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MADISON COUNTY – The Metro East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD) is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of its FY 2025 Park and Trail Grant Program in Madison County. A total of $3 million was awarded this cycle between 19 diverse projects in Madison and St. Clair counties, representing a $10.65 million total investment in the area’s recreational infrastructure. The Park and Trail Grant Program—funded by the Metro East Park and Recreation District Tax, a one-tenth (1/10) percent sales tax approved by the voters of Madison and St. Clair counties in 2000—provides partial funding to local public agencies, transit agencies, and others for local projects that improve public parks and green spaces, enhance accessibility of existing facilities, and grow the regional trail network. "This year's grant cycle demonstrates a continued commitment shared by MEPRD and its partners to providing high-quality recreational spaces and active transportation corridors

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ST. CLAIR COUNTY - The Metro East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD) has announced a successful conclusion of its FY 2025 Park and Trail Grant Program in St. Clair County following the approval of its nineteenth and final award in March 2025. "These investments not only enhance public recreation but also improve public health, promote active transportation, boost local economies, and elevate overall quality of life for residents across Madison and St. Clair Counties, said Cole Preston, MEPRD Grant Coordinator. The Metro East Park and Recreation District (MEPRD) grant recipients in St. Clair County: Caseyville Township ($90,000) for the installation of field lighting at Baseball Field #3 in the Caseyville Township Recreation Complex. City of Collinsville ($216,353.50) for the construction of a 0.11-mile, 10’-wide shared-use path (Phase1) along St. Louis Road featuring high-visibility crosswalks, lighting, benches, and a bike rack. City of Fairview Heights ($280,345)

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SPRINGFIELD – The State of Illinois African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission (ADCRC) announces the fifth stop on its nine-part series of statewide public hearings. ADCRC is hosting public hearings to discuss reparatory actions for Black Americans in Illinois who are descendants of American Chattel Slavery. The next public hearing will be held in Belleville, on Saturday, April 26, at Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC). For those unable to attend in person, the hearing will be livestreamed on the ADCRC YouTube page: www.YouTube.com/@IllinoisADCRC . Through these public hearings, the commission aims to gather vital recommendations on reparations from the general public for policymakers and key stakeholders. Featured speakers—including Dr. Tandra Taylor, Peggy Lewis-LeCompte, Alvin Parks, and Tiffany Lee—will present on the intergenerational impacts of Housing Segregation, Separate and Unequal Education, Racism in Environment & Infrastructure, and an Unjust

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Did you know that nearly 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year? This staggering statistic underscores a widespread yet often misunderstood health issue that affects a significant portion of the population, particularly during specific times of the year. One of the most challenging seasons for allergy sufferers is spring, when pollen counts skyrocket, turning the great outdoors into a battleground for those sensitive to these natural irritants. But what exactly causes these allergies, and how can we effectively cope with them? The Science of Allergies At the heart of spring allergies are substances called allergens, which are typically harmless proteins found in pollen, mold spores, dust mites, and pet dander. When these allergens enter the body, the immune system mistakenly identifies them as threats, triggering a cascade of reactions. This immune response involves the release of histamines, chemicals that lead to the unpleasant symptoms associated with allergies, suc

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Did you know that if everyone on the planet lived like the average American, we would need five Earths to sustain our current lifestyle? This staggering statistic highlights the urgent need for a shift towards sustainable living practices. Earth Month serves as a vital reminder that our choices matter, not just for the planet but for future generations as well. Adopting sustainable habits can lead to reduced waste, lower carbon footprints, and improved well-being. Here, we explore practical tips for embracing sustainability this Earth Month and beyond. Understanding Sustainability Before diving into actionable tips, it’s essential to understand what sustainable living entails. At its core, sustainability focuses on meeting our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. This involves minimizing waste, conserving resources, and making informed choices that benefit both people and the planet. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: The Three Pillars T

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April 14 is a date that has witnessed many significant events throughout history, marking milestones in politics, culture, science, and more. One of the most notable events to take place on April 14 was in 1912, when the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. This catastrophic incident resulted in the loss of over 1,500 lives and has since become synonymous with maritime disaster. The Titanic, at the time, was touted as 'unsinkable,' and its tragic sinking led to major changes in maritime laws and safety regulations. The story of the Titanic continues to captivate audiences worldwide, inspiring countless films, books, and documentaries. Fast forward to April 14, 1939, when the first-ever televised baseball game was broadcast. This groundbreaking event took place at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, where the Cincinnati Reds faced off against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The game was a modest affair, with only a handful of viewers tuning

