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.
Copyright © 2024 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Illinois
Produce Recall Issued In Parasite Outbreak Hitting IL
A number of Taco Bell locations have posted signs announcing they are “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall,” according to Detroit-area news radio outlet WWJ.
Taco Bell told the Post it would keep monitoring the situation and follow authorities’ guidance.
Taco Bell Lettuce Linked To Growing MI Parasite Outbreak: FDA
“Public health officials have not confirmed a link to Taco Bell or any specific ingredient, supplier, restaurant or retailer,” the company told the Post. “While authorities continue their broader review, Taco Bell has voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure.”
In Michigan, where cases have been concentrated, media reports said notices were posted at some Detroit-area Taco Bell restaurants last week telling customers the chain was “currently unable to sell Lettuce, Cilantro-Onion, Pico de Gallo, and Guacamole due to a nationwide recall.”
Illinois
Illinois GOP trails badly in midterm cash
The Illinois Republican Party filed its quarterly campaign finance report on the July 15 deadline. The party reported having just $223K in the bank. The next day, the party sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections saying they were “reconciling” their records after a leadership change, and then noted that their actual end balance was $101K higher than it had reported the day before.
But that bit of found money was basically the end of the “good news” for the GOP last week.
Republicans no longer have a pet billionaire. Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin have fled the state. The legions of wealthy business titans who once contributed and raised money have either retired to sunnier climes or passed away. Several prominent party members have publicly shunned labor unions and their hefty political war chests, although the state GOP legislative leaders have at least tried to rebuild ties to trade unions and even the Illinois Education Association. But the heavily gerrymandered legislative map combined with the current political climate means they’ll mostly receive scraps.
And, yes, the House Democrats are struggling this month with scandals, including a state representative who resigned under pressure and another who was indicted. I’m not trying to downplay that at all. But Democrats have the national political environment, the local infrastructure and tons of cash behind them. The Republicans have little to none of that.
The GOP’s gubernatorial candidate, Darren Bailey, raised $1.3 million in the second quarter, which ended June 30. That sounds like a lot, but he spent almost all of that on direct mail fundraising costs. The huge expenditures do give him a prospect list for future fundraising, but he ended the quarter with a mere $128K in the bank. That was still a whole lot more than the rest of the statewide ticket.
Attorney General nominee Bob Fioretti, a perennial candidate, raised $31K, spent $39K and had $28K on hand at the end of the quarter along with almost $15K in recent debt. Secretary of State candidate Diane Harris raised $6K, spent a bit over $4K and had a paltry $1,816.42 in the bank. Treasurer candidate Max Solomon, who ran as a write-in during the primary because the party failed to recruit anyone, raised less than $3K, reported no spending and ended the quarter with less than $8K. Comptroller candidate Bryan Drew raised $30K and received $47K in in-kind contributions from a company owned, ironically, by independent gubernatorial candidate Collin Corbett, spent less than $3K, ended with $54K and had $25K in debt from earlier this year.
Man, that’s just downright pathetic.
But I suppose it doesn’t really matter anyway unless we see a massive sea-change in national opinion in the coming months or the federal government finds a way to not certify certain election results. Regardless of where individual candidates are at this moment, they’ll have the money to compete. Unlike the Republicans, the Dems do have a pet billionaire (JB Pritzker) and, I assume eventually for most of them, organized labor.
The Republican legislative leaders have tried to scrape and claw as much as they can, but they’re vastly outgunned. Senate Republican Leader John Curran raised just $75K in the second quarter. He spent $71K and reported having a bit more than $3 million in the bank. His caucus committee reported having $160K in the bank.
Leader Curran has three Republican-held districts to defend in the Chicago media market that have all trended Democratic in the last three cycles. Depending how bad things get, he could be defending a couple, two or three more.
The Senate Democrats have a ton of money to do whatever they want. Senate President Don Harmon has about $20 million in his personal campaign account and $1.7 million in his caucus account.
Over in the House, Republican Leader Tony McCombie has at least four Democratic-trending or swingy districts to defend and just $1.3 million in her personal campaign account and another $363K in her caucus account so far.
In contrast, House Speaker Chris Welch had $11.4 million in his personal account and $1.2 million in his caucus account. Like Senate President Harmon, he has more than enough money already, but more is never enough when there’s so much out there, so those numbers will likely rise by November.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Illinois
Hillsboro grad, Springfield golfer Alex Eickhoff 2nd at state amateur
BLOOMINGTON — Springfield’s Alex Eickhoff nearly had a magical Thursday as he tied for second place in the 95th annual Illinois State Amateur Championship at Crestwicke Country Club.
Eickhoff, a 2020 Hillsboro High School graduate and former standout on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s men’s golf team, shot a 4-under-par 68 in Thursday’s third round and followed that with an even-par 71 to finish the three-day, four-round event 1-over 285. He tied for second with Bloomington’s Logan Stauffer.
Eickhoff briefly took the lead through nine holes of his fourth round when he sat at 1-under par. Chicago’s Charlie Kulwin finished both of Thursday’s rounds under par and finished 2-under 282. He was the lone golfer to finish under par for the tournament.
Eickhoff was The State Journal-Register’s Small School Boys Golfer of the year twice in his high school career: once as a freshman in 2016-17 and again as a senior in 2019-20. After high school, he golfed for the University of Minnesota for two years before transferring to SIUE.
He began the tournament with a 3-over 74 on Tuesday and shaved off a stroke Wednesday with a 2-over 73. He closed out the event with an even-par 71 in Thursday’s final round.
Other area golfers who made the cut were Springfield’s Charles Hoogland (7-over 291, tied for 20th) and Jacksonville’s Brady Kaufmann (8-over 292, 25th).
The last golfer from The State Journal-Register’s coverage area to win the Illinois State Amateur was Jay Davis. Davis, a Jacksonville Routt graduate, won the 1991 and ‘92 tournaments.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
-
Movie Reviews4 minutes ago1986 Movie Reviews – Aliens and Vamp | The Nerdy
-
World16 minutes ago
Latest war news. Tehran suspends commitments to the US set out in the memorandum. Khamenei: Trump is unreliable
-
Politics28 minutes agoHow Maine Democrats Intend to Replace Graham Platner
-
Health46 minutes ago9 Ways To Reverse Stress-Related Weight Gain Fast—One Woman Shed 100 Lbs!
-
Lifestyle1 hour agoWait Wait for July 18. 2026: With Not My Job guest Vicki Peterson
-
Technology1 hour agoGoogle is open-sourcing its 3D emoji
-
World1 hour agoIncoming UK PM Andy Burnham rejects Thatcher-era policies, signals leftward shift
-
Politics1 hour agoTwo US service members killed in Iranian strikes on Jordan, CENTCOM says