Following roughly 45 minutes of deliberation, a federal jury found a Fayette County man guilty of one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. 46-year-old James W. Berner Ramsey was charged in February 2025 after an investigation revealed Berner had recorded a video of the minor victim showering. Berner was using a phone application that wirelessly controlled the minor victim's cell phone camera. With this phone app, Berner could remotely view and screen record what was happening w...

The former high school teacher's aide faces 2 felony counts, denied bail until trial Article Summary Austin Knoob, 32, of Carbondale, faces two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. An underage girl told the FBI she'd been communicating with Knoob for roughly four years, since she was 12, and he had encouraged her to send sexually explicit videos of herself, as well as videos of her cutting herself. Knoob, who until recently also owned the Levels nightclub in Carbondale, was a teacher's ...

State parole board denied a medical release for Sean Grayson just three weeks ago Article Summary Former Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson's defense attorney confirmed Grayson died Sunday morning. Grayson was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer that spread to his liver and lungs. Grayson requested a compassionate release from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board in May, citing his terminal cancer diagnosis. It was denied. This summary was written by the reporters and editors who...

Marion County Sheriff Kevin Cripps released a letter Monday afternoon to Marion County residents addressing controversy over how he will be replaced on the ballot for the November election. Cripps says he welcomes any legitimate review or investigation of his actions concerning his upcoming retirement at the end of his current term and his decision not to seek re-election. He is confident in the integrity of this Office and in the decisions he made as your elected Sheriff. Cripps says he wan...

Marion County Board Chair Steve Whritenour has serious concerns about the way Sheriff Kevin Cripps has withdrawn from the race and the appointment of new Republican Precinct Committeemen who will help determine who replaces him on the ballot. As a result, Whritenour will be seeking a state investigation. "Apparently, there are still some people in this county that believe in the old school way of doing things and the good old boys system, and I'm vehemently against this," Whritenour...

The Marion County Republican Central Committee has scheduled a caucus Tuesday night to determine their candidate to replace Kevin Cripps on the ballot in the November election. Cripps announced last week his decision to withdraw from the race and endorsed his chief deputy Anthony Decker to take his place. Marion County Board member and a state law enforcement official Cody Rose then announced his intentions to seek the nomination. Marion County Republican Party Chair Ben Stratemeyer says ...

The Executive Director of the Greater Centralia Chamber of Commerce Marcus Holland feels the move of Balloon Fest from Foundation to Fairview Park was a success with great weather also being a factor. He says no decision has yet been made on the future location of Balloon Fest. "It does look promising," Holland said. "Obviously, we have to talk to our board of directors and have city approval, so we'll be in discussion about that. The feedback we were getting online is positiv...

The Centralia City Council will hold three public hearings to seek input on three upcoming grant or low interest loan applications prior to Monday night's regular meeting. The first hearing is at five on proposed improvements to Laura Leake park. The Open Space Land Acquisition and Development or OSLAD grant would be used replace the old pavilion, the installation of one to two new pieces of playground equipment with a rubberized safety surface, replacement of doors to the bathrooms and util...