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7/1/20 – Studstill Media Photo
PRINCETON – A teen accused of fatally shooting one person and injuring another in Bureau County in 2020 has been arrested.   Authorities say 19-year-old Davijioin Robinson allegedly shot 17-year old Caleb E. Conrath on July 1st last year in the 200 block of Hillview Drive in Princeton.  He later was pronounced dead at an area hospital.  The victim’s mother was also reportedly shot but suffered non-life threatening injuries.  On Monday the US Marshalls were able to locate Robinson in Decatur, IL where he was taken into custody without incident.  He is expected to appear in Bureau County Court for a bond hearing.
Davijon Robinson – photo Princeton Police Department

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Tuesday, October 5, 2021
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By: staff – Updated: 4 months ago
Posted May 25, 2021
LaMOILLE – Two men were killed when their vehicles collided on U.S. 34 west of 2750 East Road, between LaMoille and Dover, on May 22.
Randy A. Jackson, 66, of Sublette, and Chad A. Monier, 48, of Princeton, died in the head-on collision that took place at approximately 7:10 a.m., according to Bureau County Sheriff James Reed.
The Bureau County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau County Coroner’s Office and the Illinois State Police Traffic Accident Reconstructionist are investigating the mishap.
Other emergency personnel responding to the scene were LaMoille Fire and Ambulance, the Illinois State Police and the Illinois Department of Transportation.
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The historic plan by Evanston, Illinois, to make reparations to its Black residents — including housing grants for a fraction of the city’s families — has prompted questions about whether funding such programs, as opposed to direct payments, can be considered reparations for slavery and racial discrimination at all.
The first phase involves giving 16 residents $25,000 each, for home repairs or property costs. This plan, however, is far from the direct payments that have come to characterize reparations — redress for slavery and the subsequent racial discrimination in the United States. But experts say Evanston’s plan is a noble start to a complicated process.
“I certainly would like for money to go directly in the hands of individuals. But I don’t think, in this regard, that should prevent an initiative like this from starting,” Andre Perry, author and scholar-in-residence at American University, said. “You know that saying, ‘perfection is the enemy of the good.’ That somewhat applies to this. You would like to see direct payments in some form to enable those who qualify to spend as they would like. But when you’re talking about historic discrimination, housing subsidies was a significant part of that. Discrimination occurred at many different levels, it was not just the federal government. So municipalities have a moral obligation.”
The housing program is the first initiative in a historic plan to distribute $10 million in reparations to Black residents of Evanston, according to the resolution. The effort is to directly acknowledge and address the “historical harm” done to Evanston residents through “discriminatory housing policies and practices and inaction by the City.” The effort would prioritize descendants of Evanston residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969 or suffered housing discrimination after 1969.
A historical report on the city’s policies identified housing as the “strongest case for reparations” by the city, finding “sufficient evidence” of housing discrimination in Evanston as a result of city zoning ordinances in place between 1919 and 1969, according to city officials.
Alderman Cicely Fleming called the resolution “a housing plan dressed up as reparations,” and said “true reparations” would be defined and dictated by the people rather than city leaders. Critics have even noted that simply funding homeownership does not adequately address the systemic racism that makes it difficult for Black people to build wealth through the practice.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Nalls, a college student who unsuccessfully ran for Evanston mayor, told The New York Times that “Giving $400,000 to 16 Black people in a town of 12,000 Black residents is not reparation.”
The columnist Dahleen Glantondescribed the resolution in the Chicago Tribune as “mostly a symbolic gesture with little of the substance the reparations movement hoped for,” adding that “African Americans won’t get a dime in their pockets.”
“It will have little, if any, impact on the lives of the other approximately 12,000 Black Evanston residents,” Glanton’s column reads. “It probably won’t even make a dent in addressing the economic disparities resulting from decades of neglect.”
Fleming tweeted about the column.
