WLIP Voice of Lake County 1/22/19

Search For Missing Body at Lakefront

Vander Tuuk 1-22-19

(Waukegan, IL) The search for a teen missing at the Waukegan lakefront will continue today after a short search yielded no result on Monday. Officials were called on Friday night about a pair of 16-year-old’s in the water, after one had slipped on a pier near Stiner Pavilion, and another had jumped in to try and save him. One of the teens was rescued by police and hospitalized, but the other teen disappeared under the water, and has not been located. Weather conditions have hampered the recovery effort for the body of the 2nd teen ever since. The condition of the rescued teen is currently unknown.

Man Charged for Letting 11-Year-old Drive to School

Vander Tuuk 1-22-19

(Round Lake Park, IL) Warrants have been issued for a Round Lake Park man accused of letting his young son drive himself to school. Police officials say Khafilu Oshodi is accused of letting his 11-year-old take the wheel back on January 9th. Witnesses say the 11-year-old was in the driver’s seat when he pulled up to Murphy Elementary School, and both he, and a 9-year-old girl in the backseat exited…before the suspect took the driver’s seat and left. The warrants issued for the 31-year-old include child endangerment and driving on a suspended license. The children in question have since been placed with other relatives. Anyone with information on the Oshodi’s whereabouts is being encouraged to contact Round Lake Park Police.

Rauner administration reduced number of state patronage jobs

Associated Press 1-22-19

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) A special counsel to former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner says his administration reclassified thousands of state jobs that were once exempt from anti-patronage protections. Joe Hartzler says the administration likely made changes to 2,500 positions so an applicant’s political loyalty and connections may no longer be considered during the hiring process. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that political affiliations shouldn’t play a role in most government jobs, but exemptions were created for some policy-making positions. Hartzler says reclassifying jobs means an outgoing administration can’t saddle a succeeding administration with political appointees. The move follows controversy over hiring in the Illinois Department of Transportation under former Govs. Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn. An investigation found people with political connections were hired for jobs that shouldn’t have been exempt from typical state hiring rules.