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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the Trump administration’s abrupt termination of funding for legal services for unaccompanied immigrant children. In their brief , filed in Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, et al. vs. United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al., Raoul and the attorneys general urge the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to affirm the preliminary injunction issued by the district court, arguing that the Trump administration’s termination of federal funding for legal representation endangers the rights and safety of unaccompanied children. “Unaccompanied immigrant children are especially vulnerable without access to legal services,” Raoul said. “Holding these children in federal custody for prolonged periods of time further traumatizes them and does not represent the morals

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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced he joined a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit challenging an unlawful final rule the Trump administration introduced, which would govern federal and state health insurance marketplaces and create significant barriers to obtaining health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The final rule announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) also excludes coverage of gender-affirming care as an essential health benefit (EHB) under the Administrative Procedure Act (ACA). In the lawsuit , Raoul and the attorneys general argue the rule is unlawful and would cause significant harm to local governments and residents because it imposes burdensome and costly paperwork requirements, limits the opportunities to sign up for health coverage, increases cost-sharing limits, and forces exchanges and consumers to spend hundreds of millions of dollars t

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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 Patty Murray (D-WA), U.S. Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03) and their colleagues in reintroducing the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need. “For most working parents, affordable child care isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity,” said Duckworth. “Donald Trump ran on a promise to lower costs for working families—and yet, he and Republicans are prioritizing tax breaks to their billionaire donors, leaving families to fend for themselves. If Republicans really cared about lowering costs and supporting middle-class families, they’d help us pass this legislation to help solve our child care shortage and make quality, affordable care more accessible to every family who needs

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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) announced that her bipartisan, bicameral legislation – the Better Outfitting Our Troops (BOOTs) Act – has been successfully included as an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. The BOOTs Act would strengthen existing uniform requirements to ensure that combat boots worn by U.S. servicemembers are fully manufactured in the United States using American-sourced materials, including those in the 13th District. “As China continues to flood the market with low-quality imports, we cannot afford to compromise troop safety or support for local manufacturers – like the Belleville Boot Company in my district,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “This legislation is a crucial step to not only protect good-paying manufacturing jobs at home, but ensure our troops receive the highest quality gear while serving our great nation. I’m proud to have worked

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CHICAGO - Today, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced that the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in Illinois will continue to provide mental health support services for LGBTQIA+ youth, after the federal government ended funding last month for specific support on the 988 Lifeline. “The Trump Administration’s decision to end these specialized services is a cruel reversal of proven practices,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. “Unequivocally, in Illinois, we stand side by side with each member of the LGBTQIA+ community, including transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming youth. If you need help and you call 988, you’ll be met with the compassion, competence and respect.” After its launch in 2022, the 988 Lifeline developed a subnetwork of crisis counselors trained to work with LGBTQ+ youth and adults under 25 who are disproportionately at risk for suicide and other mental health struggles. Suicide is the second leading cause

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The episode appeared to undermine the council's claims to have repaired their working relationships after another sitting councilman called two colleagues a derogatory term during a public meeting last year.

"They're still insanely talented players, but they bring a new level of fun to the game."

Emergency personnel responded to a residential fire on Griffin Drive in Bellefontaine Neighbors early Sunday morning, with all occupants and animals safely evacuated and no injuries reported. The fire occurred at approximately 2:15 AM on July 20, 2025, prompting a swift response from multiple fire departments to extinguish the blaze and secure the area. The [...]

MARYVILLE - The Home Builders and Remodelers Metro East Association (HBRMEA) is hosting a raffle to support their work in the community. Community members can buy a raffle ticket for $20 or six tickets for $100 for the chance to win $1,500 cash. Second place will take home $500 and third place will win $250. Shannon Stelling with the HBRMEA explained that proceeds from the raffle will support the organization’s work to help the local housing industry. “There’s so many good things that the HBR is doing to help support the housing industry in our local community,” she said. “You’re helping support the local association, and that money goes toward things like helping us with legislation, helping us fight regulatory issues, helping us fight unfair practices when it comes to inspections or getting permits. All of those things we’re working on the forefront of. And then we’re also working with several communities on infill programs.”

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ST. LOUIS — The American Red Cross urges all donors to give blood or platelets now to keep the blood supply strong this summer. Type O blood products are most needed on hospital shelves – especially in the face of summer challenges that can quickly cause blood and platelet reserves to drop. In addition to summer fun and holidays, severe summer weather can have a sudden impact on the ability to collect blood and platelets.?Scheduling and keeping donation appointments are crucial this month to ensure blood products are constantly available in the weeks to come for all patients, including those in trauma situations that may require several lifesaving transfusions. All blood types are needed, and donors who don’t know their blood type can learn it after donation. Book a time to give blood or platelets by visiting RedCrossBlood.org , calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App. For those who come to give July 15-31, 2025, the Red Cross will say thank

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At a Pittsburgh summit, the Trump administration, energy executives, and tech barons joined as one to promote AI as the future of fossil fuels.

Columnist Bill McClellan tells the story of George "the Creeper” Seper, a homicide detective in the early 1980s.

A man is in custody after allegedly setting a car on fire and seriously injuring another person at an apartment complex on Grant Street in Bethalto. Bethalto Police received multiple 911 calls yesterday morning reporting a man breaking windows at the complex. Upon arrival, officers found a car engulfed in flames and a person with [...]

A complex of rain and storms to our north slowly moves east southeast through the day and doesn't impact much of our viewing area. It will, however, leave behind an outflow boundary which will drift south today. There will be two impacts from this boundary that will likely settle across northern portions of our viewing [...]

Plant of the Week: Carrots. Reminder, if you want Fall carrots, sow them this week. St. Louis Master Gardeners Horticulture Answer Service: Monday through Thursday from 9 am. to 2:30 pm Plan your garden with  Seed St. Louis 2025 Planting Calendar. Start seeds indoors for August planting of lettuce and parsley. Sow Fall carrots. Transplant … Continue reading This Week in Gardening & Nature →