Area history, June 16, 2026

Today is Tuesday, June 16, 2026. Here are local news reports from 100, 50 and 15 years ago: In 1926, events unfolding in a small lawsuit might cause some big havoc in the Twin Cities. It started when the late William Jones, a longtime justice of the peace, ordered the Urbana-Lincoln Hotel to pay $25 in damages to Emmett Martin. The hotel appealed to the county court, claiming Jones wasn’t a legally qualified J.P. because he had also been a deputy sheriff when he first became a J.P., and thus Jones’s ruling wasn’t a valid judgment. Martin’s attorney must respond by June 23. The court’s pending decision on Jones’ authenticity as a J.P. could affect the many couples whose weddings he officiated. In 1976, supporters of the proposed Middle Fork Reservoir won a major victory when the Illinois House House voted 82-74 to restore $55 million for the controversial dam project near Danville. The measure now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee. In 2011, a central Illinois congressman said he and nine other members of Congress are suing to stop U.S. involvement in the war in Libya because they believe it is unconstitutional and has little connection to the safety of people here at home. “Our involvement in the Middle East has been a fool-hardy mission that has not made the people of Mount Zion or east Urbana any safer,” U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana, said. “I defy anybody to say our involvement has made somebody in Sadorus or Champaign one iota safer.”