Incumbent state Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mount Vernon, said Wednesday he might run for re-election as an independent candidate after withdrawing his name from the March 20 Republican primary ballot for the 54th Senate seat.

Jones withdrew his name from the primary ballot for the newly drawn 54th Senate District two weeks after an objection hearing held at the Illinois State Board of Elections.

During the hearing, Republican primary opponent state Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, challenged 440 of the 1,208 signatures that Jones submitted to the election board.

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State Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mount Vernon, said he expects to make up his mind by late January about whether to run for re-election as an independent, Jones said Friday.

Jones will base his decision on the feedback of 54th District voters, he said.

“The biggest thing is we want to hear from the people of the 54th District, and see what kind of support is there,” he said.

Jones said this could be the right time to run as an independent candidate because people are tired of partisan bickering in the General Assembly.

The voters “want people working together regardless of what party they are,” he said.

Jones, a nine-year Senate veteran, on Wednesday withdrew his name from the March 20 Republican primary ballot for the newly redrawn 54th Senate seat.

Jones withdrew after an objection hearing held at the Illinois State Board of Elections.

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CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) – A Crawfordsville man was sentenced Monday to 14 years in prison for attacking his ex-wife with a hammer last spring.

Tim Ridge will also have to pay Donna Kaehr’s medical expenses of $15,000 to date, as well as court costs of $165 and a $50 domestic violence fee, 24-Hour News 8 news partner The Paper of Montgomery County reports.

Ridge, whom a jury found guilty of aggravated battery, battery with a deadly weapon and battery resulting in serious injury – but not guilty of attempted murder – could be out of prison in seven years if he earns credit for good behavior.

Kaehr was not happy with the sentence.

“I was really hoping for the maximum sentence. That

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court stepped into the fight Monday over a tough Arizona law that requires local police to help enforce federal immigration laws — pushing the court deeper into hot, partisan issues of the 2012 election campaign.

The court’s election-year docket now contains three politically charged disputes, including President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and Texas redistricting.

The debate over immigration already is shaping presidential politics, and now the court is undertaking a review of an Arizona law that has spawned a host of copycat state laws targeting illegal immigrants.

The court will review a federal appeals court ruling that blocked several provisions in the Arizona law. One

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