The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office has dedicated a memorial bench in honor of retired Deputy Gordie Millerschone.

The crash happened about 11 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Garden Plain and Sand roads in rural Fulton.

A Rock Falls man has been sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to separate Whiteside County cases that accuse him of recklessly shooting a firearm in May 2024 and possessing meth

In a news release issued Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, Dixon Police Chief Ryan Bivins said David Dykema, 52, of Dixon, had been found deceased in Whiteside County.

The single-vehicle crash happened Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, on Moline Road west of Yorktown Road, according to a Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office news release. She's the second Erie resident to die in a crash in less than a week.

After about 3 1/2 hours of deliberation Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, a Whiteside County jury said it had found Zachary J. Rivera not guilty of five counts of unlawful restraint and one count of battery, making physical contact, according to court documents.

A Whiteside County judge ruled Monday that a Sterling man accused of robbing a Morrison bank in July will undergo a mental fitness evaluation at the request of his attorney.

According to court records, the two were charged after they were pulled over during an Aug. 3 traffic stop near Lincoln Road and Rock Falls Road near Rock Falls

Two counts of aggravated battery filed against Carlos T. Loyola, 27, of Rock Falls, were dismissed July 31, 2025.

The new center, housed at the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office in Morrison, began operations July 7, 2025.

Timothy Cunningham was found not guilty of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse

One of the three men now faces an additional two charges, filed July 21, 2025, that accuse him of two counts of aggravated battery of a third-party guest

The National Weather Service is warning of heat index values well over 100 degrees, creating conditions ripe for heat exhaustion and heat stroke, sheriff said.

A Rock Falls man has pleaded not guilty to seven felony charges accusing him of being one of three men who showed up at a June Rock Falls garage party unwelcome, masked and armed, beat two men, threatened others and then shot at the garage while running away

A Lee County judge decided Monday to allow the pretrial release of a Dixon man accused of disseminating images and videos of child sexual abuse.

A Sterling man is accused of aggravated robbery and burglary in connection with a reported bank robbery Saturday, July 5, in Morrison.

Heath A. Knipple, 46, was charged in Lee County Circuit Court with six counts of Class X felony dissemination of child pornography with each listing that the victim was younger than 13

Three Rock Falls men were in police custody Wednesday, July 2, accused of entering a garage in rural Rock Falls during a party over the weekend, assaulting a man, firing multiple gunshots at the residence and fleeing.

Jaysiah A. Segobiano, 24, pleaded guilty June 26 to one count each of mob action and battery in connection with the events that unfolded Dec. 8 in the 1000 block of Avenue K in Sterling. She is the second person to plead guilty in the case.

The Sterling Fire Department is awaiting federal funding approval for upgrades to its radio communications.

Less than a month after he was sentenced to probation in Lee County on a felony weapons charge, a Dixon man has been charged in Whiteside County with felony weapon and drug offenses.

A Thomson man has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of sexually assaulting and abusing a 17-year-old Fulton girl three years ago.

The role of the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office is to uphold and protect the right to protest – while also ensuring the safety of all participants, bystanders and the broader community.

The father of a Rock Falls man murdered Feb. 14 wants the Rock Falls police chief to resign after officers testified last month that several protocol violations happened during the investigation.

The trial of a former Rock Falls man facing up to 60 years in prison on sex assault and sex abuse charges will be delayed a month after prosecutors requested more time to review a report of new evidence in the case

As a Whiteside County deputy pulled up on a vehicle believed to be driven by a man considered a person of interest in another case, he said he discovered the wanted vehicle not only had a different driver but also more than 100 grams of meth stashed inside

One of the charges – unlawful possession of 15-100 grams of meth with intent to deliver – is a Class X felony that carries a possible 30-year prison sentence.

A Rock Falls man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a 2021 shooting that injured another man and damaged a Rock Falls home.

David Skinner, 62, was found not guilty of all seven counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 that he faced.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to up to 9 years in prison after admitting he set fire to his Sterling apartment last fall as officers arrived to investigate an aggravated battery reported at that address

John Trumbla, who fulfilled a prison sentence for a 1984 Cook County murder conviction, has been out on parole for a drug conviction since 2023 and was set to be discharged from that sentence in 2026. Arrested in another drug case Friday, he was granted pretrial release Tuesday.

A Rock Falls man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Whiteside County Circuit Court, then apologized for fatally stabbing the man, whom he considered a friend.

Mark T. Kelly, 54, of Eldridge, pleaded guilty Monday, May 19, to the charge, which is a Class X felony because he had had at least five previous DUI violations, according to Whiteside County court records.

A two-vehicle crash in rural Prophetstown on Wednesday afternoon left one man dead and another injured, according to a news release from the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office.

Carlos T. Loyola, 27, is charged in Whiteside County with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and aggravated domestic battery.

Just one day before Kyle Cooper was set to be tried on a first-degree murder charge in a Rock Falls stabbing case, attorneys announced they’ve reached a tentative plea agreement.

An ill detective and an abundance of pretrial motions – covering everything from whether to let a jury hear a 911 call to the possibility the Rock Falls Police Department violated investigative protocol – has led to a two-day delay in the start of a Rock Falls murder trial.

A Sterling man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday, May 7, 2025, to fatally stabbing a man found severely injured last August in a vehicle that crashed in the hospital parking lot.

A Whiteside County judge will decide Friday, May, 9, whether Kyle Cooper’s trial will begin Tuesday, May 13. That decision will follow a hearing on whether the Illinois Attorney General's Office will be able to intervene in the case on behalf of the Illinois State Police.

Whiteside County Sheriff John Booker made the announcement Tuesday, May 6, 2025.

The teen’s name has not yet been officially released.

Kristophur Johnson was charged June 4, 2024, with sex assault as well as one count of aggravated battery accusing him of pushing a woman to the ground in the 18000 block of Blue Goose Road in rural Morrison and one count of unlawful restraint.

Kyle Cooper, 36, is accused of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery in connection with the Feb. 14 stabbing death of Daniel Gordon, 27, outside of a Rock Falls residence.

Brett A. Holcomb, 35, was arrested by Sterling police shortly after 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 16, in the 1500 block of West Fourth Street and taken to the Whiteside County Jail, where he remained jailed Thursday.

Kane, a full-service K-9 who will be working alongside Deputy Jacob Wilging, joins the department to assist in a variety of law enforcement functions.

A Whiteside County judge has directed the Illinois State Police to videotape blood and DNA testing to be carried out at the state crime lab in connection with a Rock Falls fatal stabbing case.

A Sterling woman has been charged with multiple traffic offenses, including two felonies, after police say she attempted to elude authorities in Rock Falls and ended up hitting a parked vehicle.

Michael W.T. Bennett Jr. will be moved from the Kane County Juvenile Justice Center in St. Charles to the Whiteside County Jail in Morrison on May 17, the day he turns 18.

The Whiteside County Public Safety Tax Referendum passed with 3,667 votes for the measure and 2,907 against it. A total of 6,822 of the county’s 37,881 voters (18%) cast their ballots to decide the referendum’s fate.

According to unofficial vote totals, the measure passed with 55% approval on a vote count of 3,667 yes votes to 2907 no votes.