The Tracker

12/05/2025

These were the top headlines in the weekly edition of The Tracker which went out to its free email subscribers this morning.

11/05/2025

We've been quiet on Facebook this week because of a busier-than-usual schedule, but the weekly edition of The Tracker is now being written for delivery tomorrow morning at 5am.

05/05/2025

THANK YOU TO FIRST MEMBERS! We would like to offer a big thank you to those members of the community who have started to support our work. Sooner or later, The Tracker will face crunch time, when we will need to either make our living off our journalism about Knox County, or else move on to somewhere we can pay the bills. At the moment, we have three Members offering a total of $45 monthly to support our otherwise free news service. It's a start!

Membership Link: https://buymeacoffee.com/galesburgtracker

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04/05/2025

After some weeks of unusually hefty weekly reports, it looks like tomorrow's email will be more standard in scope. We lead with the fallout from the Kramer arrest and carry some major stories related to education. It also includes significant crime and business headlines. Join the email list if you want to be fully informed.

30/04/2025

JOSH KRAMER SERVED WITH ORDER OF PROTECTION: County Board Member Joshua Kramer was served yesterday with an Order of Protection requested by his wife, Kasey Kramer.

After sworn testimony, the court found "good cause" to issue the order, noting that Kasey Kramer had bruising on her face and body, which she says were inflicted upon her by her husband on April 27.

30/04/2025

FIELDER CONVICTED ON ALL CHARGES: Today a Knox County jury found Jason D. Fielder guilty on all charges following a 2.5-day trial for a violent attack that took place on August 15, 2024.

The verdict, delivered after a prosecution led by State’s Attorney Ashley Worby and Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Hoppock, included four felony counts: Attempted First Degree Murder, Aggravated Arson, Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault, and Unlawful Restraint.

The case centered on the assault of a juvenile victim. Trial evidence revealed that Fielder restrained the victim with zip ties and secured them to a wooden beam in a basement. He then set a fire in the kitchen directly above, in what prosecutors described as an attempt to kill the victim. DNA evidence confirmed Fielder’s DNA on the victim’s body, bolstering the state’s case.

Six expert witnesses, including forensic scientists, a fire investigator, a digital forensics expert, and two sexual assault nurse examiners, provided testimony that supported the prosecution’s case.

“This verdict reflects the overwhelming evidence and our office’s dedication to justice for victims of violent crime,” Worby said in a statement. “We thank the jury and the professionals whose expertise ensured a just outcome.”

The Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault charge carries a mandatory consecutive sentence, meaning any prison term for that count will be served in addition to sentences for the other convictions.

Sentencing is set for a later date.

28/04/2025

We are pleased about gaining nearly 200 new Facebook followers overnight, but here's your reminder that most of our reporting is presented on our weekly email newsletter only. It is free. We just need your name and email address. Here were the top headlines for this morning.

28/04/2025

COUNTY BOARD MEMBER JOSH KRAMER ARRESTED: Joshua Kramer, a member of the Knox County Board, was arrested today by the Knox County Sheriff's Office on charges of Domestic Battery.

Kramer also serves as an Investigator at the Monmouth Police Department, with a law enforcement career going back to 2006.

Kramer has been a member of the County Board since December 2022 and has headed several committees. He was comfortably reelected as a member of the Republican majority this past November.

A follow-up to this report will be made available in the next weekly newsletter.

27/04/2025

No blockbuster news this week, but there have been a lot of smaller stories about community development and other matters. The weekly edition is almost ready, but a bit of photography remains to be done today. It will go out tomorrow at 5am.

24/04/2025

DEFENDER OF THE FAITH: The Knox County Sheriff's Office plays a critical role in securing the lives and property of county residents, but messaging on its official page suggests that it has ambitions to shape the religious faith of the local population as well.

Earlier this month, the Easter greeting posted on the official page went far beyond bunnies or well-wishes, but instead offered guidance on "the true meaning of Easter," including a tribute to "our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" and a quotation from the gospels.

Such a message on Sheriff Jack Harlan's personal page would have been uncontroversial. He and all other office-holders have First Amendment rights to hold their own religious beliefs and express them.

Some experts, however, argue that when it comes to the official social media accounts of a taxpayer-funded law enforcement organization, there is another part of the First Amendment that comes into play—the so-called "Establishment Clause," which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

In other words, institutions of the state, including local institutions, are constitutionally mandated to remain neutral in matters of religion, except insofar as they should protect the public's right to exercise their religious practices freely.

To be sure, public commentary on the Sheriff's Office Easter message was uniformly positive and appreciative. The response included messages such as "The Lord is risen indeed!" and "Thank you for being bold enough to make this statement." Many members of the community are deeply sympathetic to the religious beliefs that were expressed.

However, in the context of an official page of a law enforcement agency, Robert Tuttle, Research Professor of Law and Religion at George Washington University, confirmed to The Tracker that "it’s an improper use of official means for transmitting messages."

On the other hand, Tuttle added that it is not clear who would have legal standing to bring a claim about this "apparent violation" of the First Amendment. He added, "Unless public officials themselves decide to enforce by exercising some form of discipline, there’s no legal remedy for ordinary residents."

Ed Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy of the American Civil Liberties Union Illinois, also described the Sheriff's Office's use of its page as "problematic." He noted that it "blends governmental messages and political beliefs" in a manner which seems to "elevate one religious belief" above others.

This blurring of the lines, he contends, might "exclude parts of the community" and lead to doubts that the Sheriff's Office will enforce the law in an impartial and non-discriminatory fashion.

The Tracker invited members of the County Board to share their opinions, either in approval of this use of the official page of the Sheriff's Office or critical of it.

The only response came from Board Member Pamela Davidson, who noted, "What about the people who are Muslims? What about the people who are Jewish?" Her conclusion is that "religion should be out of it."

20/04/2025

We are set for tomorrow's issue of The Tracker. Again it is longer than usual, and it includes some previously unreported information about local politics and other matters. Don't miss it! Get on the free email list before the train passes you by!

19/04/2025

600 EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS: Our Monday morning issue with be the first email going out to 600+ free subscribers. Thank you to those that follow our work. Please let others know who might be interested in knowing what's happening in our community.

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