SPRINGFIELD - State Representatives Kevin Schmidt (R-Millstadt) and Brandun Schweizer (R-Danville) held a press conference today, alongside Principal Darla Wall from Annette Officer Elementary School in East St. Louis to discuss their support for a Kindergarten requirement. HB 4253 , filed by Rep. Schmidt and co-sponsored by Rep. Schweizer, would require all students in Illinois to enroll in kindergarten to learn essential skills in reading, writing, and mathematics before entering 1st
Green shows up on “progress” bars, in health logos, on money apps, and on signs that say “Go.” That’s not an accident. For most people, green doesn’t just look pleasant—it feels like things are moving forward. Humans associate green with growth because our brains learned, over a long time, that green often meant “life is working.” Food is more likely nearby. Water is more likely close. The environment is more likely safe enough to stay
On March 26, 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in Washington, D.C., ending three decades of open war between the two countries. The agreement mattered immediately because it reduced the risk of another large regional conflict and set formal rules for borders, diplomacy, and security. It still matters today because it became one of the most durable state-to-state peace deals in the modern Middle East, showing how long-running disputes can shift when leaders accept difficult compromises
CASEYVILLE - Caseyville Police said they arrested a man wanted in connection with an attempted homicide investigation in Shelby County, Tennessee, after tracking him from a motel in Caseyville to a bank in Cahokia Heights and later finding suspected cannabis and a loaded handgun in belongings left in an Uber driver’s vehicle. Officers were dispatched Feb. 23, 2026, to the Quality Inn in Caseyville “in reference to a phone ping indicating the location of a subject wanted for charges
HOLIDAY SHORES — The Holiday Shores Fire Department responded to a fully involved house fire just before 5:00 a.m. Thursday morning in the 1800 block of Sextant Dr. When firefighters arrived on the scene, the home was already fully engulfed in flames. “There was a single occupant in the house. The occupant heard a loud pop, and as they were leaving, the back of the house was on fire,” said Holiday Shores Fire Chief Jim O’Brien. “It appears the fire may have
ALTON – Alton is moving forward with allowing liquor sales to start one hour earlier on Sunday mornings. City Council members approved a resolution on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 to introduce an ordinance to allow liquor license holders to start selling alcohol at 8 a.m. on Sundays, one hour earlier than the city’s current start time of 9 a.m. This follows a request from a local golf course which aims to use the earlier start times to book 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. tee off times for Sunday
GODFREY - As Vitality Women’s Clinic prepares for its annual fundraiser, Board Chairman Dale Blachford and Executive Director Jackie Duty shared more about their goals to support individuals experiencing unplanned pregnancies. The fundraiser, planned for April 10, 2026, will raise money to provide free and confidential services like pregnancy and STI testing, ultrasounds, and spiritual counseling. The clinic will talk through all options with you but will not perform or refer for abortions.
