President Obama Pardons Former Alton Woman for Selling Cocaine

Alton, IL -- A former Alton woman who was convicted and sentenced in 2001 for selling cocaine is being released. Eugenia Jennings has been pardoned by President Barack Obama. She was sentenced to 22 years in jail ten years ago in the Southern District of Illinois, but the president signed an order allowing her to go free next month. A Washington law firm and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin appealed on her behalf. They claim Jennings was selling drugs to support her family and at one point traded drugs for clothing. Those supporting her release told a Congressional panel that she was the victim of a disparity in sentencing between those who sell crack cocaine and those who sell the powder form. Jennings was sentenced for selling 13-point nine grams of crack cocaine to a police informant. She will still have eight years of supervised release.  http://goo.gl/w6Ax9

Veterans Affairs moves Harrisburg office

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs (IDVA) has moved its Saline County Veterans Service Office to a new location in Harrisburg.

The new location is housed in the Illinois Department of Employment Security offices located at 320 East Raymond.

IDVA's new office will continue to be staffed by Veterans Service Officer (VSO) Lisa McBride, who can be reached at (618) 253-2005. The fax number is (618) 253-6106. VSO office hours will be maintained from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The Harrisburg Veterans' Service Office is part of a statewide network that serves about 1.2 million veterans by increasing awareness of available state and federal benefits. Offices are staffed by VSOs who provide accurate, up-to-date information, answer questions, assist with paperwork and filing of claims for federal, state and local benefits completely free of charge.  http://bit.ly/rrqYsG

Jefferson County Justice Center breaks $3M

More than $3 million has been collected by the Jefferson County Justice Center for housing prisoners this budget year.

The jail has also collected $184,285 in local funds this budget year, bringing the total funds collected to more than $3.3 million, according to information from Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch's monthly report.

According to information from the county's budgetary status report, the Sheriff's Department budget is at 116.3 percent for income with 11 months of the year completed, and is at 95.3 percent in expenses.

The Jail budget is at 28.7 percent of its estimated income, said Suzy Tattoo, Jefferson County executive assistant, while its expenses are at 89.5 percent.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement budget is at 111.2 percent of its budgeted expenses, but is also at 134.8 percent of its budgeted income.

The monthly average of housing income is about $283,000, and the total monthly average is about $300,000, according to information provided by the sheriff's office.

The JCJC is waiting for more than $585,000 from various agencies, including the U.S. Marshals Service, ICE and Cook County, information states.

For housing and medical services, the JCJC has billed more than $2.9 million, and has received $3.1 million, including late payments, information states.

October saw the facility's third-highest number of detainees at 638, with 347 of those being out-of-county. The average daily population for October was 78 in-county prisoners and 144 from outside Jefferson County, the sheriff's report states.

The jail population on Oct. 16 was 88 ICE detainees, 18 U.S. Marshals detainees and 74 local prisoners for a total of 180.

The total detainees booked through the budget year is 6,522, with 4,134 of those from outside Jefferson County.

October saw 24 citations, 55 arrests and 44 traffic accidents conducted by Jefferson County Sheriff's Office deputies. Deputies have issued a total of 620 citations, made 720 arrests and responded to 406 traffic accidents.

From Sept. 17 to Oct. 15, the sheriff's office spent more than $11,000 on 14 part-time personnel, including deputies, corrections officers, nursing personnel, dispatchers and commissary workers. The total part-time personnel expenditure for the budget year is $169,093, http://bit.ly/vqSJ49

East St. Louis Records 25th Killing This Year; Topping Number Of Homicides In 2010

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - Illinois State Police are helping authorities in East St. Louis investigate the shooting death of a man who's become the city's 25th killing this year.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports that 31-year-old Timothy Jones of Swansea was shot multiple times Friday night as he sat inside his pickup truck. He died later at a hospital. There's no word on any arrests or charges in the killing, which brings the city's total of homicides this year past the 24 recorded last year.
The violence has caught the attention of the region's top federal prosecutor. During a recent speech in Belleville, U.S. Attorney Steven Wigginton said "it's the 10 percent of thugs in East St. Louis that make life miserable for the 90 percent of good people who are stuck there."  http://bit.ly/tenSb0