WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate National Labs Caucus, today met with Dr. Nobert Holtkamp, the newly appointed Director of Fermilab. During their meeting, Durbin reaffirmed his support for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 17 National Laboratories, including Illinois’ own Fermilab and Argonne National Laboratory. Durbin and Dr. Holtkamp spoke about Fermilab’s flagship research project, the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility/Deep
ALTON - Alton High School students commemorated Black History Month with an impressive fine arts performance. On Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, students presented a Black Student Excellence Showcase to celebrate Black History Month through the arts. From singing to dancing to theater and more, students paid tribute to the artists and leaders who went before them while community members cheered them on. “Black history is all of our history,” said Program Director Dr. Willie Kilpatrick.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) led a group of 216 House and Senate Democrats in filing a bicameral amicus brief standing up for the essential constitutional principle of birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, currently before the Supreme Court with oral arguments scheduled for April 1, 2026. The Democratic lawmakers argue that President Donald Trump’s week-one
CHICAGO – Today, Governor JB Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), and the Illinois Economic Development Corporation (Illinois EDC) announced that DMG MORI Federal Services, Inc. (DMG MORI) will invest more than $40.5 million to expand the company’s footprint in Illinois — establishing a new advanced manufacturing and R&D facility in the Chicagoland area and creating 74 new full-time jobs. The expansion further strengthens Illinois’
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Alexi Giannoulias announced more than $680,000 in grants awarded to public libraries across Illinois and opened the application period for additional funding to support library safety and security, advancing a comprehensive effort to strengthen libraries and the services they provide to communities statewide. The $680,522 in Project Next Generation grants will help 36 public libraries expand technology access and educational
ALTON - The Three Rivers Project of Sierra Club Illinois and The Wedge Innovation Center is hosting a Seed Swap this winter to provide community members with a space to swap and share quality seeds, cuttings, and bulbs. Join fellow farmers and gardeners in celebration of the start of the spring gardening season at this community event, which is free and open to all. The 2026 Winter Seed Swap will be held at the Wedge Innovation Center in Alton on Saturday, March 7 from 9:00 a.m. to
GODFREY - In consideration of the onset of nicer weather, the Village of Godfrey’s yard waste drop-off location, located at 1433 Stamper Lane, will reopen to Godfrey residents next Tuesday, March 3rd. The site will be open and accepting yard waste on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to – noon. Located to the west of Glazebrook Park, residents can enter the fenced area where an employee will then verify residency and assist in unloading the bagged yard waste from the vehicle before
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
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