On March 12, 2025, at 3:38 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a 911 report of a Semi facing eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 64 near the 29 mile marker. Deputy Eric Powell was dispatched to the scene and upon arriving he found a Blue Freightliner Semi with a box trailer attached sitting partially in the fast lane of travel of westbound traffic. Haubstadt Fire and an ambulance were also dispatched to the scene to treat a possible patient and to assist in removing oil and debris from the roadway. Deputies with the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office and Haubstadt Police Department assisted in traffic control during the investigation of this incident.
While investigating this incident Deputy Powell located the driver 55 year old Shawn Kemble of North Richland Hills, Texas. While speaking with Mr. Kemble Deputy Powell detected clues that the driver was under the influence of an unknown intoxicant. At that point Deputy Powell and Indiana State Trooper Tanner Hurley began a DUI investigation. At the conclusion of the investigation Mr. Kemble was placed into custody and transported to the Gibson County Jail where he was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated.
Also assisting in this investigation were Deputy Wes Baumgart and Haubstadt Officer Bryan Munnier.
Preliminary findings on scene indicate that Mr. Kemble’s Freightliner struck the Interstate 64 Bridge over Interstate 69 on the north side of the roadway. The semi continued down the concrete bridge where it then crossed the median and came to rest partially in the westbound lane.
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Illinois schools turn to retirees, substitutes, outsourcing & state grants to combat prolonged teacher shortage
Annual educators’ survey showed lack of applicants, salary issues and poor working conditions among main causes
By Jessie Nguyen, Jordan Owens and Medill Illinois News Bureau
SPRINGFIELD – From hiring retired educators to adjusting class offerings, Illinois schools are relying on a variety of short-term, innovative measures to cope with a prolonged and critical statewide teacher shortage.
The most recent survey of education leaders from the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, or IARSS, shows overall shortage percentages similar to pre-pandemic levels, yet school districts are still struggling to ease less-than-optimal student-teacher ratios.
“For our school districts throughout the state, (the teacher shortage) is not universally created everywhere. It looks different in every place, but I think everybody believes – or at least feels like – it's a challenge,” said Gary Tipsord, IARSS Executive Director. “So let's accept that as a reality, and then that will allow us to best solve this sustainably.”.
This is the eighth year the IARSS has partnered with Goshen Consulting to produce the report.
Of more than 750 schools surveyed this year, 87% said they have a “minor, serious or very serious (shortage) problem.” The report also found that 91% of schools said they struggle to hire substitute teachers, while 65% said more than half of teacher candidates don’t have the proper credentials for the teaching positions they’re applying to.
“I think the biggest impact that (the shortage) has is on teacher morale. If there aren’t enough people to do all of the jobs, then those of us who are committed and dedicated to what we do automatically do more,” said Gretchen Weiss, a special education teacher at Macomb Middle School in West Central Illinois.
Illinois had roughly 140,000 teachers for the 2023-2024 school year, according to a report by the Illinois State Board of Education. This number has grown every year since the implementation of Evidence-Based Funding, or EBF, in 2018. The student-teacher ratio was 17:1 in 2024 at both the elementary and high school levels, a steady decrease from roughly 19:1 in 2016.
The IARSS 2024-25 teacher shortage survey found that while alternative teaching methods helped districts see an increase in the number of educators, the shortage persists due to a lack of new teachers entering the profession.
School leaders surveyed said a limited applicant pool, compensation issues and “poor working conditions” are among the main causes of the shortage, though Tipsord said the term “working conditions” is broad and its meaning can vary from one respondent to another.
“When people talk about working conditions … that potentially means something different to every teacher or every district or every building,” Tipsord said. “I don’t know that we’re in a good space to truly understand that yet, and I think that’s the place where we need to continue to dig.”
Pandemic
In 2020, Illinois schools, like others across the country, were hit with temporary school closures due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Rachael Mahmood, a teacher at Georgetown Elementary School in Aurora and the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year, noted that students and teachers alike struggled with the effects of an upsurge in online learning.
“I missed my students being in the classroom, and I missed all the community of a classroom, so I was ready to return,” Mahmood said.
In the 2020-2021 academic year, administrators saw a spike in unfilled positions or low-quality hires. Budget and health concerns due to the pandemic in school districts caused a decrease in the number of educators working in K-12 schools. Though the shortage seemed to improve the following year, it has proved to be a continuing issue with shortages rising between 2022-2024.
Because of the pandemic, school districts in the state are working to return shortage rates back to pre-pandemic levels. In 2018, 85% of education leaders reported “a major or a minor issue” in filling teaching positions. This number grew by 3% in 2019.
To help relieve issues caused by the pandemic, schools across the country received an infusion of federal money called Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.
Illinois saw this money distributed in three rounds over the last five years through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act; the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act; and the American Rescue Plan (ARP ESSER). About $7.7 million of the $8 million funds were spent, with final ESSER dollars being allocated to schools in September of this school year.
“I think what is going to be very interesting is after this year, all those ESSER dollars will have expired unless they get an extension through March of 2026,” said Tipsord. “But as those have expired, what's the landscape? And will data next year - raw data next year – look worse?”
Alternative measures
About 3,864 positions are left unfilled this school year at a vacancy rate of 2.8%, a decrease from 4,096 positions last year, or 3%.
For the 2024-2025 school year, Illinois schools filled 6,117 teaching positions with innovative alternative measures like using retired teachers, going virtual, modifying class offerings and utilizing third-party vendors to find educators. Many of those positions were in areas such as bilingual or special education, early childhood and elementary education.
At Macomb Middle School, these measures include having two Leading, Educating and Partnering in Schools, or LEAP, advocates and a “paperwork day” for special education teachers.
