It’s hard to say what Brittany Lane, former wife of state trooper Brett Lane/former concubine of Saline County businessman Chris Schimp, is up to now, but judging by pics we received this morning, I’d be guessing about 20 pounds over the weight her driver’s license claims.

Here’s a portion of the pic:

We’ll let you keep guessing. But suffice it to say, this pic was generated because she was supposedly very grateful for someone’s assistance in trying to help her obtain a vehicle or at least a loan for one, which she was having trouble getting because her credit is apparently as atrocious as her moral fiber.

Pics were intercepted by the guy’s pretty girlfriend, who began letting people know how the Brittster operates….and somehow or another, we ended up with them.

What are we going to do with them? Well, we’re not sure. We need to make certain youngsters don’t view them, so we might make a little secure page here, where you can’t view them unless you have a password, and you can’t have a password unless you have a credit card. Don’t worry….it won’t be expensive. Not nearly as expensive, that we hear, anyway, as the Brittster.

We’ll keep you….abreast….of the situation. Such as that is.

Disclosure News’ Jack & Ang Howser discuss the day’s local Southern Illinois News

They thought this rig over my head would keep me silent. It did NOT. BUAHahahahahahaaaaaa!!!!

Topics covered for Wednesday, March 28, 2012: Weather, local election coverage, Gallatin County, Hamilton County, cats are back, national election coverage, Ron Paul, Desoto tornado book signing, MSM, WSIL TV3, Trayvon Martin story, Edger County Police alleged sexual assault, the Earps, new features coming to the website SOON, Jet Blue incident, murder in Lawrenceville

Previous Episodes

HARDIN CO.—Following a period of mourning in Hardin County, apparently, “weird” is back in session.

Those mourning the passing of both Elizabethtown’s police chief Ed Conkle back in December, and sheriff Lloyd “Smokey” Cullison last month, have seen upheavals in law enforcement in the county…the leaders of which apparently believe that because they’re small, backwoods, and relatively forgotten, they can pretty much do anything they want and get away with it.

But this latest batch of crap even has corruption-hardened people like us shaking our heads in wonder.

First, we’ve been advised that the diva herself, Sandra “Sandbags” Conkle, the widow of dead Ed, is refusing to return the police vehicle to the town. You read that right. For whatever reason, apparently one known only to herself, Sandbags has parked the cruiser—which Ed used only intermittently, as he really didn’t do much policing as town marshal because of his poor health—in her drive, and has blocked it in. It’s unknown if anyone else has a key, but apparently she’s not taking any chances, as can be seen in the above photo. We’re trying to learn who it is who’s asked her (or told her; you never know who might get assertive under these circumstances) to return the vehicle. It can’t be her brother, Heck Rose, the former mayor of E-town, as he’s FORMER mayor (although we’ve heard there are whisperings that he’d like to return). We’re not sure whether it’s former sheriff/current mayor Tom Seiner. But if it IS Tom, good luck to him. Sandbags has little regard for the new mayor. Or anyone else, for that matter, who isn’t letting her suck from the public teat…the milk of which mostly dried up when Ed died.

And then there’s the sheriff’s issue.When Smokey died a few weeks ago, a guessing game broke out amongst Hardin residents as to what was going to happen. In the interim, coroner Roger Little was appropriately and properly appointed to fill Smokey’s office, to which he was elected only one election cycle ago, November 2010. Under proscription of law, the county coroner is the one who fills the office of sheriff if the sheriff dies, leaves, is arrested, or is otherwise incapacitated. Little was completely digging this, as he wanted to BE sheriff in 2010 and was running on the Dem ticket against JT Fricker, Republican, and Smokey—Independent. But Little, as coroner, could only hold the office for 60 days, then the party of the sheriff in office/formerly in office had to caucus and fill the seat until the next available election—November 2012.That couldn’t happen…because Smokey was an Independent. No party. No caucus. Someone else was going to have to take the seat, and the word was that it was going to be Joyce Cullison, Smokey’s widow, as soon as she was done grieving.

But that didn’t work out, either.

Brett Oxford...being businessy

As soon as Little won the Primary March 20 (barely, against Dem contender Brett Oxford, 255-246; a third contender, Rita Warren, took in 66 votes), he began making noises that he REALLY liked being sheriff, and so, ostensibly, a deal was struck with the ever-obnoxious county board chairman Wayne Eichorn: Roger Little would just stay sheriff, and give up his office of coroner to Brett Oxford, the runner-up (translated: the majority of the people didn’t WANT him to be coroner) until such time as there could be an election…and lil Brett could run this fall against Republican candidate Brian Lewis of Rosiclare, and Roger could take his chances at the ballot box for sheriff.However, into this musical chairs event comes this leetle tidbit of information.

Brett Oxford, former Hardin County deputy as of mid to early March, is under investigation by ISP. As of March 15, he’s been suspended from the department, hence the “former” designation.

What did lil Brett do? Well, it’s alleged that he executed a traffic stop on a girl and found her to be in possession of drug paraphernalia, but then told her that was no big worry, just provide him with a variety of sexual favors, and all of it would just go away. I’m serious; you can’t make this shit up, and who would WANT to? There are a number of other improprieties he’s said to have accomplished while on the job, including not breathalyzing a boy he stopped and issued a DUI to, even though the boy hadn’t been drinking, and even though every last damn bit of it was caught on dash cam, including the boy insisting on the test, and Oxford’s refusal. That’s the kind of thing that gets a county hemmed up around a false arrest lawsuit quickly. But it gets worse. It’s our understanding that when authorities went to view the dash cam in Oxford’s car, it had been tampered with.

So if this is all coming to pass, there’s your new coroner, Hardin County. As we’re so fond of saying, if you aren’t outraged by now, you haven’t been paying attention.

