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FREEBURG - Freeburg Police discovered its first homicide since the 1970s when authorities found the body of 55-year-old Linda Waller during a wellness check in the Deerfield Creek Mobile Home Court on Wednesday night. The Belleville Police Department contacted the Freeburg Police that there might be a crime victim in that area. Officers then pulled over a vehicle registered to Waller and a driver was taken into custody. Authorities say that man is the lone person of interest in the case. At 7:02 p.m. on January 11, 2023, Belleville Police officers on patrol saw a silver Ford F-150 truck traveling north on Centreville Avenue. Officers continued to observe the vehicle and observed the driver make an improper turn from West Washington onto South 2nd Street. Officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle at First and West Main Street, police said. "Officers identified the driver and observed the vehicle he was driving did not belong to him," Belleville Police said. "Officers

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WARREN COUNTY, MO. - The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis today announced charges for Mike A. Clardy, 63, in the 2004 homicide of Alton woman Deanna D. Howland in St. Louis County. The press conference for the announcement was held in Warren County Administration Building in Warrenton, MO. The Major Case Squad today said the case originated when the victim's torso was discovered in Warren County, MO., on June 28, 2004. Deanna D. Howland was identified as the victim in the case in 2016. She had four children at the time and resided in Alton. As a result of additional investigation efforts, Mike A. Clardy was identified in late 2022 as a person of interest. On January 10, 2023, the Major Case Squad investigators interviewed Clardy and the case was presented to the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and the following charges were: Count I: Murder 2nd Degree - Class A Felony Count II: Abandonment Of A Corpse, Class D Felony The Major Case Squad officials said "the extensive

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(This is a joint statement by Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor and State's Attorney Thomas Haine about the passage of HB 5471 into law on Wednesday). Dear Citizens, "Like many of you, we are very concerned by the passage of HB 5471, which bans certain commonly-used firearms and firearm components in the State of Illinois. Overnight, thousands of otherwise legal gun owners fear their Second Amendment rights are in jeopardy. "We feel the duty to clarify for our citizens the policy their Madison County law enforcement leaders will adopt with regard to this new situation. As with any statute passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, it is presumed constitutional. But we are acutely aware that this statute touches on fundamental constitutional issues and is in obvious tension with recent and binding Supreme Court precedent on the Second Amendment. Among other things, it bans many of the most popular firearms in America, firearms that are currently in common use for lawful

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GODFREY - Challenge your survival skills at The Nature Institute (TNI). Bring a group of friends to learn winter survival skills and complete tasks to test your knowledge. Individuals, partners and/or groups are welcome to learn, explore, and put to test their ability to survive the cold at “Family Discovery Day: Winter Survival Challenge” on Saturday, January 21 at 10 a.m. This event is for those that enjoy exploring the woodlands and learning with their family. There will be several activity stations for your family to learn how to build a shelter, start a fire, and learn basic animal tracking skills. This event is $7 per person for non-members and $5 per person for TNI members. Survival skills are always a useful bag of knowledge to pull from when being outdoors becomes less than ideal. Family Discovery Day will teach adults and children how to safely build a fire and put it out, how to build a shelter that will keep you warm and dry, and how to track animals. This event

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JERSEY COUNTY - A local woman last seen around the area of Little Piasa Road in Dow has been reported missing by her sister, Angie Vincent-Bollinger. Kaila, Angie's sister, has not been seen in five days. Kaila is described as about 5-foot to 5-foot-2 inches tall and 90 to 100 pounds with long hair, brown roots, blonde ends, and wavy when not styled. She also has several tattoos. She has false teeth her sister said, and she was not sure whether or not she was wearing them. "It is not like her to go this long without reaching out to someone," her sister said. "She also has an ileostomy, in which she wears colostomy bags." "If anyone sees her, please contact me and the Jersey County Sheriff's Office," Angie said. "The Jersey County Sheriff's Office are the ones handling the missing person case." The Jersey County Sheriff's Office phone number is 618-498-6881.

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GLEN CARBON - The new Chick-fil-A in Orchard Town Center in Glen Carbon will open within 45-60 days, Village of Glen Carbon Bob Marcus said this week. Marcus explained that having a Chick-fil-A in the community is something that has long been sought around the Glen Carbon and Edwardsville areas. "It will be a huge addition to the Village Of Glen Carbon," Marcus said. "We are excited to have Chick-fil-A in Glen Carbon. We welcome them with open arms." Chick-fil-A has a long history and originated when Truett Cathy about 70 years ago. Today several second and third-generation Cathy family members have carried on that tradition. Dan T. Cathy is the chairman of the board of Chick-fil-A. The core values for Chick-fil-A are "We are better together." "This means when we combine our unique backgrounds and experiences with a culture of belonging, we can strengthen the quality of care we deliver," the company said. For breakfast, the chicken biscuits are very popular, along with the egg