LEAP advocates are the school’s support staff who help with school attendance, academics and student well-being, according to the Macomb Regional Office of Education’s website. A paperwork day is when teachers take time off from school to complete an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) outlining the special education students’ academic goals and deficits for the school year.
Weiss said in addition to teaching, she also writes IEPs for 14 of her students.
“The district hires a sub for me, and I find a quiet workspace in the building, and I can work on paperwork,” Weiss said. “That speaks to my district’s commitment to work-life balance… That’s something that my district does very well in terms of taking care to make sure that teachers have the support they need.”
This year, school districts hired about 1440 substitute teachers, including some retired teachers. To accommodate those retirees, many downstate school districts increased the number of days retired educators can work as substitutes without affecting their retirement benefits. Of the schools surveyed, 86% said this measure helped with the shortage.
“We do have one retiree that's helping us with a math vacancy right now,” said Travis. “She just retired, and she signed up right away to be a substitute. We reached out to her, and she said, ‘Absolutely,’ because she's familiar with the curriculum and the students.”
Policy recommendations
Increasing state funding for K-12 schools, investing in teacher and school leadership and helping support staff become educators are some of the recommendations school leaders mentioned in the survey as possible ways to ease the shortage crisis.
Fifty-nine percent of school leaders said EBF money allowed districts to add additional staff, while others said the teacher vacancy grants and career and technical education pathway grants can also help ease the crisis.
EBF is a school funding formula lawmakers adopted in 2017 that seeks to reduce funding gaps in the state by sending more resources to the most underfunded districts. CTE programs prepare students for high-skill, in-demand occupations like engineering or culinary arts.
In his February State of the State address, Gov. JB Pritzker reiterated Illinois’ ongoing support for K-12 education funding, including a $350 million increase in EBF and a $1.3 million increase in CTE programs. This brings the total EBF funds to $8.9 billion since the program was enacted in 2017.
Pritzker also proposed continued funding of $45 million for the Teacher Vacancy Grant Pilot Program.
“We are recipients of the teacher vacancy program. I should say that has helped us retain teachers because we were able to offer some signing bonuses for hard-to-fill positions,” said LaTesh Travis, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources at Berkeley School District 87.
Launched in the 2023-2024 academic year, the teacher vacancy grant allowed districts to fill educator positions and offer money for education training. For the Berkeley School District, Travis says they were able to offer signing bonuses for math, special education and bilingual teachers.
Though the state has pledged its support for education funding over the past couple of years, some say there is still room for improvement.
“We understand that this budget, although compassionate, still has a long way to go when it comes to really being able to close gaps. Illinois has committed to education, and I think that has to be part of (the budget) as well,” said Jelani Saadiq, director of government relations with Advance Illinois, a nonprofit agency that promotes public education in Illinois.
Aside from funding, the report proposed more support for shortage research — to better understand what is working to ease shortages — and the implementation of Illinois Vision 2030, a five-year policy framework for state legislators and education officials to better support K-12 public education.
One of the framework’s focuses is on attracting and retaining high-quality educators through marketing campaigns, strengthening educator pathway programs and improving educators’ experience. Vision 2030 also advocates for grow-your-own programs that encourage local high school students to consider careers in education.
Mahmood said one other way to keep teachers in the workforce is through leadership, though balancing a professional’s “natural desire” to be promoted and their sense of duty can be challenging.
“Every teacher is a leader — they lead classrooms, they’re in charge of little people and they’re making all these decisions as a leader. But are we treating them as leaders?” Mahmood said. “Teaching is the only job where going up means going out of the classroom, and we need great teachers to choose to stay in the classroom.”
Jessie Nguyen is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.
Jordan G. Owens is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Educators say low pay hinders teacher recruitment, retention efforts
‘Poor Working Conditions’ also cited as deterring new hires: 2024-25 teacher shortage report
By Jordan G. Owens and Medill Illinois News Bureau
SPRINGFIELD – Increased pay for educators, better school conditions, mentoring and mental health support are key factors cited by educators that could help alleviate the critical ongoing teacher shortage in Illinois.
“Poor Working Conditions” are among the top three causes of the shortage, according to the 2024-2025 Illinois Educator Shortage Survey released Monday by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, or IARSS. Limited applicants and issues related to salary and benefits are the other two.
Educators cited pay as one of those working conditions and argued that part of the solution must be to provide higher teacher salaries. The top three desired solutions cited in the survey were improved state and federal support, providing incentives to educators and improving recruitment.
“All teachers across the state feel under-compensated, and that is a real point of pain,” said Dr. Rachel Mahmood, 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year and an educator at Georgetown Elementary School in Aurora. “If you can afford to pay more, you're going to draw people towards your districts.”
LaTesh Travis, assistant superintendent for human resources in Berkeley School District 87, highlights the competitive labor market in hiring teachers and how low pay leads to more teachers leaving or not wanting to work in lower-income and rural areas.
To have a more equal distribution of educators across the state, Travis said, Illinois would need to raise the minimum income for all teachers to $55,000, because it is a main factor deterring people from the education field.
“I would like to see teacher salaries have a minimum base increase,” Travis said. “How schools are funded is based on where you're located, and some of us in the lower socioeconomic communities, we can't pay what others pay.”
Last month, Gov. JB Pritzker proposed a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year that would increase K-12 funding by $300 million and boost higher education funding by 3% but would keep funding flat for the Early Childhood Block Grant program. The governor and lawmakers have to agree on a spending plan by the end of May.
The authors of the Illinois Educator Shortage Survey concede the term “poor working conditions” is hard to define and, thus, hard to solve.
“I think the area that's interesting is when people talk about working conditions, and we even talked about this a little bit last year, that potentially means something different to every teacher or to every district or to every (school) building,” said Gary Tipsord, executive director of IARSS. “I don't know that we're in a good space to truly understand that yet, and I think that's the place where we do need to continue to dig.”
