Randolph County briefs: One-car crash; Schimpf votes no on mask mandate

<b>Vehicle goes down Route 3 embankment</b>

A vehicle driven by a Chester man who told police he dozed off, went off Route 3 and down an embankment where it overturned, in the early morning hours of Jan. 10. According to the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, at 1:55 a.m. the 2004 GMC Sierra was southbound on Route 3, about 150 feet north of Old Route 3, when after negotiating a slight curve in the roadway, the vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway. Police said the driver woke up, overcorrected and then ran off the left side of the roadway and down an embankment, coming to rest on its passenger side. Nicholas Wilson, 38, was ticketed with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. He was not taken to a hospital, the report said.

<b>Schimpf votes 'no' on mask mandate</b>

State Sen. Paul Schimpf issued a statement Tuesday saying he voted no to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's emergency rule that enforces mask-wearing and other public health orders. The vote in the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules went along party lines, and passed. Schimpf said he objects to the governor's use of executive orders "to unilaterally govern the state" and usurp the authority of the General Assembly. "If the Governor would ever decide to treat the General Assembly as a co-equal branch of government, I think he would find a body willing to work together for the health and safety of Illinois," Schimpf said.