Coal Valley man has murder conviction vacated thanks in part to the Illinois Innocence Project

A Coal Valley man’s 2008 murder conviction was vacated Tuesday, thanks in part to the work of the Illinois Innocence Project.

Newly discovered evidence showed that Nathaniel Onsrud was not responsible for the death of his four-month-old son. Onsrud was released from the Illinois Department of Corrections Tuesday.

Onsrud is the 15th Innocence Project client to be released or exonerated. The project, founded in 2001, is housed at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Exculpatory documents were not disclosed to defense counsel. The Rock Island County State’s Attorney’s Office supported the request of the Innocence Project and a Chicago law firm to vacate Onsrud’s conviction, though the State’s Attorney cautioned that charges against Onsrud have not been dismissed.

“Our client maintained from day one he had nothing to do with the tragic death of his infant son,” said Innocence Project Chicago Legal Director Lauren Kaeseberg. “For the past 13 years, Nathaniel has fought to clear his name and has been through the unimaginable ordeal of losing his baby and then being wrongfully convicted of murdering him.”

This article was published in The State Journal-Register on June 24, 2020.

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UIS soccer relieved and excited for upcoming season

A reduced season beats nothing.

The University of Illinois Springfield men’s and women’s soccer teams applauded the upcoming schedule for the 2020 regular season, which were released this past week.

Although shortened by four games without any nonconference matchups per the NCAA Division II Presidents Council decision in May downsizing sports events across the board due to COVID-19, they will still get to compete against every team in the Great Lakes Valley Conference as usual.

The postseason, including the GLVC tournament, also remains the same for the moment.

“I was so excited when I found out we’re still going to have all of our conference games,” said UIS women’s soccer player Emma Little. “I’m content with whatever soccer I can play. Hopefully there’s a good turnout at those high level games at home.”

Both teams begin the soccer season on Sept. 6 at University of Missouri-St. Louis and each will play seven home games at Kiwanis Stadium.

“I was pretty sure we were going to have a season, so I’m not really shocked,” said UIS men’s soccer player Lorenzo Bacchetta. “I’m happy it’s confirmed and that for sure we’re going to have 14 games.”

“I’m just delighted that we’re going to have the opportunity to be able to compete again,” UIS men’s coach Adam Hall said. “They shortened the season by four games, but the conference games are much heavier at the start of the season if you look at the traditional top eight teams in the conference. We play the majority of those teams in the first half of the season, so we have a really difficult start. If we get out of there, we’ll be set up nicely.”

“My first reaction was relief because it meant that we get some sort of season,” UIS women’s coach Erin Egolf said. “There was worry that the season would be canceled or pushed to next semester. Having any game is preferable to none at all. We got a pretty good deal to play 14 games. I’m excited for our players and just ready to get going.

A couple of exhibition matches will likely be in the offing. The upcoming schedule will regardless present unique challenges ahead.

There may be less preparation time but also less room for error.

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on June 22, 2020.

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Ben Paoletti joins Downtown Springfield Inc.

Ben Paoletti has been hired as a program coordinator for Downtown Springfield Inc., the first time in the organization’s history there have been three full-time staff members.

Paoletti graduated in May from the University of Illinois Springfield and served as the Student Government Association President. He recently completed an internship as a grant writer with the Downtown Heritage Foundation and also worked as a government affairs intern for Illinois Policy Institute.

This story appeared in the Springfield Business Journal on June 17, 2020.

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