Inside:
- Learning about scam prevention
- Sheriff warns of new danger from SAFE-T Act
- Senior and veterans fair coming up in Macomb September 9
- Fire Marshal accepting small equipment grant application
Learning about scam prevention
Thank you to Farmers State Bank of Western Illinois, the Illinois Attorney General’s office and our local sheriffs for joining together to make local residents aware of ways to avoid scams. We had a great educational event earlier this week in Alpha.
Many of us know someone who has been targeted by a financial scam. Some of them are locally-based, many of them are international. Sometimes only a few dollars are lost, sometimes it is tens of thousands. Seniors are frequent targets of scams, but they are not the only ones. In international scams, once money has gone to a scammer outside the country it is almost impossible to be recovered.
These scams are wide ranging. We have seen everything from local scams where someone accepts payment to trim trees and then never does the job, to international scams where overseas hackers trick a person into granting access to a computer then lock up their data and demand payment to unlock it. The best defense against being scammed is awareness: know what to be on the lookout for so that you don’t fall victim to a scammer.
Some steps are easy to take: don’t answer calls or texts from someone you don’t know. Be careful about how much personal information you post to Facebook or otherwise put online. Be aware that the IRS is not going to send you an email telling you to send them a payment. The sheriff’s department is not going to call you about sending them money to get someone out of jail. You do not have to make a payment in order to receive prize winnings – oftentimes prize winnings from a contest you did not enter. Poor grammar or misspellings are another red flag for scam emails or texts.
If you or a loved one are scammed, you are encouraged to review your credit report at any of the three online credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. You can also contact your local sheriff’s department to file a report, or reach out to the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
Sheriff warns of new danger from SAFE-T Act
A western Illinois sheriff is sounding the alarm about yet another new danger from the SAFE-T Act, the controversial 2021 law which eliminated cash bail in Illinois.
Sheriff John Booker of Whiteside County, just to the north of our district, told Channel 6 that the end of cash bail has led to jails having to release people before they get the potentially life-saving drug treatment they need.
The sheriff cited possession of methamphetamine as an example of an offense for which law enforcement can no longer hold a person in jail. In the past a person with an addiction to methamphetamine would be able to get drug treatment in jail, but now they are quickly released before they can get clean. Sheriff Booker said that releasing these individuals right back onto the street leads to them continuing their addiction and potentially committing more crimes.
Senior and veterans fair coming up in Macomb September 9
Please join us in Macomb on Monday September 9 for a free senior and veterans fair.
I am joining with State Representative Norine Hammond of Macomb, along with Western Illinois Home Health Care and McDonough District Hospital to host an informational event for seniors and veterans at the Spoon River College Community Center, located at 2500 E. Jackson Street in Macomb. The event runs from 9 a.m. until noon on Monday September 9.
It will feature free health screenings, as well as helpful information and resources from senior service agencies at the state, county and local level. We will have refreshments on hand, as well as the opportunity to talk to your legislators about your state government concerns.
I hope to see you there.
Fire Marshal accepting small equipment grant applications
Illinois fire departments and ambulance services can now apply to the Office of the State Fire Marshal for up to $26,000 in funding for small equipment purchases through the Small Equipment Grant Program.
This is a great opportunity for departments to acquire small firefighting and ambulance equipment. The deadline to apply is October 1. Find out more information by clicking here. If my office can be of assistance to any local department seeking to apply, please contact me.
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