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WOOD RIVER - A National Day of Prayer service will take place on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Wood River Roundhouse, according to organizer Debbie Ward. The event will be held outside at the bandstand if weather conditions permit; otherwise, attendees will gather inside the building. Meteorologist Mike Roberts will serve as the master of ceremonies for the evening. The event will feature the Passion Painter, who will contribute to the service's artistic elements. Community leaders are set to lead prayers focusing on seven areas of influence in the nation: government, family, church, education, business and workplace, arts, media and entertainment, and military and first responders, Ward said. Ward expressed gratitude for the community's support and invited anyone seeking additional information or photographs to reach out.

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ALTON — The Alton Fire Department responded to a fire in the 1200 block of Fairway Drive on Sunday night, April 13, 2025, where a shed was fully engulfed in flames and the fire had spread to a nearby house. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find the shed ablaze and portions of the house also affected. A box alarm was activated, prompting the East Alton Fire Department to assist in the response. Firefighters were able to bring the situation under control swiftly. The shed was deemed a total loss, while the house sustained some damage. All occupants of the home, along with their animals, managed to escape safely, and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

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April 13 holds a significant place in history, marked by events that have reshaped nations, cultures, and the course of humanity. One of the most notable events in history occurred on April 13, 1743, when Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and a key figure in American history, was born. Jefferson was not only a founding father but also the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, which laid the groundwork for democracy and individual rights in the United States. His vision of a nation built on liberty and justice continues to resonate around the world today. Fast forward to April 13, 1870, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art was officially founded in New York City. This institution has become one of the most prestigious art museums globally, housing a vast collection that spans over 5,000 years of art from various cultures and regions. The Met has played a crucial role in shaping the art world and making art accessible to the public, fostering

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SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today led the Illinois Democratic Delegation in sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expressing frustration and concern that HHS has slashed critical federal funding for the state’s public health programs and infrastructure. “We write to express our real concern about the Department and Health and Human Services’ (HHS) actions to terminate federal funds for state and local health departments, fire critical public health staff, dismantle health agencies, and close regional offices, including the HHS Region 5 office in Chicago, Illinois. Your decision puts the health and well-being of our people at risk, and will do nothing to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’” the lawmakers wrote. Last month, it was reported that HHS would terminate $11.4 billion in federal funding for state and local health

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SPRINGFIELD – Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, has been detected in Putnam, Marshall, Adams, and Peoria counties, expanding the geographic presence of the disease in free-ranging deer populations in northern Illinois, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced today. Adams County is the first documented case recorded outside of the leading edge of the CWD endemic region. CWD is an always-fatal neurological disease that affects the long-term health of white-tailed deer in Illinois. First documented in Illinois in 2002 near Roscoe, CWD has been detected in 25 counties across northern Illinois and now as far south as Adams County in west-central Illinois. In early February 2025, CWD was detected and confirmed through diagnostic testing in Putnam, Marshall, and Adams counties from routine surveillance of hunter-harvested deer. Peoria County was confirmed in a 2-year-old deer exhibiting clinical signs consistent with CWD infection using the same diagnostic testing procedures

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC)—urged Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Admiral Samuel J. Paparo Jr. and Commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) General Brunson to build on their efforts to expand cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners by further implementing her Indo-Pacific Medical Readiness Program and strengthening our sealift fleet, which is aging and insufficient in numbers to support our military in the event of a crisis or conflict. Senator Duckworth’s Indo-Pacific Medical Readiness program—a program she championed in last year’s FY2025 NDAA —will help ensure our nation’s servicemembers as well as their families have access to quality patient care throughout the Indo-Pacific region—where they often must travel long distances to receive care. In her remarks, Duckworth asked

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed budget reconciliation instructions by 216-214. The budget directs the Energy and Commerce Committee, on which Rep. Kelly sits, to cut Medicaid by $880 billion. “The Republican budget betrays the American people. Republicans voted to slash Medicaid by $880 billion — the largest cut in history — which jeopardizes over 300,000 of my constituents’ healthcare. That’s almost half of the people living in the Second District. As grocery prices skyrocket, Republicans voted to cut food assistance by $230 billion, which would leave almost 190,000 of my constituents without reliable meals. “Even more atrocious, Republicans passed this budget to make way for a $4.5 trillion tax cut for their billionaire friends. The top 0.1% would receive an average annual tax cut of $314,266 — compared to a few hundred dollars for working families.

