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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has appointed a coordinator for Cahokia Heights and the Metro East to support progress on the flooding, sewage and drinking water crisis. In August of 2022, Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin announced millions of dollars in federal funding through Congressionally Directed Spending and expanded federal water infrastructure grants that could be used to address the crisis. In April of this year, Congresswoman Budzinski secured a commitment that the EPA would appoint a coordinator to leverage these funds with existing state and local efforts to bring much needed relief to the community. A video of Budzinski requesting and securing the commitment in an exchange with EPA Administrator Michael Regan can be found here . “For decades, residents of Cahokia Heights have suffered from repeated instances

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EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville recently signed an agreement to purchase up to 5.7 megawatts of energy through the State of Illinois’ Community Solar program . The purchase allowed SIUE to continue plans for a community solar garden, which kickstarts the University’s solar energy commitment by subscribing to multiple planned or under construction solar fields in the state. Craig Holan, Director of Facilities Management at SIUE, stated, “by participating in the Community Solar program as a major user of electricity in the Metro East area, we have not only supported our own and the State of Illinois’ energy sustainability goals, but also received a reduction in our electricity costs as well.” This is considered Phase I of SIUE’s Energy Plan. Phase II, for which plans are already underway, is the construction of up to 40 acres of solar installation on the Edwardsville Campus, which would allow the University

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, today announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to authorize issuing subpoenas to Harlan Crow, Leonard Leo, and Robin Arkley II as it relates to the Committee’s Supreme Court ethics investigation. “The Supreme Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making. Thanks to investigative reporting, we now know that for decades, some justices have been joining billionaires with business before the Court on their private planes and yachts or receiving gifts such as private school tuition for a family member. And it is through this reporting that we learned the justices have not been disclosing these gifts as required by federal laws that expressly apply to them. By accepting these lavish, undisclosed gifts,

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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 11 attorneys general urging the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to adopt effective enforcement that would protect workers’ rights to prevailing wages on renewable energy and green economy projects where employers claim expanded tax credits. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, created a range of tax credits and deductions for renewable energy projects and other green economy investments. The act makes credits five times larger if employees working on such projects are paid prevailing wages. In their comment letter submitted to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS, Raoul and the attorneys general urge the agencies to ensure that wage requirements are enforced. “Bad actors can and do find ways to falsify records and avoid prevailing wage obligations,” Raoul said. “Using retrospective paper audits to determine

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The application period for high school students to request a nomination to a U.S. Military Service Academy for the Class of 2028 from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) will close in two days, on Wednesday, November 1 st . Duckworth’s office has been accepting applications from high school students seeking a Congressional nomination to one of the four Military Service Academies through her website since March . Each year Duckworth, with the assistance of a nomination committee, selects from the applicants a group of outstanding Illinois students to receive Congressional nominations to attend West Point, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy or the Merchant Marine Academy. “It takes a special kind of young person to succeed at a U.S. Military Service Academy,” said Duckworth. “The rigorous nomination process demands outstanding test scores, a high GPA and a commitment to community service. I encourage all interested Illinois students

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, took to the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass a package of three funding bills currently pending on the Senate floor, known as a “minibus,” which provides funding for military construction, as well as for the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development for fiscal year 2024 (FY24). Durbin said, “Bipartisan efforts are necessary to get many meaningful things done in Washington. We accept that in the Senate. And right now, the most pressing item requiring a bipartisan effort is passing appropriations bills that finally fund the government for the next fiscal year. Government shutdowns should not be common place in Washington and yet the other party’s leadership, they have been.” During his speech, Durbin also condemned House Republicans for their failure to elect a Speaker for

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) requested information from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) about the actions they are taking to protect consumers against unfair and deceptive practices in airlines’ frequent flyer and loyalty programs. Millions of Americans participate in frequent flyer programs. While these programs may have originated to incentivize and reward true “frequent flyers,” they have evolved to include co-branded credit cards and now often exclusively focus on dollars spent using these co-branded credit cards. In the letter, the Senators requested that DOT and CFPB answer questions surrounding the deceitful marketing tactics of these frequent flyer programs. The Senators wrote, “At the same time, there are troubling reports that airlines are engaged in unfair,

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CHICAGO - U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Carole Johnson this weekend for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ M.O.M.S (Maternal Outcomes Matter Showers) Tour, highlighting their work on this important issue and the need to do more to address our country’s ongoing maternal mortality crisis. This national tour aims to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly among Black women, in communities with high maternal morbidity rates, bringing together mental health professionals, birth workers, medical professionals and community members to engage in meaningful discussions on maternal health disparities and explore ways to provide resources and support for women at risk. “In the richest country in the world, it is unacceptable that the United States continues to fail moms and babies. Black and Native women, especially, are most

