Category: Illinois

At Least 6 Dead After Dust Storm Causes Pileup in Illinois

At least six people are dead and dozens are injured after a massive highway pileup on Monday morning due to a dust storm in Illinois. The pileup in Montgomery County involved 30 commercial vehicles and 40 to 60 private vehicles, the Illinois State Police (ISP) said in a preliminary statement at 5:45 p.m. local time. There were…


Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Illinois ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois has temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its ban on so-called assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Judge Stephen P. McGlynn ruled that the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA) would cause irreparable harm to the plaintiffs while providing no reasonable legal remedy. “Plaintiffs…


Illinois Man Arrested for Allegedly Killing Neighbor Over Noisy Leaf Blower

Authorities in Illinois have charged a 79-year-old man with murder after he allegedly shot and killed his 59-year-old neighbor following an argument over a leaf blower. Ettore Lacchei was arrested without incident at his home on Tuesday, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree…


Illinois Man Gets 40-year Sentence for Killing Teenage Boy

URBANA, Ill.—A central Illinois man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing a 14-year-old boy and dumping his body in a roadside ditch. A judge sentenced Daryl Vandyke, 57, on Wednesday after the of Champaign man admitted that he used an ax or other sharp-edged garden tool to kill…


Illinois Based Meat Producer Recalls Over 2,000 Pounds Of Contaminated Ground Beef

An Illinois-based meat producer has recalled more than 2,000 pounds of ground beef patties after consumers said it was allegedly tainted with an unknown substance. Customers complained they found “rubber-like” material in the grass-fed beef products during preparation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that Weinstein Whole Meats of Forest Park, Illinois, announced the recall on April…


1 Dead, 1 Injured in Blast at Chicago Area Petroleum Plant

LEMONT, Ill.—An explosion and fire at a suburban Chicago petroleum refinery killed one person and injured a second on Tuesday morning, authorities said. The Will County Sheriff’s Office said one person was confirmed dead and a second was transported to a hospital in Joliet with injuries following the explosion at Seneca Petroleum in Lemont, Illinois….


Chicago Employees Fired for Not Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine Must Be Reinstated: Judge

Workers in Chicago who were fired for not complying with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate must get their jobs back, a judge said in a new ruling. City officials violated multiple parts of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act by imposing the mandate without negotiating with unions representing the workers over the effects of the mandate,…


Thefts Prompt 17 States to Urge Recall of Kia, Hyundai Cars

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Attorneys general in 17 states on Thursday urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge. Some Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the United States over the last…


US Appeals Court Denies Emergency Request to Block ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

A federal appeals court ruled to keep an Illinois state-wide “assault weapons” ban intact by denying a business owner who said the ban violates the U.S. Constitution’s 2nd Amendment. The Chicago-based Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request (pdf) for an emergency injunction by Robert Bevis, a gun store owner in Naperville,…


Juul Labs Agrees to Pay $462 Million Settlement to 6 States and DC

NEW YORK—Electronic cigarette-maker Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, the attorneys general in several states announced Wednesday. The agreement with New York, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Mexico,…