Whiteside County Sheriff

A Sterling woman has been charged with multiple traffic offenses, including two felonies, after police say she attempted to elude authorities in Rock Falls and ended up hitting a parked vehicle.

Michael W.T. Bennett Jr. will be moved from the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center in St. Charles to the Whiteside County Jail in Morrison on May 17, the day he turns 18.

The Whiteside County Public Safety Tax Referendum passed with 3,667 votes for the measure and 2,907 against it. A total of 6,822 of the county’s 37,881 voters (18%) cast their ballots to decide the referendum’s fate.

According to unofficial vote totals, the measure passed with 55% approval on a vote count of 3,667 yes votes to 2907 no votes.

An Erie man has been sentenced in Whiteside County to four years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday, April 1, to sexually assaulting a teenager in 2020.

Contested races are taking place for two Rock Falls City Council seats, two Sterling City Council seats and Dixon Township highway commissioner. Whiteside County voters also are deciding the fate of a proposed public safety sales tax.

Whiteside County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, March 29, to the 6000 block of Cordova Road for a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash.

Kyle Cooper was to stand trial April 8 for the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel J. Gordon; however, that date was pushed until May 13 based on the prosecution’s request for more time.

Whiteside County Circuit Court Judge James Heuerman made the ruling Friday morning, allowing the case against Harrison Webb, 18, to proceed toward trial

Teen charged with attempted murder is accused of shooting two other teens shortly before 6 p.m. July 23 in the area of 13th Avenue and East Fifth Street in Sterling. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the head, and a 14-year-old boy was struck in the leg, police said.

A Sterling woman has pleaded guilty to mob action and been sentenced to probation in connection with a December 2024 home invasion in Sterling.

A Whiteside County judge has ruled that enough evidence exists to move forward with a criminal case that accuses a Sterling man of setting an October fire that destroyed a Galt home.

Sixteen fire departments were involved in the fire call.

Whiteside County deputies responded shortly before 8 a.m. Friday to 1706 E. Rock Falls Road following a 911 call reporting a disturbance.

Booker: I am writing to you today to strongly urge your support for the upcoming public safety tax measure. As the sheriff of Whiteside County, | have witnessed firsthand the growing demands placed on our law enforcement, fire and emergency services.

Testimony sheds more light on events leading up to Daniel Gordon's death on Feb. 14, 2025, after a fight in a Rock Falls driveway.

Rodney Swan has been held in the Whiteside County Jail since mid-January, when he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is accused of shooting himself in the thigh when a loaded gun tucked into his waistband discharged as he was pulling up his pants.

Several fire departments responded to an emergency call reporting a possible structure fire early Thursday morning.

A Rock Falls man wanted on an arrest warrant in connection with a Dec. 8 home invasion in Sterling has been taken into custody and is facing more charges.

Kyle M. Cooper, 36, is charged with murder in connection with the Feb. 14 death of Daniel J. Gordon, 27, who prosecutors say was stabbed after trying to break up an altercation between Cooper and Cooper's ex-girlfriend, who was dating Gordon.

Kyle M. Cooper, 36, of Rock Falls, is being held in the Whiteside County Jail in Morrison on a first-degree murder charge as well as two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel J. Gordon.

The two men were formally charged Feb. 11, with the offenses alleged to have occurred Jan. 3, according to court records

According to a news release, Rock Falls police were dispatched at 1:50 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, for a reported stabbing in the 600 block of West 20th Street in Rock Falls.

Testimony in the case against LeAndrew T. Adams, 22, is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the Whiteside County Courthouse in Morrison.

A Lyndon man has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to domestic battery and a weapons charge.

After a hearing to determine whether a Freeport man’s right to a speedy trial was violated and if the case should be dismissed as a result, a Whiteside County judge ruled Friday that he will stand trial on multiple sex offenses next week.

A Morrison teen was reunited with his family Monday night after a search by multiple police agencies and local residents.

Sheriffs from across the Sauk Valley said state law forbids them from assisting with newly sworn-in President Donald Trump’s promise to “launch the largest deportation program in American history.”

One dead following Sunday house fire in rural Sterling.

Firefighters discovered a body Monday at the scene of a fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in rural Sterling, Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker has confirmed.

Sterling and Rock Falls firefighters and CGH EMS were called to 5500 Mill Street in Emerson around 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, for a reported structure fire with flames and smoke visible.

All evidence at this time indicates this to be an isolated incident in which a man died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a Sterling Police Department news release.

Baylee J. Gipson, 25, is wanted on a Whiteside County arrest warrant on charges of home invasion/causing injury, criminal trespass to property/persons present, mob action/force/more than two people; and battery with physical contact, according to court documents.

A Rock Falls man accused of outrunning police twice will remain detained in the Whiteside County Jail after a judge ruled he poses too much of a risk to be released.

Shaw Local has been covering numerous court cases this year as they move through the courts in Lee and Whiteside counties. Here are a few of the high-profile cases we have covered in the past year.

Jordan L. Kaye taken into custody in Sterling on Whiteside, Rock Island county arrest warrants.

A Sterling man is charged with several weapon and drug violations accusing him of being armed while possessing cannabis and intending to deliver the drug.

The Rock Falls City Council heard a report Tuesday night about the consequences of a failed referendum that would have instated a 0.5% sales tax throughout Whiteside County to help fund emergency dispatch services.

Harrison Webb, charged with attempted murder, is accused of walking from his Rock Falls home to Sterling, going into the restaurant’s kitchen, and with less than two feet separating them, shooting a 17-year-old worker in the back of the neck.

The 17-year-old boy, whose name was not released by authorities because he is a juvenile, also is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, felony burglary and unlawful possession of a stolen firearm.

A Rock Falls teen was treated at a local hospital and released after he was shot in the neck Wednesday night at Sterling’s Pizza Ranch, police say.

Despite his insistence that he is a changed man, a Rock Falls felon was sentenced to up to 18 years in prison Wednesday in connection with a December 2023 standoff at a Dixon hotel.

Lee County voters support Amboy, Harmon fire departments' merger.

Sheriff: Measure will be on the April 2025 ballot.

Johnathon P. Parker, 40, was taken into custody Saturday night, Nov. 2, 2024, in the 1600 block of Riverdale Road, Rock Falls, after a 10-hour standoff over two days with police, according to Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker.

Johnathon P. Parker is being held in the Whiteside County Jail.

Sterling police detective says during Monday preliminary hearing that investigation continues into whether more people will be charged.

Brett Cahoone charged with nine counts, remains jailed in Whiteside County.

Steven W. Coleman was sentenced Thursday for three counts of murder, three aggravated arson charges, and a residential arson charge. All seven sentences will be served consecutively to each other.

Brian McPhillips, 32, of Rock Falls, who police initially identified as a Sterling resident, has been cited with unsafe passing and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, according Whiteside County court documents.