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SPRINGFIELD - Enrollment at Illinois community colleges continues to climb for the second straight year according to the annual fall enrollment report, released today by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).Overall, the Illinois Community College System’s opening Fall 2023 enrollments had an increase in both headcount (+5.7 percent) and Full-time Equivalent (FTE) (+5.2 percent) from the previous year. The Fall 2022 to Fall 2023 increase of 5.7 percent is the second largest Fall-to-Fall enrollment growth in the last 30 years. Only the Fall 2008 to Fall 2009 increase of 7.4 percent during the Great Recession was higher. “Illinois has the best community college system in the nation—and look no further than our fall enrollment numbers for proof,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “With a more than 5 percent increase in enrollment since last year, our community colleges are bouncing back better than ever—showing the rest of the nation what it looks lik

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ALTON - Local small business owners recently gathered for a presentation on “Becoming a Destination” in downtown Alton. The organizations Main Street America , Illinois Main Street and Alton Main Street sponsored the event. They invited Jon Schallert, the president of The Schallert Group, Inc., to speak about how to make a business a regional “must-see.” “I like talking to communities because you get a whole interesting mix of business owners from all over the place,” Schallert said to the ten owners who attended the presentation. Schallert has developed a 14-step process for becoming a “destination business.” He explained that a destination business is unique and not dependent on location. In fact, a true destination business will bring in people from outside the business’s traditional market. This is partly why destination businesses are so beneficial to communities. They also garner media attention and word-of-mouth

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GODFREY - Need some time for yourself? My Time Day Spa will offer an open house with discounts, free spa services and more from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. This year’s open house will celebrate the spa’s 17th anniversary and kick off the gift-giving season with deals for gift certificates and products. Owner and esthetician Diane Sconce explained that the open house aims to show her gratitude for her clients and the women who work with her. “We appreciate them being loyal clients and supporting us. I mean, we made it through the recession and we made it through the pandemic, so that’s pretty good,” Sconce said. “We want to thank our clients and we always appreciate new clients coming in. I want to thank my girls, too. I have a really great team that works there. Everybody helps out a lot and pitches in, and they’re just a really great group of girls.” This group includes hairstylists, massage therapists and nail

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ELSAH - Principia College’s Varsity Women’s and Men’s Tennis teams are offering a series of Tennis Clinics throughout the month of November to teach tennis basics while fundraising for their Spring Break trip to California. Coaches Shannon Carney and Rusty Jones will join the college’s varsity tennis athletes to lead the clinics, which will cover the fundamentals of ground strokes, volleys, overheads, serves, and returns. Groups will pass through circuits on different courts covering skills and tactics. Each session will include warm up conditioning exercises, and there will also be time for singles and doubles play toward the end of each session. All clinics will be held at the indoor courts located at 1 Maybeck Place in Elsah. Tennis Clinics will be available on Mondays and Wednesdays from Nov. 1 to Nov. 29, 2023. Clinics will be open to all ages and skill levels, and a variety of pricing options are available. Those interested can “drop in”

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JERSEYVILLE - This is the Jersey Middle School School First-Quarter Honor Roll: 5th Grade Honor Roll Atteberry, Zoey N., Bexheti, Jona, Dalton, Olivia N., Deverger, Landen J., Dewitt, Haylie I., Eberlin-Brown, Kynleigh J., Gillespie, Hannah M., Hardwick, Keilee J., Herring, Eva J., Jordan, Gage R., Kanallakan, Lydia A., Klunk, Jaxen, McNelly, Landon F., Orlando, Phenix A., Reisch, Liam M., Rex, Tiberius A., Smith, Grayson J., Talley, Clayton M., Taylor, Samson W., Weatherford, Kaleigh E., Wellenreiter, Braxtyn E. 5th Grade High Honor Roll: Abbott, Collin J., Adair, Trenton M., Allgood, Logan B., Anderson, Liam D., Balcer, Catherine B., Baro, Jessa J., Baze, Madelynn E., Behl, Aubrey M., Bray, Abilene M., Brittain, Karleen P., Burkman, Annora R., Byrd, Makailynn A., Campion, Molly J., Cooley, Richard A., Damm, Ashlynn N., Darr, Hailey L., Daugherty, Clayton J., Eich, Peyton I., Fallin, Arthur W., Falter, Chiara, Ferguson, Hayleigh N., Fry, Piper, Gajewski, Violet E.

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Home health remedies There are two home health remedies getting major exposure on social media platforms like TikTok. One is a mix of onion and honey, and another is a combination of garlic and honey. Ashley Simper, manager of Dietetic Services with OSF HealthCare, sifts through the research to explain what is fact vs. fiction. Onion and honey remedy TikTok user HealthwellnessAB, shared a “homemade cough syrup” using chopped onion and honey. Since being posted in early September, the video has garnered over 4 million views. The concoction starts with one layer of chopped onion, topped with one teaspoon of honey. The layering of honey and onion is repeated three times. Once the concoction is made, it’s recommended to keep it stored in the fridge for up to two weeks. “There are no clinical trials that show a direct correlation between eating red onion, or red onion extract, and reducing the symptoms of a cough. There are a lot of great things in

