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WGN-TV
by: WGN Web Desk
CHICAGO — A 40-year-old man is in critical condition following a shooting in the city’s West Pullman neighborhood Saturday night, according to police.
Police said the man was sitting in a parked car in the 12300 block of South Princeton Avenue when he sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the body and head.
The man was taken to Christ Hospital in critical condition. There is no one in custody and no description of the perpetrator available.
The shooting is under investigation.
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HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — A Gary man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison in the slaying of a pizza delivery driver he and another man lured to an abandoned house for a planned robbery.
A federal judge in Hammond sentenced Terryante A. Flournoy, 23, on Tuesday in the November 2019 fatal shooting of David J. Shelton, 30, of Portage, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.
SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. — Police in Sauk Village are investigating the deadly shooting of a man outside of his home.
On Monday at around 4:45 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting at a home in the 22500 block of Yates Avenue.
Because sometimes, burying your phone in a bucket of rice just won’t do.
Apple has announced plans to begin offering manuals, tools and replacement parts directly to customers who wish to perform repairs on their own Apple devices.

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FOX 2
by: Kevin S. Held
Washington University St. Louis
ST. LOUIS – Two local universities are among nine Missouri higher-learning institutions to appear in “The Princeton Review” Best 387 Colleges list.
The nine Missouri colleges are listed below in alphabetical order:
How does “The Princeton Review” find the 387 best colleges in the country? Student surveys!
Our student survey has 85 questions in four sections. We ask students about: 1) their school’s academics/administration, 2) life at their college, 3) their fellow students, and 4) themselves. Students answer by selecting one of five answer choices that range across a grid or scale. The answer choice headers might range from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree” or “Excellent” to “Poor”: some are percentages with ranges from “0–20%” to “81–100%.” This answer choice five-point scale—which is called a Likert scale—is the most commonly used measurement for this type of survey research: a consensus-based assessment.
The surveys were conducted during the 2020-2021 school year. More than 154,000 students participated in the survey.
“The Princeton Review” did not include Top 20 ranking lists of colleges in this edition because the high number of students going to school remotely would have greatly limited the survey results.
However, “The Princeton Review” does feature what it calls “the cream of the crop” on the Best Of list, made up of the top 13% of all four-year colleges in the country. SLU, Wash U, Drury, and Truman State are the only Missouri universities to receive that designation.
“The Princeton Review” also posts 26 Great Lists, featuring best value colleges for public and private institutions, as well as best colleges for things like game design or entrepreneurship studies.
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ST. LOUIS – A fireball streaked past the St. Louis Arch early Wednesday morning.
It was captured on Earth Cam’s live video of the St. Louis Arch. The camera captured a light streaking through the western sky at approximately 2:43 a.m. Wednesday.
ST. LOUIS – Spirit Airlines has added new non-stop flights to three destinations out of Lambert Airport.
Starting Wednesday Spirit will provide daily non-stop flights to Phoenix, Fort Myers, Florida, and Tampa, Florida.
ST. LOUIS – After months of waiting, Afghanistan refugees are beginning to arrive in St. Louis.
The Post-Dispatch caught up with a couple along with their son and six daughters as they arrived at Lambert Airport. They were among roughly 35 refugees expected to arrive Tuesday.

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WGN-TV
by: WGN Web Desk
CHICAGO — Chicago detectives seek the public’s help in identifying a vehicle of interest allegedly used in a fatal shooting earlier this month in Princeton Park.
Around 12:45 p.m., police say a man was standing on the sidewalk in the 9100 block of S. Wentworth Ave., on June 1, when a black-colored SUV drove by and an occupant inside opened fire.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the 25-year-old shooting victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the man as Ogonnia Okeke.
Police on Wednesday released surveillance video of the vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call police or submit an anonymous tip to cpdtip.com
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CHICAGO — Thirty years after the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was placed under a federal consent decree to ensure it was living up to its mission, some child welfare experts say the agency once again falling shorts in areas judicial oversight was meant to address.
“You don’t need a PhD in social work to figure this out,” said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert.   “Now we’re seeing kids sleeping on floors in offices again.  Now we see kids locked-up in psychiatric hospitals for weeks or months because DCFS  doesn’t have any place to place them.”
JOLIET, Ill. — A person was shot by police outside of a Wendy’s in Joliet Tuesday afternoon and an officer was struck by a vehicle.
At around 3:30 p.m., officers were conducting a traffic stop in the parking lot, located in the 100 block of North Center Street. Police said a suspect’s vehicle struck and pinned an officer between two vehicles.
(NEXSTAR) – Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers urged “peace in Kenosha and across our state” ahead of a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.
Kenoshans are strong, resilient, and have worked hard to heal and rebuild together over the past year,” wrote Evers on Facebook and Twitter. “Any efforts to sow division and hinder that healing are unwelcome in Kenosha and Wisconsin. Regardless of the outcome in this case, I urge peace in Kenosha and across our state.”