Why are they getting away with this? It’s an old boy’s club running the show down there, and nothing has been done about the old boys thus far. Nothing we write about it is going to do any good except give them exposure. And authorities don’t often take action on mere exposure. So what can you do? You need to get mad. You need to go to county board meetings. Not enough people opted to vote the head idiot, Wayne Eichorn, out of office, and he remains. Turnover of the county board would have helped; now you may have to wait until you get a decent state’s attorney in office this fall, someone who will take action against the moronic and illegal doings. While a new SA won’t be able to prosecute an officeholder without an appearance of conflict, he or she can bring in a special prosecutor—and that’s something that Hardin is long overdue for. And as far as Sandbags, that’s an E-town board issue. If you think it’s wrong that Sandbags, a councilperson, is holding city property, go to the meetings and demand that someone either move all the vehicles and tow that damn thing, or have her arrested.

There are remedies for this BS. But we can’t do them. Only you in Hardin can. Git er done…or you’re going to be in an even bigger mess come November…and beyond.

LAWRENCE CO.—Two people have been arrested in connection with the death of Robert “Bob” Westall and have been preliminarily charged with murder.

From Tyler McQueen's Facebook page; if this is he, that's likely the MMA-associated crap they like to put on themselves permanently...although new info indicates it's in honor of his late brother.

Tyler R. McQueen, 20, of Mt. Carmel, and Helen Marie Westall, 47, of Bridgeport, have been arrested  in the case. Westall died sometime in the overnight hours this past Saturday/Sunday, March 24/25, 2012, at his Southern Meadows apartment behind Lawrenceville’s United Methodist Village.

There’s no clear indication right now of WHEN the arrests were made, only that Lawrenceville was assisted by the city of Mt. Carmel and Illinois State Police.

McQueen, we are being told, “likes” older women, and his reputation for this precedes him; as well, he’s a mixed martial arts fighter, which “sport” is quickly on its way to being outlawed if the participants keep getting accused of killing/beating people.

Marie Westall is Bob Westall’s niece and had been known to hang around the cougar-chasing McQueen, this according to several people who know them both personally….although we’re now hearing that Marie “hated” McQueen and didn’t like being around  him….meaning there are a lot of things here that don’t add up.

From Marie Westall's Facebook page; the one on the left is purportedly Marie

We are being told that Bob Westall had been gambling on machines in one of the area bars on either the night in question or the night before (Friday, the 23rd), and had obtained significant winnings. We’re not sure this was accomplished at Tykal’s, where sources claim Westall was last seen drinking Saturday night (new information has disclosed this was NOT the case; read the print version April 11 for the full story). However, these two suspects, we have been told, were aware of his winnings, and followed him to his apartment, where they are alleged to have carried out the murder in order to make off with the money. It’s unclear whether authorities believe Westall fought with them over the money, or if they are accused of simply going in and dispatching him before supposedly taking it; either way, the gambling winnings are said to be the basis of the whole ordeal.

We feel badly for the McQueen family; Tyler is the son of Nick and Karen McQueen, who lost another son, Sean, last year in a tragic traffic accident. Karen McQueen is a kind, intelligent woman with whom we’ve spoken many times.

More as we get it; keep checking back.

ELIZABETHTOWN—Another crucial issue has been shoved to the forefront in Hardin County, this time in E-town, where the village president has stepped down, leaving them without a mayor once again.

Former village pres Ton Seiner

Tom Seiner, former sheriff who was defeated in the 2010 Primary in his bid for re-election, called it quits last night (03.30.12) according to E-town sources. Seiner had been appointed village president (mayor) last August after the resignation of Heck Rose. Rose resigned under spurious circumstances, reportedly having to do with alleged falsification of water sample records by the village’s water superintendent. While many believed that to be explained away, another segment of the village believed the ‘explaining’ was a cover story and that the then-mayor and superintendent had an opportunity to resign and save face…and since then-state’s attorney Roger Ralph was there to make sure no state charges were filed against them, they were good to go.

However, now Ralph is gone. He simply, according to those in E-town, didn’t show up Monday to work, and later, another attorney, Missy Presser, showed up at the courthouse in his stead. Presser will be the state’s attorney until the election in November, when voters choose between Tara Wallace and Daniel Cockrum.

Add to all this upheaval some stabilization—Joyce Cullison, Lloyd  ”Smokey” Cullison’s widow—has been appointed sheriff to take Smokey’s place. At least some good has come to the citizens of Hardin.

But the grief and consternation is being stirred up in E-town, this being, we’re hearing, courtesy of  Heck Rose’s sister, Sandra “Sandbags” Conkle, widow of the former E-town marshal, Ed Conkle. See the previous post on what hell Sandbags has raised….and now her hell has apparently been more than Seiner is willing to take. Reportedly, Sandbags, an E-town council person herself, has told Seiner he needs to “clean up  his yard.” Seiner, looking at another councilman’s property in town, reportedly laughed and advised Sandbags where she could stick her opinion—and then resigned his office.

It’s amazing how many problems one dried-up old wench can cause for such nice people and such a nice little town. How long the citizens of E-town will be willing to put up with Sandbags remains to  be seen…word is that people are looking into how they can unseat her from the board, since so many people realize  that  if she weren’t there slinging her excess  weight around, things would be running more than smoothly….and the possibility of the return of Heck Rose to some position of power might not be so good. But as it stands right now, that’s a distinct one. Keep checking back; you’ll know it when we do.

Bad ol hoomins kikked me outta da sound studio. But I show dem...I catnapped the last King Cake from Auntie in Louisianna...dey don' eben know. It kinna smells funny....but I hab it!!! Muahahahahhahaaaameaow!!

Disclosure News’ Jack & Ang Howser discuss the day’s local Southern Illinois News

Topics covered for Saturday, March 31, 2012: Jack’s tooth, Trayvon Martin pendulum swinging, Mega Lottery winners, gun laws, gas prices, President Obama, new Hardin County Sheriff, Hardin County State’s Attorney Rodger Ralph missing, Brett Oxford’s dashboard camera tampering, Edgar County deputy & the 2nd Robert Wilson’s federal case, Lawrenceville County murder case, Harrisburg synthetic drug bust, Bob Smith ‘not legal’ rant, British code breaker’s rotting corpse found locked from the inside of a bag, Tina Martin-Naas update

Previous Episodes

SALINE CO.—A retired and disabled coal mine worker has been arrested in Saline County after he allegedly paid an undercover agent cash to kill his wife.

