Police: 3 Die In Plane Crash On I-55 In Central Illinois

LINCOLN — State police say three people died when a small plane crashed and burst into flames on Interstate 55 in central Illinois. Mindy Carroll of the Illinois State Police said in a statement that all three occupants of the plane were killed in the crash in Lincoln at about 8:49 a.m. Tuesday. The National Transportation Safety Board has described the aircraft as a single-engine Cessna 172. Authorities have not described what caused the crash. The NTSB says it is investigating. The Federal Aviation Administration is responding to the scene.  - Associated Press

Illinois City To Pay $11M In Wrongful Conviction Settlements

ROCKFORD — Three men who say they were framed by police in the 2002 murder of a boy will each receive $3.7 million in a settlement with a northern Illinois city. Thirty-nine-year-old Anthony S. Ross, 38-year-old Tyjuan T. Anderson and 46-year-old Lumont D. Johnson were imprisoned for more than a decade after their sentencing to 50 years for killing 8-year-old DeMarcus Hanson in Rockford. Their convictions were overturned in 2015 and they filed wrongful conviction lawsuits against Rockford. The Rockford Register Star reports that the city agreed Monday to pay each of them $3.7 million after former police detective Doug Palmer testified that he had fabricated evidence and coerced testimony. - Associated Press

Panel Recommends Disbarment For Ex-Illinois Gov. Blagojevich

CHICAGO — A panel of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission has recommended that former governor Rod Blagojevich's suspended law license be permanently revoked. The panel's ruling Tuesday came a week after commission attorneys reminded the three-member panel about some of the things that led to Blagojevich's conviction on corruption charges and 14-year prison sentence. In its four-page decision, the panel noted that Blagojevich sought to "further his own interests" as governor despite his oath of office and "has not acknowledged that his conduct was wrongful or expressed any remorse." The Illinois Supreme Court would have to approve the panel's decision before Blagojevich could be disbarred. - Associated Press

Lawmakers Consider Adding "Sexting" To State's Sex Education Curriculum

SPRINGFIELD - Under the proposal, schools that are already offering sex education for grades 6 through 12 grades would have to teach about the consequences of sexting. Parents would be able to opt their children out of such lessons. State Representative Maurice West, a Democrat from Rockford, is sponsoring the legislation. He says many students do not understand the consequences of sharing a sexually explicit text, which could include felony charges. West says education is key, because it would be difficult to change the law to keep teens from getting in trouble. Even if a sext is consensual between minors, West says anyone convicted of distributing the material would have to register as a sex offender. - Olivia Mitchell, NPR Illinois