• Coal City man arrested on child sex charges

Coal City Police report the arrest of a 46-year-old man on child sex related charges. In a press release, Coal City Police say David A Hietschold Junior was arrested Wednesday following a search warrant at his home in the 800 block of East Division. As a result of the search, Hietschold was arrested on three counts of Criminal Sexual Assault and one count of Predatory criminal Sexual Assault of a Child.

• Crown Point authorities make arson arrest

Authorities over in Crown Point Indiana report an arrest in connection with a suspected arson at a church. In a Facebook Post, Crown Point Police say the early morning fire on October 22nd at Saints Peter and Paul Macedonian Orthodox Church caused some 30-thousand-dollars worth of damage to a small prayer chapel outside the main church. An investigation led authorities to conclude the fire was arson. Crown Point police say they arrested 24-year-old Tyler Cyr of Hoffman Estates and charged him with four counts of arson, and criminal mischief

• Kankakee Chamber holds annual Gala

The Kankakee Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Gala and Awards Dinner last night at the Quality Inn in Bradley. Chamber Executive Director Kelsey Post says it was one of the largest Chamber gatherings in recent memory
(Post)
The Theme for this year's Gala was "The Future is Now" among the award recipients, Home Helpers was named small business of the year. Owner Sarah Jamison says the award means a lot to her business
(Jamison)
More than 300 people attended last night's event.

• What to do around Kankakee County

Let's find out now what's going on around Kankakee County this weekend. With a look at a few of the events, here's Nicole Gavin, Executive Director of Visit Kankakee County

• Strickler Planetarium hosts shows

If you're looking for something different to do with the family this weekend, the Strickler Planetarium at Olivet may have just the thing. Planetarium Director Madeline Shepley has more. You can see Aurora Lights of wonder tonight and tomorrow night at 6 and 7:30, One World One Sky has a showing tomorrow afternoon at 4:30. There's more at Strickler.olivet.edu

• Flights Reduced at OHare and Midway

O'Hare and Midway airports are among the dozens of airports across the country that will have flights reduced because of the government shutdown. The FAA says flight capacity will be cut by up to 10-percent at 40 major airports across the country, including O'Hare and Midway. Hundreds of thousands of passengers could be affected if the government shutdown continues. LAX, New York Laguardia, and Phoenix Sky Harbor are other impacted airports.

Hear the unforgettable true stories of Kankakee County. Search for "This One Time in Kankakee" wherever you get your podcasts or click here: https://pod.link/1843321847

• Flags across IL ordered to 1/2 staff

The state of Illinois is paying tribute to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney died this week at the age of 84 due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease. Illinois is honoring him by flying Flags at half staff throughout the state until sunset on November 13th. Cheney served as the nation's 46th vice president under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.

• Two arrested for suspected cannabis trafficking

Kankakee Area Metropolitan Enforcement Group agents arrested two men Tuesday morning after a months long cannabis trafficking investigation. According to a press release 26 year old James T. Tsirikos of Saint Anne and 27 year old Corey Q. Felton of Bourbonnais were both taken into custody around five fifteen Tuesday morning. Tsirikos was arrested at O'Hare airport and was found in possession of approximately fifty two hundred grams of suspected cannabis as he returned on a flight from California. Felton has been charged with intent to deliver over 500 grams of cannabis. Search warrants executed at three different properties throughout Kankakee County in connection with the two men turned up over eleven thousand five hundred grams of suspected cannabis. KAMEG was assisted by several agencies during the investigation.

• Olivet to accept students after suburban school closes

Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais will welcome students from Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights after the college closes next year. Olivet announced Tuesday that it has established a transfer partnership to welcome Trinity students into the Olivet community should they choose to continue their undergraduate education at Olivet’s Bourbonnais campus. Trinity's board of trustees voted to close the campus in Palos Heights in Spring of next year due to financial struggles caused by declining enrollment, post-COVID-19 losses, increased competition and shifting donor priorities.

