Springfield, IL -- The state is cracking down on gas station owners who don't report all of their sales taxes. Sue Hofer, with the Illinois Department of Revenue, says 14 stations are currently under indictment for tax fraud and failure to keep records and more charges may be on the way. "We're not certainly done investigating. The attorney general's office is working with the department of revenue, the bureau of criminal investigation, and those investiations are still ongoing", said Hofer. Since 2008 27-percent of gas stations statewide were found to have pocketed sales tax revenue. Many of those stations paid back the taxes during last year's tax amnesty. The IDR has collected more than 54-million dollars in back taxes from gas stations in the last four years. - http://goo.gl/tx3ZR
Monday, September 26, 2011
IDOT Hiring 16 Supevisors During Budget Crisis
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois Department of Transportation is hiring 16 employees with salaries of up to $100,000 even though critics say they'll duplicate work done by existing staff. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reportsthat IDOT's new "operations supervisors" will not be union members. The agency ran ads about the new jobs shortly after employees now doing similar work won the right to join a union. Operating Engineers Local 150 says the new jobs aren't necessary. Union attorney Ken Edwards says nobody can figure out why they're needed.IDOT spokesman Josh Kauffman says the posts have been planned since 2010 and are necessary for supervising field technicians. The Springfield State Journal-Register first reported the new jobs, which pay from $67,000 to $100,000 a year. - http://goo.gl/dUL99
Marion County Police Beat for Monday, September 26th, 2011
The Marion County Sheriff's Department is investigating vandalism at the Jennifer Thompson home on Selmaville Road in rural Salem. Thompson reported a trampoline and yard light were damaged, trash was scattered through the yard and lawn chairs were placed on the roof. She is uncertain if there was any damage to the roof. Two people remain in the Marion County Jail on outstanding felony failure to appear in court warrants. 48-year-old Kenneth Thornton of North Hickory in Centralia is being held in lieu of $3,000 bond on a criminal damage to property case. 36-year-old Christy Skurat of South Pine in Centralia is being held in lieu of $3,000 bond on a bringing contraband into a penal institution charge. Salem Police arrested a 29-year-old Patoka man when going to a motel room looking for another person on an outstanding warrant. James McKinzie of Louse Creek Road later posted bond and was released from the jail on an outstanding traffic warrant. Bond was set at $750. The person police were originally seeking was not present in the motel room. A 26-year-old Centralia man, Eddie Bender of North Walnut, posted bond and was released after being arrested for alleged possession of cannabis during a traffic stop by Marion County Sheriff's Deputies. - http://goo.gl/0Lp0J
Mob Fight Breaks Out At St. Clair County Jail
(Belleville, IL) -- Five inmates at the St. Clair County jail have additional charges being put on their rap sheet. They're being charged with mob action after they allegedly beat three other inmates over cigarettes. The "Belleville News Democrat" reports the five believed another inmate had managed to sneak cigarettes in illegally but when he and his crew wouldn't turn them over, they were attacked. Authorities say there were no cigarettes. The fight broke out in the jail's gymnasium. That's where the inmates are living as the jail combats a problem with overcrowding. The "Belleville News Democrat" reports 500 inmates are currently in custody, but the jail has a maximum capacity of 360. The three inmates who were attacked received medical treatment at the jail. - http://goo.gl/h7bBt