Riverbender 🕸

CHICAGO - Today, Governor JB Pritzker signed SB 3086, which enables the Illinois State Treasurer to invest in pooled investment trusts that meet certain requirements. ? Specifically, this will enable investment in funds such as the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) Fund – which provides capital to developers, aligning with Governor Pritzker’s goals under the ambitious Building Up Illinois Developments (BUILD) plan. “Illinois is putting its money to work in a responsible

SPRINGFIELD – Today the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced two new conditions have been added to the list of debilitating medical issues that can qualify an Illinois resident for participation in the Medical Cannabis Patient Program. IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra approved the addition of polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) with chronic pain and sickle cell disease after a thorough review by the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board (MCAB) and IDPH staff. Under

EAST ALTON – The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC), a division of Lewis and Clark Community College, is celebrating a successful 2026 Waterschool USA summer season that connected middle school, high school and young adult learners with water science, wildlife and outdoor exploration. From June through July, NGRREC educators partnered with Lewis and Clark Community College TRIO Upward Bound, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s East St. Louis Center

ALTON – Alton officials may update the process to request an abatement of trash fees at a vacant residence. Committee of the Whole members approved an item to amend a section of the City Code regarding garbage and refuse charges and abatement at their Aug. 24, 2026 meeting . Under the current City Code, once a residential unit has gone over 31 days without city-provided water service, the city stops charging for trash service at the residence. However, the abatement of trash fees only

ALTON - Community members have the chance to win big while fundraising for a new ambulance. The 17th annual Duck Pluckers, Deer Skinners & Fish Hookers Ball on Sept. 12, 2026, is sold out, but you can still help the cause and join the fun by purchasing a raffle ticket. Raffle items include a Tory Burch handbag, a bourbon collection, a wheelbarrow of booze, fresh meat, and a helicopter hog hunting trip. Alton Memorial Health Services Foundation Development Manager Shannon Fraley noted that

BETHALTO - A local songwriter is polishing off a 25-year-old song to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. Charlie Brown, a teacher at Civic Memorial High School , has always written and produced music in his free time. His upcoming album “Parking Lot Prayers” will pay homage to his hometown and the Riverbend. But his most recent song, titled “9/12,” speaks to a larger tragedy and sense of community that people felt after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “We

EDWARDSVILLE – A local man accused of causing extensive property damage and stealing items from the Metro East Lutheran High School locker rooms faces felonies in two Madison County cases. Trey A. Stone, 27, listed as homeless out of Granite City, was charged on Aug. 20, 2026 with a Class 1 felony coutn of burglary, two Class 2 felony counts of institutional vandalism, a Class 2 felony count of criminal damage to property and a Class 2 felony count of theft. Stone allegedly knowingly entered

BELLEVILLE — Belleville Police Chief Matthew S. Eiskant, a lifelong member of the Belleville community who led the Belleville Police Department after more than 25 years of service, died at approximately 4:30 p.m. Aug. 24, 2026, following a battle with cancer, the department announced on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. He was 49 years old. “It is with profound sadness that the Belleville Police Department announces the passing of Chief of Police Matthew S. Eiskant,” the department said

ST. LOUIS - An early morning investigation into a fatal pedestrian crash on Interstate 55 on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, led police to a nearby home, where officers found a man dead in what investigators are treating as a murder-suicide. St. Louis Metropolitan Police District 3 officers responded just before 5 a.m. Aug. 24 to a call for an accident on northbound I-55 before the Arsenal exit, where they found what is believed to be an adult male who had been struck by multiple vehicles and died at

ELSAH/GRAFTON - QEM Fire Protection District invites you to give back to the firefighters while enjoying a fish fry. Starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, community members can stop by QEM Fire Protection District at 14905 Elsah Road in Grafton for the annual fish fry fundraiser. The event will conclude at 5 p.m. or whenever the department sells out. Attendees can also enjoy a raffle. All proceeds benefit the fire department. “This is one of the biggest fundraisers and

GRANITE CITY - Illinois State Police Troop 8 responded Tuesday morning, Aug. 25, 2026, to a four-unit crash on westbound Interstate 270 at Illinois Route 3 in Granite City, where multiple people were taken to a hospital with injuries and westbound lanes were closed. The crash was reported at approximately 7:31 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, at I-270 westbound and Illinois Route 3, also known as Lewis and Clark Boulevard, in Madison County, according to Illinois State Police. A preliminary investigation

BETHALTO – The Bethalto Chamber of Commerce & Industry invites the community to celebrate the official ribbon cutting of The Terminal, the St. Louis Regional Airport's newest event venue, during its Monthly Networking Luncheon on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 11:15 a.m. Located at 16 Terminal Drive, East Alton, Illinois, The Terminal offers a modern gathering space designed to host meetings, celebrations, corporate events, and community functions. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marks a

ST. LOUIS - Three of my favorite musicians of all time are Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr of the Beatles fame, and Tommy Shaw of the rock band Styx. Shaw and Styx definitely mesmerized the house on Monday night, Aug. 24, 2026, at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater. Styx is a rock band that formed in Chicago in 1972. Shaw joined the band in 1975, replacing John J.C. Curlewski. I saw Styx way back in the 1980s and they were magnificent then. Dennis DeYoung left the band in 1999. James "J.Y." Young,

ALTON - As the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 717 State Street, Alton, Illinois will be celebrating a special Blue Mass to honor current, retired, and deceased first responders and military. This Mass will be held at Saints Peter and Paul Church at 6:00 pm on Thursday, September 10th with Father Jeff Holtman as celebrant. This special Mass will serve as a solemn and inspiring opportunity to pray for the safety, strength, and guidance of those

ALTON - Alton Middle School students have a new opportunity to start training in the medical field. New this year, the middle school is offering a class called Medical Detectives that will allow students to study diseases and simulate diagnosing patients while using real medical equipment. The class is part of Project Lead the Way, which encourages students to think about their career options. “It’s still early in the semester, but I have high hopes for it,” said teacher

CHICAGO – Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) launched Illinois' Opportunity Zones 2.0 – a statewide initiative to identify and nominate the next group of federally designated Opportunity Zones that will help attract private investment to communities across Illinois. When a low-income community is designated as a Qualified Opportunity Zone through the federal program, it encourages private investment that promotes job creatio

CHICAGO – Today, Governor JB Pritzker released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting mail-in voting to take effect: “The Supreme Court’s decision allowing Donald Trump and the U.S. Postal Service to move forward with this unprecedented attempt to interfere in our elections is deeply troubling. “We are weeks away from voting in the midterms and the President i

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)—led her fellow SASC Democratic colleagues in urging Committee Chairman Wicker to hold a hearing to investigate the Trump Administration’s failures to support our servicemembers who are carrying out indefinite extended deployments in the unauthorized, disastrous Iran war that President Trump cannot seem to end. In a letter to Chairman Wicker, the Senators

EAST ST. LOUIS/FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS — Kiante M. Brooks, 32, appeared in federal court last Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, and will remain detained pending trial on a federal bank robbery charge after authorities said he allegedly robbed a bank Aug. 13, 2026, in Fairview Heights, Illinois. Brooks is facing one count of federal bank robbery. According to court documents, Fairview Heights police received a call around 5 p.m. on Friday from a local bank teller who advised police that a co-worker was being

A new job, a breakup, a move across town, even a child starting school can leave a person oddly unsettled long after the event itself is over. The change may be small on paper. Yet the mind often treats transition as something much bigger: a loss of what was familiar, a test of identity, and a search for what comes next. Why transition feels harder than it looks People often talk about change as if it were a simple event. You quit, move, graduate, marry, retire, recover, or begin again. But