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Jeffrey Martin, 56, was charged in January 2016 with sexually assaulting an elderly woman with whom he had been staying in Normal. The rape and child pornography cases against Jeffrey Martin took a baby step forward on Tuesday after a judge gave Martin 45 days to continue his search for a new lawyer in McLean County’s longest pending criminal case. Martin, 56, was charged in January 2016 with sexually assaulting an elderly woman with whom he had been staying in Normal. A search of his computer by police during the investigation turned up illegal images of children, according to child pornog...

David Proeber / The Pantagraph (Pool) When Carla Barnes closed a black robe around her shoulders for the first time on Thursday, she marked history as the first Black judge in the 11th Judicial Circuit. An audience of friends, family and colleagues watched the swearing-in ceremony in Courtroom 5A while many others followed COVID-19 protocols by joining a Zoom option for the celebration. The judiciary seemed an uphill and unlikely destination, Barnes noted in her remarks. Raised in Chicago Heights by a single mother who struggled with mental illness, parenting responsibilities for Carla ...

Carla Barnes (Image: McLean County Government) In a history-making  moment, attorney Carla Barnes has been appointed the first Black woman to serve as a circuit judge in Illinois’ 11th Judicial Circuit. The Illinois Supreme Court announced Tuesday that Barnes, the McLean County public defender, has been appointed to fill the vacancy created by Judge Scott Drazewski’s retirement. “I have been with the public defender’s office for 19 years and serving the indigent clients of McLean County has been a highlight of my career,” Barnes said in a statement. “Now another opportunity has p...

MCLEAN COUNTY GOVERNMENT / RALPH WEISHEIT / WGLT McLean County Public Defender Carla Barnes has been appointed as the first Black woman to serve as a circuit judge in Illinois’ 11th Judicial Circuit. Barnes fills the vacancy created by Judge Scott Drazewski’s recent retirement. It’s her second attempt at being appointed to the bench in the circuit that covers McLean, Ford, Livingston, Logan, and Woodford counties. “I started with the public defense's office 19 years ago. I have enjoyed serving our clients as I worked my way up from traffic court to major felonies. During my six year...

Staff / WGLT The pandemic has slowed programs in McLean County that help keep people out of prison and the county jail. Michael Donavan, the county's court services director, said recovery court and drug court usually offer intensive therapy and other services, but they are not seeing as much use right now. "Referrals have been down this year because of COVID, over a 40% reduction in the referral rate. A lot of it has to do with the court cases that had stalled for a number of months," said Donovan. Donovan recently told the county board's Health Committee that counseling and other progr...