Hoping to help improve teachers' working conditions, Mahmood focuses on necessary discussions about why people came into the education field.
For example, Mahmood highlighted World Cafés, an inclusive dialog model that creates ideas and plans to enhance schools, as a tool she learned from working in the Indian Prairie Community Unit School District to format these discussions.
“The end goal of that is not only mutual empathy and understanding of each other's stories and working on the culture and climate of our schools, it's also showing teachers the role they have in shaping a school’s culture of belonging, with the ultimate outcome of teachers feeling validated and valued in their fields,” Mahmood said.
As teacher of the year, Mahmood focuses on raising retention rates by showing the importance of sharing the stories of teachers across the state.
“Part of retaining educators is understanding why they came into the field and honoring their purpose and their mission for becoming a teacher. Making sure that they feel satisfied,” Mahmood said.
Those surveyed say other initiatives that need to be taken on a statewide level are supporting and speaking about increased stress in educators and their mental health, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robin Steans, president of Advance Illinois, an advocacy group focused on public education, says more mentorship opportunities for new teachers and education leaders would also help with teacher retention.
“This is a tight budget year, so (the Teacher Mentoring and Induction Program is) one of the programs that has been slated not to make that transition,” Steans said. “I think that is problematic because we lose a lot of teachers in those first three years, and Teacher Mentoring and Induction has a real impact on that. It really increases the retention rate, and that is absolutely critical.”
It is essential to retain teachers and add more to the workforce to keep up with the growing number of students in K-12 grade levels. Survey respondents cited improving recruitment, providing incentives and more support for staff as the top three strategies to combat the shortage.
In her role for the Berkeley School District, Travis travels to universities in the state to recruit graduating college students to teach in the district.
“When I go to the career fairs, that's an indicator for me of how many people are going into education,” said Travis.
She notes it is especially hard to find and recruit specialized teachers for students.
“There is a huge shortage in special education, bilingual education, math teachers and science teachers. I truly believe, over the years, special education is leading the pack,” said Travis.
With special education having the most unfilled positions of all specializations in teaching, according to the shortage survey, school districts are specifically feeling the effects of the shortage the most through this avenue. This academic year, 1,215 of these positions were left unfilled.
This upcoming academic year, the Berkeley district is looking to introduce and bring in a cohort of special education teachers to help fill the vacancies in their schools. So far, 10 teachers looking for licensure endorsements have signed up.
Other strategies Travis says would help with recruitment include reaching out to middle and high school students through future teacher programs.
“I just hope that we can inspire and encourage more people to become teachers,” said Travis. “We have to partner (with schools) more and make a connection, helping the pipeline start early.”
With what is expected of teachers and the added tasks due to the shortage, Mahmood says the time and effort that goes into teaching sometimes go unnoticed. To recruit and improve working conditions, she emphasizes the importance of going into schools to ask what educators require to feel supported and acknowledging their reasons for coming into the field.
“Educators' stories of why they came into teaching is super important,” Mahmood said. “I think that teachers that have a strong ‘why’ story, it grounds them through the tough years and the great years.”
Jordan G. Owens is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Republican bills aim to assist Illinois in its battle against fentanyl
The bills have attracted bipartisan support
By JADE AUBREY
Capitol News Illinois
jaubrey@capitolnewsillinois.com
Illinois Republican senators have filed bills that would combat the state’s fentanyl crisis and further punish major possessors of the drug.
One bill would reclassify a fentanyl overdose as a “poison,” while another would consider major fentanyl possessors a threat to public safety.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois experienced 3,261 fatal opioid-related drug overdoses in 2022, and 2,855 in 2023.
“There's not one simple area that it affects. It's everyone,” Sen. Sally Turner, R-Beason, said. “If you don't know someone that's been tainted with fentanyl, you will.”
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says fentanyl accounts for a major portion of all fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the U.S.
It’s usually added to other types of drugs to increase potency, making the laced- drug cheaper, more powerful, addictive and dangerous.
“A packet of sugar that you get at the restaurant, that's about 2 milligrams,” Turner said. “If you compare that to 2 milligrams of fentanyl, that little packet could kill 500 people. So think about that. That's how important this is.”
Turner and Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, announced their sponsorship of the four fentanyl-related bills during a news conference with McLean County Coroner Kathleen Yoder in the Statehouse.
“The vast majority of time in these deaths, fentanyl is not something someone chooses to use intentionally,” Rezin said. “It's something they take when it's laced in other pills or products. Families are losing loved ones, not because of addiction, because they are unknowingly being poisoned right now.”
Rezin championed Senate Bill 1283, which would change the official language of IDPH for a fentanyl-related death from an “overdose” to a “poisoning.”
“When we treat fentanyl deaths as overdoses, we minimize the impact that this drug has on the victims,” Rezin said. “As legislators, it's our responsibility to ensure that people who die from this poison are recognized as victims, not just another overdose statistic.”
Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, said in an interview he is supportive of Rezin’s bill and is filing and sponsoring a duplicate bill in the House.
“It's clear that fentanyl is poisonous, and people die from it,” he said. “And many times, people that die from the fentanyl overdose, they're not intending to die, but they get a fatal dose, just like a fatal dose of any poison, and therefore it should be registered as a poison.”
Rezin is also pushing Senate Bill 113, which would require someone charged with handling 15 grams or more of substances containing fentanyl to prove that they do not pose a threat to public safety to be granted pretrial release.
“This shifts the burden away from prosecutors and judges and makes clear that the safety of our communities come first,” she said.
Neither of Rezin’s bills have been assigned to a committee, however, Ford said he agreed with Rezin that such people are a threat to public safety and planned to talk with the senators further about the bill. His main concern is if judges can already do this under the Safe-T Act.
Will Narcan continue to be the solution?
