"This was a horrendous case," said Berkeley police Chief Art Jackson. "Of the 30 years I've been in law enforcement, I've never seen anything like this."
Police said the charges came because the new administration at the St. Louis prosecutor's office took a fresh look at the case and "opinions changed," and the case was issued.
After an hour and a half testifying, Plocher quickly left out of a side door of the hearing room and ignored questions from reporters as he boarded an elevator.
Officers with the Illinois Secretary of State and Springfield police departments, including bomb-sniffing dogs, swept the Capitol grounds before an "all clear" order was issued around 3 p.m.
Nursing homes would be required to have digital surveillance systems to continuously monitor and record video and audio in common areas under a proposal by Rep. Adam Schnelting, R-St. Charles.
Rep. Dan Stacy, a Blue Springs Republican, said the measure would help election authorities “verify U.S. citizenship and prevent noncitizens from voting.”