Illinois

CHICAGO, IL – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has upheld a Chicago ordinance that allows officers to issue administrative citations instead of making arrests for low-level offenses, including public urination. The plaintiff, Joshua Pinchon, was arrested in 2021 after urinating behind a parked car. He argued that under the ordinance, which allows for administrative citations for certain municipal code violations, his arrest violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The court rejected Pinchon’s arguments, holding that the ordinance did not strip police of their authority to arrest individuals for violations that are still classified as criminal under Illinois law. The court emphasized that while the city may provide alternatives to arrest, it does not elimina...

PEORIA COUNTY, IL – A 32-year-old man was struck and killed by vehicles while walking in the roadway on Thursday night, according to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the intersection of Airport Road and Monroe Road at approximately 9:30 p.m. on October 16, 2025, and located the man deceased in the roadway. Investigators believe he was struck by at least one, possibly multiple vehicles. Two vehicles that hit the man stopped at a nearby gas station and contacted 911. One of the drivers told deputies they did not see the man due to low visibility at night and his position in the roadway. The victim was a resident of Monroe Road. His identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin by the Peoria County Coroner’s Office. The incident remain...

MOLINE, IL – The Moline Police Department announced that Michael Schram has been arrested in connection with a robbery at Ascentra Bank. According to police, Schram entered the bank and committed the robbery before fleeing the scene. Detectives with the department’s Special Investigations Group pursued multiple leads and later located and apprehended Schram in Scott County, Iowa. He is currently being held at the Scott County Jail on robbery charges and is pending extradition to Illinois.

EAST ST. LOUIS, IL – A superseding federal indictment unsealed today charges 26 individuals with participating in a large-scale drug trafficking operation allegedly connected to the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the Department of Justice. The indictment accuses the defendants of trafficking hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine from Mexico into Southern Illinois, and laundering proceeds back to Mexico through U.S. banks. According to court documents, the conduct occurred between January 2020 and July 2025. Two Mexican nationals, Prospero Coronel-Sanchez, also known as “Pro,” and Jose Luis Angulo-Soto, also known as “El Mi Nino,” face narcoterrorism charges and are accused of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Both are also cha...

DECATUR, IL – The Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 5 is asking for the public’s assistance in the homicide investigation of 51-year-old James E. Taylor of Decatur. Taylor was reported missing to the Decatur Police Department on May 12, 2023, and was last seen alive on May 10 around 6 p.m. He was found deceased on May 19, 2023, in a rural area near his home. ISP Special Agents are treating the case as a homicide. According to ISP Lieutenant Chad Dumonceaux, investigators continue to pursue leads and encourage anyone with information — no matter how minor — to come forward. Decatur Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,500 for information regarding Taylor’s death. Tips can be submitted anonymously through the following channels: Call Decatur Cri...

CHICAGO, IL – A federal grand jury has indicted Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, also known as “El Musico,” for terrorism, drug trafficking, and firearm offenses, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. According to a superseding indictment unsealed in the Northern District of Illinois, Gastelum Iribe, 50, of Sinaloa, Mexico, directed the Beltran Leyva faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated foreign terrorist organization, in importing massive quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs into the United States. The shipments, often in the hundreds or thousands of kilograms, were distributed nationwide, including in the Chicago area. Prosecutors allege that after the arrest or death of the faction’s prior leaders, Gastelum Iribe assumed control, orderin...

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The United States filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Illinois over laws granting in-state tuition rates and scholarships to illegal aliens, alleging the measures violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution. Photo Courtesy of DOJ via OPA (August 29, 2025) The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, names the State of Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker, the State Attorney General, and the boards of trustees of state universities. It seeks to block enforcement of laws requiring colleges and universities to provide in-state tuition to all aliens who maintain Illinois residency, regardless of immigration status. According to the Department of Justice, federal law prohibits institutions of higher education from providing benefit...