CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a coalition of 15 attorneys general announced a U.S. District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order that blocks the U.S. Department of Education from unlawfully terminating congressionally approved school-based mental health grants. The order comes just days before the Department of Education threatened to begin terminating grants that provide critical mental health services to more than 50,000 students in Illinois public school
GLEN CARBON – Glen Carbon will soon begin searching for a new village administrator as a longtime holder of the position prepares for retirement. Current Village Administrator Jamie Bowden said at the July 28, 2026 Village Board meeting that he will retire no later than Feb. 12, 2027. Bowden leaves the position after nearly 15 years with the village , having started in October of 2011. Following the board’s 4-0 approval of a $26,000 agreement with advisory firm MGT Impact Solutions
O’FALLON, Ill. — HSHS Medical Group welcomes gastroenterologist Louis Levine, MD, MEd, to HSHS Medical Group Multispecialty Care - St. Elizabeth’s, 3 St. Elizabeth’s Blvd., Suite 5000, O’Fallon, Illinois. Dr. Levine provides gastroenterology care for adults with digestive health and liver concerns, with a special focus on inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. He also performs upper endoscopy and colonoscopy to help
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and 10 colleagues in demanding answers on whether the Trump Administration plans to deploy armed federal law enforcement officers at polling sites during the November 2026 elections. Beginning in October 2025, the Democratic National Committee submitted 11 Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records concerning the possible deployment of federal law enforcement officers t
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC)—and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) today introduced bipartisan legislation to improve our nation’s capabilities to counter the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) intimidation and coercion tactics in the Indo-Pacific, which actively threaten the safety of our partners in the region as well as our national security. Known as ‘gray-zone tactics,’
SPRINGFIELD - Students in Illinois public schools will soon be barred from using cellphones and other personal wireless devices during school hours under a law signed Tuesday, July 28, 2026, by Gov. JB Pritzker, who said the statewide requirement is aimed at reducing distractions and keeping students focused on learning. The measure, Senate Bill 2427, requires all school districts to adopt “bell-to-bell” policies before the start of the 2027-2028 school year. Pritzker signed the legislatio
WEST ALTON, MO. - Ameren Missouri announced on Monday, July 26, 2026, that it has filed an application with the Missouri Public Service Commission to build the West Alton Energy Center, a proposed 2,100-megawatt combined-cycle natural gas facility in West Alton, Mo., that the utility says would support around-the-clock power needs, grid reliability and economic growth, with a target completion date of 2031 pending regulatory approval. The proposed plant would be built next to Ameren Missouri’s
Vitamin D may be best known for keeping bones strong, but it can also play an important role in supporting the body during cancer treatment. Jeanna Brouwer, an outpatient oncology dietitian with the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute, says understanding your vitamin D levels is one of the first steps in supporting your overall health during treatment. She emphasizes that vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, helps support bone health, immune function and recovery, making it a crucial part of cancer
View a video message from Secretary Giannoulias and Alderman Villegas SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ initiative to crack down on rogue tow truck operators, strengthen oversight of tow truck registrations and combat fraud has been sent to Governor JB Pritzker. House Bill 4843, which the Illinois General Assembly approved unanimously, expands the Secretary of State’s authority to suspend or revoke certificates and special registration plates issue
ALTON - Leon Smallwood-Bey, president of the Alton Branch of the NAACP, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, called on Alton residents, faith leaders, elected officials, business owners and community organizations to unite in a renewed commitment to ending violence in the city following the latest shooting death of 21-year-old Terrance Johnson in Alton. In the appeal issued July 29, 2026, Smallwood-Bey urged the community to take specific steps to address violence, including mentoring young people,
JERSEYVILLE – The Jerseyville DMV reopened on Monday after two weeks of transformation into one of the region’s first “One-Stop-Shop” facilities. The facility closed for renovations on July 10, 2026 before reopening on July 27, 2026. The recent renovation makes Jerseyville home to a “One-Stop-Shop” DMV, a new model designed to increase efficiency and reduce wait times. It also marks the 26th “One-Stop-Shop” DMV in Illinois, according to a press
ALTON - The Alton Branch of the NAACP on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, offered condolences to the family of Terrance R. Johnson, a 21-year-old Alton man who died after a Friday night shooting in the 200 block of West Delmar Avenue, as Alton police continue to investigate the killing. In a statement dated Wednesday, July 29, 2026, Leon Smallwood-Bey, president of the Alton Branch of the NAACP, said the organization was extending its “deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and
ST. LOUIS - A motorcyclist was killed Tuesday night, July 28, 2026, in a crash on Interstate 44 at South 7th Street in St. Louis, and authorities are investigating what led up to the collision. According to preliminary information from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the crash happened shortly before 9:30 p.m. July 28, 2026, when an unidentified male motorcyclist was traveling westbound on I-44, and the motorcycle suddenly swerved across the lanes, possibly to exit onto 7th Street.
ALTON - Community members can learn more about estate planning and taxes at a free educational dinner. At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, Stephens Planning will host the dinner at The Wedge in Alton. Curtis Stephens, in collaboration with Elizabeth Heller of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., will go over estate planning mistakes, the effects of estate taxes, strategies to protect your assets, and more. “In a world where we have so much information at our fingertips and a lot
Suspect vehicle has been seized. Anyone with information about the vehicle, or the possible occupants of the vehicle, should contact police. ST. LOUIS, MO. — St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department District 6 officers and federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were fired on just after 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, 2026, during a traffic stop near Thekla Avenue and Riverview Boulevard, police said, in what detectives believe may have been an attempted
GLEN CARBON – The Riverbend region’s latest child solicitation sting has yielded felony charges against a Glen Carbon man now in Madison County custody. Michael W. Beland, 55, of Glen Carbon, was charged on July 28, 2026, with one count each of indecent solicitation of a minor, traveling to meet a minor (both Class 3 felonies), solicitation to meet a child, and grooming (both Class 4 felonies). The day prior, on July 27, 2026, Beland allegedly knowingly solicited an individual he
COLLINSVILLE - The Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 is inviting the public to a first look at the Marching Kahoks’ 2026-2027 show during a free community preview at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at Kahok Stadium. The annual event, called the Marching Kahoks Community Preview Night, is open to the public, according to information released on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, by the district. District information said the students have been preparing throughout the summer for the
SPRINGFIELD – State Treasurer Michael Frerichs has announced the winning photographers for the 2026 Cream of the Crop Photography Contest, which provides Illinois students with a creative opportunity to share their vision of agriculture in our state. The top nine photographers, ages 8 to 18, will be awarded Bright Start 529 college savings scholarships. “Congratulations to the young Illinoisans who explored their surroundings, tapped into their creativity, and experimented with
Your body can quietly cut your pace without asking your permission. Tasks feel heavier. Patience gets shorter. Even small decisions can seem oddly expensive. What looks like laziness is often biology doing exactly what it was built to do. People often notice this shift in themselves. Work feels slower. Exercise takes more effort. The couch becomes more appealing. It is easy to blame motivation or routine. But humans slow down for real reasons. Heat changes how the body uses energy, how the brai
July 29 is tied to major shifts in power and identity. In 1567, James VI was crowned king of Scotland after the forced abdication of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. He was still an infant, so the country was ruled through regents, but his reign proved historically important. James would later become James I of England in 1603, joining the crowns of Scotland and England under one monarch. That union did not erase the two kingdoms, but it changed the future of the British Isles and helped shape
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