Roger Young

Roger Young, 61, of Eldorado, was arrested Saturday March 31 following a brief investigation during which it was discovered Young was allegedly attempting to get someone to kill his wife…and he’d reportedly already gone through at least one person in his queries for just the right killer.

According to our Saline sources, Young had been squabbling with his wife for years over a settlement he’d received after an injury in one of the area’s coal mines. Apparently, Young was wanting the incident to look accidental, as he was looking to collect insurance off the crashed vehicle the missus would be driving when the deed was to have been done. It’s unclear just how much he was able to front a downpayment to the undercover agent…however, much more money was promised to the man once the woman’s death was secured.

Sources have indicated Young has been arrested and will be having a bond hearing tomorrow in Saline County Circuit Court. We’ll bring more when we learn about it then; keep checking back.

LAWRENCE CO.—The two people accused of murdering Robert “Bob” Westall have had bail set in their cases on a preliminary basis before officially appearing in front of a judge—and the bail is incredibly high.

Both Helen Marie Westall, 47, and Tyler McQueen, 20, arrested this past Friday (03.30.12) for the murder of Westall, 78, which occurred the previous weekend, have had a $50 million bail set in their individual cases. That means that if either one posts bond, they’d have to pony up $5 million cash—an amount that’s excessive by any stretch, but which the judge in the case (ostensibly Robert Hopkins, although Lawrence County circuit clerk personnel weren’t able to confirm that definitively this morning) apparently thinks is warranted under the circumstances.

Helen Marie Westall

The “circumstances” surrounding Marie Westall are somewhat more understandable than those of McQueen: Westall is, according to reports, mentally unstable and it was via this that there was a break in the case at all, as she reportedly confessed to being behind the murder a few days after it was discovered. Perhaps authorities are concerned that Westall might do herself in; therefore the high bail.

Tyler McQueen

McQueen, however, is another story. He is firmly grounded in the area, having family, relationships and employment (our latest info is that he was working at Mt. Carmel’s McDonald’s), and little, if any, contact with anyone outside the area who could whisk him away.

We’re hearing some other stuff about McQueen, too….stuff that doesn’t add up. We’ve had it confirmed through numerous sources that the investigation at McQueen’s Wabash County residence was nothing if not bungled. Reportedly conducted by some Mt. Carmel cops, that would surprise no one: while Mt. C and Wabash County both have capable people in charge (Jeff Besing as police chief, Joe Keeling as sheriff), apparently neither of them were involved and it was left up to some other officers who may have half-stepped it, if what we’re hearing is correct. As well, we’ve been told repeatedly now that McQueen and Westall did NOT get along, and didn’t even like each other….and that Westall may have had every reason to “involve” McQueen—either for real, or at least telling authorities he was involved, as in, NOT for real—in her alleged scheme for the sole purpose of bringing harm to him…we’ll give you the full story in the print version next week, so you will just have to wait for that, but believe me when I tell you, it’ll be worth the wait.

Westall is charged with two Class X felony Solicitation to Commit Murder for Hire counts, alleged to have offered and/or paid McQueen ten grand and a vehicle in order to carry out the murder of Bob Westall, her uncle.

McQueen is charged with three Class M counts of First Degree Murder.

Both are set to make appearances in Lawrence County circuit court tomorrow (Tuesday, April 3) in front of Associate Judge Mark Shaner, who will be giving first advisement of charges. Whether Shaner will remain the judge in the case, or it will be assigned to another judge, will be seen in the coming weeks. We point this out because Shaner is THE most disagreeable judge in the circuit and openly despises us, as we are hugely critical of him being on the bench at all. He is also an associate, which, by Illinois statute, is supposed to keep him from hearing serious, felony cases, unless specifically authorized by the Illinois Supreme Court….and while many of the associate judges in the Second Circuit had a “blanket authorization” years ago, we’re not sure of the status of that right now, and will be looking into it.

One of us will be there tomorrow at the proceedings…so keep checking back, as this is an ever-developing story, and of course, you won’t get to read ALL of it online; you’ll have to pick up a copy of the April-May print version, on stands beginning Monday, April 9, 2012.

SALINE CO.—Well, that didn’t take long.

Goofyass Bill Peyton

I’m talking about a well-known guy, of course, who lives in a fancy house with a high-end mortgage and is constantly being shoved up the ladder to his next job, a la the “Peter Principle”…that would be none other than William “Bill” Peyton.

Peyton, who has more traffic tickets than Carter’s has little liver pills (most of his tickets are for speeding) continues to advance, even though, true to the Peter Principle, he is largely incompetent at everything he attempts (the Peter Principle regards “an observation that in an organizational hierarchy, every employee will rise or get promoted to his or her level of incompetence. The Peter Principle is based on the notion that employees will get promoted as long as they are competent, but at some point will fail to get promoted beyond a certain job because it has become too challenging for them. Employees rise to their level of incompetence and stay there. Over time, every position in the hierarchy will be filled by someone who is not competent enough to carry out his or her new duties.”)

Peyton’s “company,” in this case, is the State of Illinois, in which he is constantly getting hired, then fired, from one teat job after another….and now, it appears that his latest job is on the line as well: that of WARDEN at the Illinois Youth Center in Harrisburg.

We wrote about this a couple of papers ago, and featured him prominently online prior to publishing that print version. We opined that, due to his track record with previous employment at locations such as Egyptian Health Department, DCFS, and Big Muddy Prison in Ina—and the reasons he was forced to leave those facilities—he wouldn’t last long at IYC either, and may even go out in a blaze of glory.

We don’t know for sure about the blaze of glory part (previous employment has ended because Peyton can’t keep his hands off female co-workers, nor his comments to himself) in this case, but the employment, if it is indeed in danger, is certainly brief under the circumstances. It’s our understanding that Peyton has currently pissed off several folks who work at IYC, to the point that there is serious discussion about severing his employment there.

