The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help as authorities try to determine who stole and crashed a vehicle Wednesday night near Dixon then fled the scene on foot.

A judge denied release on Wednesday to a DeKalb father and registered sex offender who's charged with first-degree murder in his 5-month-old son’s death, a day after the baby was hospitalized suffering significant facial injuries while in the man’s care, authorities said.

A Freeport woman has been charged in Whiteside County with felony aggravated driving under the influence and causing a Christmas Day crash that injured a 4-year-old child who was in the vehicle

The city of Sterling wants to know from residents and businesspeople whether parking needs are being met in the downtown business district.

The work includes Griswold Avenue from Ninth Street to LeFevre; Woodburn Avenue from 11th Street to LeFevre; 11th Street from Dillon to Woodburn; 13th Street from Dillon to Woodburn and 15th Street from Dillon to Griswold.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to 4 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to a 2024 aggravated battery charge – a Class 2 felony because it involved a police officer – and a separate 2023 aggravated battery charge.

Dixon city and rural firefighters and Advance EMS were called at 6:40 a.m. Wednesday to the 900 block of West Fourth Street, according to a news release.

Work on Sterling street and road projects is shifting into higher gear for 2026.  One of the major road projects that Sterling drivers will see is resurfacing of Fourth Street, Illinois Route 2, from Locust Street to 19th Avenue. 

Three people have been charged in Carroll County in connection with several local agencies’ investigation into the theft of two utility vehicles and tools