Trial in Streator FBI raid case moved to March

STREATOR — The federal trial of Natasha M. McCormick and Jamal R. Cheers Jr. has been postponed until March 1, 2027.

Both defendants asked for the delay at a pretrial conference Thursday in Peoria. U.S. District Judge Jonathan E. Hawley granted the request and canceled the jury trial that had been set for Nov. 23.

The court's minute entry does not say why the defendants sought the continuance. Hawley found the continuance served the interest of justice and excluded the period through March 1 from the Speedy Trial Act calculation.

Cheers remains in federal custody. McCormick remains released on her existing bond conditions.

A receipt for the surrender of her passport was filed Thursday.

The two were arrested Sept. 23 during an FBI operation at a house in the 100 block of East Grant Street in Streator, as The Standard previously reported. Both pleaded not guilty.

Both face a drug conspiracy charge. McCormick also faces two cocaine distribution counts.

Cheers faces methamphetamine and crack cocaine distribution counts and two counts of possessing firearms as a convicted felon. Both are presumed innocent.

On Oct. 23, Magistrate Judge Ronald L. Hanna granted McCormick's emergency request to travel to the Central District of Illinois to transport and assist her father with medical appointments. The government objected.

She must notify her pretrial services officer before each trip, and her other conditions remain in effect.

A pretrial conference is set for Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. The trial is set for March 1 at 9:30 a.m.

Both will be held before Hawley in Courtroom A of the federal courthouse in Peoria.

The Standard will keep following this case. To get updates by email, sign up for our free newsletter.