Riverbender 🕸

NATIONWIDE – Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc., a Portland, Ore. establishment, is recalling approximately 3,370,530 pounds of frozen not ready-to-eat (NRTE) chicken fried rice products that may be contaminated with foreign material, specifically glass, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The NRTE chicken fried rice items were produced between September 8, 2025, and November 17, 2025. The following products are

GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College is announcing the lists of full- and part-time honors students for the Fall 2025 semester. Students earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher out of a possible 4.0 are named to the President’s List. Those students earning a grade point average between 3.25 and 3.74 are recognized each semester on the Dean’s List. Further requirements are listed in the college’s online catalog at http://catalog.lc.edu . All

CARLYLE - A Carlyle man who admitted to operating a drug house across the street from a park has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, according to court records and statements from prosecutors and investigators. John E. Kock, 52, was sentenced by a district judge in Benton, Illinois, after pleading guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises. The case involves a residence in the 1600 block of Livingston Street in Carlyle, where court documents say Kock allowed others

GLEN CARBON - A major road reconstruction project, set to close a key intersection in Glen Carbon for more than eight months, is prompting local fire officials to adjust their emergency response plans ahead of the shutdown. Glen Carbon Fire Protection District Chief Jason Whitaker said the Illinois Department of Transportation will begin an alignment project around Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, that will completely close the intersection of South State Route 157 and State Route 162 in the southwest

BUNKER HILL — Bunker Hill Community Unit School District #8 has been selected by Transcend, a national nonprofit that helps communities reimagine and redesign schools so every young person can thrive in a rapidly changing world, to participate in the Rural Career-Connected Collaborative—a 15-month program that launched in January 2026 to support a national cohort of school communities as they lead the way in innovating towards the next chapter of their career-connected learning

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) today introduced bipartisan legislation to protect Americans’ national security and civil liberties. The Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act advances national security by reauthorizing the foreign intelligence surveillance tool known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and protects Americans’ privacy

CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that a Cook County woman was sentenced to pay more than $20,000 in restitution for fraudulently applying for a loan and loan forgiveness through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rachel Jordan, 34, of Chicago was sentenced by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Sophia Atcherson, after pleading guilty to a Class 2 felony charge of loan fraud. Along with restitution, Jordan was sentenced to 24 months of second

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whgip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK), and U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11), and Chris Pappas (D-NH-01) today announced that they will introduce a bipartisan resolution to honor the YMCA ahead of the organization’s 175th anniversary. Headquartered in Chicago, the YMCA has about 2,600 locations, serving more than 10,000 communities across the country. Since its founding in 1851, the YMCA

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Liquor Control Commission is pleased to introduce its new Licensing & Compliance Portal, a modern, unified system designed to streamline application, renewal, and compliance management for licensees statewide. As we begin implementation, licensees may notice temporary adjustments to workflows and processing timelines during the first 90 days. This transition period is a planned and important part of launching a new system of this scale. Throughout this phase,

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the Durbin Amendment, filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in support of the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota's ruling in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In August 2025, the District Court ruled that the Federal Reserve’s Regulation II (Reg II) rule, which establishes

NORTH CHICAGO - Governor JB Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and the Illinois Economic Development Corporation (Illinois EDC) announced today that AbbVie will construct two new active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facilities at its North Chicago location, investing $380 million and creating 300 new full-time jobs. This new investment underscores Illinois’ robust and rapidly expanding life sciences ecosystem, supported by a skilled

SPRINGFIELD – Earlier this week, Governor JB Pritzker presented to the General Assembly his proposed fiscal year 2027 budget for the state, which includes a higher education budget of $2.7 billion. The higher education budget includes a one percent increase in operating funding for public universities ($13 million) and community colleges ($3 million). The fiscal year 2027 proposed budget also supports ongoing affordability initiatives by investing $721.6 million to maintain the Monetary

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee (SVAC)—today released the following statement after U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Doug Collins announced the VA would be “halting enforcement” of its new interim final rule that puts millions of Veterans’ disability ratings and care at risk and shockingly disincentivizes our nation’s heroes from both seekin

OAK PARK – Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined students, educators, and state leaders at Oak Park and River Forest High School to advocate for a cell phone ban in Illinois classrooms, a critical measure that would support Illinois teachers and help students across the state reach their full potential. Governor Pritzker championed the initiative during his annual State of the State budget address. “Strong schools are the foundation to our success as a state. This year, I am proposing

ST. LOUIS — On Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, 2026, Washington University issued an alert warning of an armed person on its Danforth Campus at 9:18 a.m. and stated, “WashU Alert: Armed person on Danforth Campus. Run, Hide, or Fight. If hide, lock or barricade yourself in a room until further notice. If off campus, stay away.” About 15 minutes later, the university updated the message, saying, “Police are checking buildings in the vicinity of Brookings Hall after receiving

ALTON - Alton Parks & Recreation registration is open for the Spring 2026 Youth Soccer League, running from April through May on the Northside of Gordon Moore Park. Children born between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2020 are eligible to participate in this fun, active, and community-focused program. Registration is open through Wednesday, April 1, with a $55 fee for residents and $60 for non-residents. A $10 late fee will apply beginning April 1, and late registrants may be placed on

Tuesday morning, Feb. 24, 2026, started with chilly air bringing a cold-feeling temperature around 29 degrees early on. As the day progresses into the afternoon, expect the high to reach a comfortable 52 degrees with breezy winds from the south at 15 mph, gusting up to 27 mph, mixing periods of clouds and sun. By evening, the breeze settles a bit but clouds will thicken, leading to mostly cloudy skies overnight with lows dropping back to around 32 degrees. Winds will ease to about 7 mph from th

EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education recognized the Historic Lincoln School Alumni Foundation for their contributions to the district. During the Board’s regular meeting on Feb. 23, 2026, Acting Superintendent Dr. Allen Duncan explained that the Historic Lincoln School Alumni Foundation has served over 75 families so far this school year. He noted that the foundation was “developed on a simple yet powerful mission to ensure that

EDWARDSVILLE - A former Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 teacher urged the Board of Education to “do better” following her resignation from the district. During the public comment section of the Board’s regular meeting on Feb. 23, 2026, Jade Hinnen spoke about her resignation from the school district earlier this year. “Why would an educator with this much success be suddenly unemployed and speaking at a Board meeting? The answer is the lack o

EDWARDSVILLE - Several Edwardsville High School coaches have received recognition for their work with students. During the regular meeting of the Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 Board of Education on Feb. 23, 2026, coaches Mike Sabatino, Kirk Schlueter, Dave Lipe and Mark Heiderscheid were honored with awards on the national and state levels. Athletic Director Amy Boscolo introduced each coach, noting their dedication to the athletes. Sabatino is the high school’s pitchin