Clements, IL

Police, fire and other public safety reports from Jacksonville and the surrounding area.

A 17 year old woman has been charged with a variety of crimes including first-degree murder in connection with the June 23rd stabbing death of 26 year old Thomas Sheppard. Andrea Oliver of Springfield is charged with First Degree Murder, Vehicular Invasion, and Aggravated Domestic Battery arising from the incident.

Information has been released about an arrest of a man who broke into a home with a knife in rural Roodhouse last week. According to charging documents, 30 year old John J. Scheferkort entered a residence with the homeowners present at the time last Wednesday evening. The home is approximately 4 ½ miles east of Roodhouse.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND)- A 17-year-old has been charged on 4 counts of first degree murder, vehicular invasion, and aggravated domestic battery, after a stabbing incident on June 23. Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright announced on Friday that Andrea Oliver, 17, of Springfield has been charged as an adult on...

The owner of a Springfield rental car agency has been accused of insurance fraud amid an investigation into the agency by the secretary of state's office. Jordan J. Monroe, 31, of Chatham, faces one count of insurance fraud, a Class 3 felony. The charge, filed Wednesday in Sangamon County Circuit Court, alleges that a false claim was made on or about Feb. 13, 2021, to National Interstate Insurance Co. of Richfield, Ohio.

A second person has died from injuries in a crash that also took the life of a Springfield Lucky Horseshoes ballplayer. 27-year-old Zachary Wilham of Decatur died Thursday afternoon at HSHS St. John’s Hospital, where he was airlifted after the crash shortly before 1:30am Thursday on Interstate 72 east of Buffalo. Illinois State Police say Wilham was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes when he crashed into a car driven by 20-year-old Lucas Otto of Arthur. Otto… who was a pitcher for the Springfield minor league ballclub… was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 17-year-old female from Springfield is being charged as an adult with first-degree murder, vehicular invasion, and aggravated domestic battery in a fatal stabbing last week. Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright announced the charges against 17-year-old Andrea Oliver in the stabbing death of 26-year-old Thomas Shephard. He was stabbed June 23rd in the 15-hundred block of East Cook and died a short time later at the hospital. Springfield Police and the U.S. Marshal’s Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force located and arrested Oliver on Thursday. She’s being held on $1.5 million bond.

Jacksonville firefighters were called to a brush fire Friday along Interstate 72.

In June, we’ve been reporting on a deputy city clerk who used a personal social media account to say Springfield aldermen are “assholes.”. Now, in an email chain WTAX News obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, it’s clear Ald. Kristin DiCenso has little respect for city clerk Frank Lesko. The chain started with concern about a frequent public commenter using council meetings to defame a city employee.

Friday's court appearance for a Collinsville man charged with murder was brief, but it served as a segue as to what comes next. Robert "Bobby" J. Tarr made his first court appearance with his new attorney, Montgomery County Public Defender Erin Mattson, and set Friday, July 22, for his first in-person court hearing. It is scheduled for 11 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield Lucky Horseshoes pitcher Lucas Otto's death in an automobile wreck early Thursday, was akin to a "death in the family," said Alton River Dragons general manager Dallas Martz. "It hurts," Martz said. "Really, the only time the teams in our league compete is on the field. Any other time, it's like family. His death is like a death in the family, in a way." The River Dragons and Lucky Horseshoes are Prairie Land Division rivals in the Prospect League, a summer collegiate league. According to police, Otto, 20, died when his car was struck...

A Jacksonville woman has shared the story of her life and her decades-long search for her biological family in a new book that will be released Tuesday.

Springfield firefighters will get some extra training in the weeks ahead. A building located in the 700 block of East Vine Street is slated for demolition to make way for Springfield Clinic’s new lab facility. The building was donated to the Springfield Fire Department for use until it is torn down, and the Fire Department is making full use of it until then.

Folks who want to celebrate Independence Day with pyrotechnics have a couple of options in Springfield. Fireworks displays will be happening at the following locations:. July 3, North Mansion Block, 9:30 p.m. July 4, Knights Action Park, 9:30 p.m. Safety experts and city officials says fireworks are best left to...

SANGAMON COUNTY, Ill. (WAND)- Two people, including a Springfield Lucky Horseshoes player, were killed in a crash Thursday morning. Pitcher Lucas Otto, 20 years old of Arthur, and Zachary R. Wilham, 27, of Decatur both died after the collision on Interstate 72 eastbound near milepost 118 around 11:20 p.m. Police...

A pitcher on Springfield’s Prospect League baseball team, the Lucky Horseshoes, died in a traffic accident early Thursday. The Sangamon County Coroner reported Lucas Otto, 20, of Arthur was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:35 a.m. The accident happened on Interstate 72 between Buffalo and Illiopolis. Police said...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — A man who was killed in a crash on Interstate-72 on Thursday morning has been identified as Lucas Otto of Arthur, Illinois. Otto, 20, was a pitcher for the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, which is a U.S. Prospect League and collegiate summer league baseball team. He...