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WHBF – OurQuadCities.com
Agriculture impacts our lives everyday. It includes the food we eat and the clothes we wear.
This is national agricultural week. It recognizes those who have dedicated their lives to feeding and fueling our world.
Local 4’s Linsey Tobin takes us to meet one of those families at Half Mile Down Farm in Princeton, Iowa.
Copyright 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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WHBF – OurQuadCities.com
by: Jonathan Turner
Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms hopes to make another major life change in 2022, by seeking the open 36th District Illinois State Senate seat.
The 62-year-old Rock Island native announced his candidacy Thursday morning, with current state Sen. Neil Anderson (R-Andalusia), who will run for the newly redrawn 47th District seat. The open 36th District seat was created by Democratic redistricting that left Anderson drawn out of the district by less than a mile.
“It’s been my honor for the last two terms to represent the 36^th District,” he said Thursday at the Moline Bass Street YMCA and boathouse. “During the re-map year we go through every 10 years, the majority party decided to do a little more gerrymandering, which is why I’m not running again. They districted me out of the 36^th District by about half a mile.”
“They couldn’t beat me, so they decided to draw me out, but what they didn’t realize is – we have somebody ready to take over and represent the 36^th District in a big way,” Anderson said.
Thoms has “done a great job as mayor, and before mayor, he’s done a great job working in the community, doing his philanthropic work,” he said. “He’s going to be a great asset to the Senate Republican caucus.”
Anderson noted it takes a special temperament to be a conservative, representing a Democratic-leaning district like the 36^th.
“Mike has that temperament. He is good at working with both sides of the aisle, bringing people together,” he said. Anderson said it comes down to working hard, meeting and talking with people, and finding a lot of commonality among Democrats and Republicans.
“You just actually have conversations, rather than having debates,” he said. Another Rock Island Mike — State Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island) has also announced his candidacy for the Illinois 36th District Senate seat.
“I am extremely enthusiastic about Mike Thoms running for the Illinois State Senate,” Anderson said. “Mike has the right temperament for public service. He’s got a proven bipartisan record as the leader of Rock Island, and his record reflects results. He gets it done for the people he represents by working with everyone involved, treating people with respect, and most importantly, listening more than he talks.”
Thoms — mayor of Rock Island since 2017 — is a fourth-generation resident of Rock Island, where he worked his way up over 29 years at the family business, Thoms-Proestler Company. Mike started as a dockworker and advanced to inventory control, buyer, warehouse manager, vice president of operation, and finally to Chief Operation Officer.
After he retired in 2005, Thoms started developing residential and commercial properties including a golf course (Fyre Lake), and sleeping rooms in airports (Minute Suites). He has also served on dozens of boards and committees to advance the region’s services and quality of life.
Mike and his wife Sara have been married for 41 years. They live in Rock Island, and have 3 adult children and 10 grandchildren.
At Thoms-Proestler Company, he learned every aspect of the business for 15 years, before he got into management. “I was fortunate at one time to work with three generations – my grandfather, my father and my brothers,” Thoms said Thursday. They sold the business in 2002, to Performance Food Group.
He said he’s running for Senate because of “jobs, jobs and more jobs.”
“Economic development is one of the biggest issues,” Thoms said. “Too many businesses are either not coming to Illinois or leaving Illinois, because of laws and policies that have been put in place.”
Focus on economic issues
He highlighted the key areas he believes matter to the voters of the 36^th District, focusing on job growth, workforce development, and economic development.
“The Illinois economy needs stability,” he said. “We all know that Western Illinois thrives when we have a stable economy, a strong workforce and a safe community. If the next generation leaves, they aren’t coming back.
“We must strive to have a growing job outlook, a trained workforce, and a community with revered first responders,” Thoms said. “We have to make sure we’re doing all we can to preserve the values that make this a great place to live, work, build a business and raise a family.
