State Briefs: 11/13/07

Veterans Memorial Tollway opens

After years of waiting for many commuters in the southwest suburbs, the Veterans Memorial Tollway - the former Interstate 355 - officially opened to traffic as of 4 a.m. Monday.

The new 12.5-mile-long extension connects Interstate 80 to Interstate 55 and cost $730 million. It promises to cut travel times for many travelers heading into and out of the fast-growing southwest suburbs.

The new tollway, which was completed a month ahead of schedule, includes six interchanges and tolls will range from 50 cents to $1.25.

Neighborhood wants to swap pies for eyes on crime

SPRINGFIELD - Crime-fighters in a Springfield neighborhood want to swap pies for eyes, and maybe a few lawyers.

Fed up with drug dealers, prostitutes and other criminals, the Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association has decided to dedicate the proceeds of a pie sale to buying surveillance cameras. The association also plans to study the possibility of suing problematic landlords rather than wait for the city to take action.

"We decided to take all of the revenue from our pie sales and set it aside for these kinds of projects," said Steve Combs, president of the Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association. "The concept and the commitment is there."

Law-abiding residents know which houses are problems in Enos Park, a neighborhood of mainly older homes north of downtown Springfield, Combs said. And suspicious activity is obvious.

The problem is proof, and that's where cameras might help, Combs said.

"We tried to be very aggressive in getting out with patrols and watching our own little areas and calling in. It never seems as if the information is as firm as we'd like. Our hope is, with these cameras strategically located, it can be documented when the police officers can't be there."

Criminologists say it isn't clear whether cameras can prevent crime or whether they are merely helpful in catching criminals after the fact.

Beaten man dies

SPRINGFIELD - A man who was badly beaten Friday has died, and additional charges are likely to be sought against his alleged assailant - a man who was convicted more than 20 years ago of killing his parents.

James D. Blair, 45, of the 500 block of West Edwards Street was pronounced dead at St. John's Hospital shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, according to Sangamon County Coroner Susan Boone.

The fight happened about 12:30 p.m. Friday, but police have released no details about what prompted it. Officers arrived to find Ralph L. Davidson, 42, allegedly dragging the unconscious Blair into a house.

Police tried to help Blair, but Davidson allegedly started a fight with two officers.

The officers eventually stunned Davidson with a Taser and were able to handcuff him. He was taken to the Sangamon County Jail on charges of heinous battery and disarming a police officer.

Court records indicate Davidson was imprisoned in the early 1980s for beating and stabbing to death his adoptive parents in Springfield.

Deputy Police Chief Clay Dowis said on Sunday night that police will consult with the Sangamon County state's attorney's office about additional charges against Davidson.

Headless deer dumped in Olney

Amid the debris of old tires, rusted bedsprings and broken beer bottles that litter the slopes of the railroad tracks near the intersection of Lafayette and Linn streets in Olney, the headless remains of a white-tailed deer were

found Thursday in the grass a few feet from the side of the road. Although the deer carcass was found within the city limits, Police Chief Rick Chaplin said such an incident would be covered by conservation law rather than city ordinance.

"This is the first thing like this I've heard of since I've been here," Chaplin said, adding, "That doesn¹t mean those things don¹t happen in the county."

While Hawes thought the incident would be considered illegal, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Steve Bruce said finding such remains is not uncommon at this time of year.

Bow-hunting season began in October, and with the advent of fall the bucks have grown antlers, which are prized trophies for hunters.

"Right now, there¹s headless deer everywhere," Bruce said, adding people seeking trophies will often cut off the heads of deer that have died by other means, like being hit by a car.

"No matter the size of the deer or the antlers, someone comes along and

chops its head off," he said. "Any time deer have got horns, they lose their

heads."

Police bust Web-advertised drinking party

WASHINGTON - Forty-seven young people were arrested after police broke up a large drinking party Friday night at a rental home in one of the city's historic neighborhoods.

The party advertised on the Facebook.com social networking Web site and attracted more than 100 revelers. It was billed as a "triple-kegger" with an additional attraction of pudding wrestling, police said.

While most of those arrested were from Tazewell and Peoria counties, some were from Bloomington and the Chicago suburbs of Hazel Crest and Mount Prospect. The arrested ranged in age from 15 to 20 and were cited

with underage drinking and other offenses.

"Forty-seven youths were caught at the party, and there were others who got away before we could catch them," Washington Police Chief James Kuchenbecker said Sunday. "That's what scares the hell out of me more

than anything else . . . all those kids drinking and driving that night.

Four young men rent the house, the chief said; one was at work the night of the party and helped police after he returned home.

Police found large amounts of hard liquor and bottled and canned beer at the house. They destroyed that alcohol and confiscated three half-barrels of beer and a tapper. They also found a small pool filled with about six inches of chocolate pudding in the basement of the home.

Kuchenbecker said additional charges could be filed once all the police reports are completed.

Gun initiative outlined

ROCKFORD - New Winnebago County State's Attorney Philip Nicolosi served notice Monday to would-be criminals who use a weapon to commit a crime: "My officer will prosecute your case aggressively and vigorously. ... We're not going to completely plea bargain cases away."

Nicolosi outlined what he called "A Five-point Gun Crime Initiative," which entailed a five-person prosecution team, stiffer charges and higher bond, more efficient prosecutions, seeking tougher sentencing, and if possible seeking prosecution in federal court.

Of the city's 13 homicides this year, Nicolosi said 11 have involved the use of guns.

Sheriff Dick Meyers was one of several area law enforcement officials on hand at The House, a police substation and community resource center at 1810 W. State St., where Nicolosi held his conference. He said all the pieces are in place for the program to succeed.

While judges and prosecutors had to contend with making sure only the most dangerous criminals were being housed in an overcrowded jail, Meyers said with the opening this summer of the 1,212-bed jailed housed inside the Winnebago County Justice Center, "Jail space is no longer an issue."

Unfair labor complaint filed

ROSCOE - Teamsters Local 325 has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the village of Roscoe following the board's decision to suspend a public works employee for 60 days without pay.

Michael Neidermeier was suspended on Oct. 17 after the board determined that he unplugged a time clock used by all public works employees to track their hours on the job.

But the Teamsters attorney, Marc Pekay of Chicago, suggested in the complaint filed Oct. 22 to the Illinois Labor Relations Board that Neidermeier was suspended because he supported the formation of a labor union in the village's public works department.

Contributing: Peoria Journal Star, Springfield State Journal-Register, Rockford Register Star and Olney Daily Mail.