The nation in brief

Candidate's home listed out of state

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois congressional candidate Ann Callis' previous out-of-state residence has come under scrutiny, with a report published Sunday saying she signed mortgage documents while she was a judge in Illinois that listed her home as in Missouri.

Callis, a former Madison County judge, is trying to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis in the district that stretches from Champaign to the St. Louis suburbs. The election is Nov. 4.

The Lee Enterprises bureau in Springfield reported that Callis signed multiple mortgage papers identifying her residence as a home in Kirkwood, Mo., while she was a judge in Illinois. The bureau cited copies of mortgage records it obtained.

Callis campaign spokesman David Miyashiro confirmed Callis signed the documents but said they were limited in how much information they could show. The records show details of transactions by Callis and her husband, St. Louis businessman James Holloran. Miyashiro said Holloran listed the Missouri house because of limited space on documents.

Clintons rally party at Iowa fundraiser

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Hillary Rodham Clinton, making her return to Iowa for the first time since the 2008 presidential campaign, implored Democrats on Sunday to choose shared economic opportunity over "the guardians of gridlock."

"Hello, Iowa. I'm back!" Clinton declared as she took the podium at retiring Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry fundraiser, a fixture on the political calendar in the home of the nation's earliest presidential caucus. Clinton joined her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in a tribute to Harkin that brought them before more than 6,000 party activists who form the backbone of Iowa's presidential campaigns every four years.

The former New York senator and first lady joked that she was "here for the steak."

She later said that "too many people only get excited about presidential campaigns. Look -- I get excited about presidential campaigns, too." But she said the upcoming midterm elections would be pivotal for the state's voters.

Victim called help for slaying suspect

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One of four men found slain at their homes in a small Ohio city had sought help two days earlier for the man now charged in the killings, according to police records.

Billy Jack Chatman told Bucyrus police two days before he was found dead that he had called an ambulance for Donald Hoffman against Hoffman's wishes after the man collapsed on his floor, according to documents obtained through a public records request.

The records show Hoffman, 41, had entered Chatman's house Aug. 30 bloody and reeking of alcohol, the apparent victim of an assault.

According to audio of the emergency call, Hoffman told Chatman he was beaten by about eight people, and Chatman wasn't sure Hoffman was breathing.

The bodies of Chatman, 55, and another man were found Sept. 1. Two other bodies were found the next day.

In each slaying, a grand jury indicted Hoffman on two counts of aggravated murder and single counts of aggravated robbery, kidnapping and felonious assault. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports

A Section on 09/15/2014

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