Of course, this is bad news for the Phelps clan, who are solely responsible for getting Peter…er, Peyton, all his state-funded jobs, as, if he were in the private sector, he wouldn’t last but a matter of days before being fired (and possibly being charged, for possible sexual harassment, as was the case of a documented EEOC complaint while he was at EHD several years back). Fortunately for Peyton and the Phelpses, there is an unending number of state teat jobs they can stick him into, even if he irretrievably screws this one up. Unfortunately for the rest of us, we’re the ones stuck with the tab, as all of this comes out of our tax dollars.

We opined in the previous issue that Peyton was a walking lawsuit waiting to happen around all those kids at IYC; we’ll see if that’s the reason why he’s out if he gets kicked out….and we’ll keep you posted on the next job of Bill Peyton’s that YOU’RE funding.

LAWRENCE CO.—Here’s a press release from Sheriff Russell Adams of Lawrence County, regarding all the activity out in the eastern section of the county last night:

Monday, April 2, 2012, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department received a call that a body had been discovered in Westport, Illinois. The Lawrence County Sheriff’s office responded along with Lawrence County Coroner’s office, Lawrence County Ambulance, Lawrence/Allison Fire District and the Illinois State Police. Preliminary investigation indicates, from a missing person’s report out of Knox Co., Indiana, that the deceased appears to be Elmer Larry Joe Simison, age 57. Investigation continues by the Illinois State Police, Lawrence County Sheriff’s office and the Lawrence County Coroner’s office. The manner and cause of death are pending.

Everyone is jumpy in Lawrence since the death of Bob Westall two weekends ago, and many reports were coming in beginning last night; we’re grateful to Russell Adams to have received information on this latest incident.

LAWRENCE CO.—Court security was heavy today in Lawrenceville at the county courthouse for the first advisement of charges for Tyler McQueen, 20, and Helen Marie Westall, 47, both accused in the March 25 murder of Bob Westall, 78, of Lawrenceville.

No fewer than eight officers from both Lawrenceville PD and Lawrence County sheriff’s department attended the  hearing today for both suspects, who attended their hearing wearing not only county corrections orange, but bulletproof vests as well.

Tyler McQueen

McQueen, sporting a “faux hawk” hairstyle, appeared at ease and was smiling somewhat (spectators opined that he was happy to see his family and friends0. Westall was slumped over and had a kind of “crazed” expression on her face, although whether this was for real or for effect is unknown.

Interestingly, prosecutor Lisa Wade was NOT present, and in her stead was an attorney from the appellate prosecutor’s office, Michael Vujovich. There was no explanation for Wade’s absence, nor whether Vujovich will be trying the case.

Associate judge Mark Shaner was presiding over the day’s events, but court sources tell us resident judge Robert Hopkins will be handling the case from here on out.

The defendants were read their counts: three counts of First-Degree Murder against McQueen, in which it’s alleged in the first two counts that he knowingly stabbed Westall with intent to murder him, and the third in that he stabbed Westall knowing his actions created a strong probability of killing him. Each count is Class M and non-probationable, and carries with them a sentence of  20-60 years each. If it indeed works out to be murder for hire, as is alleged in Westall’s case, the sentence is 60 to life.

Marie Westall is charged with two counts of Solicitation to Commit Murder for Hire, the first in that she requested McQueen to commit the offense; the second in that she offered McQueen $10,000 cash and a 1995 Oldsmobile if he carried out the deed. Each carries a penalty of 30 years DOC.

Helen Marie Westall

It was said around the courtroom today—NOT officially, but by those who know Marie Westall—that it’s intent to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. And while that might work in her case, that won’t get her out of detention: she may not ever be tried, but she may be housed in a mental facility for the rest of her life.

Westall has been appointed public defender Brad Vaughan. McQueen announced his intent to seek his own counsel…however, his mother, Karen McQueen, was attempting to motion to her son to accept Vaughan as his counsel as well, and two Lawrenceville police officers, along with a sheriff’s deputy, stepped in front of her, blocking Tyler McQueen’s view of his mom.

Both defendants were appointed preliminary hearings on the same date: April 25, his at 10 a.m., hers at 11 a.m.

No one was allowed to leave the courtroom until both defendants were out of the building and loaded up in vehicles; Westall is being housed in Crawford County, as Lawrence isn’t equipped to handle very many female residents.

Another interesting note: Among the court security today was NOT Dennis York. York has recently been taken off road duty and issued court security, with regular security Josh Green handling the road duty. However, because York was the one who got into a fistfight with Nick McQueen, Tyler’s father, after the elder McQueen was involved in a horse-vehicle accident in September 2009, he was not allowed in as security on this day, even though Nick McQueen wasn’t present today.

Past the sea of colorful yard signs and half-empty polling places, the contentious candidate forums, robo calls, and gray haired election judges, stands a question about the fundamental legitimacy of our form of government. Without a significant shift in public interest, can our republic survive? Will it be possible to have a healthy election for local, state, and national representatives without a new generation of educated volunteers, judges, public officials, and voters to sustain it?

I am guessing that most people who read this column will never have participated in a primary election. A primary election is an election in which the established political parties decide who their candidates will be in the general election in November. It is open to the public; one only has to ask for a Democratic or Republican ballot. These elections are important because, ideally, they present a number of different candidates for any particular public office and allow the voters to decide which of those candidates best represent their views. If you want an incumbent out of office, the primary election is the easiest way to make that change. Recent experience has taught me, however, that the primary process is in serious trouble, at least in the State of Illinois.

First, the majority of primary races are uncontested, and those that are contested usually come down to only two candidates. So out of all the lawyers, business owners, community leaders, teachers, and otherwise qualified people in a county or district, 99.99 percent of them have no interest in running for public office. In the County Board Chairman race in Winnebago County (pop. 295,266), for example, there were only two Republicans running against each other in the primary, with no Democratic candidate to oppose the winner come November.