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EDWARDSVILLE – Two Metro-East Lutheran High School students have earned All-State honors from the Illinois Music Education Association. Erin VanMiddendorp, a senior at MELHS, has been selected for the All-State Orchestra, and Kate Mueller, a freshman, has been selected for the All-State Band. The musicians will travel to Peoria, Ill., to participate in the Illinois Music Education Conference from Jan. 25 to Jan. 28. The conference will conclude with performances by the All-State Band and Orchestra on Saturday, Jan. 28. To be selected for All-State, students had to submit audition videos to the ILMEA, which were then judged by a panel of professional musicians. The highest-scoring musicians from across the state were then named All-State Musicians for 2022-2023. “This is a great program because the top players and singers in the state get to have the experience of playing and singing with other students at their level,” said Karen Shimkus, music teacher at MELHS.

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EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville announced the Fall 2022 Dean's List for the first semester. The full list of students can be found at this link: SIUE Fall 2022 Dean's List .

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CARROLLTON - Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen said in a letter to Greene County residents that his department will not enforce the newly-passed Illinois law banning certain firearms and magazines, also known as HB 5471. “I, among many others, believe that HB 5471 is in clear violation of the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” McMillen said in the letter. “Therefore, as the custodian of the jail and as your chief law enforcement official of Greene County, neither myself, my deputies, nor my office will be conducting or participating in any investigations or arrests, or assisting any outside agency or agencies in any investigations or arrests, concerning lawful gun owners failing to register their weapons with the State; or any other of the unconstitutional provisions contained in HB 5471. “Furthermore, the Greene County Jail will not house any law-abiding individuals that have been arrested solely with non-compliance of the regulations found in HB

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HARDIN - Calhoun County Sheriff William Heffington has issued comments in regard to HB5471, which was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday. Sheriff Heffington echoed what several others in area law enforcement have said in regard to the passage and signature of Pritzker banning assault weapons in Illinois. "As your Sheriff, I wanted to give the citizens of Calhoun County an update on the recent passage of HB 5471, also known as the Protect Illinois Communities Act. As your duly elected Sheriff, my job and my office are sworn, in fact, to protect the citizens of Calhoun County. This is a job and responsibility that I take with the utmost seriousness. "Part of my duties that I accepted upon being sworn into office was to protect the rights provided to all of us, in the Constitution. One of those enumerated rights is the right of the people to keep and bear arms provided under the 2nd Amendment. "The right to keep and bear arms for defense of life, liberty and property is regarded

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JERSEYVILLE - Jersey Community Unit School District 100 released the honor roll and high honor roll for students from 8th-12th grade. Below is the full list of names. Lists are alphabetized by last name. HONOR ROLL 8TH GRADE BEEMER, CHLOE I. BOGLE, EMMA E. BOWLES, JACOB S. BRUNAUGH, ADEN M. CAMPBELL, ADDISON P. DALEY, BREONAH K. DEWITT, RYLIE N. DONG, BRIAN ENTRIKIN, EMMALYNN F. FORRESTER, KAELYN M. FRITZ, MORGAN L. FROST, MASON G. GIBERSON, RYKER J. GILL, HAILEE J. GREEN, ANNALEE N. HART, KEEGAN W. JUDKINS, LILIAN C. LAIRD, ALAINA L. LAKIN, JOSIE R. LEBLANC, ELLA G. LECLAIRE, AUBREE-PAIGE LITTLE, TARYN R. LUTHER, THOMAS W. MANN, LEVI A. MARTIN, ALEX B. MCCOY, JAYLYNN R. MCDUFFIE, MYLES R. MILLER, AMELIA M. NEVLIN, CARSON R. RAWE, MYRA J. RICHARDSON, LANEY ROBINSON, KATHERINE E. ROTH, DYLAN A. SCHUSTER, SAWYER E. SHAW, KAYLEE G. SHORT, BRODY J. SIMPSON, SCOUT E. SOFFRAY,

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CHICAGO – Due in large part to increased enforcement efforts and technology, the Illinois State Police (ISP) is reporting the total number of Chicago area expressway shootings dropped 47% in 2022 compared to 2021. The number of non-fatal injury expressway shootings in the Chicago area was cut in half and the number of expressway homicides decreased by 88% compared to last year. “Protecting all Illinoisans, in our schools, in public spaces, and on our expressways, is the most important thing we can do,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The scourge of gun violence requires aggressive and intentional action. By taking steps to expand the usage of expressway cameras and hiring additional state police troopers, we’re making sure law enforcement agencies have the resources necessary to effectively respond to criminal activity on our roads.” “After an unprecedented number of expressway shootings in the Chicago area in 2021, the Illinois State Police