• United Way urges food pantry donations during shutdown

As the governmental shutdown continues and there continues to be talk about reduced or eliminated SNAP benefits, some are concerned about how to feed their family. Maria Vail is the Executive Director of the United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois Counties and she says local food pantries are seeing an increase in people using their services. Vail adds there is help if you find yourself in need of food. Vail says if you want to contribute you can make donations directly to those food pantries as well or monetary donations can be made by using the United Way's Health Impact fund at MyUnitedWay.org

• Time to talk turkey

It's kind of hard to believe, but Thanksgiving is just three weeks away. Rob West recently spoke with Sue Smith, Turkey Talk-Line expert with Butterball Turkey and she says it's time to think about buying that turkey. If you have any questions you can get ahold of a turkey-talk like expert at 1-800-Butterball

• Olivet Hockey to honor veterans

Next Tuesday is Veteran's Day, and Friday night, the hockey team from Olivet has a special evening planned for area vets. Olivet Hockey Coach Bjorn Lindgren says veterans will be admitted free to Friday night's Military Appreciation Night match with Northern Illinois at Ice Valley Center in Kankakee. Coach Lindgren says they have several special events planned for the evening. Veterans get into the match for free, it costs five dollars for everyone else. The puck drops at seven Friday night at Ice Valley Center near KCC on Kankakee's south side.

Hear the unforgettable true stories of Kankakee County. Search for "This One Time in Kankakee" wherever you get your podcasts or click here: https://pod.link/1843321847

• Madgian appeals conviction

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is appealing his conviction on federal corruption charges. Madigan's attorneys claim prosecutors flouted recent Supreme Court rulings reining in the use of the bribery and fraud statutes and stretched the laws "past their breaking points." Madigan began serving his seven-and-a-half-year federal prison last month after being convicted earlier this year on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and bribery. Federal prosecutors say Madigan conspired with others to get ComEd to make monetary payments to his associates in exchange for favorable legislation.

• State fire service moves to new platform

Fire departments across Illinois are transitioning to the new National Emergency Response Information System. The Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office says NERIS is a secure, cloud-based platform built to modernize how emergency incidents are reported and analyzed. It will provide local agencies with timely data tools, location-based analytics, and flexible options for incident reporting - at no cost to departments.

• Crime Stoppers Tip of the Week

Local authorities continue to look for those responsible for a double homicide from January first. Kankakee County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Trent Bukowski has our Crime Stoppers Tip of the week

• Kankakee Christmas Parade awards increased

Those who enter a float into the City of Kankakee's Christmas Parade this year have a chance to win up to one thousand dollars. Fourth Ward Alderman Lance Marczak announced the news at Monday night's city council meeting. Marczak says the reason for the prize money increase is to give people an incentive to decorate their floats. This year's Christmas parade is on Saturday, December 13th.

• Dwight Police report arrests following chase

Dwight Police have announced a pair of arrests that involved one man fleeing the scene of a traffic stop Monday morning. In press release from Dwight Police, officers pulled over a car for speeding driven by Eddie Brown the Third near the intersection of Mazon Avenue and Saint Louis Street around 2:45 Monday morning. During the stop, officers located a stolen firearm in Brown's possession. After getting handcuffed, Brown fled the scene on foot. Brown was located about three hours later in a residential area in Dwight and taken back into custody without incident and booked for several charges. The female passenger traveling with Brown, Keaira Wilkins, was also arrested and charged with obstructing justice.

• Short term rental tax discussed in Manteno

During Monday night's meeting of the Manteno Village Board, Visit Kankakee County Executive Director Nicole Gavin addressed the Board about comments made two weeks ago regarding a proposed short term rental tax. Gavin pointed out a similar tax is already used in places like Champaign, Springfield and the Quad Cities. Gavin said it's one way to increase tourism dollars without affecting local residents.

• Manteno Trustee asks Mayor to sign contract

During the Trustee's Comments segment of Monday night's Manteno Village Board meeting, Trustee Todd Crocket asked Mayor Annette LaMore to sign the contract for Village Administrator Chris LaRocque. Mayor LaMore pointed out that most Village employees work without a contact. Crocket said he feels LaRocque has proven himself to be valuable to the Village.

Hear the unforgettable true stories of Kankakee County. Search for "This One Time in Kankakee" wherever you get your podcasts or click here: https://pod.link/1843321847