Naloxone – often referred to as its brand name, Narcan – is an over-the-counter medication as either a nasal spray or injection, and often is used to reverse opioid overdoses.
In 2010, Illinois passed the Good Samaritan Law, which allows non-medical personnel to administer Narcan to a person experiencing an opioid or heroin overdose. The law’s enactment led to the creation of the Drug Overdose and Prevention Program, which enabled the Illinois Department of Human Services to provide organizations with Narcan, for free, to be dispersed within communities in the state.
A CDC report from late 2024 disclosed that, like Illinois, fentanyl-related overdose deaths decreased from 2022 to 2023 – the first nation-wide decrease since 2018.
On Thursday, the Pritzker Administration released a statement that reported an 8.3% decrease in total drug overdose deaths in Illinois in 2023. Synthetic opioid-related deaths also dropped by 9.5%.
The statement noted that “several factors likely contributed to this decline, including sustained efforts to increase naloxone distribution throughout the state.”
“What this tells me is that Narcan works and that it saves lives,” Ford said. “That’s why we have to make sure that we do everything we can to get Narcan out there.”
But Turner and Rezin weren’t so optimistic.
“I mean, great, we've had a decrease in fentanyl deaths,” Rezin said. “But considering where we want to, where we need to be, we're nowhere near being able to take a victory lap.”
Yoder, the McLean County coroner, reported that fentanyl has recently been mixed with new substances, like benzodiazepine and xylazine, often called tranq. These are substances that Narcan can’t reverse.
“This sad reality means that Naloxone alone cannot solve this problem,” Yoder said. “We need a holistic approach that includes keeping these dangerous drugs off the street and holding those trafficking these drugs accountable in order to safeguard their unwitting victims.”
Turner agreed.
“Yoder mentioned that now there's different forms of fentanyl that are coming out,” she said. “I think we're going to see more death because of Narcan doesn't work on everything. I think she's told us that maybe we're going to see that in the future.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, talks about her fentanyl-related legislation at a news conference in the Capitol. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jade Aubrey)
Rural schools face unique challenges filling positions
Districts finding creative solutions to persistent shortage
By Jessie Nguyen and Medill Illinois News Bureau
SPRINGFIELD – When Gretchen Weiss applied for a teaching position at Macomb Middle School in west-central Illinois more than 20 years ago, the school’s policy was to keep applications on file for only a year due to the large volume of applicants.
That is no longer the case. Now, applications are kept on file indefinitely, Weiss said.
Macomb and other smaller schools in rural Illinois are seeing firsthand the effects of a persistent statewide educator shortage. Though school districts are coping with the crisis through creative alternative measures, teachers and education leaders said they might only work in the short term.
A recent survey of the state’s educators by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, or IARSS, looks at the impact of the ongoing teacher shortage where 87% of education leaders in the state indicated a “minor, serious or very serious (shortage) problem” for the 2024-25 school year. That includes 83% of districts in west-central Illinois.
“Schools and districts that serve more students from low-income households, more bilingual students and more students of color are more likely to be dealing with more significant vacancies. And I think this report is a reminder of that,” said Robin Steans, president of Advance Illinois, an advocacy organization working to promote the Illinois public education system.
At Carbondale High School where roughly half of the student population are minorities, finding teachers who look like the students is part of the challenge.
“Some folks in our building — who work as paraprofessionals and support staff, who want to become teachers, who are more representative of our community and as far as their demographics — are having trouble finding those opportunities, those pipelines into teaching,” said assistant principal Tyler Chance. “Right now, we’re looking at hiring a Spanish teacher, which is hard to find in a rural area.”
Ninety percent of school leaders in rural Illinois reported none or very few applicants for open positions, according to the study, released Monday. Bilingual teachers, English as a Second Language instructors and special education teachers are among the state’s top unfilled positions this year.
Short-term solutions
Roughly 3,864 positions across Illinois are unfilled this school year, while 6,117 positions were filled through alternative solutions. From hiring retirees to shortening the teacher pathway, Illinois schools are easing the effects of the crisis in their own ways.
A special education reading, language arts and theatre teacher in the Macomb school district, Weiss said she’s thankful to have veteran teachers return to Macomb from retirement to help guide newer teachers.
“Those teachers know the ins and outs of the district and are really good in their field,” Weiss said. “We’re lucky that those retired teachers act in that capacity… because it’s a tough job and if you don’t have the support, it would be easy to see why someone would be like, ‘I think I’m going to do something else.’”
Speeding up the licensing process is another way Illinois schools are tackling the shortage. Short-term credentials have allowed teachers to teach new subjects and grade levels without having to complete the traditional coursework or earn the Professional Educator License (PEL), a requirement for Illinois teachers, according to the 2023 Teacher Pipeline report by Advance Illinois.
Though most short-term approvals allow licensed educators to teach in grade levels and subject areas in which they are not yet endorsed, the Content Knowledge Pathway, a new type of short-term approval, allows non-PEL holders to teach for up to three years, the report said.
For the 2021-22 school year, coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, 1.5 percent of all Illinois teachers held short-term approvals, which might require educators to have a PEL. That’s up from just 0.1 percent in the 2017-18 school year.
But Chance said these alternatives seem like “band aids” when the prolonged teacher shortage needs to be addressed with “longer term care.”
“I think policy-wise, the big rush is to open doors for folks to get into teaching quickly, and that’s one of the doors I stepped through — Teach for America,” Chance said. “But some of it needs to be the long game. We need to make sure that teaching is a valued profession, that it has the community respect it used to have.”
He added, “We need to make sure that we have a diverse teacher workforce … that teachers are paid well and that’s the long game and harder solutions, rather than online programs that people can complete quickly.”
Teaching as “a calling”
Seventeen years ago, in his first year of teaching, Joe Brewer was “coaching every sport full time” on top of making overhead projectors at night due to the lack of technological advancement at his old school in Fulton County. Brewer said it was how teachers like him could make ends meet.
