Illinois
Three accused Jan. 6 Capitol rioters from Illinois expected to plead guilty
CHICAGO (WLS) — Three accused Jan. 6 Capitol rioters from Illinois are planning to plead guilty to their crimes, the ABC 7 I-Team has learned.
Kelly Lynn Fontaine, 54, and Brian Dula, 53, of Lockport were charged with crimes related to Jan. 6 earlier this year and are expected to plead guilty on Monday, June 10 in D.C. District Court.
Also intending to plead guilty is Robin Reierson, 69, of Schiller Park, who was charged with Jan. 6 Capitol riot crimes and is expected to change his plea at a court hearing scheduled for July 1, according to newly filed court records.
In the 41-months since rioters took over on Capitol Hill, more than half of those charged with crimes have pleaded guilty.
Fontaine and Dula
To a chorus of “USA” chanted on Jan. 6, 2021, as rioters can be seen in a video shared on social media chopping away at a Senate door, federal agents say Fontaine snapped a thumbs-up selfie near the breached entryway and entered the Capitol.
Capitol security surveillance also showed Fontaine and Dula inside the building, according to court records.
Federal authorities say Dula and Fontaine traveled to Washington D.C., and crashed the Capitol together on Jan. 6.
Reierson
In a separate Jan. 6 prosecution, federal agents said Robin Reierson, a Schiller Park resident, was captured on officer body-worn camera footage wearing a helmet and pushing officers during the Capitol riot, according to investigators.
As the I-Team previously reported, at the time of Reierson’s arrest he worked as a welder at the Argonne National Laboratory, a top security facility southwest of Chicago.
A spokesperson for Argonne previously told the I-Team Reierson is no longer employed there.
The I-Team reached out to attorneys representing Fontaine, Dula and Reierson but have not heard back.
The three Illinois defendants are among dozens charged across the state and more than 1,400 people accused across the country.
Court records show at least 800 defendants have pleaded guilty or will be in the coming weeks, and the number of Jan. 6 defendants who have been imprisoned is approaching 500.
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People ran out of their homes into the cold overnight Tuesday into Wednesday after a fire broke out in an apartment building in the western Chicago suburb of Woodridge.
The fire broke out in a multi-family building at 7900 Janes Ave., near Forest Drive.
Smoke was seen billowing as firefighters stood on the roof.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries fighting the blaze, according to the Lisle-Woodridge Fire Protection District.
Fire officials said several units have major damage, and the families who reside in them have been displaced.
The American Red Cross was assisting the displaced residents Wednesday morning.
STICKNEY, Ill. (WLS) — The future of racing at Hawthorne Race Course in south suburban Stickney is in jeopardy.
The Illinois Racing Board suspended its harnesses racing license. In a letter sent Monday to Hawthorne’s president and general manager, the state agency said the track failed to prove its financial integrity.
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Jeff Davis, president of the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association, says the past two months have been rough.
“We don’t really know details, but what we do know is people have not been paid since before Christmas,” Davis said.
Davis says checks started bouncing, which led to races being canceled over the past few weekends.
SEE ALSO | Hawthorne Race Course not offering window betting for Kentucky Derby amid Churchill Downs dispute
“Six weeks ago, they couldn’t cash a $400 check to a trainer,” Davis said.
The remaining three races left this season are unlikely unless Hawthorne owners can prove financial stability. Hawthorne officials have not returned messages seeking comment on the issue. But it is just one of many issues facing the track. There has been an effort for nearly six years to get an approved casino up and running, but the owners cannot find a partner.
“Horse racing in every state now only survives because it has additional forms of revenue from casinos, slot machines,” said Paulick Report Publisher Ray Paulick.
Hawthorne is the only racetrack in the Chicago area and has the right to veto another one built within 35 miles. But those in the industry hope a bill before the state legislature will repeal that.
“The harness horsemen are asking the state legislature to take away that exclusivity, because Hawthorne isn’t in a position to build another track if they can’t keep the one they have going,” Paulick said.
READ MORE | Hawthorne Race Course, Illinois’ oldest horse racing track poised to be first with casino
In the meantime, Davis says he hopes the season can be salvaged.
“It really is sad. It’s a 100-year-old business. They’ve been trying, but I don’t know if they have the ability to actually get done what they’ve been awarded to do,” Davis said.
The Illinois Racing Board will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday, and Hawthorne’s owner is scheduled to give an update on the track.
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Police pursued suspects wanted in an armed 7-Eleven robbery in Cicero, Illinois, on Tuesday morning.
According to police, officers responded to a call for an armed robbery at 35th Street and Austin Boulevard around 3:30 a.m.
Staff told police several armed and masked individuals came into the store, possibly from two vehicles, and fled with cash.
Police identified and pursued one of the vehicles onto 290, but the chase was terminated on 290.
No injuries were reported.
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