Second, the electoral process itself is ripe with fraud and incompetence. Election judges are not properly trained and there are not enough people willing to volunteer as poll watchers to keep the political parties honest. When I went to my polling place on March 20, the election judge who handed me a ballot told me it was a punch-card ballot, when it clearly stated on the ballot itself that I was to fill in the bubble next to my selection. In another incident, a person was given two ballots and the election judge had to be told several times that he had made a mistake and to take one of the ballots back.

If that was not bad enough, late in the morning on this particular election day it was determined that the county’s ballots were too big for the voting machines. Rather than trim the ballots down before giving them to any more voters, or hand counting them that evening, the County Clerk invited members of the public and the candidates’ campaign staff to copy each and every ballot onto new ballots that would fit the machines. Members of the media were forbidden from viewing this process. One concerned local put it best when she asked, “How can we, as the public, possibly trust the results, whether we agree with the official outcome or not?”

Third, voters appear alarmingly disinterested in the electoral process. In the 2012 Illinois primary, only 24 percent of eligible voters in Chicago went to the polls. This was a “historically low” turnout, perhaps the lowest ever recorded for the city. In my own city, Rockford, only 22.7 percent of registered voters cast their ballots. In a special election last April, which included aldermanic races in the City of Rockford, only 14.5 percent of Rockford voters and 11 percent of Winnebago County voters participated. Reporters and election officials blamed a lack of contested races for the low turnout, but I think there is something deeper at play.

A modern election is not an organic process. It requires careful planning to make sure that everything runs smoothly and fairly. County clerks, election judges, and the political parties have one to two years between each election to get it right. But even if everything is done right at the planning and execution stage, it still requires the participation of the voters to legitimize the process. In a republic, there is nothing more important than helping to choose the next generation of leaders who will represent you.

18th Century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau once wrote, “As soon as someone says of the business of the state – ‘What does it matter to me?’ – then the state must be reckoned lost.” By not voting in the Illinois primary in March, 75-80 percent of Illinoisans said, “What does it matter to me?” when it came to choosing who would represent them on the ballot in November. If this trend continues, and the next generation fails not only to become excited about participating in elections, but loses all interest in participating, we may very well see the end of the democratic experiment in America.

——————–

Michael Kleen is owner and proprietor of Black Oak Media. He holds a M.A. in History and M.S. in Education, and is the author of the audiobook “The Creeping Hand of the State” and Other Reflections on America’s Orwellian Future, among other works.

WAYNE CO.—It’s morons like this that cause grief and consternation for the rest of us.

From Dayne Harrison's Facebook page

In the photo you will behold Dayne “Dimbulb” Harrison, of Boyleston in Wayne County (of course. Where ELSE would he be from). Dimbulb is only 18, which, as many of us more advanced-aged folks know, is just cause for being a dimbulb to begin with. However, Dimbulb Harrison has proven himself particularly dim by posting idiotic rantings to his Facebook page—such as song lyrics that state he “wants to beat people with a bat, stuff em in a bag, drag them home and dress them like a gnome”…you know, typical teenage angst stuff. NOT. Sounds more like Juggalo shit if you ask me.

Anyway, here’s the criminality part: Dimbulb was arrested a few days ago, charged with two counts of Burglary in Wayne. Harrison is accused of breaking in to peoples’ homes on March 15, 2012, kicking/bashing in doors and stealing items. The number of homes actually damaged and/or burglarized is still being tallied, and reportedly includes many in neighboring Edwards County as well; however, there aren’t any charges in Edwards currently like there are in Wayne. So Dimbulb apparently has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do from his uncomfortable cell in the Green Roof Inn, aka Wayne County Jail.

It may not be long until Edwards charges emerge, however, as yesterday, authorities working the case located weapons buried, allegedly by Harrison, near his home (Wayne County’s a big county. Why the hell he’d bury weapons “near his home” is somewhat beyond me….but hey, this is Dimbulb we’re talking about, here). There were reportedly six firearms that had been stolen from locations in Edwards, and four stolen from one Ryan Buchanan in Wayne. As well, there were hunting bows recovered, having been reported stolen from Edwards.

Next, there'll be millions of people sending him Facebook messages to "pull it!!"....and we'll ALL be in trouble.

His idiotic Facebook page shows an immature punk making the rest of us DECENT gun owners in Illinois look like a bunch of fanatics…and we certainly resent the implication. Wish some of this were prosecutable…but then crooked prosecutors (and they most assuredly abound in Illinois) would use THAT against us too, just like they use our Constitution-bending gun laws against us already.

More in the print version if we get it; check the stands this time next week for your print version, April/May 2012, which has extensive coverage of these online stories and MUCH more.

ELIZABETHTOWN—A sexual assault, allegedly perpetrated by three boys on a fourth boy, is reported to have occurred (CORRECTED) last Thursday at the high school at Hardin County Schools outside Elizabethtown.

The alleged assault is said to have occurred during auto shop class, reportedly OUTSIDE the shop building. The three boys were allegedly accosting a fourth boy, who is reported to be disabled (special ed is what we’re hearing is the ‘disability’), when one of the boys exposed his penis and rubbed it across the mouth of the fourth boy (one report has it that the boy in question actually managed to get his penis inside the disabled boy’s mouth).

All three of the boys were reported to have been shouting things at the fourth boy to the effect that he was “gay” and that he “liked it.”

The boys involved were all either 17 or 18 years of age. It’s unclear whether school officials put a stop to it, or whether the law was called.

However, if the names we have (and we do have names of each of the four) are correct, the likelihood that anything will be done may be a slim one…unless, now that state’s attorney Roger Ralph is gone, a complaint can be made by the disabled boy’s parents without need of input from a law enforcement officer (information) and new prosecutor (reportedly) Missy Presser actually does something about the bullying and atrocities that constantly take place in HC Schools without so much as a sideways glance.

This is developing and may have an entirely new face by the time the print version comes out, which is in less than a week…so if you haven’t renewed your subscription, or subscribed anew, now is the time, as there’s a price increase effective as soon as this next one is on the stands.

