April 19, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

‘They want to show their support of the law enforcement and their family’

Jim and Jen Wagner support their community, so when a friend came in to their store, Wagner signs and Graphics, and asked for help they jumped at the chance to help.

Through conversations with their friend Matt Silver, BackBlueLine.com was created.

Silver approached the Wagners with an idea to honor Police Officer Chris Oberheim who was killed while on duty on in Champaign last month.

“We have always been involved in helping other people,” Jen Wagner said.

Silver, his wife, Sam, and Jen Wagner designed a sign to honor Oberheim.

“We made some signs members of the police department,” Jim Wagner said.

Then it expanded to shirts, stickers and hats with proceeds going to the Oberheim family.

Jim Wagner said the response has been massive.

Community members, including IGA owner Todd Woods has helped print signs to keep up with demand.

“It has been pretty overwhelming,” Jim Wagner said.

Some of the customers who have come to pick up orders have walked in to the store located on Lincoln Avenue, seen their signs and just started crying.

“We just hug each other,” Jen said. “It has been a very emotional process.”

Jim said that while they didn’t know Oberheim personally they know people who did know him and everyone has spoken very highly of him.

“He was very good at policing, very conscious of trying to do the right thing all the time,” Jim said.

The Wagners have raised more than $1,000 for the family and sold more than 300 signs.

Jim said he feels the response to the project is not only to honor Oberheim, a family man who served his community for more than 20 years, but also to show support for all police officers.

“I feel like people have been silenced long enough on stuff like this,” Jim said. “This is bringing people together in the community. They want to show their support of the law enforcement and their family.”

Jim said that six months ago people were afraid to put a Back the Blue Sign in their front yard due to the chance of repercussions but now the tragedy of Oberheim’s death has changed that.

“I had someone come in here today and say they were afraid perviously but now they were going to let people know they were a law enforcement house, supported the police and proud of it,” he said.

The Wagners said they have been a strong supporter of law enforcement over the years and are happy to help the community show their support.

“It’s the least we can do,” Jim said.

in Life, People
Banner
Related Posts

Welcome home: Parade set to honor Randall

October 2, 2021

October 2, 2021

Lyndsey Leemon is proud of her brother. So proud in fact, she wants to honor him with a parade to...

Senior spotlight: Chloe Duckett

May 16, 2019

May 16, 2019

Leading up to graduation, we asked five seniors five questions. Next up is Chloe Duckett! What will you be doing...

‘It has been an honor to care for you and your families’

December 21, 2022

December 21, 2022

Patients of Dr. Jeanelle Murphy got some not so jolly news at the beginning of December. Their doctor is leaving...

A cut above: St. Joseph resident and hair stylist Milt offering free haircuts for students

August 14, 2019

August 14, 2019

Nicole Milt wants to help kids feel good about themselves. So Milt has volunteered to do free haircuts for students...

Senior spotlight with Kolton Batty

October 31, 2019

October 31, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we talked to Kolton Batty. What do you...

10 things you don’t know about me with Whitney Setterdahl

November 25, 2020

November 25, 2020

My favorite childhood memory is when my youngest brother Jack was born. My brother Ben and I were eating an...

Kids say…

May 27, 2019

May 27, 2019

This week the students are second graders at Prairieview-Ogden South. This post is sponsored by Longview Bank. Would you like...

‘The first one to tell you how important you were to him’

September 5, 2022

September 5, 2022

Connor Wienke made sure people knew how he felt about them. Whether it was a smile, a friendly comment or...

‘I will always have memories that I won’t forget’ by Kenly Taylor

June 16, 2020

June 16, 2020

Hello! I’d like to take a few minutes to welcome each and every one of you to the St. Joseph-Ogden...

Senior spotlight… Emily Bigger

July 26, 2019

July 26, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we talked to Emily Bigger. This post is...

‘We lost a very good man in Jim Cotter’

September 2, 2021

September 2, 2021

Jim Cotter loved to brag about his kids. This past Saturday was no exception. Cotter took time out from covering...

Ask the Doctor with Dr. Jeanelle Murphy

March 10, 2020

March 10, 2020

What are the pros of breastfeeding your newborn? How long would you recommend breastfeeding? Breast milk is the perfect food...

‘I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it’

December 28, 2022

December 28, 2022

Girl Scout Emily Elsbernd knew what she wanted to learn while working on her Gold Award. “I knew all along...

Hartman makes finals of Project Run and Play.

April 14, 2022

April 14, 2022

St. Joseph resident Emily Hartman has made it to the last round of Project Run and Play. The project is...

SJO makes graduation plans for June

May 1, 2020

May 1, 2020

St. Joseph-Ogden High School is making plans for graduation to honor the Class of 2020. In a letter sent to...

Comments
Leave a Reply