Currently a dean at Beardstown Community Unit School District, Brewer still works additional hours after school, teaching GED courses two nights a week.
To Brewer, teaching isn’t just about the pay.
“That’s just the water we swim,” he said. “I view (teaching) as a calling, but that’s problematic, because we have to live our life.”
Due to the long hours at work, Brewer jokingly said he raised his two sons through the “Ring camera.”
“Maybe it’s helping me fill a financial gap to make some ends meet, but it does come at a cost of spending that quality time,” he said.
For veteran educators like Brewer, having space to grow professionally is one of the ways school districts can retain educators amidst the shortage. He believes rural areas can offer a sense of community that supports teachers in their profession.
“This is where rural schools can lead the way because our best asset is our social capital — we know everybody,” Brewer said. “We can be really easily connected in our community in a way that we don’t have to hustle.”
Weiss echoed Brewer’s sentiments.
When she first earned her teaching certificate from Western Illinois University, Weiss had plans to teach in a big city, but now she’s glad she was “willing to give a rural area a shot.”
“Here I am 30 years later,” Weiss said. “This is a place that very quickly feels like home.”
Jessie Nguyen is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Partisan politics infiltrating non-partisan local Illinois elections
Illinois Democrats backing candidates in new strategy to get involved in all elections
By BEN SZALINSKI & BRIDGETTE FOX
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD — It’s been just four months since the last election concluded, but another election is on the horizon in Illinois: the April 1 elections for school boards and municipal offices.
Though municipal and school board races in Illinois are nonpartisan, voters may see many of the same political themes that were hallmarks of races during the 2024 presidential election cycle. The Democratic Party of Illinois is applying many of the same tactics it uses in partisan elections to this year’s local races.
"We as the Democratic Party of Illinois should be defending Democratic values in every single election in nonpartisan and partisan elections alike, because all of these local offices have jurisdiction over super critical controls and we think our party has the best platform for governance,” Democratic Party of Illinois Executive Director Ben Hardin said.
The 2025 local elections are the second time that Illinois Democrats are getting involved in nonpartisan races. After recruiting more than 1,000 prospective candidates last year, the state party is supporting 270 candidates for a variety of local offices in all areas of the state.
The party trained the candidates and attached them to “coaches” experienced in running Democratic campaigns. Candidates will also be supported by a six-figure advertising campaign by DPI in the coming weeks.
"I think our voters welcome the information,” Hardin said. “They want to know, and they need to know, who the aligned candidates are.”
It’s also part of the party’s strategy to be more active year-round.
"This is how the party operates now,” Hardin said. “We are not going back to closing up shop after an even-year midterm or presidential election, lying dormant for 18 months and then coming alive again for the next even-year general election.”
Hardin acknowledged there could be some voter fatigue after November’s presidential election, but he stressed that’s why the party wants to make Democratic voters aware an election is approaching.
"These local offices, if we allow them to be uncontested, especially with the Trump administration in office, you know with our lack of control of the wheels of power in D.C., we could allow our state to start slipping to the right at the local level,” Hardin said.
For example, DPI is getting involved in the mayoral race in Aurora, Illinois’ second-largest city, where incumbent Mayor Richard Irvin and Aurora Ald. John Laesch face off. The election is the first since Irvin’s unsuccessful campaign for governor as a Republican in 2022. Hardin said that’s made Irvin an easy target for a partisan campaign.
"We’re treating Aurora like the rest of our program across the state,” Hardin said. “In Aurora, you’ve got an executive of the city who is a Republican.”
As a candidate for governor, Irvin faced numerous questions about his Republican credentials. He often avoided answering any questions about President Donald Trump or his position on abortion as he faced accusations from opponents that he wasn’t conservative enough. Irvin later co-hosted a Black Republicans event at the Republican National Convention last year.
DPI is running a direct mail program this month targeting Irvin. It also plans to reach Democratic voters in Aurora through other mail and digital outreach advertising to let voters know which candidates in the city the party supports.
Irvin’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Illinois State Board of Elections records show DPI also used its resources to support Peoria Mayor Rita Ali and Calumet City Mayor Thaddeus Jones, who is also a Democratic state representative, during primary elections in February.
A full accounting of the party’s spending on municipal elections won’t be available until mid-April when reports are due to the state election authority.
Conservative influence
Jim Rule, chairman of the Tazewell County Republican Central Committee, said his group doesn’t normally get involved in “consolidated-type elections” like the Morton School Board, which has five candidates running for election — but this year is different.
Four of those candidates are affiliated with Republican groups despite school board elections being nonpartisan.
In Illinois, political parties and individuals can still support and endorse any candidates they wish.
Rule said his committee vetted and backs the four Republican-aligned candidates.
“It's important to get the right people in office,” Rule said. “Look, we've all heard the phrase ‘all good government starts locally,’ and this is a classic example of that. School boards are so, so vitally critical to have the right people on them for our kids.”
The four GOP candidates are backed by the Citizens for Morton Schools political action committee, which did not reply to a request for comment.
Rep. Bill Hauter, R-Morton, is also involved in the race. He has donated $1,000 to the group as of March 5, according to the State Board of Elections, while his campaign has provided $2,000 worth of consulting.
“I am supportive of four great candidates for Morton School Board in my hometown,” Hauter said in a statement. “They are great candidates who each have their own unique qualifications that can help Morton students, parents, teachers and taxpayers. This will be a statement election for our community.”
Rule said one of the main goals of Tazewell Republicans this election cycle is defeating Dr. Ashley Fischer, a pediatrician running for the Morton School Board whom Hauter called “too radical for the people and schools of Morton.”
Fischer said she’s an anti-bullying advocate, which includes respecting all aspects of students’ identities like race, gender and sexuality.
