Stories by Beth Hundsdorfer — Capitol News Illinois

Scott’s Law, also known as the Move Over Law, requires that all vehicles move over, if possible, or slow down when passing a stopped or disabled emergency vehicle with its flashing lights on. It was passed in 2001.

In the early morning hours of July 6, Massey called 911 to report a prowler outside her home, setting in motion events that left Massey dying on her kitchen floor and former Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson facing charges of first-degree murder.

Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman who was experiencing a mental health crisis, was shot in her kitchen by Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson who responded to Massey’s 911 call about a prowler outside her home near Springfield.

The system should document red flags of prospective officers for law enforcement employers, civil rights attorney BenjaminCrump said, to ensure the safety of citizens. He said he intends to lobby for the passage of federal legislation, such as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act

At 9 years old, L.J. started missing school. His parents said they would homeschool him. It took two years — during which he was beaten and denied food — for anyone to notice he wasn’t learning.

Eight photographs and one video taken late last year purported to show the conditions of the funeral home depict piles of dirty sheets, a dead rodent rotting in a stairway and water running from pipes in the embalming room.

On Thursday, Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, introduced legislation mandates that a funeral director must place a unique identifier on the deceased’s body, body bag, and any body part, organ, or tissue separated from the deceased to be used in nontransplant organ donation. A director must also maintain chain of custody documentation. 

Charles Collins, 49, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in relation to a 2010 charge for cocaine possession with intent to sell. It was his third felony, making him eligible for an enhanced sentence under the state’s habitual criminal, or “three-strikes,” law.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith will resign effective Dec. 31, he told colleagues in an all-staff town hall meeting Wednesday morning.

For years, former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White blocked attempts by an ex-state trooper to regain his driving privileges after a high-speed crash that caused the deaths of teenage sisters on a busy St. Clair County interstate in 2007.

After serving nearly four years as the watchdog for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Peter Neumer will join the Chicago Park District as inspector general. 

Allegations of patient abuse, cover-ups and misconduct continue to proliferate at a beleaguered facility for people with developmental disabilities, despite promises of reform from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and officials in his administration.