WABASH CO.—Here’s what we know about the following scenes, which were shot by a Disclosure reader who happened to be in the area at the time of the response: This was reportedly a single-vehicle rollover, with multiple injuries, and one person ejected. A helicopter can be seen in the second and third photos. These were shot approximately 4 p.m.

Reportedly in the rural area between Lancaster and West Salem

Lifeflight in the background

Our thanks to our correspondent for shooting these pics…when we get an accident report (and we usually do, as Wabash County Sheriff Joe Keeling is pretty good at getting press release info out to the media), we’ll let you know…in the meantime, hope the occupant is okay.

HARRISBURG—Earlier today (04.08.12), a strange situation occurred at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts in Harrisburg.

According to reports our correspondent was able to gather, a man was in the van below, outside O’Reilly’s, fiddling with the van in some way.

The man went into O'Reilly's. People inside the store were concerned about him, because he "looked sick." When our correspondent naturally asked if this were a "mental illness-sick" look, he was told, no---it was a physical illness. However, our correspondent couldn't get anything further out of anyone, as in, no further elaboration as to what kind of "sickness" the guy could be suffering that would cause him to be VISIBLY, noticeably "sick"-looking.Out of concern for the guy, a store employee called the police to come and help him, either with his van, or whatever the problem might be. However, when police arrived, the guy---maybe because he was sick, who knows---allegedly got belligerent with the cops, and they calmed him down...but many people were calling what was occurring a "standoff." It was hardly that; law enforcement was merely trying to help.Regardless, they were able to transport him to the hospital. Later, our correspondent saw a Lifeflight-like helicopter leaving the hospital. We don't know if the sick guy from the van was in it. We're attempting to find out. We don't really know what to make of it all...but at least dude's name isn't Charles Campion. We hope.We're also attempting to find out what caused the skid marks on the pavement in the below photo:

Our correspondent was told that those were there because someone attempted to “move the van.” We don’t  know how that would create such marks unless someone pushed the van with another vehicle and it kind of skidded across the lot.

All in all, it’s been a weird day. We’ve got our correspondent on the lookout for the potential zombie apocalypse, while he’s at it there in tha ‘burg.

However, our next issue is DONE, and we’ll be delivering to North East Counties first tomorrow, then South Counties and North West Counties Tuesday. This issue is incredibly packed with the latest stuff….stuff you didn’t know….and some stuff even WE didn’t know until today…we’ll keep you updated on all of it, just keep checking back, and don’t miss the April-May 2012 issue, on stands beginning Monday, April 9!!

ELDORADO—We just got a new report on Linda Young, the wife of the man accused of solicitation to commit murder for hire, Roger Young, of Eldorado.

This new report differs from the one we got last night, which differs from what we learned Saturday….so we’re not sure what exactly is going on.

However, we figured we’d better address it here, as it seems to be an ever-changing situation, and if it differs from what’s on the front page of the new issue, we want to make sure everything is clarified.

What we heard Saturday about Mrs. Young’s alleged suicide attempt is this: Mrs. Young didn’t show up to pick up her  paycheck at Ferrell Hospital Friday morning. No one thought anything of it until she didn’t show up by afternoon. Then some of her friends and/or family decided to go out to her rural home and see if she were okay. After all, the husband had allegedly attempted to get not one, but two people (albeit two different people, at two different times) to bring about Linda’s death, just a week before. They wanted to make sure she’d come to no harm.

They went through the house and didn’t find anyone, and were just about to leave the premises when someone looked inside an extended-cab truck and saw Linda’s purse. When they looked a little closer, they saw what they thought was Linda in the back seat. Therewas blood on her arms.

They were able to get in to get her, and ultimately she was flown by helicopter to Deaconess in Evansville. Now…here’s where the  reports diverge. Our sources told us Saturday that they’d determined that she’d cut her arms, but that wasn’t necessarily what did it….she’d ingested a considerable amount of pharmaceuticals (we have NOT been advised what they were) and apparently her brain was overwhelmed. By Friday night, she was on life support….but there was no brain activity. The family was called, and they made the decision to remove her from the ventilator. They did, but she was then breathing on her own. Although there was no discernible brain activity, the family was encouraged, and our sources were told that they considered her condition to be “improving” at that point, which is what we went with in print, because we had to have the print version wrapped up LAST NIGHT for print today.

Now, we’ve just learned that the rest of Linda Young’s life-support is being removed as of today, because she hasn’t improved like they believed she was going to. There still remains no brain activity. So our article is obsolete before it even hits the stands. Good thing we have the website.

We can’t tell you how much this whole story bothers us.

There were rumors going around over the weekend that one of the people who Roger Young had  talked to about killing his  wife had gone through with it. Our sources tell us that’s patently ridiculous…yet those rumors persisted. It’s just such an overwhelming thing to consider, thinking about committing a crime such as what Young’s accused of. And unfortunately, it happens fairly frequently—both “considering committing” it, and actually following through with it. Bigwigs do it frequently. That’s why sometimes, in some of these little podunk counties, the bigwigs really put their money and effort behind their coroner candidate. It’s the coroner who’s a stopgap between the medical people and the law enforcement people. The coroner pronounces a person dead….and is the one who seeks further investigation if he believes the death to be “suspicious.” And believe me when I tell you: there are people right now in Southern Illinois who are jockeying for “their” guy to get in as coroner…and for their own reasons….and those reasons may be for this very kind of thing: if there’s an “accident,” “their” coroner can DECLARE it’s an “accident”…and there’s not a lot anyone can do about it.

That was a tangent. Of sorts. Back to the subject at hand: Linda Young. Ang talked to a family spokesperson last week. The  family seemed to be holding up well. The one Ang spoke to, she said, was a delightful person who was keeping the faith. We were really hopeful that things were going to get straightened out for the Youngs. This is just a tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this horrible time….and we’re sorry the latest we got for the print version isn’t the latest we have  now, so please forgive us.

….which is what happens when stuff changes or is considerably updated after each article is written….and unfortunately, this happened to each front page story this month.

Fortunately, not all the typos are in the front page stories. Some are buried inside. Some are really, really minor, but we thought we’d point them out….just in case any confusion might be created by them.

