Deer poaching charges filed in Grundy County

MORRIS — Eight men are facing charges in two separate investigations into deer poaching in northern Illinois.

Prosecutors in Grundy County have charged three men with killing a 36-point buck with antlers valued at $35,000.

Grundy County State's Attorney Jonathan Bates tells WBBM Radio that buck was killed on private property near Morris, about 50 miles southwest of Chicago. Prosecutors say the buck was one of 24 deer taken in Illinois and Canada by the men, who didn't have permission or valid deer permits.

Additionally, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has charged five men from Illinois and Michigan with poaching for unlawfully hunting 31 whitetail deer.

WBBM says the largest deer in that case was killed in Cook County and was a buck with a $25,000 antler set.