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Kevin Robinson Named CUSD 10 Assistant Superintendent Beginning July 2026

1 day 3 hours ago
COLLINSVILLE – The Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 Board of Education appointed Human Resources Director Kevin E. Robinson to become assistant superintendent beginning July 1, 2026. Robinson’s new duties will be in addition to his human resources responsibilities. The assistant superintendent role will be vacant at the end of the 2025-26 school year due to the retirement of the current assistant superintendent and student services director, Bradley Hyre. Robinson i

Home Repair, Wire Fraud Among Madison County Theft Cases

1 day 3 hours ago
EDWARDSVILLE – Local authorities have charged three Riverbend residents with home repair fraud, wire fraud, and deceptive practices in separate felony cases. Michael L. Wilson Jr., 42, of Collinsville, was charged on Dec. 10 2025 with one count each of theft (a Class 3 felony) and aggravated home repair fraud in an amount exceeding $500 against a victim 60 years of age or older (a Class 2 felony). Wilson allegedly knowingly entering into a $12,150 agreement with an elderly Maryville residen

Illinois State Parks host First Day Hikes to kick off 2026

1 day 3 hours ago
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is encouraging people to take a hike at one of 17 state parks around Illinois on the first day of the new year as part of the First Day Hike program, which is celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary.
Andy Kravetz

Trump’s BBC lawsuit is nonsense, like his others

1 day 3 hours ago

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

New York, Dec. 16, 2025 — President Donald Trump on Monday followed through on his threats to sue the BBC over its editing of his remarks on Jan. 6, 2021, for a documentary.

The following can be attributed to Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF):

“If any ordinary person filed as many frivolous multibillion-dollar lawsuits as Donald Trump, they’d be sanctioned and placed on a restricted filers list. By my count, Trump has demanded at least $65 billion in damages from media outlets in lawsuits filed since his second term started — almost nine times his current estimated net worth, according to Forbes.

“The U.S. has laws in place to restrict litigation by prisoners, the most powerless people in our society, because of their supposed propensity to file bad faith litigation. Meanwhile, the most powerful man in the world gets away with filing more nonsense lawsuits than practically anyone, incarcerated or otherwise.

“Perhaps the interview edit in question wasn’t the BBC’s best work. The BBC has acknowledged that. But U.S. defamation law is compensatory, not punitive. You don’t get to call out any alleged journalistic blunder and demand $10 billion.

“It’s preposterous for Trump to claim those damages when he won the 2024 election and hasn’t lost a penny because of the BBC’s editing. It’s also absurd for him to claim associating him with January 6 is defamatory after he spent years insisting nothing bad happened that day and then pardoned those involved. And it’s similarly outrageous that his claims are based on supposedly damaging implications of his using the word “fight.” He sells T-shirts with that word on them.

“Putting aside the incoherence of Trump claiming election interference damages for an election he won, his damages theory also concedes that he views the presidency as a personal profit-making venture.

“Fortunately for the BBC, we’ve seen this movie before. Caving to Trump gets you nothing. Plus, Trump’s hand is considerably weaker than in the past — his authoritarian censorship antics are increasingly unpopular. People are tired of his thin-skinned bully tactics. The only way for the BBC to preserve its journalistic integrity is to fight back.”

Please contact us if you would like further comment.

Freedom of the Press Foundation

Alton Students Shine at Illinois Music Educators Festival

1 day 4 hours ago
ALTON - The Alton School District music program had a strong representation at the Illinois Music Educators Association District 6 Festivals held recently at Belleville East and Belleville West high schools. Below are Alton members who excelled at the Illinois Music Educators District 6 Festival. Gabe Alexander, ILMEA District 6 Junior Band Quinn Halliday, ILMEA District 6 Senior Jazz Band II and Erick Humphrey, ILMEA District 6 Senior Jazz Band III. Preston Watson, ILMEA District 6 Senior

BioGenerator Plans to ‘Quadruple Down’ on St. Louis Biotech Startups

1 day 4 hours ago

From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Few, if any, institutions aiding St. Louis entrepreneurs can match BioGenerator’s bang for the buck. The startup-serving arm of nonprofit industry group BioSTL has invested $50 million in 130 local companies over the past two decades. Those firms have raised nearly $3 billion in capital, most of it from out-of-state investors. […]

The post BioGenerator Plans to ‘Quadruple Down’ on St. Louis Biotech Startups appeared first on Construction Forum.

Dede Hance

Caseyville Woman's Search for Missing Mother Inspires Her to Give Supplies to Unhoused Community Every Christmas

1 day 4 hours ago
CASEYVILLE - Robin Plantz has turned a difficult situation into a chance to help others. On Christmas Eve, Plantz will distribute 150 stockings and backpacks to unhoused community members across the Riverbend region. Named Cloudia’s Christmas after Plantz’s mother, the tenth annual distribution event honors Cloudia, who Plantz last saw on Christmas night in 1994. Cloudia is homeless and considered missing. “Since Christmas was the last time I saw my mom, I pay tribute

Courthouse Staff Deliver 50 Holiday Gifts Through Angel Tree

1 day 4 hours ago
EDWARDSVILLE — Employees and officials at the Madison County Courthouse, along with a private firm, recently joined forces to brighten the holiday season for local families through the Angel Tree program. Associate and Circuit Judges, Criminal Justice Center Circuit Clerks, judicial assistants, court reporters, Assistant State’s Attorneys and staff, sheriff’s deputies, and representatives from the private firm Buckley and Buckley collaborated to complete 50 Angel Tree gift packages