(SPRINGFIELD) Illinois continues to struggle with unemployment as new numbers show the state is dead last out of the 50 states with a joblessness rate.
A house explosion north of Allendale late Friday afternoon sent two people to a regional trauma center with serious injuries. According to information from the Wabash County Sheriff's Office, the explosion occurred shortly after 5:30 Friday afternoon. The Allendale Fire Department was dispatched, along with several other emergency services in Wabash County. Two residents were home at the time, and were flown to a Louisville, KY trauma center. A group of neighbors pulled one of the victims out of the residence before it was completely engulfed in flames. The Illinois State Fire Marshall has been called in to investigate. 28-year-old Cody Rector of Mt. Vernon, IL has been sentenced to 75 years in prison after a jury found him guilty earlier this week of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 and two counts of possession of child pornography of a victim under the age of 13, all Class X felonies. Media reports indicated that Rector was arrested in May 2020 fo