One is something that’s already past: Olney City Council meeting night. That meeting was stated in the paper as to be held April 10; but it was actually last night, April 9 (and boy was it dramatic…wait til the next issue….there really is a lot going on with the city of Olney.)

Another is also a date issue, which was a slip of the finger when typing, not even a mistake in reading someone’s handwriting: In print, we have Tyler McQueen and Helen Marie Westall going for their preliminaries in Lawrence County on April 24. That date is actually April 25; McQueen’s is 10 a.m., Westall’s is 11.

Of course, there’s the mischaracterization (totally unintentional) of Linda Young in the front-page article about her husband, and the latest information we received Sunday night that her condition was “improving” over the weekend. We hear she was removed from the rest of life support last night, after having seizures. She is still hanging on and is being called  ”a tough lady” who is still hanging on.

Also, we’d like to point out that in the March-April issue, we’ve been advised that the photo identified in that issue as being Mary Ruth Osman being pulled from the wreckage of her home was NOT Mary Ruth. It was one of the other storm victims, Mrs. Hull or Mrs. Smith; Mary Ruth was actually alive when she was taken from the wreckage of her home, but died later of her injuries, this according to her daughter, the lovely Jennifer Osman. Our guys at the scene had to ask later of those working the rescue effort which storm victim was pictured in that shot, and because so much of the wreckage—and the rescues—looked the same, the shot was misidentified. We apologize for the error.

We haven’t had this kind of typo-crazed issue since December 2010 when we misidentified Dick Trowbridge as Uncle Frank Ladner. But, we always try to fix em when we see em, or when they’re pointed out to us. And please feel free to point them out to us. We WANT to know if we’ve made a mistake, so we can correct it….contrary to the opinion of some, who declare we “lie”…it must be a sad mental state, not to be able to comprehend that something as simple as a date-slipup is a TYPO, not a deliberate thing….yet we deal with people like that frequently. Such is life in the news world.

Okay…print headlines are coming up….sales of this last issue have been phenomenal and we have YOU to thank for it….our apologies that we must keep the price at $3 per copy, and that subscriptions are now  $40/$43, but we had to do it to keep up with ever-increasing gas and mail costs. The gas began being a significant problem more than a year ago, and we did what we could to offset it, but now at $4 a gallon, on a business that spends 50 percent of its time on the road….we have no choice. We thank you deeply for abiding with us, and buying the paper despite the increase. We will continue to bring you the best coverage we can of events that mean something to YOU…so you keep telling us what you want to see and hear!!

Here are your print headlines for the new print version of Disclosure, April-May 2012  (Volume 10 issue 2) on stands right now with deliveries expected to be complete tonight, 04.10.12!

Headlines are preceded by the dateline and a brief synopsis of the article, and, in a little twist-up this month, we’re doing them in, not sequential order of front-to-back, but front pagers, then back pagers (which are considered a “second front page”), then jumping back to page 2 and following through the rest of the paper. This one is a 28-pager and has four full-color pages, something it’s our intention to bring you from now on, since we get an awesome processed-color job from our print shop.

LAWRENCEVILLE—Cops say elderly man killed for car and cash—The full story of the death of Robert “Bob” Westall…and the very interesting incidents that preceded it and caused suspicion to come to be upon another Lawrence County man.

SALINE CO.—Murder-for-hire plot charged—Another full story, with many details not published, about the incidents surrounding the alleged murder-for-hire plot devised by Roger D. Young of Eldorado….and what subsequently occurred with his wife, Linda.

Flav Earp. Loser.

RICHLAND CO.—Witness intimidation charged just weeks before murder trial begins—Brandon Jenkins’ trial is literally DAYS away from starting….and, true to form, the Earp clan can’t keep to themselves, or keep from showing their true colors.

ELIZABETHTOWN—Assault alleged on school grounds—Clarification of the incident that happened in late March; it’s not QUITE as bad as we were initially lead to believe….but people are still up in arms about it. Also, the rest of the lengthy article pertains to the ongoing inner conflicts going on within the village of E-town, and how officials are grappling with dealing with it.

HARRISBURG—Analysis: State, gov. Quinn shuffling money for Harrisburg tornado relief-–A run-down of all that almost-$14 million our governor “found” for Harrisburg “relief.” And what the scrambling was that he was going through BEFORE he miraculously “found” this money, as well as where it’s REALLY going to go (hint: it’s not going to tornado survivors. Directly, anyway).

Dee Burgin...whiner. AND loser.

EDGAR CO.—Federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Deputy Dee Burgin; attempts to plant dope on Disclosure vendor—Oh Deeboy. Dee, Dee, Dee. You are dumb, dumb, dumb. You are going to be topic No. 1 on the podcast Wednesday. You are probably going to be facing ANOTHER lawsuit very soon. One out of which your ‘connections’ up there will NOT be able to extract you very easily. You have now been placed on warning. Just like all those signs on Kevin Farris’ property do.

Aaron Rector...punk.

ELDORADO—Juvenile charged in car theft—Bad kid Aaron Rector on a car-stealing spree in ‘rado? Everybody else knew it before Freeman STD told em at the city council meeting……

RICHLAND CO.—Deadline Dec. 31: Committee meets to discuss unfunded mandate; expensive radio upgrade—After all the expense of the new jail, Richland County stands to spend tens of thousands of dollars on radios to get themselves into the 21st century. And we’re apparently the only media telling you about it.

Amber Martin. What the hell is WRONG with this chick?

SALINE CO.—Whiny weekender busted for ‘sneaking’ drugs in to jail cell—Amber Dawn Burnett. Being bad bad bad.

SO. ILL.—Primary wrap-up March 2012: Dismal voter turnout shows direction the country is headed—A very detailed wrap-up of the readership area, county-by-county, and how people voted…the ones who did, anyway…..

PSA—A word or two about jury nullification—A jury has the ultimate authority in a court case, including deciding whether a law a person is charged with should even exist. And we bring this up in advance of the Brandon Jenkins trial, in order to tell the prospective jurors: stay strong. You don’t have to give in to the tactics of the state. Some laws are just no good, and people shouldn’t be charged with them.