“We want to send a message, not only to the residents of Morton, but to the community around us,” Rule said. “That this is something that — this woke agenda — is something that we need to rid ourselves of, and it has no place in the school system, especially with young kids.”
Fischer said Republicans are trying to scare voters.
“They're basically stoking hot button topics to get a fear response out of parents, to try to get them to vote against me out of fear,” Fischer said. “I have never once brought up any policy to do with transgender children, except that I think no child should be bullied in the school, regardless of their race, orientation, medical conditions, anything. They are in that group. I don't think any child should be bullied. That is my stance.”
Fischer also criticized Republicans for their online rhetoric, which she said promotes hate.
Fischer’s advocacy has also been scrutinized by Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group that advocates for conservative curricula in schools, such as by opposing LGBTQ lessons.
Virg Cihla, chair of the Tazewell County chapter of Moms for Liberty, said his group does not endorse any candidates.
The Illinois Republican Party did not reply to request for comment about their involvement in any April 1 elections.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Lisa Hernandez, a state representative and chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, speaks to members of her party at a Democratic National Convention delegation breakfast. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
‘Right to Play’ bill that would affect high school athletes advances in House
Bill would allow students to compete on school and nonschool teams simultaneously
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – A House committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would give high school student athletes the right to participate in both school-sponsored teams and nonschool teams in the same sport at the same time, despite concerns that such a policy could create friction between coaches and jeopardize students’ safety.
House Bill 3037 would create the “Right to Play Act” in Illinois and override existing rules of the Illinois High School Association, which sets eligibility rules for student athletes and strictly regulates their ability to participate in nonschool programs.
Those rules generally prohibit students who participate on a school team from also participating on a nonschool team in the same sport during the high school sport’s season.
IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in an interview that currently students may participate in as many as three outside contests or tournaments during the season, but only if those events are sanctioned by the sport’s national governing body and the student receives permission from both their school and IHSA.
Rep. Janet Yang-Rohr, D-Naperville, the lead sponsor of the bill, told the committee that the rules have resulted in students being disqualified from competition over seemingly minor infractions.
“We have cross country runners who are running a charity race during the cross country season. IHSA found out and disqualified that runner for the rest of the season,” she told the House Education Policy Committee. “We have members of a high school pom squad in Will County. Members of that pom squad went to a dance competition, and IHSA found out and disqualified those dancers for the rest of the season.”
Libby Magnone, a junior at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein told law makers that during her first two years of high school she was prohibited under IHSA rules from playing soccer at her school because she also played in the Girls Academy League, a program that sponsors tournaments that are eyed closely by college recruiters.
“The best soccer players across the state have to choose between having to forgo showcasing their talents to college coaches that recruit from these tournaments, or sitting out their high school season,” she said. “Issues like these disproportionately affect girls and young women because unlike football or basketball, college coaches and scouts rarely go to high school events.”
But Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, who serves on the committee, said the rules restricting participation on multiple programs exist for several reasons, including protecting the health and safety of student athletes.
“If there's a kid in a concussion protocol, if there was an event that happened, maybe in a soccer game with one team or the other, I don't know that that coach has to communicate with the other coach to make sure that the kid is rested,” she said. “And so I just have issues with that overlap.”
Stuart said the policy change could also create friction between coaches, and put the students and their families in awkward positions, if both teams have games or activities scheduled on the same day.
“They're in a spot,” she said. “Their high school coach says, ‘If you don't go to practice, you're not playing the next 10 games,’ or whatever the typical thing is. And then you have a traveling coach who says, ‘Well, if you don't show up for our practice, then you're not playing.’ And then the kid has to choose. ‘Which one do I not have an opportunity in?’ I think you're going to have a lot of issues with that.”
The bill passed out of the Education Policy Committee on a 12-0 vote, with Stuart voting “present.” The measure will go next to the full House for consideration.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Rep. Janet Yang-Rohr, left, and Carmel Catholic High School student Libby Magnone testify before a House committee on legislation that would let high school student athletes compete on both school-sponsored and nonschool teams in the same sport during the same season. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
‘You are flying.’ Inside the harrowing 100-mile police chase in Sangamon County
Motorcycle shop burglary suspect died in the triple-digit pursuit
By BETH HUNDSDORFER
Capitol News Illinois
bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD — When Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Pearce saw a white pickup spotted outside a motorcycle shop that had been burglarized earlier that night, he punched the gas and chased the fleeing truck, reaching race car speeds and screeching his tires through hairpin turns.
Sgt. James Hayes, his supervisor, asked whether he had enough gas.
“I got a full tank, baby,” Pearce said on a dispatcher’s recorded line.
Hayes OK’d the chase. As it turned out, he would need all that gas.
The chase tested the limits — not only Pearce’s driving abilities, his cruiser’s performance and Hayes’ supervisory skills in ensuring his officers act under policy, but the limits of newly appointed Sheriff Paula Crouch to enforce those policies.
Capitol News Illinois first reported on the pursuit in September, but the Sheriff’s Department released scant details. CNI filed a Freedom of Information Act request to review police reports, dispatch records, and dashcam video of the pursuit, but the request was denied. CNI then filed a lawsuit against Sangamon County to get access to the records. Afterward, the county relented.
The records showed a pursuit that clocked triple-digit speeds, winding through downtown streets, past city parks, neighborhoods lined with million-dollar homes, golf courses, on country roads, down a major interstate, over railroad crossings, across narrow bridges and even past two local police stations.
The pursuit that averaged 100 mph at times ended more than 100 miles from where it started with a man, later identified as suspect Kirtis Davenport, barely breathing on the side of a black-topped country road. Davenport, police said, fell from the bed of the speeding truck as it made a sharp turn. The driver kept going.