“That’s why I am running and I’m asking people who support that notion, no matter what their political party is, to support me in June and again in November.”
Illinois was one of just three states to lose population between 2010 and 2020, falling from 12,830,632 people to 12,812,508, and will lose a U.S. House seat when the new district maps are drawn.
“This district reflects border community, rural and urban issues,” Thoms said of the 36th. “It includes manufacturing, higher education, agribusiness, food chain infrastructure, small business and logistics. We need a leader who is focused on community development and experienced across a wide range of challenges and opportunities. I have a lifetime of experience that fits that model and I believe I am the strongest candidate in the race.
“I am ready, on day one, to go to Springfield and represent Western Illinois,” he said. Current state Rep. Mike Halpin is running for the Senate seat, and Thoms faces the potential of a contested Republican primary on June 28, 2022, before the general election on Nov. 8, 2022.
“We need to add more jobs; more jobs means more rooftops,” Thoms said of boosting Illinois population. “More rooftops, more retail. More retail, more income, and that’s how we do it. We need to generate more income for the state of Illinois by not continuing to tax people that are here more every year. It doesn’t work.”
Better quality job training is necessary, to reach students who aren’t going to traditional college, he said.
Support needed for police
Thoms also stressed support for area law enforcement, to both battle rising crime and make sure they have local control over their departments.
Laws have made it so officers can’t review their body camera footage before a report is released, which makes it very difficult, he said. “They need to refresh their memories on what happened, and this does that.”
“I’m for body cameras, but I think it should be a local decision,” Thoms said. “We need to give law enforcement the tools, the training and the support they need to reduce crime. We need to have their back.”
Shawn Roselieb, executive director of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council, spoke in support of his candidacy.
“We have a great relationship with Mayor Thoms and Rock Island. We appreciate the work he does there, with the police department,” he said. “We know that he always has our back.”
“We like what we hear. We feel where he’s wanting to go is along with our vision,” Roselieb said. “We like to see that politicians that are elected have our backs. We like to know we have someone who understands the equipment we need, the job that we do. We’ll work hard to make sure we have the things we need and the ability to do our job.”
Anderson said many endorsements don’t mean a lot, but one that’s meant a lot to him (and others) is that law enforcement standing right now, supporting Mayor Thoms.
“There’s a certain section in politics right now that want to downright get rid of these guys,” Anderson said of the “defund the police” movement. “And there’s these guys, to make sure we not only have more law enforcement, but make sure they’re properly trained and move forward and back them up.”
“I think it speaks volumes that we have FOP here right now, standing behind Mayor Thoms,” he said.
The district has many Democratic voters, and Thoms said he can work with everyone, regardless of party affiliation. “It’s the citizens. I have had great support as mayor from Democrats, so I feel we can reach across the line and have commonality.”
Thoms prefers Senate over House
He wanted to run for the Senate seat rather than the 72^nd District House seat Halpin currently holds, in part because Senate is a four-year term, versus two in the House.
“I do appreciate that, not having to do this every two years,” Thoms said. “I wanted to follow in someone’s footsteps, who I had a lot of respect and faith in. On Neil’s behalf, I wanted to fill his seat.”
Democrats Gregg Johnson and Jeff Deppe are seeking the nomination to run for Mike Halpin’s current House seat, the 72nd District. Anderson narrowly beat Johnson in 2018 for the State Senate, winning by 1.6% of all votes (or 1,281). Anderson first won office in 2014 by defeating incumbent Mike Jacobs 54.3 to 45.7 percent.
Anderson said his 47^th District now is the largest geographic Senate area in the state, covering 6,400 square miles – stretching from Andalusia to Adams County. to Menard, splitting Macomb in half, and back to Henry County. Macomb (home to Western Illinois University) will be represented by both the 36^th and 47^th Senate districts.
Thoms also made announcements Thursday in Galesburg, Monmouth and Macomb. His campaign website is thomsforsenate.com.

Copyright 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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President, who has said he played at law school, sends letter before momentous game in Dublin and calls team and Irish leader after
First published on Sat 13 Nov 2021 15.02 EST
Joe Biden wished the Ireland rugby team luck in their game against mighty New Zealand on Saturday, saying in a letter: “Go spread the faith. I’ll be cheering for you.”

Before the game in Dublin, the All Blacks had this autumn heavily beaten Wales and Italy and thrashed the USA by no less than 104-14.
But Ireland went on to beat New Zealand for only the third time in more than a century, 29-20 at a packed Aviva Stadium.
Their day grew more celebratory from there. On Saturday evening, Irish Rugby tweeted a picture from the team hotel, in which a phone was held up to cheering players and coaches.
The caption said: “Incredible to have @POTUS [the acronym for ‘president of the United States’] address the team after today’s win over the All Blacks!”
The White House confirmed the call, which it said Biden made with “members of his family”, and the letter written to “Team Ireland”.
In the political realm, a spokesman for the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told reporters Biden called him too, saying, “Well done, I’m delighted for you” and discussing his own experiences playing American football in college.
In fact, Biden’s links to and liking for rugby union are well known, not least in light of previous interactions with Ireland and New Zealand.
📍 Ireland Team Hotel

Incredible to have @POTUS address the team after today’s win over the @AllBlacks! 🤝#TeamOfUs #IREvNZL pic.twitter.com/aUTkqEYN2a
On a visit to Auckland in 2016, as vice-president, he was given a shirt by two All Blacks forwards.
“I played rugby but thank God I didn’t play against these guys,” Biden said, before telling the flanker Jerome Kaino he “played rugby for one year when I was in law school”, as a full-back.
The White House has not confirmed where and when Biden played rugby. It did not respond to a Guardian request for comment sent on Saturday night.
Earlier this year, however, Zach Levek of the Syracuse Rugby Alumni Association told the Rugby Network that though Biden graduated from law school at the New York university in 1968, a year before its rugby club was founded, the sport was played there before by students and local enthusiasts alike.
“We would not be surprised if a tough young man from Scranton was willing to put on the Syracuse orange-and-blue-hooped jersey,” Levek said. “We fully support President Biden’s statements and proudly recognise him as an SU Rugby alumni.”
Nor is Biden the only president to have played rugby. Bill Clinton played at Oxford, George W Bush at Yale. Other Washington power-players include the late Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy, who played for Harvard; James Baker, George HW Bush’s secretary of state, who played at Princeton; and HR McMaster, Donald Trump’s second national security adviser, who played at West Point.
Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, also played as a military cadet.
In Auckland five years ago, Biden mentioned following an All Black tour of Ireland in the 1970s, when he was a young Democratic senator from Delaware, during a congressional recess.
“We packed up,” he said, “and we followed them all through Ireland. There was nothing but carnage left behind. But I am a real fan.”
Ireland failed to beat New Zealand throughout that decade, part of 111 years of futile effort until a pulsating game in Chicago later in 2016. Biden congratulated that Irish team, which featured a full-back, Rob Kearney, to whom he is distantly related and who has visited the White House.
In his letter to the Irish team this week, Biden cited his cousin’s triumph at Soldier Field and said: “Since then, you’ve beaten the All Blacks again in 2018 and I know that you can do it again this year.
“… As the Irish blessing says, wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you. My grandfather, Ambrose Finnegan, would always say, ‘Keep the faith,’ and then my Grandmother Blewitt would add, ‘No, spread it.’ So go spread the faith. I’ll be cheering for you.”
Biden often celebrates his Irish ancestry. Earlier this year, at the White House, he said: “Everything between Ireland and the United States runs deep. Our joys, our sorrows, our passion, our drive, our unrelenting optimism and hope.”
On his father’s side, his ancestry is English and French. On Saturday, it was not immediately clear if the president had also wished good luck to England, who beat Australia at Twickenham, or to the French team picked to play Georgia in Bordeaux on Sunday.

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WHBF – OurQuadCities.com
by: Linda Cook, Mike Colón
Law enforcement officials told occupants of a mobile home to come out with their hands up shortly after 8 p.m. Monday in Milan.
By 9 p.m., the scene was quiet after officials made entry into the residence.
Local 4 News photojournalist Mike Colon, first on the scene, saw East 1st Avenue near 8th Street shut down. He heard the sound of glass shattering come from the mobile home shortly before 8:30 p.m.
Shortly after 8:30 p.m., officials with shields approached the residence and shot into it with what appeared to be pepper balls or tear gas. Smoke, possibly from the gas, emanated from the mobile home.
Law enforcement continued to make announcements over the loudspeaker.
About a dozen squad cars were in the area. Milan Police, Rock Island County deputies and one person with FBI on a bulletproof vest were at the scene, where the incident began about 6 p.m.
An armored car, which was in front of the mobile home, was re-positioned shortly before 8:30 p.m. Every minute or so, a siren went off, and authorities used a loudspeaker to tell the occupants to come out with their hands up. Some officials had rifles pointed at the residence.
“We’re not going away,” officials said over the loudspeaker. Additionally, they used the loudspeaker to tell occupants they had a valid search warrant.
Fire trucks from Blackhawk Fire Protection District used fire trucks to block off First Avenue.
A few neighbors watched from a distance. Our Local 4 News crew was at the scene, but officials did not allow anyone to get close.
Local 4 News and www.ourquadcities.com will continue to update when details become available.
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WHBF – OurQuadCities.com
by: Jonathan Turner
Christopher J. Sprague was arrested Tuesday and is being held on $100,000 bond.
Sterling Police on Tuesday arrested a 46-year-old man on a charge of sexual assault of a juvenile.
Christopher J. Sprague, 46, of Sterling, was arrested on a Whiteside County warrant for criminal sexual assault (Class 1 felony). He was arrested on Tuesday without incident at the Sterling Police Department.
An investigation was launched in July of 2021, when Sprague is alleged to have had contact of a sexual nature with a female juvenile, who at the time of the incident was under 18 years of age. Sprague was taken to the Whiteside County Jail on a $100,000 bond, according to police.
The Sterling Police were assisted by the Whiteside County State’s Attorney Office in the investigation.
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