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Tuesday, February 16, 2016
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LEE COUNTY | JAIL REFERENDUM
CRIME
New tax: More or less? Board mulls whether to cut public’s payments on proposed jail BY PAM EGGEMEIER peggemeier@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5570 @pam_eggemeier
DIXON – The Lee County Board is considering reducing the sales tax increase requested for a new county jail. The referendum seeks a 1 percent sales tax increase through the County Retailers Occupation Tax for Public Facilities. Based on
the most recent estimate on how much the full 1 percent would bring in, the board is taking action to reduce the tax hike to a half-percent if the referendum is approved March 15. Based on last year’s numbers, the full 1 percent would bring in about $2.2 million, more than double the previous estimate of $900,000. A preliminary estimate on jail construction is between
$12 million and $15 million. “We had asked the state for guidance on the estimates, and they didn’t get back to us,” County Board Chairman Rick Ketchum said. “We need about $1 million a year for 18 to 20 years to pay this off, so we have drawn up a resolution that says we intend to lower the tax if it passes.” JAIL CONTINUED ON A5
What’s next The Lee County Board will consider a jail tax referendum resolution when it meets at 9 a.m. today in the thirdfloor boardroom at the Old Lee County Courthouse, 112 E. Second St., Dixon.
Second person charged in heroin homicide BY ANGEL SIERRA asierra@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5695 @_angelsierra
DIXON – A second Dixon woman is charged with druginduced homicide in the death of Felicia Halstead, 22, who overdosed and died Nov. 11 after what police say was her first time using heroin. Heather A. Wilcox, 32, faces 6 to 30 years in prison if convicted. She also is charged with delivery of a controlled substance (less than 1 gram of heroin), punishable by 3 to 7 years; and possession of a c o n t r o l l e d Heather Wilcox Seen here in a substance 2013 police photo (less than 15 grams of heroin), punishable by 1 to 3 years. Rebecca S. Dixon, 35, still was in Lee County Jail Monday Felicia on $100,000 Halstead bond, arrested Jan. 22 and charged with the same three felonies as Wilcox. Dixon has pleaded not guilty. Halstead was found unresponsive at a house in the 700 block of Assembly Place; she was pronounced dead at KSB Hospital. Wilcox is not in custody; she was given a notice to appear March 2 in Lee County Court, Police Chief Danny Langloss said Monday. Charges were filed in court Thursday.
DIXON
Enjoying a presidential pardon from school Tonya Yingling and son Dylan, 4, zip down the hill Monday at the Kiddie Corral in Dixon while enjoying the few inches of snow that fell Sunday. The Presidents Day holiday meant that kids could swap the homework for hills – but they might not get another chance to sled this week. Come this weekend, most of the snow will likely be gone, as temperatures are forecast to rise through the week, hitting a high of 55 on Friday. After that, things will start to cool off again, with temps settling back in the lower 30s and upper 20s by next week.
HOMICIDE CONTINUED ON A5
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
ILLINOIS
Inmates get the drop on jailers Lawmaker floats a bill to keep drone-delivered contraband out of prisons SPRINGFIELD (AP) – Wily inmates and their associates on the outside are deploying drones to deliver drugs, cellphones, and other contraband to prison yards, leaving prison guards and correctional authorities trying to decide how to deal with the new technology. After smuggling incidents around prisons in Maryland, Ohio and Oklahoma,
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Illinois lawmakers are proposing legislation to penalize the activity, even though the state has yet to see an incident on its own turf. Wisconsin and Michigan also have pending legislation to Tim criminalize the use of Bivins drones over prisons. The idea for the Illinois measure came from the state’s Department of Corrections. While drones haven’t been a problem yet, the department “is taking a proactive
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approach to ensure it does not” become one, spokeswoman Nicole Wilson said. “It’s like anything; new technology brings new problems,” said Sen. Tim Bivins, a Republican sponsoring the Illinois legislation. Bivins’ bill would add an extra year of prison to inmates involved in bringing contraband into prison with a drone. In Ohio, a drone delivering drugs to a prison in Mansfield in July triggered a fight among inmates when the package with heroin, marijuana, and tobacco was dropped in the yard. Maryland police arrested two men planning to use a drone to drop off drugs, pornog-
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raphy and a cellphone into a prison in Cumberland in August. And in October, prison officials at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary found a drone that crashed on facility grounds with hacksaw blades, a cellphone and heroin. Knowingly taking aerial images of a correctional institution would also be punishable with a felony charge under Bivins’ bill. That’s because in addition to being worried about contraband, officials also are concerned that drones could be used to plan escapes or other crimes by capturing videos or photographs of a prison’s layout. DRONES CONTINUED ON A5
Today’s weather High 36. Low 24. More on A3.
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