Evanston officials have said they aren’t able to give direct payments to residents without subjecting them to a tax burden. In the resolution, officials said the city decided to prioritize housing first as a result of community feedback. The $10 million project is funded by donations and revenue from the city’s sales tax on recreational marijuana. The City Council established its reparations fund in 2019 and will administer funds for the housing grants.
“We should honor what happened in Evanston as historic,” Dreisen Heath, a racial justice researcher with Human Rights Watch, said. “The city of Evanston’s remedy plan was always centered around the localized harm that Black residents in Evanston faced. That means looking at the local policies, laws, practices that were anti-Black and discriminatory and how they impacted the Black residents there. These reparative housing measures were specific to harms that happened between 1919 and 1969 in Evanston, Illinois, and therefore specific harms require specific remedies. That’s why this first phase of the program seems to be designed to address that directly. We need local governments to assume their culpability in creating these harms so that we have a more holistic response to the level of pain and suffering that continues to impact Black people on all economic and social corners.”
Similar efforts elsewhere have drawn the same criticism. In Asheville, North Carolina, leaders have vowed to give reparations by funding housing, business and career programs for Black people. Religious education institutions such as the Virginia Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary promised to atone for their historic ties to slavery by setting up scholarships.
The author and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom highlighted the issue in a 2014 Washington Post Op-Ed, in which she unpacked claims that better access to higher education is adequate redress for inequality. “Reparations can do what education cannot do,” she wrote then, adding that such access “is an opportunity vehicle that works best when coupled with justice and not confused for justice.”
Reparations have gone in and out of headlines in recent years, and the summer’s protests following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have only thrust the topic into the spotlight again. As government leadersdeeply consider reparations, Perry said “different programs will do different things. And we need to make room for that.”
“I think a lot of the criticisms of the program are a bit premature,” Perry said of the Evanston initiative. “It’s a good sign that a municipality recognizes its role in the racism that has robbed millions of Black Americans of trillions of dollars collectively over time. Once we get locked into one form of reparations, we miss how multifaceted discrimination actually is. There should be cash payments, housing grants, scholarships and there should be other forms created at multiple levels because that’s how discrimination occurred.”
He added that he believes this initiative won’t hinder or distract from the larger reparations movement, but will “motivate” it instead. “This should be seen as encouragement, not as a consolation prize,” he said.
National leaders are talking about reparations too. Earlier this year, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, reintroduced bill H.R. 40, which would create a commission to examine reparations for the African American descendants of slavery. President Joe Biden’s administration has expressed his support for studying reparations.
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Char Adams is a reporter for NBC BLK who writes about race.
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On her small family farm outside Princeton, Ill., Rachel Berry, founder and CEO of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, stands in front of a giant bale of hemp stalks that resembles an oversized bird’s nest. She pulls a small hardcover book from a basket full of various goods made from the fiber and woody pulp of hemp stems.
“This is the first hemp book to be made in 100 years, a book printed on hemp paper,” said Berry, before moving on to the next gadget: a 3D-printed children’s toy made with a hemp-based printing filament.
Since the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the production of industrial hemp—which is cannabis containing less than a 0.3% concentration of THC—farmers and advocates like Berry have worked to bring hemp fiber and grain crops to more farm fields in Illinois.
The fiber and hurd material from hemp has many uses in the manufacturing of textiles, construction materials, car parts, and more. Hemp also could play a role in the regenerative agriculture movement with its ability to improve soil and water quality, increase farm crop diversity, and generate new revenue streams for farmers. 
“It is an incredibly, incredibly versatile plant,” said David Lakeman, who oversees cannabis regulation for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. “I think we’re just barely scratching the surface of what private industry is going to be able to do with this plant once, you know, the market is a little bit more established.”
The lack of a market stems from federal prohibitions that have discouraged hemp farming as far back as 1937. Needless to say, hemp missed out on the immense innovation and technological advances afforded conventional crops throughout the 20th century.