"When you are on a pursuit, your adrenaline is pumping. You are flying. The lights and sirens are going. You are multitasking — using the radio to send your location, update the dispatchers and supervisor, keeping an eye on the road, watching your subject,” Christopher Burbank, a former police chief who now serves as a consultant for the Center for Policing Equity, told Capitol News Illinois.
“And at speeds like that you are outrunning the sound of your siren. You will come upon drivers that can act erratically because they don’t hear your siren until you are right on top of them.”
The U.S. Justice Department called vehicular pursuits “the most dangerous of all ordinary police activities.” According to a study by the Police Executive Research Forum, 4,415 people died during a police pursuit from 2017 to 2021.
In 2023, the Illinois State Police annual report on police pursuits contained 1,023 reports of chases, up from 834 in 2022. The report found that the average pursuit lasted under five minutes with an average law enforcement speed of nearly 80 mph. The pursuits ended in 131 crashes.
What is notable about the Sangamon County pursuit is the duration, Burbank said. In fact, it is one of the longest he can recall. Unpredictable drivers, wildlife, unfamiliar roads, high speeds, and adrenaline compounded the danger, Burbank said.
Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office engaged in 11 pursuits in the last five years, not counting the 100-mile pursuit, according to records from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standard Board. The agency requires police to submit a report for all pursuits.
Of the 11 previously submitted reports, the longest Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office pursuit was 20 miles at speeds of more than 105 mph. Pearce traveled five times that distance at speeds that topped 110 mph.
Police initiated many of the pursuits for property crimes, such as possession of a stolen vehicle or burglary, or traffic violations. Two pursuits were initiated for violent felonies — armed robbery and homicide. Four gave the reason for the pursuit as a felony with no further details.
In the Pearce pursuit, it all started with a burglary call.
Details of the chase
The call came in just before midnight Sept. 21 as an alarm at a local motorcycle dealership.
Hayes and Pearce responded and found the front door smashed. A witness reported seeing a new, white Dodge pickup truck pulling a box trailer.
Almost an hour later, a Dodge Ram pickup truck was spotted — without a trailer, but two dirt bikes in the bed. Pearson tried to stop him, but the driver fled.
The pursuit wound south, then west through Springfield, dropped south at Washington Park and through Leland Grove. Hayes, the sergeant who authorized the chase, by now had joined in and attempted to put up stop sticks — hollow spikes that flatten the tires of cars that drive over them — at South Grand and 11th streets but was unable to get them set up before the cars passed.
In Leland Grove, a city adjacent to Springfield, the pickup turned down a dead-end road, then turning around and heading straight for the squad car.
“He’s trying to ram me!” Pearce told the dispatcher.
About 5 minutes later, on the northern edge of Springfield, the pickup — followed by Pearce — turned south in the northbound lanes of Veteran’s Parkway, a major state highway, for two miles before getting into the southbound lane.
The pursuit left Springfield, to Riddle Hill, Berlin, New Berlin, Maxwell, Auburn, Divernon, Waverly. North of Loami, Pearce reported to dispatch that objects were being tossed onto the road at him. His car was hit by a flying wrench. The chase continued south on Interstate 55.
The written statement added ISP would not advise other agencies to terminate a pursuit acknowledging that they operate according to their own policies and procedures.
The pickup and the pursuing squad car traveled at 106 mph through a construction zone, just north of Litchfield.
At the Litchfield exit, the driver was able to avoid stop sticks. The truck traveled east into downtown Litchfield to Cherry Street where it turned and headed south out of town.
Hayes stopped chasing. He was miles away from Sangamon County and low on gas, he wrote in his report.
Pearce’s radio signal cut out, according to the dispatch recordings, but he continued to pursue, traveling south, skirting Staunton and Williamson.
“Piece of s--- radio,” Pearce said.
The pursuit continued down darkened rural roads, flanked on either side by cornfields that would have obstructed cars entering intersections, then over a high railroad bridge that ends in T road. The truck made the sharp turn and so did Pearce, but on his bodycam video his headlights caught something on the gravel shoulder.
"Oh s---! Oh s---! I think someone just fell out of the truck. ... Damn it!" Pearce said.
Pearce ended the chase to render aid. The bodycam video showed Pearce approaching the man, who was on the shoulder barely breathing. The truck kept going, and Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies continued to chase, but they lost sight of the fleeing truck and gave up.
After Pearce called for an ambulance, deputies who had joined the chase began to give first aid.
Later, they found a wallet with three unscratched Missouri lottery tickets, five milligrams of methamphetamine, and $122 in cash. The man had no identification, only a tattoo that said “Davenport” across his abdomen.
The chase took just over an hour — a route that would take two hours in normal traffic and following the speed limits.
The man on the road was airlifted to St. Louis University Hospital with life-threatening injuries. He had sustained severe head injuries. Police later identified him by his fingerprints as Kirtis Davenport, 43, of Kansas City. Davenport was on federal parole for theft. When he was arrested at a Kansas car wash for that case, court records stated he was carrying a loaded 9 mm handgun.
Police found the 2022 Dodge Ram truck reported stolen out of Kansas with stolen Missouri plates abandoned six miles south on a street in the Madison County town of Livingston. Inside, they found guns, including a stolen handgun, and ammunition. Two new dirt bikes were still in the truck bed.
They also found a cell phone under the passenger seat belonging to Davenport. The vehicle pursuit had ended, but the pursuit of the driver was just beginning.
Digital detective work
A search of Davenport’s phone turned up pictures of bikes from inside the dealership on Sept. 19 — three days before the burglary, according to a cellular data analysis report by Sangamon County Sheriff’s detectives.
The digital analysis of the phone also turned up Facebook messages with a Kansas man named Ryan O’Neal, a former motocross rider, known to local police to steal bikes and sell them to support his narcotics habit, the report said.
O’Neal and Davenport were suspected of a similar burglary in Olathe, Kansas six weeks earlier, according to a Sangamon County report documenting a conversation with Kansas police.
