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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced criminal charges against a Cook County man over the alleged theft of more than $800,000 in retail goods. The charges are the result of an investigation by Raoul’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force that recovered thousands of stolen items at several storage units in Chicago in December 2021. Raoul’s office charged Mahdi Alhaw, 31, of Justice, Illinois, with eight counts of non-probationable Class 1 felony theft, each punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and four counts of Class 1 probationable felony theft, each punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Alhaw’s bond was set at $25,000, and his next court date is scheduled for January 30. “Organized retail crime is a multibillion dollar per year industry, but more important than the financial cost is the danger organized retail crime poses to our communities. These crimes are committed by sophisticated criminal organizations that are involved in drug and

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ALTON – The YWCA Southwestern Illinois is pleased to announce a free New Book Giveaway during the month of December. YWCA has 80 plus titles of books with multiple copies of each title. The majority of the books are hard back. All books are in excellent condition and are suitable for holiday gift-giving. YWCA was gifted 30,000 pounds of brand new books from Dr. Mary Mason of the Little Medical School and Dr. Genie’s Kids Foundation. Dr. Mary Mason, a native Altonian, received the books from the Molina Foundation “is thrilled to pass on these books to my home community. The books include a variety of genres—children’s books, young adult books, fiction, non-fiction, Spanish, coffee table and Disney books. There are few things in life that are free anymore and I am delighted to be able to work with YWCA and offer these new books to the community free of charge.” YWCA is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is open 9 a.m. t

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LITCHFIELD – Illinois State Police (ISP) District 18 Commander, Captain Mark Gillock, announces the results of Special Traffic Enforcement Patrols (sTEP) in Macoupin and Montgomery Counties during November. These sTEPs allowed the ISP to provide increased enforcement for impaired driving, occupant restraint, speeding, and distracted driving violations during the National “Click It or Ticket” Campaign. Violations Enforcement Activity Occupant Restraint Violations 8 Driving Under the Influence and Drug/Alcohol-Related Citations 0 Speeding Citations and Warnings 80 Distracted Driving Citations and Warnings 1 Total Citations 107 Total Written Warnings 19 Driving the posted speed limit, sober, not distracted, and buckled up will save your life and the lives of many others. This project is funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation.

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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville senior girls basketball forward Kaitlyn Morningstar had a big game for the Tigers on Dec. 1 against Alton, scoring 16 points in Edwardsville's recent loss to the Redbirds at Lucco-Jackson Gym. Although the Tigers lost, the team played very hard throughout the 32 minutes and had plenty of good moments, with the difference being that Alton was able to hit shots that Edwardsville couldn't, and it helped decide the outcome in the Redbirds' favor. Still, the Tigers played exceptionally well and hard. "You know, I think we gave it our all," Morningstar said during a postgame interview. "I feel like that this was definitely the first game where we gave it our all for all 32 minutes and we played as a team and came together. Come later in the season, we'll have a better shot of beating them, for sure." Morningstar is an iCAN Clinic Female Athlete of the Month for the Tigers. The Redbirds have worked exceptionally hard during the last two seasons to reach this point

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O’FALLON – HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital presented the quarterly National DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses to Logan Blankenship, RN, in the medical surgical unit. The award is part of the DAISY Foundation's nationwide program to recognize the superhuman efforts nurses perform every day. Logan Blankenship was nominated by charge nurse, Matt Hill, for taking quick action to assist another colleague with a patient in distress in another area. Her attention to the alert message resulted in a full call to the rapid response team. They, along with Logan, were able to stabilize the patient and get them to the ICU. Distribution of the nationally recognized DAISY Award at St. Elizabeth’s is made possible through funds provided by HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Foundation. In addition to Blankenship, nominations were received for over 30 other dedicated St. Elizabeth’s nurses for this quarter. Nominations for future DAISY and other awards at St.