ST. LOUIS – A Missouri woman on Wednesday admitted acting as a money mule and receiving more than $2 million from elderly fraud victims around the country, despite repeatedly being warned by investigators and bank officials. Sharon Dolisi, 79, of Phelps County near St. James, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. She admitted depositing cashier’s checks and personal checks from 28 victims into her personal bank accounts from about April 21, 2023,
EDWARDSVILLE – A local man faces multiple charges after allegedly using his vehicle to strike a school crossing guard and more in Edwardsville. Jerry L. Holt, 56, of Glen Carbon, was charged with two Class 3 felony counts of aggravated battery, three Class 4 felony counts of aggravated assault, and a Class A misdemeanor count of reckless driving on March 20, 2026. The charges stem from an incident that allegedly took place on Jan. 16, 2026, when Holt is accused of knowingly causing
SPRINGFIELD - Reacting to the murder of a Loyola student by an illegal immigrant on Chicago’s lakefront, State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Murrayville) exposed the many public safety failures of Governor JB Pritzker’s sanctuary state policies. Last week, in a devastating act of violence, a Loyola University student was tragically shot and killed by an illegal immigrant who had an outstanding arrest warrant. It is yet another deadly consequence of Governor Pritzker’s
SPRINGFIELD – In response to the tragic killing of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman in Chicago last week, State Senators Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville) , Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro), and Steve McClure (R-Springfield) held a press conference calling for justice for Sheridan and renewed action to repeal Illinois’ TRUST Act and related sanctuary policies they say have endangered public safety. “Like so many people across Illinois and around the country, we are mourning the loss
ST. LOUIS – A familiar avian presence has returned to Franklin County as a pair of Peregrine falcons has officially claimed the nest box, where at least one egg has already been laid – now streaming live on Ameren Missouri’s Falcon Cam. After last year’s successful fledging, the stage is now set for another season of hatchlings and first flights as the species continues to populate across Missouri. Much like the widely followed raptor cams in other parts of the country,
ALTON - A brief power outage at Alton Square Mall on Wednesday morning, March 25, 2026, occurred as Ameren Illinois crews switched customers to other power sources in the area, according to a company spokesperson. Brian Bretsch, spokesperson for Ameren Illinois, said the outage happened at about 9:15 a.m. March 25, 2026, at Alton Square Mall in Alton. Bretsch said, “There was a hiccup when we were switching customers to other power sources in the area that caused the brief outage.”
EDWARDSVILLE – A Colorado Springs resident has been charged with stealing over $50,000 from an elderly Edwardsville resident by means of deception. Nathan L. Stubblefield, 47, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was charged on March 19, 2026 with a Class 1 felony count of identity theft, a Class 2 felony count of aggravated identity theft, a Class 1 felony count of financial exploitation of an elderly person, and two Class 2 felony counts of theft. On May 29, 2024, Stubblefield allegedly knowingly
MADISON/JERSEY - A chase involving a stolen trailer tractor truck crossed multiple county and state lines before ending in a crash and an arrest in Missouri, authorities said. The pursuit began in Madison County and moved into Jersey County before returning to Madison County and crossing the Clark Bridge in Alton into Missouri, where the driver crashed in Orchard Farms, Mo., according to information provided by the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office and Madison County officials. The suspect
EAST ALTON — Emergency crews responded to a rollover traffic crash Wednesday morning, March 25, 2026, in the 500 block of Route 111 at Cardinal Drive. The Rosewood Heights Fire Department, along with the Wood River Fire Department, arrived on scene to find a vehicle that had flipped multiple times. The car ultimately came to rest on its roof on Illinoia Route 111. According to Rosewood Heights Fire Chief Nathan Friedrich, two victims were transported from the scene with what appeared t
WASHINGTON – In a statement at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, applauded a New Mexico jury finding that Meta misled users about the safety of its platforms and enabled the sexual exploitation of young users. Key quotes: “There isn’t a parent or grandparent alive who isn't fearful of what the hell these kids are looking at all day long and what is happening
ALTON - Sonny Asani is returning to manage Santino’s in Alton, taking over the restaurant at 180 E. Center Drive as it undergoes remodeling ahead of a planned reopening around May 1, 2026. Asani discussed the change during a March 24, 2026, interview on “Our Daily Show,” saying he is “officially taking over management of Santino’s” and that the restaurant has been “doing a lot of remodeling and equipment modifications” for about two weeks. Santino’s
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is relaunching the Infield Conservation for Operationalizing Vital Ecosystem Resilience (I-COVER) Program to promote the early establishment of cover crops using new techniques and/or technology. IDOA secured a $7 million USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) grant to launch the program, which offers cost-share/financial incentives to producers and landowners who are
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) and Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE-03) introduced the Preventing Real-time Exploitation and Deceptive Insider Congressional Trading Act (PREDICT Act), a bipartisan effort to prohibit senior government officials from participating in insider prediction market trading. The PREDICT Act would prohibit Members of Congress, their spouses, and dependent children; the President and Vice President; and political appointees, including
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