Incident At Local Restaurant Results In Arrest Of Mt. Carmel Woman

On 6/08/2025, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Rebecca A. Dudley, age 55, of Mt. Carmel for Criminal Trespass to Residence and Resisting/Obstructing a Peace Officer following a call to the Cactus Cuisine Restaurant in the 800 block of W 3rd Street.  Police were called to the restaurant to investigate a report that Dudley refused to leave the establishment when requested by restaurant staff, due to unruly and disruptive behavior.  When the officer spoke to Dudley, she appeared intoxicated on alcohol.  Dudley was again asked to leave and again refused to exit the building.  Staff requested to sign a complaint against Dudley for trespass and were allowed to do so.  Dudley continued to refuse to leave and was placed under arrest.  During the arrest, Dudley attempted to kick one of the officers while also pulling away in an attempt to avoid arrest. Dudley was transported to the Wabash County Jail, where she was charged and later released on a Notice to Appear. 

Failing To Register As Violent Offender Lands Mt. Carmel Man In Jail

On 6/03/2025, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Christopher B. Cash, age 46, of Mt. Carmel for Failure to Register-Violent Offender Against Youth.  The arrest stemmed from an investigation into Cash failing to update his statutorily required registry due to an address change.  During the investigation, officers found information indicating Cash had moved from his registered address to another Mt. Carmel address, failing to notify the Mt. Carmel Police Department within the required 5-day timeframe.  The arresting officer observed Cash operating a vehicle and conducted a traffic stop at 7th & Walnut Street.  Cash was taken into custody and transported to the Wabash County Jail.  Once there, Cash was issued the above charge and held pending a pre-trial release determination by the court.

Mt. Carmel Man Arrested On Meth Charge

On 6/07/2025, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Lloyd A. Wood, age 50, of Mt. Carmel on a Wabash County Warrant for Unlawful Delivery of Methamphetamine (Class 1 Felony).  The warrant was a result of an investigation into the unlawful sale of methamphetamine in the Mt. Carmel area conducted by the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force.  An MCPD officer located Wood in the 1300 block of W 9th Street, where he was taken into custody.  Wood was transported to the Wabash County Jail and issued his warrant.  Wood is being held pending a pre-trial release determination by the court.  The Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force is comprised of law enforcement officers from the Mt. Carmel Police Department, Robinson Police Department, Salem Police Department, and the Illinois State Police. 

U.S. Attorney, FBI vow strong action after federal building damaged in Carbondale

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Following an incident in Carbondale on Tuesday evening where criminals defaced a federal building, U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Johnson are vowing to protect law and order in southern Illinois.

“There are bright lines separating where speech ends and criminal conduct begins. Those who committed this targeted vandalism to federal property will be pursued and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Our system protects good faith expressions of ideas and opinions, but it abhors lawlessness and violence. Any such criminality cannot, and will not, be tolerated.”

In the evening on June 10, individuals gathered outside the entrance of the Senator Paul Simon Federal Building in Carbondale. During the gathering, some members defaced the outside of the building, from which any damage is being assessed at this time.

“The Senator Paul Simon Federal Building’s houses multiple United States federal entities and has been located in the community since 1978. These offices employ dozens of local residents, and the tenants of this building deserve to go to work without fear or intimidation. The FBI Springfield Field Office respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights, but we will not tolerate individuals inciting violence or engaging in criminal activity and violating federal law. The individuals who defaced the building last night will be identified and charged, as well as those who aid and abet them,” said Christopher J.S. Johnson, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Springfield Field Office.

If you have any information about this incident, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) and reference “Carbondale Illinois Federal Building.” The operator will take down any information you have and contribute it to the investigation.

Students Explore Healthcare Careers Through Hands-On Emergency Medicine and Primary Care Experience

Olney Central College partners with community healthcare providers to offer immersive learning opportunity

 OLNEY, Illinois, June 9, 2025 – Students interested in healthcare careers got an intensive, hands-on look at emergency medicine and primary care during a special educational event at Olney Central College that combined real-world scenarios with expert instruction from local healthcare professionals.

 "The day started with an introduction into emergency medicine. We had a local physician, Dr. Watik Maghroudi, come and speak to the students, and then we had the manager of Carle Richland Memorial Hospital come and talk about emergency medicine and emergency response," said Dr. Alani Frederick, DNP, RN, PCCN, CNE, Dean of Health Professions at Olney Central College.

 The comprehensive program included emergency triage training and a mass casualty incident simulation where students cared for 19 simulated patients from a bus accident scenario. The cases ranged from simple cuts and bruises to critical situations, providing students with exposure to the full spectrum of emergency medical care.

