GRANITE CITY — Granite City School District #9 honored local first responders during a halftime ceremony Tuesday night, Jan. 13, 2026, at a basketball game, recognizing police officers, firefighters, paramedics and EMTs for their service to the community. The event, held at the Granite City High School gymnasium, was designated First Responders Night and featured free admission for first responders from the area. The ceremony included a special tribute to police officer Tyler Timmons,
DUPO — The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) has detected perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), a type of PFAS chemical, in the Dupo Community Water System’s (CWS) most recent water sample, officials have announced. The Illinois EPS said the most recent water sample showed PFOS at 4.5 parts per trillion (ppt), exceeding the federal Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and Illinois Class I groundwater quality standard of 4 ppt. The Illinois EPA is notifying the
GODFREY/MARYVILLE - Gerard Fischer has announced his retirement from American Family Insurance, and two local agents will take his place at his Godfrey and Maryville offices. Fischer has served the Riverbend region for over 30 years as an insurance agent. His final day is Feb. 20, 2026. Jessica Eardley will take over his office in Godfrey and Dan McAteer will take over the Maryville office. “I think the cat’s out of the bag,” Fischer laughed. “American Family
ALTON — The Alton Branch NAACP will host a community event to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, at the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, 2621 Amelia St. in Alton. The event, themed “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” invites community members, faith leaders, organizations, and 2026 election candidates to reflect on Dr. King’s message of courage, compassion, and collective responsibility. Illinois State Sen. Christopher Belt will
ALTON — The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant located at 181 Homer M. Adams Parkway in Alton will close permanently after Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. The announcement was posted on the restaurant’s front door on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, informing customers of the upcoming closure. The notice expressed gratitude to patrons, stating, “We are very sad to announce that Alton IHOP’s last day would be Jan. 25, 2026. Thank you for your support so far!” Leading
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), both members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today celebrated that their bipartisan Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act became law through an amendment in the newly signed Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. Durbin and Fischer’s legislation will ensure school food service staff receive essential training about food allergies, so that they are better
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration terminated an estimated $2 billion in grant funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to treat addiction, mental health, and provide homelessness services. The grant cuts also affect Durbin’s longstanding bipartisan priorities to address childhood trauma and bolster rural ambulance services. Durbin’s office
SPRINGFIELD – Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) announced $36 million in grant funding was awarded to 67 local park projects throughout Illinois to help communities acquire land and develop recreational opportunities. The grants were awarded through the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development, or OSLAD, program. For the fourth year in a row, the governor ensured funding was set aside for economically distressed communities, resulting
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) along with U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) met with Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., Xie Feng, to discuss a broad range of issues including U.S. agricultural exports to China, the war in Ukraine, tariffs, fentanyl, critical minerals, and Taiwan. “At a time when the U.S. and China have a number of shared interests, as well a
ST. LOUIS - A cold front moved through the St. Louis region Wednesday morning, Jan. 14, 2026, ushering in the first push of Arctic air and marking a significant drop in temperatures for the area in the coming days, according to the National Weather Service. National Weather Service Meteorologist Jared Maples in St. Louis said the region can expect a stronger push of cold air from Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, into Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, with temperatures remaining below normal through at least Monday,
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today joined 11 other attorneys general in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for unlawfully conditioning hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding on states’ agreement to discriminate against transgender people. Under a new HHS policy, recipients of federal health, education, and research funding must certify compliance with a presidential executive order that seeks to deny the existence of transgender people
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today met with officials from Growth Energy, the nation’s leading biofuel trade association, to underscore her support for ethanol production, as well as her commitment to helping strengthen our national and energy security, expand year-round E15 sales, drive down gas prices, support our farmers, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive rural economic opportunity in Illinois and across the country. “Investing in clean
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) introduced a motion to defeat the so-called "Tipped Employee Protection Act” which would make it easier for employers to undercut worker wages at a time of rising costs. The Republican legislation would change federal wage law to allow companies to treat almost any worker as a “tipped employee,” even if they receive small or occasional tips, and legally pay them as little as $2.13 an hour. “In a time
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, joined U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) in leading 12 of their Democratic Senate colleagues in urging U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee leadership, including the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development leadership, to defend funding for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (IPR) gran
NORMAL — Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined agency officials, local legislators, university leaders, and students at Illinois State University (ISU) to break ground on the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts (WKCFA) Transformation Project. This multi-year, $87 million state investment, made possible through Rebuild Illinois, will expand ISU’s fine arts complex to offer academic, instructional, and performance spaces through phased renovation, demolition, and new construction work. “Illinoi
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined their colleagues in urging Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to reverse the Department of Education’s decision to discontinue $168 million in Full-Service Community Schools grants across 12 states, including Illinois. In the letter led by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the Senators expressed deep concern that the abrupt cuts to this
ALTON/GODFREY - Zeke Jabusch, the North Alton-Godfrey Business Council’s president, shared more about his goals for the organization going forward. NAGBC meets once a month at various businesses across the Riverbend. Entrepreneurs, business owners and community leaders are invited to join the council to connect with like-minded individuals. Jabusch has led the council for years and works hard to ensure everyone has the support they need to succeed. “Business is not easy, an
CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to enforce its preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s demand that states turn over personal and sensitive information about millions of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. Despite the court issuing a preliminary injunction in October 2025 to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) access to the data of millions
WASHINGTON – As the Senate Banking and Agriculture Committees consider cryptocurrency market structure legislation this week, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Durbin, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, urged the Committee Chairmans to work across the aisle to explore proper protections and regulations in the crypto market before moving forward. In his remarks, Durbin noted that crypto assets are a risky, volatile, and unpredictable investment. Durbin said, “While we await
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) participated in a hearing hosted by the Congressional Steel Caucus to advocate for long-term investment in Granite City Works. Budzinski, who has worked alongside the United Steelworkers to protect steel jobs in Illinois’ 13th District throughout her two terms, emphasized the need for concrete commitments from U.S. Steel to continue their operations in Granite City past 2027. “Today, we have an important and
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