Latest news with #WillCounty
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Boy, 15, charged with murder in shooting death of 13-year-old boy in Joliet
Joliet police said a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with the murder of a 13-year-old boy shot to death in an alley Monday. Officers were called to the 300 block of South Desplaines Street in Joliet Monday shortly before 4:45 p.m. where they found the teen in an alley with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Wednesday, police arrested a 15-year-old boy who they said knew the victim and had been involved in an "ongoing personal dispute" with him. Police said they believe the 15-year-old confronted the 13-year-old as a part of this dispute and allegedly shot him twice during the confrontation. The teen was arrested Tuesday in the 600 block of Benton Street for aggravated battery, mob action and disorderly conduct from a separate incident on May 6, police said. While he was in custody, he was questioned about the shooting death of the 13-year-old. The Will County State's Attorney has charged the 15-year-old with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of unlawful possession of a weapon. The teen is currently in custody at the River Valley Justice Center. He has not been identified due to his age. The victim has also not been identified. It is not known when the 15-year-old is due in court. Please note: The above video is from a previous report
CBS News
24-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Will County and ShareFest host food annual giveaway in Joliet
If you're in the Joliet area and in need of a little help with groceries, there's an event for you on Saturday. Will County and ShareFest Will County are hosting their annual free drive-thru food giveaway from 9 a.m. to noon at the Will County Office Building located at 302 N. Chicago St. in Joliet. Registration in advance is required, and appointments are available in 10-minute increments at Anyone attending should enter the Will County Office Building parking lot from Scott Street. Volunteers will help line up vehicles and load up groceries.
CBS News
17-05-2025
- CBS News
Joliet police sergeant killed in off-duty crash near Beecher, Illinois
A Joliet, Illinois, police sergeant was killed in a car crash while off duty on Friday near south suburban Beecher. Joliet Police confirmed Sgt. Hollis Weller, 47, died in a crash on Friday in southeastern Will County. Illinois State Police said a semi-trailer truck, a pickup truck, and a car collided around 11:45 a.m. on Illinois Route 1 near Eagle Lake Road in Washington Township near Beecher. Weller was killed in the crash. Another person was injured and was taken to the hospital. It was not immediately clear which vehicle Weller was in. The road was closed until about 6:30 p.m. after the crash. Weller was a 20-year veteran of the Joliet Police Department, and had been a sergeant since July 2020. "Sgt. Weller was a decorated Officer whose commitment to service was recognized with numerous awards, including the Award for Heroism in 2015. He was a leader, a mentor, and a friend to many," Joliet Police said in a statement. Weller is survived by his wife and three children.
Al Jazeera
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Is Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff, a registered Republican?
Hours after Robert Prevost became the first United States-born pontiff on May 8, social media discussions in the US speculated whether Pope Leo XIV, as he is known after the election, was a 'registered Republican'. 'SCOOP: Our Turning Point Action team pulled the voting history for Pope Leo XIV,' conservative influencer Charlie Kirk wrote on social media platform X on May 8. 'He's a registered Republican who has voted in Republican primaries when not living abroad. Our data shows he's a strong Republican, and he's pro-life.' Many other X posts called Prevost a 'registered Republican'. Prevost, 69, is a registered voter in Will County, Illinois, and has cast ballots there over the past 13 years. In Illinois, voters do not register by party affiliation. But they declare a party when voting in a primary, according to an April video by the Illinois State Board of Elections. 'However, you are not tied down or formally registered to this party and are free to vote for another party at a subsequent election,' the video says. The Illinois voter registration application does not ask people to provide a party affiliation. The Will County clerk's office sent PolitiFact Prevost's voter information, which lists his party affiliation as 'undeclared'. It shows that he voted in the 2012, 2014 and 2016 Republican primaries. He voted absentee in the 2024 general election, with an undeclared party affiliation. The viral screenshots Kirk and others shared on X are from L2, a paywalled database that aggregates consumer and voter data. L2's profile of Prevost lists 'Republican' in its 'party' field. 🚨 🚨 🚨 New Pope is a registered REPUBLICAN! — Jared Small 💁🏼♀️ (@jaredsmall) May 8, 2025It is unclear how L2 determines a party affiliation for people who live in states such as Illinois, where this information is not included in voter registration. L2 did not respond to PolitiFact's request for comment. Born in 1955, Prevost grew up in Dolton, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He was ordained as a priest in 1982, then moved to Peru, where he lived from 1988 through 1998. In 1999, he returned to Chicago to serve as the prior provincial of the Augustinian province of 'Mother of Good Counsel', which covers the Midwest and Canada. Prevost's voter file lists his address to a house owned by his brother, John Prevost. We were unable to determine Robert Prevost's address or where he was registered to vote before 2012. In 2014, he returned to Peru and served as the bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023. He then moved to Rome, where he has lived since. US citizens who live overseas and meet certain criteria can vote absentee while abroad. We contacted the clerk's office in Cook County, Illinois, where Chicago is located, to ask whether Prevost has a voter file in the county. The clerk's office directed us to submit a Freedom of Information Act request for that information; we did so, but did not receive an immediate response. Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, chair of religious studies and political science professor at Northwestern University in the Chicago suburbs, said Prevost's voting history does not tell the public 'much about his views or positions other than that in that particular primary he was inclined toward one or more of the Republican candidates'. X posts said Prevost is a 'registered Republican'. Prevost is registered to vote in Illinois, where voters do not register with a party affiliation. However, they declare a party affiliation when voting in a primary. County records show Prevost voted in three Republican primaries from 2012 through 2016, the most recent records we obtained. Still, the Illinois State Board of Elections says when voters participate in primaries, they are not formally registered to a party. No one is registered by party affiliation in Illinois, and evidence is scant about Prevost's voting history over his lifetime. The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts. We rate it Mostly False. PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this fact-check.
New York Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Pope Leo XIV Has Voted Often in Illinois, Public Records Show
Pope Leo XIV has voted several times in his home state of Illinois in recent years, public records show, including with an absentee ballot in last November's presidential election. According to records from Will County, in suburban Chicago, the pope has voted in three Republican primaries since 2012 and no Democratic primaries in that time. He most recently voted in a Republican primary in 2016. The records show that he did not vote in Will County in the 2020 presidential election or in the 2022 midterm election. In Illinois, where Democrats dominate in statewide elections, voters do not register as members of a political party. American citizens living outside the country remain eligible to vote.
