Two people died in a head-on crash Monday on Illinois Route 1 near East 11000N Road, approximately 2.5 miles north of Grant Park.

The Kankakee County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as Ricky A. Castillo, 31, of Grant Park, and Penelope A. Manthey, 54, of Crete.

According to a Kankakee County Coroner’s Office press release, at approximately 11:26 p.m., the Grant Park Fire Department, Grant Park Police Department, Illinois State Police Troop 5 and Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department were notified of the crash.

Upon arrival, the Grant Park Fire Department determined the driver of each vehicle had died and requested assistance from the Kankakee County Coroner’s Office.

The preliminary investigation determined a 2009 Ford Fusion driven by Castillo was traveling south on Illinois Route 1 when it crossed the centerline and struck the northbound 2018 Ford Edge driven by Manthey.

The collision resulted in extensive fire damage to the Ford Fusion. Both individuals were pronounced dead on scene at 12:05 a.m., Tuesday.

Autopsies on both individuals were completed Tuesday. The incident remains under investigation by the Kankakee County Coroner’s Office and Illinois State Police Troop 5.

 The Illinois State Police (ISP) arrested 45-year-old Juan Carlos Oliva Lopez from Houston, TX for Controlled Substance Trafficking (Class X Felony). On February 19, 2024 at approximately 3:01 p.m., an ISP trooper conducted a federal motor carrier safety compliance inspection traffic stop on a Freightliner semi on Interstate 57 northbound just south of Ashkum, in Iroquois County. During the traffic stop, numerous indicators of criminal activity were observed. A consent search revealed approximately 49 lbs. of suspected cocaine/fentanyl, with a street value of almost $700,000. Lopez was taken into custody and transported to the Iroquois County Jail. The Iroquois County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Lopez with Controlled Substance Trafficking. No further information is available.

– Eastern Illinois Foodbank (EIF) is distributing food to area families facing food insecurity. The Foodmobile will travel throughout southern Iroquois County on 03/21/2024 and northern Iroquois County on 03/27/2024, with distribution sites and times and for each town listed at https://www.eifoodbank.org/help/mobile.html. Those attending are asked to bring boxes or bags to transport food. The distribution is part of the Foodbank’s Foodmobile Program, a system of mobile food pantries designed to help bring nutritious food to rural or underserved areas. This month’s distributions are made possible with support from Illinois American Water. Those planning to attend should pre-register at www.EIFclient.com, although doing so does not guarantee a place in line. 

Information and forms for the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral program are available from the office of Iroquois County Treasurer, Kurt Albers, according to an announcement made by the Treasurer’s Office. The program allows qualified senior citizens to defer all or part of their 2023 property taxes up to $5,000 on their personal residence. Applications must be filed with the Treasurer’s office by March 1, 2023 in order to defer 2023 taxes billed in 2024. To qualify, a person must be 65 or over by June 1, 2023, have a total household income of $55,000 or less, and have lived in the property for at least three years. In addition, there must be no delinquent taxes on the property. Qualified taxpayers can defer taxes totaling up to 80 percent of the equity interest they have in the home. The program sets up a form of a loan with a six percent interest rate which doesn’t become due until the taxpayer sells the property or until after the taxpayer’s death. To apply for the program, the person has to file two forms with the County Treasurer’s office. The first form (IL1017 TD) asks for basic information on the taxpayer, their income and their property. It also requires that joint owners agree to the tax deferral. In addition, it requires that evidence be presented of adequate insurance on the property. The second form (IL1018 TD) is the agreement for the tax deferral. It sets out the conditions of the deferral, including the amount which can be deferred, the interest rate and the arrangements for paying back the “loan”. If you have any questions about this program, please contact the County Treasurer’s office in the Iroquois County Administrative Center, 1001 E. Grant Street, Watseka. The phone number is 815-432-6985. 

On Thursday, February 8, 2024, the Iroquois County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Jasper County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Office, arrested John E. Brown, age 52, of rural Beaverville, IL, at a residence in DeMotte, IN, following an investigation in to a shooting that occurred on Friday, December 29, 2023, at a residence in northeastern Iroquois County near the Indiana State Line. Mr. Brown was wanted on an Iroquois County warrant charging him with Aggravated Battery, Unlawful Possession of Weapon by Felon and Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm following an investigation in to the late night shooting that sent one person to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The victim was transported to Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, IL, following the shooting, where they were treated for a gunshot wound to the lower extremity. Mr. Brown was taken in to custody without incident by U.S. Marshals and transported to the Jasper County Jail, where he remains awaiting extradition to Illinois.