But there may be a silver lining to hemp’s decades-long ostracism from the mainstream. The reintroduction of hemp has opened a door to a new world of possibilities for young Illinois farmers like Rebecca Dwyer, whose family has farmed conventional corn and soybeans in Woodford County since the 1980s.
“It’s really, really, really difficult as a young farmer to try and get started in this business,” said Dwyer. “So that’s why when my uncle said, ‘You know hey, let’s diversify, what do you know about hemp?’ I jumped on it. I don’t even think I gave him a chance to say no.”
After two years of field trials, Dwyer feels confident in her ability to grow the hardy plant in central Illinois where hemp growing conditions are ideal. But 2021 may be her last go at a hemp crop for a while, at least without some sign of a viable marketplace and the processing capabilities to get her there. 
That market may theoretically exist someday with a sustainably-minded manufacturer like Peoria-based Natural Fiber Welding.
“We could use hemp, but the issue for us is we need repeatable inputs, repeatability at least at that scale of hundreds of pounds.” said Luke Haverhals, founder and CEO of Natural Fiber Welding, a startup company that has expanded steadily in recent years with products like Mirum, a plant-based leather technology that has attracted investment from clothing companies like Ralph Lauren and Allbirds.
“We’re able to work with people who, if they can produce something repeatedly now and then they’re scaling too, they’ll be able to grow up with us.”
Despite the interest in hemp, Natural Fiber Welding sits on the opposite side of a critical supply chain gap from farmers like Dwyer. They are both waiting for meaningful progress for industrial hemp processing, a key step in delivering usable and repeatable materials to manufacturers.
Dwyer said, “It’s kinda the chicken and the egg and we laid the egg and now we’re waiting for the chicken to grow up I guess.
“Because we know we can (grow hemp), but we have to wait for that fully developed processor because I don’t have the time and my uncle doesn’t have the time for us to really process it ourselves on a large scale, profitable way.”
The development of sustainable markets for hemp fiber and hurd will take many years to develop, which in the long run may be for the better. The gold rush mentality that consumed the early days of hemp legalization predictably resulted in over production and disappointing prices for CBD products.
Rob Davies of Mississippi Fiberworks in Savanna, Ill., said the lackluster results of the rush by many to profit from hemp-derived CBD products should be a teachable moment for the development of the fiber side of the industry.
“CBD, quite frankly, I don’t think has been really a very good success story for Illinois,” said Davies. “I’m not pointing any fingers, it was just something that just kind of fell over.”
Mississippi Fiberworks is one of numerous organizations in the state pushing for a measured and cooperative approach to hemp fiber development. Davies said industrial hemp stakeholders should not overlook the opportunity to create hemp markets that work toward a triple bottom line.
“Eventually, we get to the point where we’re bringing some wealth back to small rural communities and we’re helping family farmers and of course protecting our watersheds and the environment by doing so,” said Davies.
Those are points that Berry agrees should remain at the forefront of industrial hemp development in Illinois.
“If you’re in this space to make money, you’re not going to have a good time,” said Berry. “Right now this is about building research and resources so that we can collectively work together…so that when it is time to expand we all know what we’re doing and hopefully we are all on the same foot as far as sustainable systems and stewardship.”

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PRINCETON — A 20-year-old Princeton woman was found dead last week in the downtown area of that Bureau County city, according to authorities.
Police and paramedics discovered the body of Calista Hall about 10 a.m. July 22 at a residence in the 100 block of East Columbus Street.
On Tuesday, Bureau County Coroner Janice Wamhoff revealed Hall’s identity. Public identification had been withheld while the Princeton Police Department was investigating circumstances before and after Hall’s death.
Police had no additional comment, other than to say the investigation was continuing. No additional details regarding Hall’s death were released.
Earlier this month, a double shooting in Princeton left one person dead. He was identified as Caleb Conrath, 17, of Princeton.
A suspect in that crime, 18-year-old Davijon Robinson of Kewanee, remained at large this week.

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The preseason rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters.