The digital trail showed O’Neal’s and Davenport’s phones stayed together from Kansas to central Illinois. Police pulled surveillance video at a New Berlin gas station. In that video, Davenport uses the bathroom and buys a hooded sweatshirt. They could also see another man with him putting gas in a white, Dodge Ram pickup, pulling an enclosed trailer.
The trail would later put them at the parking lot of a Springfield hotel for an hour after the heist. Employees would later say the trailer, with two flat tires, was picked up by another truck and hauled away.
Cell phone analysis showed their phones were together during the pursuit. After he fell out of the truck Davenport’s cell phone stayed with the truck until it was towed back to Sangamon County. O’Neal’s phone went south and stopped in Livingston, made calls for a time, then headed north, stopped, then continued further north to O’Hare Airport in Chicago, then later to Kansas City.
O’Neal had gotten away for the moment.
After four days in critical condition at the St. Louis hospital, Davenport died. His organs were donated, according to his family’s wishes.
Prosecutors issued a warrant for O’Neal on Oct. 17. He was still on the lam.
It was late November when federal marshals arrested O’Neal in Kansas. He was extradited to Sangamon County to answer the charges. Under the SAFE-T Act, an Illinois judge found that the charges did not meet the legal qualifications for O’Neal to be detained until trial. Over prosecutors’ objections, he was released.
O’Neal could not be reached for comment. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 21.
Aftermath of the pursuit
At the time of the pursuit, the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department was under scrutiny after the officer-involved fatal shooting of an unarmed Black woman in her kitchen after calling to report a prowler outside her home.
Deputy Sean Grayson was charged with murder, aggravated battery and official misconduct for the shooting of Sonya Massey on July 6.
Massey’s death brought a civil rights probe by the U.S. Justice Department. It also launched a wrongful death suit by Massey’s family that recently ended in a $10 million settlement.
There were widespread calls for reform, including from Gov. JB Pritzker, and for then-Sheriff Jack Campbell’s resignation. Campbell announced his retirement effective Aug. 31.
Three weeks later, Pearce and Hayes were involved in a high-speed, multi-jurisdictional pursuit of this Dodge Ram they suspected of being involved in a burglary, a violation typically considered a property crime.
Due to the inherent risks, each law enforcement agency adopts their own policies to set forth rules regarding police pursuits. The Illinois State Police, who have patrol units that work the interstates, did not participate in the pursuit, stating it did meet their policy requirements, a state police spokesperson said.
As a precaution, troopers were reminded over the radio that permission was not granted permission to get involved in the pursuit, a state police spokesperson said.
Sangamon County Sheriff Office’s pursuit policy is 16 pages and sets out how and when to pursue a fleeing vehicle, when it should end, and delegates responsibility for assessing risk between the deputy and his supervisor.
“Deputies and supervisors must objectively and continuously weigh the seriousness of the offense against the potential danger to innocent motorists and themselves when electing to continue a pursuit,” the policy states.
The policies, obtained by Capitol News Illinois, state that deputies should not pursue a vehicle solely for property crimes, and non-forceable felonies.
Such policies are intended to protect the officer and the public, Burbank said, and have been adopted by police departments and sheriff offices around the country.
“No one needs to die over stolen motorcycles,” he said.
But the ISP report on pursuits found that the top reasons for initiating police pursuits are overwhelmingly minor traffic violations, followed by suspected stolen vehicles.
Sangamon County's pursuit policy also states that if a pursuit leaves the jurisdiction, the supervisor should decide whether to continue, based on the circumstances. The police chase traveled through at least seven different jurisdictions, including Springfield, Litchfield, Leland Grove, as well as Montgomery, Macoupin and Madison counties.
Ten days before the chase, Hayes, the supervisor who authorized the pursuit, had notified the sheriff’s office that he intended to retire, effect Oct. 2. Hayes submitted that notice just two weeks after former Sheriff Jack Campbell retired.
Crouch, who had been on the job for two days when the chase occurred, placed Pearce and Hayes on paid administrative leave until an internal investigation was completed.
Crouch recommended a two-day unpaid suspension for Hayes and Pearce.With the internal affairs investigation pending, Hayes pulled back his retirement. In December, he gave notice on Dec. 9 that he would begin his retirement two days later.
Hayes, whose annual salary in 2023 was $122,000, and Pearce, who received $55,000, filed a grievance with their police union challenging the discipline, Crouch said, stating that burglary is a forcible felony. Crouch confirmed that grievance is still pending. Tamara Cummings, General Counsel for the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
The police pursuit took an hour, beginning in Springfield and ending over 10 miles away. (Capitol News Illinois map by Andrew Adams/map assets from Leaflet, OpenStreetMap and CARTO)
Local Group Exploring Emergency Cell Phone Alert System
With the threat of severe weather Friday night, the Wabash County Emergency Responders Group met yesterday afternoon to make some preliminary plans for the predicted storms.
One of the things the group has identified as an issue is communicating with the public. That issue may soon be solved though. At Wednesday’s health board meeting, Tristan Barbre said the group has explored a new communication system that would send alerts to cell phone users in Wabash County….
Barbre said the alerts could be targeted to a certain part of the county. For example, if a storm was threatening Allendale, only people there would receive the alert. The alerts could also be used for chemical spills, power outages, or other situations affecting the public. The cost of the system is $5,500.
Mt. Carmel Man Picked Up On FTA Warrant
On 3/09/25, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Nicholas M. Irelan, age 38, of Mt. Carmel on a Wabash County Warrant for Failure to Appear. The arresting officer observed Irelan walking at 3rd & Ash Street, where he was taken into custody without incident. Irelan was transported to the Wabash County Jail, where he was issued the warrant and held pending a pre-trial release determination by the court.