COVID-19 has ‘slowed tremendously’ in Illinois

Two bandits pulled off a daredevil train stickup just south of Springfield on Christmas Eve 1912.In a robbery the Illinois State Register said eclipsed "the wildest dreams of the yellowback novel," the two stopped a Kansas City-bound Chicago & Alton train near Iles Junction on Christmas Eve 1912.

Under uncertain circumstances, the leading group of 29 organizations pushing for voters to have another option to make a change to the Illinois constitution this fall has lost some momentum as the coronavirus has placed the General Assembly on hiatus.

Tensions ran high briefly as two vehicles blocked the intersection of Second Street and Capitol Avenue and other protestors had to be removed from the walkway by Springfield Police along with Secretary of State and Capitol Police Sunday afternoon.

A woman told Springfield Police someone tried to reach in her back door, then fired off two to four rounds late Saturday night.

State officials on Sunday reported 33 new deaths from the COVID-19 virus, a sharp decline from Saturday.

On a sunny Saturday morning, Lynn Ehmen pulls up in her Chrysler Pacifica van and does an immediate inspection of a micropantry tucked off Converse Avenue at Lanphier High School."There's never been this much stuff in this pantry when I've been here," said Ehmen, eyeing the wooden cabinet that was built by students at the Capital Area Career Center.

The Benld city council voted Friday to contract with the neighboring city of Gillespie for round-the-clock police protection services beginning May 1.The 4-2 vote in essence dissolves Benld's police department currently made up of two full-time and three part-time officers, though there is language that it could opt out of the five-year contract if candidates for the force emerge later.

The coronavirus death toll in the U.S. hit a new plateau, New York state will begin the nation's most aggressive antibody testing campaign this week and some states are beginning to loosen restrictions as the nationwide effort to restore the economy began to take shape Sunday. Negotiators were also close to a deal that could provide $300 billion in additional funding to struggling small businesses. Overwhelmingly, restrictions remained in force.

Two clients who the Illinois Innocence Project represented were released earlier this month by Gov. JB Pritzker.