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WOOD RIVER — You may already know that smoking is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer in the United States. But do you know what’s No. 2? Radon — a naturally occurring, invisible, radioactive gas. Madison County Health Department would like the public to know January is National Radon Action Month and is emphasizing the importance of getting your home tested. “Madison County Health Department is offering radon test kits for $10 (cash or check) each for residents, while supplies last, to check the radon level in their home,” Public Health Administrator Doug King said. Radon gas forms naturally in the ground. Most radon mixes harmlessly with outdoor air that we all breathe in low levels every day. Radon from underground seeps into a home through cracks and gaps in the foundation and becomes trapped inside. Over time, breathing indoor air with high radon levels can damage the lungs and lead to cancer. “In the United States, about 21,000 lung cancer

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EAST ALTON - Lucky Jacks, a brand new "one-stop-shop" according to the owner Gary Patel, will open this Saturday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. Lucky Jacks will be a laundry mat that includes multiple brand-new gaming machines as well as a convenience/liquor store. It will be located at 100 Kingshighway in East Alton and will be open daily. On weekdays it will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Fridays 9:30 a.m. to midnight, on Saturdays 10 a.m. to midnight, and on Sundays noon to 11 p.m.

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EDWARDSVILLE – Candace N. Hall, EdD, assistant professor of educational leadership at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, has won a prestigious Award of Recognition from the IndieFEST Film Awards. The award was given to Hall, film executive producer, and Cami Thomas, film director and CEO of My Friends and I (MFAI), for the documentary short “clusterluck”. “To have this documentary recognized with this award feels amazing,” said Hall. “I set out to create something that felt good for me, to document the moment, and to show the possibility of community. I had not anticipated how far this project would reach.” The documentary is a digital visualization of Hall’s research on Black faculty experiences in academe, featuring Black faculty in SIUE's Department of Educational Leadership in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program, and encourages higher education leaders to reimagine recruitment and hiring practice

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SPRINGFIELD – After months of negotiations and hours of conversations in working groups, State Senator Christopher Belt supported two measures that would protect Illinois communities and ensure everyone has access to reproductive health care. Belt favored House Bill 5471, which would ban assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and rapid-fire devices. “We can’t sit back and hope mass shootings will stop,” said Belt (D-Swansea). “I would not have supported other proposals that take away rights from law abiding gun owners. We have worked for months to find the best solution and that’s why I supported this measure. This legislation is a middle ground that retains access for law enforcement to continue protecting our neighborhoods and gets weapons of war off our streets and out of the hands of bad actors.” The measure accelerates implementation of background checks for person-to-person sales and extends the duration of the Firearm Restraining

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ALTON -The Alton Memorial Hospital White Cross Auxiliary presents "The Best of Eastern Canada" in a vacation tour planned for Sept. 8-16, 2023. The trip, open to the general public, includes 11 meals and will feature Niagara Falls, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Montreal. There will be a meeting, also open to the public, in AMH Cafe Meeting Rooms A/B (behind the café seating area on the ground floor of the hospital’s Beeby Wing) at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, to hear all about the trip and to ask any questions, or GO HERE for more information. If you book your spot by March 1, you will save $50 per person. Please contact Mary Norman at 618-433-6684 or mary.norman@bjc.org with any questions or to RSVP for the Jan. 19 presentation.

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WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), member of the U.S. Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, issued the following statement after today’s FAA system outage that canceled and delayed thousands of flights: “I'm troubled by the situation, and while I appreciate that the FAA worked quickly to try to minimize the disruption to commercial air travel and get planes back in the air, we need to understand what happened today so we can prevent it from ever happening again. The flying public deserves better.”

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ALTON - The AMH White Cross Auxiliary is continuing in its mission to replace all of the hospital's old wheelchairs with newer Staxi wheelchairs in its “Wheels of Love” campaign. The Auxiliary has added four new chairs recently in addition to the 10 that were purchased early last fall. The new chairs were sponsored by or in honor of three former employees and a White Cross Auxiliary member/hospital volunteer. Art and Jo Greenwood purchased two chairs. Jo is a retired chaplain of Alton Memorial and worked at AMH for 13 years. One of the chairs was purchased in honor of their daughter, Holly Rain, who worked more than 20 years at AMH as a nurse in OB and has also volunteered. A third chair was purchased by Ken and Tina Aldridge. Tina formerly worked in Human Resources and served 19 years at AMH. Fred and Rose Lammers purchased the fourth chair, Rose is a volunteer at the information desk, in the gift shop, and is also a member of the White Cross Auxiliary. Sixteen

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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today filed an amicus brief supporting the federal government in two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the Biden administration’s targeted cancelation of student loan debt to address the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In doing so, Raoul joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in arguing that the debt relief program is lawful and appropriate. Last year, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced plans to grant $10,000 in debt relief for borrowers under certain income thresholds, and $20,000 in debt relief to borrowers who met those income thresholds and also received a Pell Grant in college. This debt relief seeks to ensure that borrowers affected by the pandemic do not face catastrophic defaults at the conclusion of a nearly three-year pause in loan repayment obligations. “Higher education should be within reach for all Illinoisans without the fear that they will be saddled with lifelong

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