illinois, which reminds driver’s to move over and slow down when approaching emergency vehicles.
At around 10 p.m., Carns was clearing debris from the southbound lanes of I-55 near Channahon when he was struck by a vehicle.
He was transported to Ascension Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, where he later died.
The driver, identified as 69-year-old John Fleet of Wilmington, was arrested and charged with a felony violation of Scott’s Law.
ISP arrested John Fleet, 69, of Wilmington, after the crash.
Trooper Carns served with the Illinois State Police for 11 years. He was a married father of two young children.
Funeral services announced
Services for Trooper Carns will be held at Parkview Christian Church, located at 11100 Orland Parkway in Orland Park.
- Visitation: Thursday, Jan. 2, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., with a first responder walkthrough at 6 p.m.
- Funeral Service: Friday, Jan. 3, at 10 a.m., followed by a private interment.
How to support the family
A GoFundMe campaign has raised over $195,000 as of Saturday for Trooper Carns’ family.
The fund has a goal of raising $250,000 and has received 2,000 donations so far.
To learn more about the campaign, click here.
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The Illinois basketball team is in the middle of a huge season for the program, as this squad is poised for great heights.
Despite dropping two out of the last four contests, the Illini find themselves back in the AP Top 25 at No. 24 in the nation. This ranking is impressive considering we are only 8-3 overall. The three losses aren’t bad, and Illinois has also beaten a good Missouri program and ranked Arkansas and Wisconsin squads.
While Brad Underwood is trying to develop talent and lead this team to the promised land, there is clearly a need for continuous program development on and off the court. On Friday night, the Illini “front office” got a little stronger.
According to NBA reporter Jake Fischer, Illinois is hiring Neel Ganta as the new general manager for the program. The Illini managed to snag him away from the Denver Nuggets front office.
Sources: Neel Ganta is departing the Denver Nuggets’ front office to become the new general manager of Illinois men’s basketball. Ganta returns to the Illini program after previously serving as a graduate assistant.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) December 27, 2024
Neel Ganta should have an expansive role as the general manager of the Illinois basketball team
Ganta’s roots are actually with the Illini. He was a basketball analyst for the Illini from May 2019 to August 2020. After that, he moved into a graduate assistant role with the program from August 2020 to August 2021.
After his time with the Orange and Blue, Ganta then took a player development coordinator role with the Grand Rapids Gold, the G-League team of the Denver Nuggets. He then parlayed that position into multiple roles with the Nuggets, which ended with him being a pro scout.
Illinois is now bringing back Ganta, but what does the general manager title do for a college basketball team?
Well, this is the same situation that ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski took with St. Bonaventure just months ago.
In the description of what Wojnarowski does for the Bonnies, it includes name, image, and likeness opportunities. This is huge in the college game today. It also sounds like Wojnarowski is the front face for the program when it comes to collectives.
This is what I imagine Ganta will do for the Orange and Blue. He will be out there wheeling and dealing. Ganta will likely be the one who brings in the money to help pay for the athletes to come to Illinois.
I like this addition to the Illinois basketball program. We needed someone out there bringing in the money so the coaching staff can focus on recruiting and on court issues.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) – Two men died in a Springfield Township crash Thursday afternoon, according to police.
On Dec 26 at 4:30 p.m., Springfield Police and Fire responded to the 9600 block of Daly Road for an auto crash, police say.
According to police, witnesses at the scene said they saw a head-on collision between a gray Toyota Sienna and a black Mercedes SUV.
Police say when they arrived on scene, the Toyota Sienna was on fire and both drivers had to be pulled from their vehicles.
The driver of the Mercedes SUV was identified as 55-year-old Jim Schneider from Cincinnati, who was pronounced dead at the scene according to a press release.
The driver of the Toyota Sienna was identified as 41-year-old Christopher Larkins from Springfield Township, the release says.
Police say Larkins was transported to UC Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
According to the Springfield Township Traffic Safety Investigators, it is believed that Larkins lost control of his vehicle going around a curve and drove left of center, hitting Schneider’s vehicle head-on.
Neither of the drivers is believed to have worn a seatbelt.
Officials believe speed was a factor and are working with the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office to determine impairment with a toxicology report.
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