 "The end goal for the students is to be exposed to an incredibly large number of medical specialties and healthcare specialties to determine if they can find something that sparks their interest. These students all signed up knowing they wanted to do something in healthcare," explained Dr. Frederick.

 The afternoon portion focused on primary care, featuring nurse practitioner Marcia Street, who practices locally in Olney. Students followed patients through various specialties including bloodwork, X-rays, and physical therapy to understand the comprehensive nature of healthcare delivery.

 "We partnered with AHEC (Illinois Area Health Education Centers) and Carle Richland Memorial Hospital to sponsor lunch and bring in providers from our local community to talk to the students about taking care of people in our own community," noted Dr. Frederick.

 The event represents an innovative approach to healthcare education, combining academic learning with practical experience and community partnerships to give students authentic exposure to medical careers.

 

UPDATE: U.S. 41 pavement replacement project continues in Vanderburgh County

VANDERBURGH COUNTY Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces traffic changes for continued work on U.S. 41 in Vanderburgh County. Traffic changes are a result of ongoing work by INDOT contractor E&B Paving to reconstruct U.S. 41 in Evansville between Diamond Avenue and The Lloyd Expressway. The changes are as follows.

  • Beginning on or around June 17, crews will re-open the U.S. 41 approach from Virginia Avenue. This approach has been closed due to reconstruction

  • Beginning on or around June 17, crews will re-open recently completed southbound U.S. 41 lanes. Traffic will shift into the new roadway. However, traffic will remain restricted to two lanes of travel in both directions as work continues. Following the opening, left turns will be allowed from U.S. 41.

  • Beginning on or around June 17, crews will close the U.S. 41 southbound ramp to State Road 62 (Lloyd Expressway) westbound for reconstruction work. This work is expected to take three weeks to complete, depending on the weather. Motorists are asked to utilize the interchange as a detour to access State Road 62.

  • Beginning on or around June 17, crews will close the State Road 66 (Lloyd Expressway) westbound on-ramp to U.S. 41 southbound for reconstruction. This work is expected to take two weeks to complete, depending on the weather. The detour for this project is U.S. 41 northbound to Diamond Avenue to U.S. 41 southbound.


INDOT will provide additional information as work progresses. Overall work on U.S. 41 reconstruction is expected to be completed by the beginning of September, weather permitting. Motorists can receive updates and additional information from INDOT Southwest via Facebook and X.

INDOT reminds drivers to slow down, use extra caution, and avoid distractions when traveling in and near work zones. All work is weather-dependent, and schedules are subject to change.

Beard To Be Inducted Into Illinois State Eagles Hall Of Fame

A LONG-TIME MEMBER OF MT. CARMEL EAGLES WILL RECEIVE STATE HONORS THURSDAY AT STATE CONVENTION IN SPRINGFIELD. WSJD’S RODGER BEARD WILL BECOME A MEMBER OF ILLINOIS EAGLES HALL OF FAME. BEARD JOINS THE LATE EDWARD R. SCHMITT, BECOMING THE SECOND MT. CARMEL MEMBER TO BE SO HONORED. AN EAGLES MEMBER SINCE 1988, BEARD IS A SEVEN-TIME PRESIDENT OF AERIE #3066.

Evansville man arrested for driving on suspended license

On June 9, 2025, at approximately 4 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a report of a minor accident with injuries where one of the vehicles failed to stop and immediately notify law enforcement of the accident.  The reporting party gave an accurate description of the vehicle and monitored where the vehicle was until law enforcement arrived in the area.  Deputy Eric Powell located the vehicle, a Gold Ford Expedition and conducted a traffic stop on US 41 near County Road 100 North.  Upon approaching the vehicle Deputy Powell identified the driver as 42-year-old John Fahey Jr of Evansville.  During a roadside investigation Deputy Powell ran Mr. Fahey through the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles and discovered that Mr. Fahey was operating his vehicle while his license was suspended on a prior driving while suspended conviction.  At the conclusion of the investigation Mr. Fahey was taken into custody and transported to the Gibson County Detention Center where he was charged with Driving While Suspended/Prior. 
 
Deputy Bart Wagner assisted Deputy Powell in this investigation.
 
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law

Despite victories, major higher education policy bills stall in General Assembly

Funding overhaul, community college baccalaureates not brought up for votes

By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker got some of what he requested from the General Assembly in the area of higher education, but some of his biggest requests fell short. 

Pritzker’s wins include a $10 million increase in need-based student financial aid and passage of a direct admission program to make it easier for eligible Illinois high school and community college students to apply to public universities.