The preseason rankings of Illinois high school football teams in each class, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters.
1. Warren (6) 78
2. Lincoln-Way East (2) 73
3. Marist 54
4. Maine South 50
5. Hinsdale Central 47
6. Neuqua Valley 30
7. Naperville Central 26
8. Edwardsville 25
9. Huntley 14
10. Glenbard West 9
(tie) Palatine 9
Others receiving votes: Barrington 8, O’Fallon 5, Homewood-Flossmoor 4, Bolingbrook 3, Evanston 2, New Trier 2, South Elgin 1.
1. St. Rita (6) 68
2. Loyola (1) 63
3. Brother Rice 58
4. Wheaton North 55
5. Mount Carmel (1) 42
6. St. Charles North 31
7. Batavia 27
8. Prospect 22
9. Willowbrook 17
10. Wheaton Warrenville South 15
Others receiving votes: Lincoln Way West 9, Hononegah 8, Normal 7, Hersey 7, Shepard 4, Bradley-Bourbonnais 1.
1. Cary-Grove (10) 10
2. Crete-Monee 65
3. Washington 50
4. Lake Forest 49
5. Rockford Boylan 47
6. Simeon 34
7. Antioch 31
8. Kankakee 30
9. Benet 28
10. Springfield 23
Others receiving votes: Rock Island 19, Harlem 14, Vernon Hills 11, Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge 9, Lemont 9, Crystal Lake Central 9, Chatham Glenwood 8, Niles Notre Dame 7, Kaneland 6, Wauconda 1.
1. East St. Louis (7) 80
2. Rochester (1) 75
3. Peoria 60
4. Sycamore 50
5. Providence 35
6. Sterling 34
7. Decatur MacArthur 23
(tie) Marion (1) 23
9. Morgan Park 20
10. Fenwick 19
Others receiving votes: Mascoutah 15, Highland 12, Hillcrest 12, Nazareth 8, St. Viator 8, Triad 7, Morris 6, LaSalle-Peru 5, Glenbard South 2, Metamora 1.
1. Joliet Catholic (5) 94
2. Sacred Heart-Griffin (Springfield) (5) 93
3. St. Francis 80
4. Richmond-Burton (1) 63
5. Quincy Notre Dame 43
6. Phillips 42
7. Genoa-Kingston 40
8. Coal City 39
9. Peoria Notre Dame 30
10. Mt. Zion 24
(tie) Effingham 24
Others receiving votes: Marengo 10, Johnsburg 10, Cahokia 6, Macomb 5, St. Laurence 5, Stillman Valley 4, Carterville 4, Manteno 3, Canton 1, Murphysboro 1.
1. Wilmington (3) 96
2. Williamsville (4) 95
3. Monticello 77
4. Princeton (1) 63
5. Tolono Unity 35
(tie) Farmington 35
7. Byron 34
8. Nashville (1) 29
9. Mt. Carmel, IL 27
10. Montini 26
Others receiving votes: Benton 17, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 12, Peotone 10, Newton 9, Carlinville 9, Fairfield 8, Fairbury Prairie Central 5, Rock Island Alleman 4, Eureka 3, DuQuoin 1.
1. Decatur St. Teresa 88
2. Rockridge (1) 74
3. Bishop McNamara (5) 73
4. Maroa-Forsyth (3) 70
5. Breese Mater Dei 46
6. Sterling Newman 42
(tie) IC Catholic (2) 42
(tie) Clifton Central 42
9. Downs Tri-Valley 37
10. North-Mac 29
Others receiving votes: Fieldcrest 20, Bismarck-Henning 14, Pana 10, Athens 9, Rushville-Industry 6, Althoff Catholic 2, St. Edward 1.
