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A power outage in the North Valley left a number of households without electricity Monday morning.According to the online Ameren Cilco outage map, 29 households were without power at noon Monday. A number of stoplights in the North Valley also were out of service.Students at Woodruff Career and Technical Center were transported to Glen Oak Community Learning Center for lunch because of the outage, according to Peoria School District 150 spokesman Chris Coplan

Backers of a plan to change Illinois' income tax structure say they've collected more than 150,000 signatures from supporters and hope to get even more as they continue their petition drive into the spring.The effort's being backed by the group A Better Illinois, which wants lawmakers to put a constitutional amendment on the 2014 ballot, according to a report in the (Springfield) State Journal-Register.

A fire at an unattached garage of a vacant South Peoria home briefly spread to a neighboring home early Tuesday afternoon. Fire crews responded to a fully engulfed garage fire at 2704 W. Malone Ave. about 12:10 p.m. Tuesday. The flames from the garage had spread to the exterior of the house at 2704 W. Malone and the attic at 2700 W. Malone Ave., according to the Peoria Fire Department. The residents at 2700 W. Malone were out of the house before crews [...]

The abduction of a woman by her estranged husband in Pekin early Monday reached a protracted conclusion Tuesday with the discovery of her body and an ensuing standoff with her alleged killer. Phouvone Sophanavong, 45, held police at bay with a gun for more than nine hours in his home at 703 NE Monroe St. that his family apparently has owned for decades. The same residence had been searched Monday night by authorities trying to sort out the disappearance of his wife, [...]

State regulators approved Proctor Hospital's application to affiliate with UnityPoint Health-Methodist today. With the merger, Proctor and Methodist will become one hospital with two locations and one management team led by Methodist CEO Debbie Simon. Proctor's name will change to UnityPoint Health-Proctor. Members of the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board accepted the proposal at a board meeting in Bolingbrook. Methodist [...]

Historic votes Tuesday in the Illinois Legislature positioned that state to become the largest in the heartland to legalize gay marriage, following months of arduous lobbying efforts by both sides in President Barack Obama's home state.Under the measure, which the state House approved 61-54 before sending it on to the Senate for technical changes, gay weddings could be held in Illinois starting in June. The bill heads next to Gov. Pat Quinn, [...]

A JOURNAL STAR EXCLUSIVERita Kress doesn't have a hidden agenda regarding municipal purchase of the Peoria waterworks. She just wants an open discussion and an honest appraisal. "If the facts say, 'Don't buy the water company,' don't buy it," Kress, who supports pursuit of a city buyout, said Tuesday. "If the facts say, 'Hey, there's real potential here,' than let's look at it. It's finding out the facts.

Two Peoria men were indicted Tuesday in connection with a fatal shooting last month. Cartez E. Williams, 25, 5250 N. Knoxville Ave., and Kent Irby Jr., 25, 713 W. Columbia Terrace, both face two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the death of Carnell Ashford, 31, on Oct. 11. The charges indicate the men thought they had to use deadly force but that belief was "unreasonable." It is likely the two men will argue self-defense if the case ever [...]

A Peoria man pleaded guilty Monday just before his trial was to begin to sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago. Clarence L. Triplett, 34, pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual assault in connection with the October 2002 incident involving a 17-year-old woman. The plea will send him to prison for at least 16 years and possibly up to 55 years when he is sentenced later this year. That still is less than what Triplett faced had he lost at [...]

Revenues are up, expenses are down and the East Peoria Festival of Lights parade and subsequent Winter Wonderland display are trending toward becoming self-sufficient operations. "I've heard people tell me we should get rid of the Festival of Lights, the city is spending so much money," Commissioner Chad Joos said Tuesday during a working session of the City Council. "But (the events) are mostly self-sufficient now. The city is not writing a huge check every year."