The Chicago office of the National Weather Service, in cooperation with Iroquois County Emergency Management Agency, will be conducting a SKYWARN spotter training seminar at the “Hub” in Watseka, 114 N 3rd Street, Watseka, IL 60970. The training will begin at 6:30pm and last about two hours on Thursday February 15th . A special program by Danny Neal will follow immediately thereafter. Danny boasts over 350,000 followers on his Illinois Storm Chasers Facebook Page. SKYWARN is a national effort to save lives during severe weather emergencies with an expanding network of trained volunteer weather spotters. SKYWARN spotters support their local community and government by providing reports of severe weather directly to the National Weather Service in Chicago by phone using the NWS spotter hotline, or by online reporting. The services performed by SKYWARN spotters have saved many lives. The National Weather Service has several devices for detecting severe thunderstorms, including Doppler radar, satellite, and lightning detection networks. However, the most important tool for observing thunderstorms is the trained eye of the storm spotter. By providing observations, SKYWARN spotters assist National Weather Service staff in their warning decisions and enable the National Weather Service to fulfill its mission of protecting life and property. Storm spotters are, and always will be, an indispensable part of the severe local storm warning program. This basic training session provides a brief overview of the National Weather Service organization and their responsibilities, severe weather safety, and basic severe weather meteorology- including how thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, and flash floods form. Anyone can become a severe weather spotter for the National Weather Service. SKYWARN training is free and open to the public. After the National Weather Service Chicago Spotter Training Course, stick around for a surprise presentation from Danny Neal, a man who has 26 years of in-the-field weather experiences, and has documented 133 tornadoes across the country. Learn the journey he took from being afraid of storms to actively pursuing and being within a few hundred yards of tornadoes. He will go more in depth on spotter safety tips through his experiences. He will guide you through his journeys in the field and show you the best- and worst, Mother Nature has to offer and why decisions were made to either keep him safe, or put him deeper into harm's way. This interactive presentation will be filled with Danny's pictures and video. You don't want to miss this exciting look inside the world of in-the-field weather documentation! Registration is requested, but not required. The registration link and more information about the program is available at 

National Weather Service Chicago Severe Weather Spotter Training in Watseka Tickets, Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 6:30 PM | Eventbrite

On 02/05/2024 at approximately 9:50 AM Newton County Deputies were dispatched to the area of US 41 at CR 1500 S. Reference to a two vehicle accident.

Initial investigations indicate Unit 1 was driven by 41 year old DeMotte woman which was traveling northbound US 41 in the right lane. Unit 2 was driven by 56 year old DeMotte woman traveling northbound US 41 in the left lane. Unit 1 merged into the left lane colliding with unit 2.

Driver of Unit 1 was transported to IMH for further medical evaluation.

Assisting agencies: Kentland Fire, Riverside Ambulance and Newton County Communications

 Iroquois County has been deemed a “StormReady” county by the National Weather Service (NWS), according to Scott Anderson, Iroquois County’s Emergency Management Agency Coordinator. NWS officials came to the county’s Emergency Operations Center on Friday, February 2nd, to complete the process of the “StormReady” designation. “Out of the 102 counties in the State of Illinois, only 38 had previously received this designation,” Anderson mentioned, “with Iroquois County completing this process, there are now 39 counties. Like other areas in the State, we have had our fair share of weather events in recent years. From snowstorms to rains and flooding to damaging high winds, receiving this designation sends a message that our team, as well as our communities, are prepared for what comes our way,” said Anderson. According to the NWS, some 98 percent of all federally declared disasters are weather related, leading to around 500 deaths per year and nearly $15 billion in damage. The StormReady program helps arm America's communities with the communication and safety skills needed to save lives and property--before, during and after the event. To be officially StormReady, a community must: • Establish a 24-hour warning point and emergency operations center • Have more than one way to receive severe weather warnings and forecasts and to alert the public • Create a system that monitors weather conditions locally • Promote the importance of public readiness through community seminars • Develop a formal hazardous weather plan, which includes training severe weather spotters and holding emergency exercises. “Being storm ready starts with preparedness, which means we focus on our training and our planning to make sure we can tackle adverse weather events, even though you can’t predict the future,” said Anderson. “It takes all of us in the community working together to truly be StormReady.” An official presentation of the StormReady designation will take place at a press conference, to be held at the Iroquois County Courthouse, during the first week in March- which is Severe Storm Preparedness Week. The actual date and time have yet to be finalized and will be announced in a separate press release.

House Minority Leader Tony McCombie is spearheading a new podcast series called Capitol Crimes, to chronicle the stories behind legislation introduced in the Illinois House of Representatives. Listeners will hear from the sponsors of legislation that was crafted to keep Illinoisans safe and state government accountable as well as the perspective from the witnesses and experts. Capitol Crimes’ host Dean Abbott will unpack the ‘why’ of the legislation while telling the story of the legislative measures and, what happened to those measures after they were filed in the House of Representatives.

The first episode of Capitol Crimes was released today, and features Leader McCombie discussing “The Pam Knight Story.” Pam Knight, a child protection specialist for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, was murdered while on duty, working to help protect a child in need. Despite this brutal tragedy that rocked the state, McCombie has battled for five years to pass legislation that would better protect DCFS caseworkers from violence on the job, yet those bills have shockingly failed to pass and become law.

This year, McCombie has continued the fight to enact legislation that would give DCFS workers the kinds of on-the-job protections provided by law for police officers and other public servants in volatile situations. She encourages anyone curious about the Pam Knight case, or asking why something has not been done yet to prevent horrific acts like this from happening again, to tune into today’s first episode. “I am pleased to get this podcast out into the world, to make sure people hear the story of Pam Knight, which will help garner support for essential legislation we must pass to make sure tragedies like this never happen again,” said McCombie

Leader McCombie’s legislation includes HB1460 and HB1461 which will heighten the penalties against anyone who commits aggravated battery toward a person working as a DCFS employee or working under the Adult Protective Services Program with the Department on Aging.  

“Supporting our DCFS workers does not just mean attending their funerals,” continued McCombie. “It means doing everything within our power to make sure those funerals never happen in the first place.”

Capitol Crimes will release a new episode each Monday for the following two weeks, after which listeners can expect thoughtful and compelling episodes each month.  Tune in to listen to the Pam Knight Story here: https://soundcloud.com/capitol-crimes/pam-knight-story?si=542047be97ed4a95bae5099e13408e25&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing.