Illinois Briefs - 11/12/12

Vets Day Honors IL Heroes

Veterans all around Illinois are honored over the weekend.  In Chicago, dozens attended a special ceremony along the riverfront on Saturday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.  About 100 attended yesterday's Veterans Day ceremony at Camp Butler National Cemetery outside Springfield.  More than 17-hundred soldiers from Illinois died during World War Two and the Vietnam War.

IL Woman Dies In OK Crash

A woman from Illinois is dead after an accident in Oklahoma.  Oklahoma Highway Patrol said 50-year-old passenger Margaret Caliendo of Bolingbrook was pronounced dead at hospital in Joplin, Missouri.  The single-vehicle accident collision happened east of Miami, Oklahoma.  That's in extreme northeast Oklahoma near the Missouri-Kansas state lines.  Driver Ralph Caliendo, also of Bolingbrook was in serious condition.

NIU Police Chief Banned Indefinitely Amidst Allegations

The police chief at the University of Northern Illinois is banned indefinitely from the department due to allegations of sexual misconduct by another officer.  Officials say Donald Grady is on paid leave pending final disciplinary action.  A DeKalb County judge recently ruled Grady's department withheld key evidence that could have cleared an officer of sexual assault.  Officer Andrew Rifkin was fired after being charged with assaulting an NIU student in 2011.

Jerseyville Man In Serious Crash After Arson Charges

A Jerseyville businessman indicted by a Jersey County Grand Jury on solicitation of arson and solicitation of insurance fraud was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital Thursday night after crashing his truck in Calhoun County.  It happened just hours after Robert Hartmann posted bond.  Calhoun County Sheriff Bill Heffington says Hartmann was not breathing and did not have a pulse when emergency personnel found him at the crash site.  He was revived at the scene.  Heffingtion says there were no skid marks left behind as the truck left the roadway and went head-on into a large cotton wood tree.  Hartmann is the husband of former Jerseyville mayor Yvonne Hartmann.

Missing Woman's Body Found In River

A missing Machesney Park woman's body was found over the weekend.  Crews pulled Katrina Smith's body from the Rock River, just south of Byron, on Saturday.  She'd been missing since October 22nd.  The family has planned two visitations for Smith, one on Friday from 5 until 9 p.m. and a second on Saturday, from 10 until 11 a.m.  The funeral will follow the Saturday visitation.  Everything is being held at the Heartland Community Church.

Movie Expected To Pump Big Money Into Springfield

A new movie about President Lincoln's life is expected to pump big money into the city of Springfield.  According to the "Travel Trade Gazette," the Lincoln tomb, home, and other historic sites in Springfield could see a surge in visitors in the coming months.  The "Huffington Post" reports no parts of the movie were filmed in Springfield but the main actor, Daniel Day Lewis, spent time at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Old State Capital, and the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices learning details about the president's speech patterns and mannerisms and reading letters the president had written.  Steven Spielberg directed the movie, "Lincoln," which hits movie theatres this Friday.