1. Moweaqua Central A&M (2) 93
2. Lena-Winslow (7) 90
3. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (1) 73
4. Mt. Sterling (Brown County) 46
5. Arcola 44
6. Kewanee (Wethersfield) 43
7. Fulton 36
8. Cumberland 33
9. Forreston (1) 21
(tie) Galena 21
Others receiving votes: Greenfield-Northwestern 20, St. Bede 14, Camp Point Central 14, Carrollton 14, Tuscola 13, Princeville 12, Dakota 8, Aurora Christian 4, Winchester West Central 3, Jacksonville Routt 2, East Dubuque 1.
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But Foxx accused the mayor of getting her facts wrong regarding prosecutors’ decision not to charge five suspects in a deadly Austin shootout last week, and said there was not enough evidence.
With Chicago Police Supt. David Brown on the hot seat at City Council budget hearings, council members complained about the rise in homicides, shootings and carjackings from last year’s already troubling levels.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) will launch a webinar series aimed at educating parents on the best practices to prevent child exploitation online. The series was unveiled amid a recent rise in reports of child victimization online.
After his first week on the job, Martinez sat for an interview with Sun-Times City Hall reporter Fran Spielman.
Momentum has been a so-so indicator of postseason success. Overall season record has been better in the multiple-wild-card era.
It’s also important to stress that the majority of veterans who receive disability ratings are average income earners or retirees, not high income earners.

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BUREAU COUNTY, Ill. — Editor’s Note: The video above was taken by News 8 viewer Jason Ruff, near Wyanet, around 8 p.m. Monday, August 9
The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities confirmed three tornadoes touched down in Bureau County on Monday evening, August 9. 
One of the three was rated an EF-1, with winds that reached 105 mph.  The other two strengths remain unknown. 
Observations reported to the NWS show that the three tornadoes were reported between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., two by trained spotters and a third by the public. These were reported near Van Orin, Wyanet and Arlington.  However, the survey showed that the tornado’s touch down was closer to Zearing than Arlington. 
The National Weather Service in the Quad Cities has confirmed three tornadoes touched down in Bureau County Monday evening, one of which was rated an EF-1 with winds of 105 MPH. #WeTrackStorms pic.twitter.com/OAb0v8g0IN
This photo was shared by Crystal Ballard, outside Van Orin.
“While tornadoes were reported to have mainly touched down in rural and open fields, some damage was reported in and around the Arlington, IL area,” read the NWS event summary.
According to the National Weather Service, at least six tornadoes touched down in northern Illinois Monday. 
Meteorologist Rafal Ogorek says that based on video, photos and storm reports provided by storm spotters and storm chasers, the agency has confirmed that six tornadoes caused damage in Ogle, DeKalb, and Kane Counties and Lee counties.  
Shortly before 9 p.m., damage to power poles was reported near Kewanee, in Henry County. 
Below is a photo taken during the storm near Princeton, Illinois, courtesy of Lisa Nicole
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed newly-passed legislative district maps to govern elections in the Illinois General Assembly for the next decade despite opposition from Republicans and criticism from certain community groups who say they were ignored in the process.
“Illinois’ strength is in our diversity, and these maps help to ensure that communities that have been left out and left behind have fair representation in our government,” Pritzker said in a statement. “These district boundaries align with both the federal and state Voting Rights Acts, which help to ensure our diverse communities have electoral power and fair representation.”
Pritzker, who once promised to veto maps drawn by politicians, said earlier this week that he was reviewing the maps, but that “we have a constitutional requirement in the state of Illinois” to complete the maps this month.
His latest stance is a departure from comments he made as a Democratic candidate for governor in 2018 when he promised to reject a political product, opting for an independent, nonpartisan commission to create the districts. Pritzker this month backed away from that pledge, saying only that he would nix an “unfair” map.

The House voted 71-45 along party lines last week after 2 1/2 hours of debate to approve new district lines required after each decennial Census to reflect population shifts. It followed a similarly partisan Senate vote, 41-18, in favor of the maps drawn outside of the public eye but which Democrats contend were influenced by opinions voiced during 50 public hearings since April.
Republicans and grassroots activist groups have decried the process concluded without benefit of official U.S. Census numbers, which have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats contend they must be completed by June 25, which is simply the date on which they lose complete control of the work.
“The people deserve better than bad data, fake deadlines and sham hearings,” said Sen. Sue Rezin, a Morris Republican.
Pritzker criticized Republicans for not putting their own maps forward, saying they were “unwilling to participate.”
Political lines must be redrawn after each decennial Census to reflect changes in population and ensure protection of voters’ rights. They must be compact, contiguous, and of equal population, among other things.
Critics wonder why the map can’t wait for release of official U.S. Census numbers, which won’t be available until late summer. A consultant who’s on contract with House and Senate Democrats for $200,000 says the ACS numbers from before the 2010 Census varied only slightly from the official count.
The constitution requires the Legislature — currently controlled by Democratic super-majorities — to produce a map by June 30. After that, the project goes to a bipartisan commission. Each time that’s occurred since 1980, the panel has deadlocked and the name of the partisan tie-breaker is drawn from a hat.
During House debate, several Republicans called out Democrats for previously espousing independent map-making, reading from news articles and newspaper endorsement questionnaires their pledges to take politics out of the process. Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi cried foul, contending it’s not “inconsistent to say, ‘I believe the system should be different and nonetheless, I’m participating under the rules as they are today.’”
Virtually nothing was said about the cartography before the first map popped out late May 21. A revision appeared late Thursday which Hernandez maintained was “absolutely influenced” by public input. GOP Rep. Tom Demmer of Dixon claimed there was an “intentional effort” to withhold details from taxpayers, adding, “It makes a mockery of this process.”
Republicans also criticized the surprise remap produced this week of state Supreme Court districts, the first revision in 60 years. The GOP claims it’s because Democrats fear losing their majority on the high court. The House approved that map last Friday afternoon.

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At least 26 people have been shot, six fatally, so far this weekend across the city of Chicago, according to police records.
In the most recent incident, a 26-year-old man died in a shooting Saturday evening in the Pilsen neighborhood on Chicago’s Lower West Side.
The shooting was reported at approximately 6:03 p.m. in the 1800 block of South Paulina Street. According to authorities, two men and one woman were on the sidewalk when all three were shot by an unknown offender.
The other male victim, a 22-year-old, suffered a gunshot wound to the right shoulder and was said to be in good condition at Stroger Hospital. The third victim, a 23-year-old woman, was shot in the right shoulder and also listed in good condition.

In a separate incident, at approximately 3 p.m., two men were fatally shot Saturday afternoon while outside an Englewood gas station.
The two victims were at a gas station in the 6100 block of South Ashland Avenue when a dark-colored vehicle pulled up, and an unknown person inside fired shots, striking both victims.
One victim, a 33-year-old man, was shot in the chest and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police stated. The second man, who was 20 years old, died at the scene.
In the first fatal incident of the weekend, one man was killed and another suffered critical injuries in West Pullman. At approximately 5:19 p.m., a 47-year-old man and 34-year-old man were inside a residence in the 11800 block of South State when an unknown offender opened fire, striking both men, police stated. The 47-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The second victim suffered gunshot wounds to the left hand and right shoulder. He was listed in critical condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center.
An hour later, a 39-year-old man was shot and killed in the Roseland neighborhood. At approximately 6:21 p.m. in the 1100 block of South Vernon, the victim was on a sidewalk when a light-colored vehicle pulled up. An unknown person inside the vehicle then produced a gun and fired shots, authorities said.
The victim sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
In a separate incident, a man of unknown age died from injuries sustained in a shooting in Auburn Gresham. At approximately 7:31 p.m. in the 600 block of West 80th Street, the victim was on the sidewalk when he was shot in the head and neck, police said. He died at the scene.
No arrests have been made in either incident.
Here are the other shootings that have been reported:

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48 Olympic athletes with Illinois ties | Olympics | pantagraph.com  Bloomington Pantagraph
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