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LINCOLN – A year to remember has taken on a special meaning for one central Illinois family, with a mother-daughter joint release of new books they have authored to end 2022. E.G. Keith is out with her second book of the year after her first successful young-adult novel Havoc was released in March. The sequel is Serenity , and in it, the now 12-year-old author picks right back up with her style of witty comebacks, timely puns, and an evil way of thinking. Her mother, Jennifer J. Keith, makes her author debut with Fixing the Funny Bone. She uses the non-fiction self-help and humor book to introduce new audiences to her G.R.I.T. method, which embraces using humor to help heal from pain and trauma. The mother-daughter duo will formally introduce their new books with a public signing and meet-and-greet event this Sunday, Dec. 11, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Lincoln Woman’s Club (230 N. McLean St., Lincoln, IL). Anyone interested is welcome to meet the authors, get

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EDWARDSVILLE - Alton sophomore forward Jarius Powers helped the Redbirds girls' basketball team make history on Dec. 1 with a 20-point performance, leading all scorers as Alton defeated Edwardsville 55-42 at Lucco-Jackson Gym. It was the first win for the Redbirds over the Tigers since February of 1998. also ending a long Southwestern Conference home winning streak for Edwardsville, and in her postgame interview, Powers was a very happy person, indeed. "I feel great,' Powers said. "You know, I'm thankful for my team. It's a team sport, I love my team to death. You know, I'm glad we made our coach (Deserea Howard) happy, made her proud, and stuff like that." Powers is an Auto Butler Female Athlete Of The Month for the Redbirds. The Redbirds have been a very hard-working team for the last two seasons to get to this point, but Powers is always looking at the big picture for her club. "Yeah, you know, we get closer and closer to the bigger picture." Powers said, "to win state and the

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PIASA - Southwestern's Bram Buettel recently finished a sensational freshman year for the Piasa Birds in November. In the Trenton-Wesclin IHSA Class 1A Cross Country Regional Meet, Bram recorded a stellar time of 18:34 for three miles. Bram's brother, Garrett Buettel led the Piasa Birds at the regional with a time of 18:30.3, while Drew Spangler came in at 18:48.2, Zach Rue was home at 21:20.0, Ebon Makler had a time of 21:29.4, Logan Custer had a time of 22:49.7 and Chase Miller had a clocking of 22:50.4. Garrett Buettel, Bram, and Spangler battled all year for top positions for the Piasa Birds in their various meets. At the South Central Conference Boys Meet in October, Bram blazed the trail with a time of 17:32, ahead of his brother (17:35). For his efforts this season, Bram is an Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Male Athlete of the Month for the Piasa Birds. Bram's head boys cross country coach Gary Bowker said Bram's future is essentially unlimited on his times ahead

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EDWARDSVILLE - Khoi Minh Pham, of Olney, a Southern Illinois University Edwardsville senior in the School of Engineering, was surprised with the news this week that he is the 2023 Student Employee of the Year. Chancellor James T. Minor, PhD, and Abdullatif Hamad, PhD, chair of the Department of Physics, presented Pham with an award certificate and $500 on Tuesday, Nov. 29. “I was very surprised yet honored to have been chosen to receive this award,” said Pham. “Every student job I have had has strengthened my leadership and problem-solving skills. These skills have helped me become a better student and prepared me for my future profession.” Pham has served as a physics student lab prep assistant, lecture recitation leader, lab teaching assistant and a resident assistant for Cougar Village. The award recognizes Pham for his reliability, quality of work, initiative, professionalism and the ability to exceed expectations. “Khoi’s strongest attributes

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MARINE - Recently, the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Marine Coin Company in celebration of the company's 10 th year in business. Marine Coin owner Bill Weder established the company in August 2012 when a previous bank building came up for sale. "I thought the building was really cool and figured it would be a good place for my business," Weder said. The Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce said Bill and his team understand the need for estate planning and expert advice when it comes to coin and jewelry collections. They are proud to have served the Metro East region for the past decade and look forward to helping customers for many years to come. Bill enjoys being a part of the local community and showing mutual support and respect for fellow business owners in town. Whether buying or selling, customers are welcome to stop by the shop located at 155 North Duncan Street in Marine or call 618-887-2008 with any

