Saline County

Now, their story ignited a flood of local interest and fear.

Soon, other residents of Saline County came forward.

Many reported hearing horrific, high-pitched screams emanating from the bottoms in the dead of night, screams that belonged to no known animal.

Others claimed to have caught fleeting glimpses of a large, pale shape moving through the dense underbrush.

Now, their story ignited a flurry of local interest and fear.

Soon, other residents of Saline County came forward.

Many reported hearing horrific, high-pitched screams emanating from the bottoms of the dead at night, screams that belonged to no known animal.

Others claimed to have caught fleeting glimpses of a large, pale shape moving to the dense underbrush.

Now their story ignited a flare of local interest and fear.

Soon, other residents of Saline County came forward.

Many reported hearing horrific, high-pitched screams emanating from the bottoms in the dead of night, screams that belonged to no known animal.

Others claimed to have caught fleeting glimpses of a large pale shape moving through the dense underbrush.

But what counties are there? Well, take a look at this.

You've got Adams County, Coles County, Gallatin, Hamilton, Henderson, Macoupin, McDonough, Monroe, Piatt, Saline, Warren, Washington.

Those are the counties that have this.

Now, Hamilton and Piatt, they had resolutions for their counties that passed six years ago, but they had slightly different wording, and the efforts of Illinois separation is to have the same wording in all of these different counties that have done this.

Ant foot, the big eater.

Um, the Tuttle Bottoms Monster legend is familiar to generations of the Saline County residents.

Former Harrisburg Police Chief Gary Crabtree told the Harrisburg Daily Register that his department received approximately 50 reports over 28 years of an unidentified beast in the area of northwest Harrisburg, some reporting a creature with two legs, others with four, and most described it as having a long, almost anteater-like snout.

50 reports is-

Yeah.

On August 6th, 1963, the Harrisburg Daily Register reported what seemed to be the first report of the creature.

Saline County Sheriff James L. Thompson spent a busy night last night starting about 11:00 PM and ending at 4:30 AM.

The sheriff said he ran across a youth at Tuttle Bottoms at around 11:00 PM.

Now, their story ignited a flurry of local interest and fear.

Soon, other residents of Saline County came forward.

Many reported hearing horrific, high-pitched screams emanating from the bottoms of the dead at night, screams that belonged to no known animal.

Others claimed to have caught fleeting glimpses of a large, pale shape moving to the dense underbrush.

Now, this has been an ongoing debate in Illinois and the group Illinois Separation, they tell me that they've got ballot questions across the state.

In Coles County, Gallatin, Hamilton, Henderson, Macoupin, McDonough, Monroe, Piatt, Saline, Warren, Washington County, plus 11 townships in Adams County are being asked whether or not the state should split into two.

Now, organizers say it's a straightforward referendum, and they're urging people not to read into it or to complicate it.

They say it isn't about separating from America or joining another state.

Now, their story ignited a flurry of local interest and fear.

Soon, other residents of Saline County came forward.

Many reported hearing horrific, high-pitched screams emanating from the bottoms of the dead at night, screams that belonged to no known animal.

Others claimed to have caught fleeting glimpses of a large, pale shape moving to the dense underbrush.