Illinois
Illinois secretary of state celebrates National Donate Life Month
SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – April is National Donate Life Month. That is why Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias joined organ recipients and family members of donors to call on everyone to sign up to donate life.
Giannoulias, who oversees Illinois’ organ and tissue donor registry as part of his duties as secretary of state, said 6 million Illinoisans are signed up to be organ donors.
“We must and we can do better,” he said. “We have to raise awareness. This is our chance to literally save lives.”
There are several places people can sign up including online, when they get their Illinois driver’s license and, a recent addition, applying for a hunting license in the state.
According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, an organ donor can save eight lives and enhance up to 75.
Giannoulias said there are currently nearly 4,000 Illinoisans awaiting an organ transplant. Almost 300 of them die waiting annually.
Nikki Love is one of the lucky ones. In 2015, she got a new kidney and pancreas.
“I’m here today because someone said yes,” she said. “Someone said yes, I will give organs, tissues, whatever is need if anything were to happen to them so I’m just so grateful and thankful that they said yes.”
Giannoulias said people like Love are why he takes overseeing the state’s organ and tissue donor registry so seriously.
“We spend an enormous amount, our team does, of talking to folks, going to schools, doing everything we can. We’re going to continue to do it, we’re going to aggressively do it and it’s a team effort,” he said.
“We have to opportunity to save lives, to save families, so anything and everything we can do to continue to raise awareness, we will continue to do,” Giannoulias said.
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Police are investigating after a motorcyclist was killed in a crash in suburban Oswego on Saturday afternoon.
Officers responded to the 4000 block of Route 34 near Wolf Road for the crash around 1:42 p.m. The motorcyclist was unconscious and was receiving CPR when officers arrived.
They took over medical care until paramedics arrived and took the victim, identified as a 20-year-old man, to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The victim’s identity is being withheld pending an autopsy scheduled for Monday, police said.
Initial reports say the victim was traveling eastbound on Route 34 when he hit an enclosed trailer being towed by a van. According to the police, the van was also traveling eastbound and was attempting to make a right turn into a driveway when the crash occurred.
The driver and passenger in the van were not hurt, police said.
Route 34 was closed between Wolf Road and Boulder Hill Pass for four hours for crash reconstruction.
The crash remains under investigation pending completion of the traffic crash reconstruction report.
Illinois
Man arrested after barricading himself inside vape shop in Des Plaines, Illinois, police say
A man was arrested after police say he barricaded himself inside a business in Des Plaines on Saturday morning.
The incident happened just before 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of Rand Road.
Des Plaines police said officers responded to Vortex Vapes, located inside a strip mall in the 1500 block of Rand Road, just before 9 a.m. for a report of a suspect, a 26-year-old man from Des Plaines, armed with a box cutter, who confronted the shop employee.
The employee was able to escape the business, but the suspect stayed and barricaded himself inside, police said.
The Tactical Response Team responded to the business and arrested the suspect, who surrendered without incident.
The business was closed for about four hours. Police said the area is now safe for travel, and the business has since reopened.
This incident is still under investigation. Des Plaines police said they will provide additional information once it becomes available.
An Illinois high school football assistant coach has been arrested on criminal sexual abuse charges.
High School on SI previously reported that John “Jake” Wakey had been placed on leave and was being investigated after the FBI received a tip accusing an employee of inappropriate sexual conduct involving a former student over a year ago.
From that tip, investigators confirmed that at least eight students from 2013 to 2015 were abused by Wakey, according to a report by Capitol News Illinois. Thursday, he was arrested and charged with nine Class 2 felony counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse.
Illinois Assistant Football Coach Was Investigated By FBI, Local Law Enforcement
The charges involve victims aged 13-to-17 by a person in a position of trust during the 2013, 2014 and 2015 school years. Four former students provided statements to Williamson County detectives, with eight total potential victims being connected to the investigation.
“Of those eight identifiable victims, four individuals have presently memorialized the facts of their experiences on the records with investigators, which ultimately formed the basis for the charges announced,” Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich said during a press conference. “In cases involving criminal sexual abuse, it frequently requires a victim-survivor to come forward, disclose what occurred and allow investigators to memorialize those facts for prosecution.
“For many victims, that process can take months or even years, as appears to have occurred in this investigation.”
It was also reported that the offenses involved members of the Carterville High School football team, where Wakey served as an assistant coach.
John “Jake” Wakey Has Previously Been In Trouble As Teacher, Coach
Wakey was placed on paid administrative leave back in February 2026 once the school district received word that he was involved in an investigation. He had worked for the Carterville School District since 2003 as both a teacher and as an assistant football coach.
Previously, Wakey had been suspended for 10 days in 2009 after being accused of inappropriately texting students, allowing students at his home and drinking in front of students. He was not charged at the time. He also received a misdemeanor conviction for providing liquor to minors in 2003 before joining Carterville.
“The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is aware of longstanding community concerns, suspicions, rumors and allegations involving inappropriate conduct, including allegations related to alcohol, student-teacher contact and the sharing of images involving students and/or faculty members,” Diederich said.
Wakey is set to be held at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office after being transferred from the Livingston County Jail. The Carterville Board of Education is expected to hold a special meeting to take action on the “discipline and/or dismissal of a licensed employee of the District.”
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