After one of the most arduous production weeks in terms of gathering material and dealing with other factors (disruptions, emergencies and breaking news, the last of which altered the front page…three times over), we’re proud to present the July-August 2014 edition of Disclosure! This issue has the usual assortment of crims and corruption, a LOT of which has the crims as well as the cognoscenti pissed off already…! See what everyone’s griping about by digging right into this month’s issue either right here online at the e-Edition, or at any one of our 50 or so vendors across southern Illinois. And to help you with your digging, every issue we provide you This Month’s Print Headlines right here at the site, which is a listing of the headlines, preceded by the dateline (where the action in the article occurred/originated) and followed by a brief synopsis of what the individual articles are about. Print headlines are presented in segments: Front page, back page (our “second front page”), pages 2 and 3, features (pages 16/17), our regions (Egypt, Heartland and Central) and Op-Ed. So without further ado, here now are your PRINT HEADLINES for the July-August 2014 edition!
PAGE 1
John E. Bradley
WILLIAMSON CO.—Is state rep facing his own ARDC complaint? Those who are familiar with Illinois state representative John E. Bradley will know that what’s being presented in this article is 100 percent dead on; those who aren’t familiar with him, get that way. Because this is some explosive material, and we’ve already started to get the threats about it. More to come as it develops…and this is one of many stories that will cause this paper to blow off the stands, so make sure you get to your copy QUICKLY.
Jamie Brunson…exonerated
LAWRENCE CO.—FOUR-YEAR ORDEAL ENDS: The situation for James Brunson, owner of Bridgeport Package in Bridgeport, isn’t over quite yet…but as we covered here late last week, what happened July 18 is a major stop i that direction. This article focuses on the significance of Jamie’s local victory…and on what has set the stage in the federal case he’s litigating against public officials from Lawrence in that venue’s civil court.
SALINE CO.—County closes road, but Open Meetings Act violations could undo it ALL: Yes, I know….plenty of people think they’ve read all the coverage there is to read about the closure of Cottage Grove Road. But this case, too, is far from over. We explain it all in this investigative report.
Willow Long
EFFINGHAM CO.—Autopsy report made public: We FOIA’d for the Willow Long autopsy report on March 18, the day Justin DeRyke entered his guilty plea to her murder. Gyrations in his sentencing occurred, however, delaying our ability to view the report. But on July 8, we were able to…and here’s the full run-down on it, with some really weird things that we can’t yet explain being incorporated in it.
OLNEY—Youth battered, police mute: Another strange case that needs intense police involvement—but isn’t getting it—has emerged in the city of Olney. At least this time, it’s not an “unexplained” death. But it could have been.
BACK PAGE
EFFINGHAM—Effingham City ignores the law, seems ambivalent about child porn in library: Has the city of Effingham gone the way of the Orlando Park Library District up north? It’s very possible…and Illinois Leaks is on it. Read the whole thing in this article.
Gaege Bethune…a kid as weird as the spelling of his name?
JACKSON/SALINE COs.—ID of local has little impact on death case: In May, authorities finally revealed, via Freedom of Information Act requests from the Carbondale Times, who the driver of a vehicle in Carbondale was that was alleged to have been the last person to see Pravin Varughese alive. The news apparently didn’t reach over to Saline County very impactfully. Read what there is to know about the case as it involves Gaege Bethune, who’s originally from the Eldorado area…and what it means to the case at hand.
Aaron Emery
FRANKLIN/SALINE COs.—Franklin County drug death under investigation: The death of a Carrier Mills boy in a West Frankfort home has also not been covered well. Here, we try to sort out what little bit authorities are saying about it…and what’s becoming commonly known, as well as what it might mean if a recent Illinois drug law for accountability is misapplied.
PAGE 2
WILLIAMSON CO.—Williamson County tax assessment: what is going on with diminished property values?: Think your property tax is too high in Williamson County? It probably is…but look at it like this: you’re taking up the slack for those who aren’t being properly assessed, thanks to their goodbuddy Jeff Robinson, Williamson County tax assessor. This article shows just HOW MUCH the assessments are off…and there’s more to come!
PAGE 3
JEFFERSON/SALINE COs.—Harrisburg man issued traffic tickets in Jefferson County under questionable circumstances: Yes ANOTHER crossover piece, involving a spurious incident in which a truck driver was stopped by police in Ina, and…well, you gotta read it.
EGYPT
Former Saline County Assistant State’s Attorney Eva Walker…is her return imminent?
SALINE CO.—Board approves hire of assistant prosecutor for more efficient judicial system in Saline: Mike Henshaw made a good point last month, and this month, the county board acted on it. So the only question left is…will Eva Walker return? Let’s hope we’re going to be that fortunate!
WILLIAMSON CO.—Details of major mid-June cocaine bust: It’s no secret that there’s a significant coke problem in Marion. But now, the people busted are talking…and now, there really ARE NO SECRETS…
HARRISBURG—City foxes watching the H’burg TIF henhouse: What “legacy” did Marion-suckup and former Harrisburg mayor Eric Gregg leave? Part of it lies within the wonky TIF District…which is supposed to be for “development” of sections of town that are “blighted,” but of course, isn’t TOUCHING those.
HARRISBURG—Officer wins 2012 DUI case: Recap–with a little extra, as we always do—of Harrisburg police officer Brent Stanley’s win in court in late June, for our print readers.
SALINE CO.—Eldorado homeowner chases down burglar: There’s been a REALLY disturbing trend in Saline County in recent weeks of home invasions and burglaries. Here’s the first of many this month, this one from ‘rado.
SALINE CO.—Galatia man jailed after allegedly attacking wife: And then…there’s the domestic scene….
WILLIAMSON CO.—Active Williamson County criminal report keeps authorities hopping: A very BUSY time in Williamson County during the month of July for cops and courts!
Carolyn Glore “Butter” McGhee
HARDIN CO.—Snitch in cocaine trial claims she’s a victim: The re-emergence of Carolyn Glore “Butter” McGhee (ask us later why she’s called “Butter” if you don’t already know)…this time she’s the victim instead of the witness for the prosecution.
SALINE CO.—The Tolley effect: Sister of attempted murder suspect charged with filing false police report: We just can’t seem to get those Tolley girls under control. Read this one carefully; it’s kind of hard to follow, with all those kids being charged with all the things that they are.
GALLATIN CO.—Theft, violence and a sex crime charged in Gallatin: The docket report for GallCo, with, as usual, inferior work on the part of prosecutor Allen Roe.
SALINE CO.—Driving revoked and DUI focus of traffic arrests: A little DUI and traffic roundup that totally pissed off a local “good guy” merely because we did to him what we do to ALL, which is to list any criminal convictions in the background. All factually, all on the record…and yet his asshat buddies say we “lie”? We, as a society, are doomed if that’s what people REALLY think.
SALINE CO.—Police say unemployed drug suspect holding meth, paraphernalia when she ran stop sign: as we always say….if you’re going to do your dope outside your own home, for god’s sake obey traffic code.
SALINE CO.—Eldorado man charged after busting convicted rapist’s face: Crim on crim crime in Eldorado. Oh my.
HARRISBURG—Harrisburg man busted in Huck’s vodka heist: Now HERE’S a story that might explain to you why prices are high in some businesses. You’re just not going to believe how this one went down.
SALINE CO.—Suspended driver busted for drugs and forgery: And here’s ANOTHER story that seriously will make you scratch your head and wonder what the hell it is with Saline County crims….and that it might be in the water.
SALINE CO.—Theft, forgery and property damage featured in Saline Co. general crime report: The general crim roundup for whatever doesn’t fit into other categories. And yes, Eric…if they had any kind of significant criminal history, it’s in there.
CARRIER MILLS—Carrier Mills enacts ‘Dangerous Building Ordinance,’ $100/day fine until corrected: Carrier Mills board meeting coverage, and some very interesting topics were brought up.
MARION: Fire chief retires: Jack Reed has retired from the fire department in Marion and has taken an appointment on the park board. It’s an interesting situation, this. More to come.
WILLIAMSON CO./U.S. DISTRICT COURT—Father of teen who took his own life after anti-bullying video files federal lawsuit: Reproducing, for our readers who don’t have internet access (and many of our elderly readers do not) the very interesting federal civil suit that Brad Lewis has filed in the death of his son, Jordan.
MARION—Arrest made in July 2 Marion shooting: Another repro, for the elderly readers in the very neighborhood where it happened, of the report of the arrest in the shooting, said to be drug-related.
PAGE 17
MARION: Boynton Street Center board member’s reinstatement at issue for city council: A fascinating piece about what appears to have been a drug arrest that should never have happened, and how it impacted the life of the Boynton Street Center board member it happened to.
HEARTLAND
CLARK CO.—Mainstream media defends actions of park board; ends up with egg on their faces: Full coverage of an AWFUL situation in Clark County following the massive screwups on the park district board there. And folks…if this stuff is happening in lil ol Clark County…it’s happening EVERYWHERE. Be aware of your “layers of government” and how many there are…your taxes are impacted by this!
Travis Ferguson
JASPER CO.—Jasper County bad boy commits suicide: Suicide is a terrible thing. But then again, so is arson. Here’s coverage of a guy who was alleged to have done the latter, and ended his life by the former.
CRAWFORD CO.—DUI-drugs focus of Crawford police blotter: Quite a bit of activity in Crawford County for the month of July!
CRAWFORD CO.—Short meetings in Crawford County, City of Robinson: And conversely, NOT a lot of activity on the Robinson City Council and county board.
JASPER CO.—Oblong man facing six counts of deceptive practice: A little bit of info coming out of Jasper County circuit court this month.
CENTRAL
LAWRENCEVILLE—Out-of-state criminal nabbed after quick response by Lawrenceville police chief: An amazing story of a group of losers who were stopped in a car singlehandedly by police chief Jim White.
WAYNE CO.—FAIRFIELD GIRL STILL MISSING: The mysterious disappearance of a 15-year-old Fairfield girl is still in the news. Here’s info on it, including resolution to a rumor of someone who was said to have been one of the last ones to have seen her, but has been cleared of any suspicion.
RICHLAND CO.—Poker Run and a new animal shelter topics of discussion at Richland County Board: Government meeting coverage, with the twisted Leo Ledeker once again making an ass of himself.
RICHLAND CO.—Earp/Trout beating victim assaulted again: Does anyone remember Heath Roy from 2009? The guy who got beat up by the nasty child molester Jonathan Trout and then HE (Roy) got charged? Yeah, he’s been arrested AGAIN, and no Urps were involved in it this time. Even though there’s another guy in the article who is sporting one of those idiotic “tribal” tatts.
WAYNE CO.—Fairfield woman faces nine counts following DUI arrest: Wayne County crim roundup.
WHITE CO.—Attempted stabbing charged as misdemeanor: White County crim roundup
OLNEY—Medical marijuana facility could be coming to Olney area, city vies for grow op siting: Of COURSE Olney’s throwing its hat into the ring for the MM facility to be cited in District 12. The remarkable thing about this is…Olney’s nasty water might just be the “thing” to set up the grow op, since it smells and tastes like fish, a vital component in fertilizing.
RICHLAND CO.—Officer injured twice in as many days during arrests: We have a problem with police getting injured in Richland…and here’s the latest. And sadly, David Hyde doesn’t seem to take it seriously.
WHITE CO.—Carmi pair sentenced following domestic: Gotta wonder just what kind of “domestic” this was.
CLAY CO.—Fitness evaluation ordered for Clay burglary suspect: The Clay County crim roundup.
LAWRENCE CO.—Former Edwards prosecutor’s daughter named in lawsuit: Here’s a different one. A 16-year-old new driver allegedly runs a stop sign…and dude coming the other direction is hit. Hard. And…she happens to be defense attorney/former Edwards state’s attorney Brian Shinkle’s daughter…and the complainant is using her mom’s divorce attorney. Go figure.
RICHLAND CO.—Claremont meth felon facing more drug charges: The Richland County dope charge roundup.
Trevor Seibert…getting his drunk on.
WABASH CO.—Sex offender, DUI drugs and bad checks charged in Wabash County: The return, in this article, of a punk who thought he’d be smart and harass our vendors and advertisers…until he found out from one that it’s ILLEGAL to do that, and that action would be taken against his nasty ass if he continued.
WHITE CO.—Walmart clothes heist halted by employees: Where there’s a Walmart, there will be alleged shoplifting. It’s apparently just so easy.
WAYNE CO.—Trio of Peddicords busted following strangulation: Wayne County violence roundup.
WAYNE CO.—Wayne City man charged with molesting teenage girl: Wayne County perv roundup.
WAYNE CO.—Frequent felon focus of Wayne Co. crim report: The rest of the Wayne County crim roundup that can’t be categorized easily in the other roundups.
HAMILTON CO.—Pot, trespass, booze and guns featured in Hamilton police blotter: Hamilton’s County’s blotter for the past several weeks, without one original alleged crime in the bunch…even the alleged crims are dumb as stumps these days.
WHITE CO.—Woman punched so hard teeth imprints left in lips: Now HERE’S something you don’t see every day…indentations in the mouth. Wow. THAT was a smack.
LAWRENCE CO.—Pair of drug arrests reported in Lawrence: A slight Lawrence County crim roundup.
OP-ED
SURLY & UNCOOPERATIVE (Jack) The REAL reason journalism has always been referred to as the Fourth Branch of Government
ICY (Ang) Foreign concept: Work hard, strive to be better
NOT JADED (Jade) Family’s the core—and the key—to a happy life
REDHEAD RAMPAGE (Lyndi) Baa baa BAD black sheep (of the family)…
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (letters) City of Benton’s wastewater treatment facility
BACK OVER YOUR TALES: What we were covering in the 2009 August Special Edition: