Kane County sets up hotline for election complaints
The Kane County State's Attorney's office will operate an election complaint hotline Tuesday.
People can call (630) 208-5328 to report possible illegal election activity, such as electioneering, illegally placed campaign signs and the denial of voting rights.
Assistant state's attorneys will be prepared to travel to any of the county's 228 precincts to investigate complaints.
State's Attorney Joe McMahon said voters expect to have an "honest, fair and orderly election" and his office was working to ensure that.
"We have never found a notable violation of election laws in the years we have had this complaint line available, and we expect this year to be no different," McMahon said.
The hotline is only for election complaints, not for questions about polling times and places. For help with that, call the Kane County Clerk's election help line at (630) 232-5990.
And if you haven't taken advantage of early voting, be sure to vote Tuesday. An untold number of Americans have died to preserve this right.
8 years prison for carjacking
An 18-year-old from Carol Stream recently was sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting to his role in a December 2013 carjacking in South Elgin, according to court records.
Dejonti A. Butler, of the 500 block of Nez Percé Court, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular hijacking with the weapon, a felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison without the possibility of probation.
Kane County Judge James Hallock accepted the plea in which prosecutors dismissed other, less severe charges.
Butler also was ordered to pay $2,017 restitution, along with $650 in court fines and fees, record show.
The other side
A 50-year-old Batavia man, who prosecutors described as the ringleader of a 3½-year operation that brought as much as 21,000 pounds of marijuana to the suburbs from the Southwest U.S., tearfully apologized for his actions before being sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Richard Ecklund admitted he "made a deal with the devil" when he turned to dealing drugs to save his home and flooring business, which hit hard times in the recession.
McMahon said Ecklund got what he deserved.
"Mr. Ecklund made many drug runs, at least one with young children in the car, so that he and the dangerous, large-scale drug dealers he was working for could reap millions of dollars in profits," McMahon said. "Mr. Ecklund knew he was taking great risks, delivered thousands of pounds of drugs into our community and now he's serving a long prison sentence."
Ecklund also was fined $2.7 million, which is the approximate street value of 594 pounds of marijuana seized in November 2012 when authorities made arrests in Aurora and Sugar Grove.
hhitzeman@dailyherald.com