OLNEY—Late-month meeting sees city moving through budget talks, park improvements—Olney City Council…getting harassed by O’Neill.

SALINE CO.—Post-first appearance seemed traumatic for Fort family and followers July 2010—Fort phone calls from jail in 2010 continue….and oh my are they interesting….

LAWRENCE CO.—Drug traffic light as one-eyed pimp, dealer awaits sentencing—Ol Hootie One-Eye, back in the headlines.

CRAWFORD CO.—Pair of teens charged with stolen cars—More car theft in and around Robinson.

HAMILTON CO.—‘Angry Bird’ hat lands one man behind bars—That and other slightly bemusing anecdotal tales from HamCo.

WHITE CO.—Judicial shoe-in keeps prosecutorial pace—T. Scott Webb, judicial pick for the Republicans in White Co, continues to do his job.

RICHLAND CO.—Drugs barely a blip on judicial radar despite sheriff’s tax-supported dope operation—WHY is Mike Bertin running around in a squad car that’s NOT displaying police plates?

JASPER CO.—Theft and violence top Jasper police blotter-–And among them is child sex offender Homer Newkirk.

SALINE CO.—Authorities say old texts and Facebook messages lead to ‘mob action’ beatdown—One of the strangest stories we’ve run in awhile….with the whiny Rachel Capuzzo in the midst of it.

WABASH CO.—Judge grants teen chance to clean up her life; prosecutor files vague formal charges—The dope rundown in WabCo….with proof positive that Cassandra Goldman’s just doing the barest minimum she can to get by.

RICHLAND CO.—Doper sympathizer busted for lead foot—Jay Sechrest. Loves the dope, loved by dopers. Probably used by lawmen and others who appreciate his ‘talents.’

HAMILTON CO.—Questions surface over additional felony charged—Here’s a really strange one out of HamCo…you have to read it carefully to understand.

CLAY CO.—White residents charged with possession of meth—No, it’s not got anything to do with the color of their skin. They’re about two counties from home: White County. Why, we don’t know.

SALINE CO.—TASERed after trying to run over trooper-–This is the story of the guy who argued with the trooper over whether he should be in the storm zone, helping without a residence pass or volunteer arm badge.

WABASH CO.—Area crim family spawns another pair of felony charges—The bad bad bad Eckiss boyz. Back in the headlines again.

SALINE CO.—Rapist threatened to kill mother and son—This is a very disturbing tale out of Saline.

Stephanie Wishnia. Yuk.

SALINE CO.—Accused of impersonating nurse to get tabs—Them damn Lortabs. I don’t even take em when I’m prescribed em. They’re wicked. Oh, and this is also the story that has coverage of the arrest of the infamous Stephanie Wishnia. If you don’t know who she is, you soon will….because a couple of prominent Hardin County men know her REAL well.

OLNEY—ParaCon to beheld at Olney VFW April 28—If you like the ghost-y things, and the investigation into what causes them or etcetera, you’ll want to go to ParaCon in Olney at the VFW from noon until 4…our own Michael Kleen will be there, as will we, until Ang has to leave for a book signing in Griffin. So come on out to tha V!

COLUMNS:
Surly & Uncooperative: Old guy begins seasonal keeping-in-shape routine
Icy: Watch out for who  is violating YOUR rights!!
Prose & Cons: Grown men sniveling over sex abuse cases
Keepin it Kleen: Post-Primary: Can our Republic survive?
Guest Column (Illinois Fathers): Illinois legislature recognizing alienation

Also: Lots of letters; and two full pages of Back Over Your Tales—read these to see from five years ago what we’ve been right about all along!!

HARDIN CO.—As reported  last week, it’s official now: Joyce Cullison is the new Hardin County sheriff, Melissa Presser is the new  interim Hardin County prosecutor.

And a portion of the board is fuming, because that’s not quite the way they wanted it to go.

According to our Hardin sources, here’s the deal: Everyone’s behind Joyce. She is super-capable as regards the sheriff’s office, and everyone with whom we’ve spoken has to a one voiced the desire  to see her run again this fall. Joyce is the widow of the late sheriff Lloyd Smokey Cullison, who died amonth ago, while in office as sheriff. Joyce was a natural for the position, and by and large, Hardin is elated overthe choice (especially now that Roger Little is no longer sheriff…but I digress).

Wayne Eichorn, Hardin County board president

What the problem is, is that board president Wayne Eichorn went against the board’s wishes and put in to office one Melissa Presser, who is seeking the prosecutor’s office in neighboring Pope County. Reports are that Ms. Presser will be a very capable  state’s attorney. There are two problems, however: one is that she’s reportedly five months pregnant, and the other is that the Democrat Party (of which Eichorn is a part) wanted their candidate-elect, Daniel Cockrum of Benton, placed as interim prosecutor (their duly-elected prosecutor, Roger Ralph, just up and didn’t show up for work a couple of weeks ago…about three days after we put out a podcast suggesting that someone might want to advise him to run—away—before he’s indicted for something. Funny how these things happen after podcasts, idk…..)

So we’re hearing of a reported compromise.

Which is: Missy will be prosecutor until she has her babe. Then—while still collecting the prosecutor’s check, which we hear is approaching $135,000 annually these days (over $2,600 a WEEK), when she goes on maternity leave, lil Mr. Cockrum will then be installed as prosecutor. At which time Hardin will be supporting two prosecutors….because you can’t let one go just because she had a baby. For those who are products of the Hardin County school system, that’s $5,200 a WEEK.

This, of course, will give the Dem’s candidate an edge in November, when he goes up against local gal Tara Wallace. He’ll prosecute the hell out of people in order to get the job, then pull back—just like  every other  prosecutor they’ve had for decades—when he gets in office.

Hey, it’s Hardin County. Home of the crooked and corrupt. Don’t blame me; I didn’t elect em, I just write about em when they get elected. So choose wisely this fall, Hardin…because your tax bill depends on it.