Jason Lewton
Digital Content Editor
Quincy, Illinois
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Jason Lewton is the Digital Content Editor for WGEM News. He joined the team after spending 8 years with our newsgathering partners at The Herald-Whig, the last three of which were spent as Executive Editor.
Jason, a Tri-State native, has more than two decades of local news experience. Previously, he was the Art Director for Missouri Lawyers Media and also worked as a news designer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He began his career at the Pike Press in Pittsfield, and also has made stops in Jacksonville, Alton and Munster, Ind.
In his free time, Jason enjoys reading, cooking and theater, and he follows the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Chiefs.
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The agency had three shelters set up to treat people, and two UTV mobile units. Once visitors were inside the secured viewing area, however, EMS teams had to respond on foot.
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The cost to taxpayers for former President Donald Trump's political rally on Saturday is beginning to become more clear.
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The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act expands background checks, especially for buyers under 21.
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LaHood touted his support for the region during his time in Congress, including Quincy Regional Airport. He said it’s only a matter of time before a new carrier will replace Cape Air as the essential air service provider at the airport.
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Quincy Mayor Mike Troup said the investigation into the attack discovered last week a request for a ransom to provide an encryption key to unlock hijacked data.
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Judge Roger B. Thomson ordered the trial to move forward and start June 21 after both Bradley Yohn and prosecutors said they are ready for trial.
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The judge directed the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office to provide Yohn with copies of the discovery materials in the case by the end of day Friday.
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Judge Amy C. Lannerd handed down the sentences to Karen Blackledge, who previously had negotiated a guilty plea that included dismissal of three other charges of home invasion, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated vehicular hijacking.
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Quincy Public Schools Superintendent Roy Webb has confirmed the district has reached a tentative labor deal with the Quincy Federation, the union that represents nearly 90% of the district’s employees.
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Scott Rollison is stage manager for a production of “Hangmen.” It’s a dark comedy sent in 1960s England. It counts among its stars Alfie Allen, of “Game of Thrones” fame.
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Jonathan Lewin says the process that led to him being named the new chief of the Quincy Police Department was incredibly thorough.
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New QPD chief selection Jonathan Lewin discusses his selection as the new QPD chief of police with WGEM Digital Content Editor Jason Lewton
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Natasha McBride has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and her attorneys have said they could seek an insanity defense. She is being held at the Adams County Jail on a $5 million bond.
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The approval of a motion to continue came at the end of a tense hearing that started with Bradley Yohn making allegations of ineffective counsel and ended with him getting up and walking out of the courtroom.
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The state panel voted Tuesday afternoon to give QMG permission to build the proposed $2.1 million facility. QMG estimates it could be completed by June 30, 2023.
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Marion County Emergency Management Director James Hark said the rupture happened Monday morning in the area of Main and Center streets.
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Judge Amy Lannerd revealed Bradley Yohn had sent three letters on his own behalf seeking to remove public defender John Citro from the case.
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Former Quincy Mayor Chuck Scholz said it’s important to remember Oakley’s work was regional, not solely focused on Quincy.
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Karen Blackledge pleaded guilty to charges of home invasion and aggravated criminal sexual assault under terms of the deal.
Natasha McBride’s attorney, Public Defender Todd Nelson, previously had filed the motion to dismiss the charge, claiming prosecutors had waited too long to file the charge.
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Durbin credits a good working relationship with Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican member of the committee, with helping keep the hearings civil.
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The court refused to order Adams County Judge Robert Adrian to reverse his acquittal of Drew S. Clinton in a case that has drawn international attention.
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Kent Embree has announced he is stepping down as executive director of the Quincy Public Schools Foundation.
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Todd Pettit was born in Quincy, grew up here and attended public schools here. Now, he will take over as the district’s next superintendent.
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In Illinois, criminal sexual assault is a Class 1 felony. It is one of several charges often referred to as rape, though there is no such charge as rape in the state. That does not make the charges any less serious.
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The trial for a Mendon man charged with aggravated battery after an incident at a Unity School Board meeting is set for the June docket.
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Illini Community Hospital in Pittsfield, Illinois, will relocate and expand its walk-in clinic as part of a $1.6 million dollar project, according to officials at Blessing Health System.
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Firefighters from across the Tri-States turned out in Payson today to lay to rest longtime Payson firefighter and chief Gary Frye.
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Assistant Public Defender Christopher Pratt objected to the continuance, but he acknowledged the delay still leaves the case within the 120-day speedy trial window.
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A 2019 study released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that rebuilding NESP locks would inject $72 billion additional dollars into the nation’s GDP.
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More than 70 staff members were out sick on Wednesday, with there being no substitute available for almost half of those absences.
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Bradley Yohn appeared Tuesday afternoon before Judge Amy Lannerd, who set another hearing for next Tuesday to check the status of the case.
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The alert described a vehicle from the 1989 movie “Batman” and said it was from Gotham City.
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Keynote speaker the Rev. Lindell Robbins of Helping Hands Baptist Church in Hannibal compared King’s struggle with the story of David and Goliath.
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Van Susteren says judges will sometimes overturn a case for evidentiary reasons. However, in this case, that is not what happened.
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This comes after several days of controversy following judge's reversal of his own conviction of an 18-year-old man who had been charged with criminal sexual assault.
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With a $1 million gift to Culver-Stockton College, Thomas A. Oakley hopes a coalition based on advancing tri-state interests will continue long into the future.
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Adams County Judge Robert Adrian finds 18-year-old man not guilty after originally convicting him of criminal sexual assault of 16-year-old girl.
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Durbin said hundreds more people involved in the riot stand to be charged in addition to the more than 700 who now face criminal indictment.
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Illinois Broadcasters Association awards top honors during annual ceremony.
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As cases across the nation reach all-time highs, Missouri governor says conditions that would necessitate the state of emergency "are no longer present."
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The group packs about 1,000 bags for students every Thursday at Baldwin Elementary School. Those bags are then delivered to schools throughout the district for distribution Friday morning.
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John Michael Dean, 42, was found guilty of killing Rebecca Niewohner, 44, with a .45-caliber handgun on June 14, 2019.
Judge Robert Adrian approved a prosecution motion Tuesday to move the trial of Karen Blackledge to the February jury trial docket.
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Prosecutors said Dean committed the offense of first-degree murder with the intent to kill Niewohner by shooting her with a .45-caliber handgun.
Assistant State’s Attorney Joshua Jones made the motion after telling the court that the woman at the center of the case had died.
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Pike and Ralls counties in Missouri, and Pike and Scott counties in Illinois were raked by the storms, which had radar-indicated tornadoes.
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Isabelle Hanson is used to being in the public eye. The 25-year-old from Glen Ellen, Illinois, has been a reporter and weekend anchor at WGEM’s sister station KFVS in Cape Girardeau, Mo., for more than three years.
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The illness was identified in a Chicago resident and known contact of a confirmed Omicron case from another state who visited Chicago.
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Adam Terstriep was arrested on charges of home invasion with intent to cause injury, aggravated domestic battery strangulation, and unlawful restraint.