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Letter To The Editor: District 7 is considering consolidating Midway and Hamel elementary schools at Hamel, potentially serving K-2 students across more than 50 square miles. Students would face unreasonable bus rides. Recent research found that students with rides greater than 45 minutes had worse attendance and outcomes. With current (long) ride times in the northern schools, we must expect even more unfair ride times. D7 also hasn't made a compelling case for closure, including not breaking down how it plans to realize projected savings of $320-400K/year. As most school spending is on people, is D7 proposing laying off a number of teachers and staff? If not, where do the savings come from? The public deserves a full accounting of projected savings. Further, repairing Midway ($5M) is much cheaper than building an addition at Hamel ($15M). Finally, D7 hasn’t shared enrollment projections and student outcome data for both schools; these data should be considered. I also worry

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ALTON - The Salvation Army of Madison County is seeking members of local congregations to ring bells at their red kettles on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, designated "Local Churches Day" during the fundraising campaign. Sign-up is online at https://registertoring.com/ for various locations in Alton, Godfrey, Bethalto, Wood River, Edwardsville, and Granite City. "Choose as many days (not limited to December 13) for locations and shifts you want," Barb Hoelscher, who is co-chair of the kettle campaign in Madison County with her husband, Dr. John Hoelscher. "Help the needy in our community." Barb continued and previously said: "The Salvation Army has been a steady, loving presence in our community for so very long and we are honored to help further their mission with this campaign."

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ALTON - Alton Firefighters Local 1255 will have its Sixth Annual Turkey Giveaway from noon-2 p.m. Saturday, December 17, 2022, at Crisis Food Center at 21 E. Sixth Street in Alton. Alton Fire Department Battalion Chief Derrick Richardson, also a member of Alton Firefighters 1255, said: "We will have a contactless drive-through-only turkey giveaway with vehicles lining up on Market Street, between East Fourth and East Sixth Street heading north and making a right on East Sixth Street, and pulling up in front of our location where we load the trunk. We will give one turkey and one bag of sides, per car on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last. We ask that everyone follow all safety protocols." Richardson continued and said: “We are happy to partner with Crisis Food Center, who are donating the side items and went 50/50 with Local 1255 on purchasing the turkeys. This is an ongoing relationship between the Local and CFC since the first turkey giveaway in 2017. Both organization

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ALTON - State Representative Amy Elik (R-Alton) will be hosting a Holiday Food Drive at her district office in Alton beginning December 5 th -21 st . “The holidays can be an incredibly stressful and difficult time for our friends and neighbors that are struggling to make ends meet,” said Rep. Elik. “Please, if you can, come by my office and drop off any non-perishable food items you may have. Let’s work together to make sure no one goes hungry this holiday season.” The Holiday Food Drive will begin on Monday, December 5 th and conclude on Wednesday, December 21st at State Representative Amy Elik’s district office, located at 192 Alton Square Mall Dr., Suite C in Alton. Non-perishable food items can be dropped off between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. All non-perishable food items collected will be donated to the Crisis Food Center in Alton. When you stop by to donate, brochures on state programs will also be available.

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JERSEYVILLE - Do you wow others with your watercolors or drawing skills, blow them away with your basket- or rug-weaving skills, or amaze your friends with your culinary masterpieces? The Jersey County Arts Council invites local artists to join them Sunday, Dec. 11 any time between 1 and 4 p.m. to learn about teaching opportunities. The event will be held in the basement of the First Presbyterian Church, located at 400 S. State St. in Jerseyville. The council is developing a 2023 schedule of classes that cover a range of artistic mediums for both adults and children. Jersey County Arts Council Director Sherry Droste said, “The sky’s the limit in terms of the types of talent we’re looking for. While professional artists are welcome, we’re also interested in enthusiastic amateur artists willing to share their creative passion and skill with others.” If you are interested in learning more about teaching opportunities with the Arts Council, drop by Dec.