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CHICAGO – Someone in Illinois might be handing out full-size candy bars this Halloween! A lucky Illinois Lottery player purchased a Lucky Day Lotto ticket that struck the jackpot worth $1.2 million in the Friday, October 27 midday drawing. The ticket was purchased at Jewel Osco, located at 2940 N. Ashland Avenue in Chicago. The winning ticket matched all five numbers in the Friday midday drawing to score the $1.2 million jackpot. The winning numbers were: 14-15-24-25-34. This is also a big win for the retailer that sold the winning ticket, as the store will receive a bonus of one percent of the prize amount. For Jewel on Ashland, that means a bonus of $12,000. Nearly 50,000 other Illinois Lottery players had good luck playing Lucky Day Lotto on Friday, October 27, in total winning over $1.3 million. So far in 2023, over 10 million winning Lucky Day Lotto tickets have been sold, with total prizes amounting to almost $60 million for Illinois Lottery players. Winners have

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BENLD - Nature’s Bliss invites you to join them for their second-anniversary celebration, complete with food trucks and deals on countless skincare and self-care products. Owner Jeanine Fassero will mark the anniversary at her main shop, located at 104 N. Hardroad Street in Benld. From body butter to shampoo bars to lip balms, the products are all handcrafted by Fassero with natural ingredients and over 75 flavor/fragrance options. Starting Tuesday, Oct. 31, to Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, all products are 20% off. “It’s all natural, local, handcrafted, and you can try new fragrances,” Fassero said. “Start your Christmas shopping this weekend.” You can also check out local food trucks starting on Wednesday, when Off the Wall is scheduled to be at the shop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, Yo Dawg Catering will take their spot. Fassero is especially excited for Dippidy Donuts from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, with donuts

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JERSEYVILLE - This time of year, fans of McCarry’s Dairyland in Jerseyville usually rush to buy their last ice cream treats before the community staple closes for the season. But due to high demand, Dairyland recently announced they’ll be staying open during their usual off-season. Dairyland will remain open each week from Thursday to Sunday starting the week of Nov. 5, 2023. Their hours will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. “We are beyond excited to keep offering your favorite treats throughout the cold season!” they wrote on Facebook . Shortly after becoming a co-owner of Dairyland , Jay Jones said the demand to stay open is just as much from staff members as it is from customers. “The staff requested that we stay open longer throughout the year,” Jones said. “That’s what they’ve requested, and a lot of the public has requested that as well.”

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ALTON - This is the St. Mary's Honor Roll and High Honor Roll List. 8 th Grade High Honor Roll Alivia Beaber Brooke Boston Clara Brass Connor Cochran Baylee Dunse Alayna Graham Isabella Greenberg Emily Hough Sophia Jacobs Jensen Janek Cameron Jones Chase Jones Ryan Joehl Sam Jun Allison Nash Natalie Novak Gianna Pulido Nora Ringering Jocelyn Thomas Mason Widman 8 th Grade Honor Roll Jackson Ellis-Gable David Haegele Lucas Joyce Kayleigh Pollock 7 th Grade High Honor Roll Avery Conrad Elaina Cowan James Fischer Katherine Fitzgerald Tucker Hamilton Eli Heischmidt Joseph Henesey Parker Hough Caleb Kasten Kainan Kelly Colette Manns Clyde Phillips Lucia Pulido Jenna Redman Caden Roth William Roth Caden Shewmake Olivia Smith William Waters Brendan White 7 th Grade Honor Roll Sam Johnson Kaelyn Page Alexander Schmittling Sophia Schmittling Elizabeth Strickland Brock Woodward Zoey Zeller 6th Grade High Honor Roll Jeffrey

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ALTON – Alton Pride is excited to announce its second annual Thanksgiving Food Drive Competition. Area establishments are competing for the title of “Top Turkey”, a trophy and bragging rights. From October 28 through November 12 participating locations will be collecting non-perishable food items for Thanksgiving. The business with the most donations will be crowned the winner. People can donate several non-perishable items, including but not limited to: Boxed Stuffing Mix Instant Potatoes Gravy Mixes/Jars Dry Macaroni Canned Yams Canned Vegetables Canned Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Mix Muffin Mix Canned Pie Fillings Pie Crust Mix Cake Mixes/Icing Flour Vegetable Oil Sugar Powdered Drink Mixes Rice Dried Beans Jell-O Mix Pudding Mix Powdered Milk Graham Crackers Cream of Mushroom Soup French Fried Onions Pride Inc. encourages the community to drop their donation off at their favorite hangout. There are currently 11 establishments competing to be crowned Top

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ALTON – OSF Medical Group in Alton is pleased to announce a new cardiology nurse practitioner has been added to its staff to better serve the cardiology needs of Riverbend region residents. Laurinda Harjai, DNP, FNP, RN-BC, will begin seeing patients on Monday, October 30, 2023, and will ensure continued access for patients in need of cardiology care at OSF Medical Group - Cardiology, located at OSF Saint Anthony’s Medical Office Building, Suite 305, #2 Saint Anthony’s Way, in Alton. Harjai will see patients Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Ms. Harjai, DNP, offers her patients a variety of specialty cardiology services encompassing (but not limited to): Chest pain Hypertension High cholesterol Heart failure Coronary Artery Disease management Harjai’s comprehensive, clinical experience also includes: Served as practitioner, educator, and consultant for patients with advanced heart failure, including heart transplant Pre and Post Cardiothoracic surgical

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