But lawmakers did not approve the overall funding increase that Pritzker requested at the start of the session, settling on a 1% bump in their operational budgets instead of the 3% the governor proposed, Pritzker’s office, however, has said there are contingencies to provide an additional 2% in the event of significant cuts in federal funding.

They also did not pass other major higher education policy initiatives, including Pritzker’s plan to allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees in certain high-demand career fields, and a long-sought overhaul in the way Illinois funds its public universities.

“You don’t get everything done in one year,” Pritzker said during a post-session news conference when asked about several of his initiatives that failed to pass this year. “Sometimes they (lawmakers) spend two years, four years, six years, trying to get something big done.”

Community college proposal

In his State of the State address in February, Pritzker called for allowing community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees as a way of expanding access to those programs, especially for older, nontraditional students who may not live close to a four-year university.

“With lower tuition rates and a greater presence across the state — especially in rural areas — community colleges provide the flexibility and affordability students need,” Pritzker told the General Assembly. “This is a consumer-driven, student-centered proposal that will help fill the needs of regional employers in high-need sectors and create a pathway to stable, quality jobs for more Illinoisans.”

In the legislature, however, the proposal ran into stiff opposition from several sources, including universities that  said the plan lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent community colleges from offering duplicative programs that would siphon prospective students away from their campuses.

Amid that opposition, House Bill 3717, which was carried by Rep. Tracy Katz-Muhl, D-Northbrook, failed to advance out of a key committee before a mid-session deadline in March. And even after amendments were negotiated that led to universities dropping their opposition and the bill was reassigned to a different committee, it still failed to gain enough traction to advance to the House floor.

That was mainly due to opposition from the Legislative Black Caucus, whose members said it still posed a threat to the three universities in Illinois that serve primarily Black and Latino students — Chicago State University; Governors State University, and Northeastern Illinois University — which are all located in the Chicago metropolitan area alongside multiple community colleges.

“Chicago State is hemorrhaging,” Rep. Curtis Tarver, D-Chicago, said during a May 23 House Executive Committee hearing. “And you all, as an administration, are handing them Band-Aids and they need stitches. And then you come in and you provide a bill that's going to be even worse for them, with 11 community colleges within 25 miles of them. And I'm saying as we sit here that the Black Caucus has an issue with the bill.”

Funding overhaul

Another proposal that failed to advance  called for establishing a new formula for funding public universities.

House Bill 1581 and its companion Senate Bill 13, known as the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act, called for establishing a funding structure like the Evidence-Based Funding formula used for K-12 education. 

That formula would use objective standards to determine an adequate level of funding for each university. The bills then called for adding as much as $1.7 billion in new funding for universities over the next 10-15 years, with most of the funding going toward schools furthest away from their adequacy target.

The proposal grew out of a commission formed in 2021 within the Illinois Board of Higher Education. That commission worked for nearly three years to develop a proposal and issued its report and recommendations to the General Assembly in March 2024.

Under the proposed formula, Western Illinois University in Macomb would have earned top priority for new funding because it is currently funded at only 46% of its adequacy target. Northeastern Illinois University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, at 47% of adequacy, would have been next in line.

But the state’s flagship institution, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, currently at 89% of adequacy, would rank at the bottom of the priority list. For that reason, the U of I System opposed the plan.

“The University of Illinois System is absolutely dedicated to expanding equitable access, enhancing student success and promoting statewide economic growth,” Nick Jones, executive vice president and vice president of academic affairs for the U of I System, told a Senate committee in April. “The proposed legislation penalizes institutions that provide the most support for underrepresented and rural students while failing to ensure long-term access.”

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester, who sponsored the Senate bill and was a cochair of the study commission, said she was disappointed it did not pass this year, but vowed working for a more equitable funding formula.

“While it is far past time to pass an equitable funding model, I am reminded that many of the comprehensive plans I’ve passed have taken years of research, input and negotiations,” she said in an email statement. “This legislation is no different.”

Robin Steans, president of the education advocacy group Advance Illinois, who also served on the commission, said in a separate statement that she expects lawmakers to continue discussing the bill over the summer. Action could come during the fall veto session or early in the 2026 regular session, she said.

“Eventual adoption of the Adequate & Equitable Funding bill represents a significant change, one that requires new investment by our state in what remains the surest path to greater mobility and opportunity for Illinois families,” she said. “The questions and comments made during legislative committee meetings indicate that Illinois lawmakers get that, and powerful testimony from the state’s university leaders drove home the urgency of this issue.”

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. 


U OF I STUDENT UNION: Students walk across the lawn between the Illini Union in the fall of 2024. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)