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ALTON - Alton firefighters battled a structure fire in the 600 block of Oak Street Sunday night. The home was on the city’s “Do Not Enter List,” Battalion Chief Derrick Richardson said. Richardson said Alton firefighters were on the scene of the fire for about two hours and it was from a defensive perspective because of the “Do Not Enter” situation. The fire call came to the Alton Fire Department at 9:30 p.m. Sunday. “Someone was living in there that shouldn’t be with his dog and was using the fireplace,” Richardson said. “The dog ran out when we got there and was safe and the man who was in the home had left before we got there. A problem with the fireplace could have possibly been the cause of the fire.” East Alton Fire Department was also called to the scene to assist, Richardson said. The Alton Fire Department continues to investigate the situation.

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HIGHLAND - The Highland Arts Council hosted the sixth annual Arts in Action: Youth Arts Expo 2022 at the Highland Masonic Lodge on Saturday, November 19. It featured over twenty regional visual and performing artists, grades 5-12, showcasing their talent for the public. Featured were visual artists Reagan Adolph, Maccenna Fischer, and MariEva Mallrich of Highland High School; Jameson Mallrich of Highland Middle School; Hazel Bast of Highland Elementary; Olivia Clark, Cora Eversgerd, Hayli Rinne, Hailey Rolfingsmeyer and Emma C. Toeben of Central Community High School in Breese; Wade Diekemper, Isabelle Gilomen, Maggie Maxwell, and Maddie Quaid of Carlyle High School; Clara Ledbetter who is homeschooled, and Lipika Singh of Liberty Middle School in Edwardsville. Performing artists were Elias Allen, Maddalena Altmeyer, and Lukas Raynor of Highland High School and Emma Jaco of Highland Middle School. The Highland Arts Council actively promotes the arts in and around the community of

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY - St. Louis County Police Department Crimes Against Persons detectives are currently investigating a homicide in the 6600 block of Larry Lane in the City of Berkeley which resulted in the death of an adult male. At approximately 2 a.m. Sunday, Police Officers from the City of Berkeley received a call for “Shooting” in the 6600 block of Larry Lane. Berkeley Police Officers contacted a male, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. The male told them that he was involved in a gun fight with another male who was inside of the residence. Paramedics responded and pronounced the male inside the residence deceased on scene. The male who was initially contacted by Berkeley police was conveyed to an area hospital for treatment of a non-life threatening gunshot wound. The St. Louis County Police Department Crimes Against Persons was requested by the City of Berkeley Police and are now leading the investigation. The deceased has been positively identified as

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ALTON - Alton Municipal Band Board Chairman Aaron Rodgers and the cast are excited to present its annual Holiday Concert once more. This year, the concert will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday, December 4, at the First Presbyterian Church of Alton (located at the corner of 4th and Alby Streets.) Rodgers said the concert will offer "joyful fun." Rodgers added that conductor Jen Shenberger will lead the ensemble in performances of timeless Christmas classics, as well as some new twists on old holiday favorites. Famed soloist Erin Bode will travel all the way from Nashville to present her vocal stylings, with jazzy tunes and toe-tappers that are sure to delight. "This concert will be a family-friendly evening of live music," Rodgers said. Admission is free.

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Over the past few years, the popularity of charcuterie boards has expanded from restaurant appetizers to holiday get-togethers and everything in between. The infinitely customizable assortment of meats, cheeses, fruits, breads and spreads can add a pop of color and flavor to your table and provide many options for your family and guests. Do not be intimidated by this sometimes, difficult to pronounce word; there is no set recipe, which makes for a creative project each time! What is Charcuterie? Charcuterie is a French term for the art of preparing and assembling cured meat and meat products. Charcuterie-style meat and cheese boards have become very popular outside of France, and this concept has evolved to include many foods besides meat, along with a variety of presentation variations and ingredient themes. Charcuterie cones, skewers, jarcuterie (layered in a small mason jar) and dessert boards (although not technically charcuterie) are a few examples of this expanding trend.

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