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WASHINGTO, D.C. – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), who are both members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today introduced the Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act . The legislation would ensure school food personnel receive essential information about food allergies as part of their existing annual trainings, so that they are better equipped to prevent, recognize, and respond to allergic food reactions. Food allergies are a growing public health concern. Over the past two decades, the number of children with food allergies in the U.S. has more than doubled. Now, eight percent of children, about two students per classroom, have food allergies, and more than 16 percent of them will have an allergic reaction while at school. Further, 20 percent of all epinephrine shots administered in schools are given to children who have undiagnosed food allergies—which makes it even more important

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined their Senate colleagues to introduce two bills, the American Family Act and the Tax Cut for Workers Act , aimed at expanding tax credits for American families. “As costs have risen, wages haven’t kept up. And now Republicans want to give tax cuts to billionaires. What we need to do instead is give workers and families more tools to help make ends meet,” said Durbin. “The American Family Act and the Tax Cut for Workers Act would put money back into the pockets of hardworking Americans so they can afford to put food on the table, keep their lights on, and access high-quality child care.” “When Democrats expanded the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan, we lifted millions of children out of poverty with the stroke of a pen, bringing child poverty rates to the lowest recorded levels in our history,” Duckworth said.

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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in continued opposition to President Donald Trump’s unlawful attempt to remove Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Dismissing Wilcox would leave just two members remaining on the five-member board, which cannot act without a quorum of at least three members. Wilcox filed the case, Wilcox v. Trump, to challenge President Trump’s Jan. 27, 2025 attempt to dismiss her from the NLRB in the middle of her five-year term, in violation of a federal statute that allows the president to remove board members from office only for specific reasons, such as misconduct. A federal district judge ruled that Trump’s attempt to fire Wilcox was unlawful and that she remains a member of the board. The Trump administration has appealed that ruling. In their brief, Raoul and the coalition urge the court to affirm

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Fareway Stores CEO Reynolds Cramer and President Garrett Piklapp to discuss the Senator’s bipartisan legislation, the Credit Card Competition Act , which would enhance competition and choice in the credit card network market that is currently dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. Companies like Fareway would benefit from the Credit Card Competition Act, which, if enacted, would save merchants and consumers an estimated $17 billion each year. During the meeting, they also discussed the chaos around President Trump’s tariffs and how they are expected to increase costs of everyday goods, including groceries and food. Yesterday, President Trump announced he was temporarily dropping tariffs to 10 percent for 90 days for most countries. However, the President’s chaos has caused the markets to swing in the last few days. In the week after President Trump’s tariff announcement,

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) in reintroducing the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, bicameral legislation to guarantee the right of public sector employees to organize, act concertedly and bargain collectively in states that currently do not afford these basic protections. This comes at a critical time, after President Trump’s recent executive order ended collective bargaining for more than one million federal workers. “Our public sector workers deserve the same right to organize as private sector workers, work in a safe job that pays a livable wage and be able to save for a secure retirement,” said Duckworth. “As Donald Trump works to hollow out the backbone of our public sector, I’m proud to help Senator Hirono and my colleagues introduce this legislation that would protect these hardworking Americans by finally enshrining

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC)—joined her fellow Democratic SFRC colleagues, including U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the State Department’s recently announced plans to restructure the Department and fold USAID into the Department of State. In their letter, the SFRC Democrats emphasize that the State Department’s proposal for USAID is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers, and that broader efforts to restructure, including the closure of U.S. embassies and consulates, are illegal without Congressional action and would be an unjustified seismic shift in the U.S foreign policy enterprise. “The proposal, if implemented, and action taken to date to gut USAID, are clearly an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers,” the Senators

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SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Christopher Belt advanced a measure that would eliminate the licensing requirements for hair braiders in Illinois. “It is common sense to eliminate unnecessary licensing requirements for hair braiders,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “Illinois is one of the few states that imposes these stiff requirements, and it’s time we get out of the way and allow individuals to practice their craft and earn a living without unnecessary barriers." Currently, hair braiders are required to obtain licensure under the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985. Aspiring hair braiders must complete 300 hours of training at a cosmetology school, which can cost over $5,000. Illinois is one of only 14 states that have these licensing requirements. Senate Bill 2348 would eliminate the need for hair braiders to get licensed with the state. Hair braiding businesses would still have to obtain a normal business license an

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