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The last few days have seen a flurry of revelations about the passing of Cora Faith Walker, the chief policy officer for St. Louis County Executive Sam Page. After her March 11 death, following the birthday party for her close friend Mayor Tishaura Jones, stories from the Post-Dispatch and other outlets stirred intrigue and criticized the Jones' administration's handling of the incident's aftermath, only to be met with sharp criticism from Jones' supporters and mounting evidence countering the narrative.

EAST ST. LOUIS - The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation (JJK) is pleased to announce that 12 arts programs will receive support from the East St Louis Community Arts Access re-granting program. Now in its second year, the program is funded by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and is administered by JJK. “These grants will provide East St. Louis residents with more opportunities to participate in quality arts experiences,” said Mark Fryer, JJK’s COO. “Although our center is well known for athletics, we have a growing arts program, so we’re proud to be collaborating on this community-wide initiative.” The grant recipients include nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and working artists: Angela Alexander, Mykael Ash, East St. Louis High School Percussion Boot Camp, East St. Louis Center for Performing Arts-SIUE, Genesis Arts Ministry, House of Miles, I AM East St. Louis, Indigo Garden Project, The Inner Ear Youth Ensemble, Katherine Dunham

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The Sunset Hills-based bakery-cafe operator, known locally as Saint Louis Bread Co., is adding chicken sandwiches to its menu. Here's what's in store for customers.

CHICAGO – Building on the administration’s historic funding increases for mental and behavioral health, today Governor Pritzker announced the 2022 State of Illinois Overdose Action Plan, a comprehensive, equity-centric outline for combatting the opioid epidemic. Additionally, the Governor named David T. Jones, as the state’s Associate Secretary for Behavioral Health at the Illinois Department of Human Services, to be known as the Chief Behavioral Health Officer. “Everybody knows somebody who is struggling, and our support systems ought to reflect the universal importance of mental health,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our equity-driven State of Illinois Overdose Action Plan is just one way we’re overhauling the state’s behavioral health support systems – and with Chief Behavioral Health Officer David T. Jones at the helm, I look forward to the progress we’ll continue to make in supporting Illinoisans’ access to help.”

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Ah, MarkMonitor. (Please, my father is “Mr. Monitor.”) MarkMonitor has plenty of clients, few of which have been served competently during its tenure at the forefront of the “War Against Piracy.” HBO cast its lot with MarkMonitor just to watch it try to take down official HBO URLs in an attempt to thwart pirates. Adobe […]

Catch the group behind hits like "Take My Name" and "Close Your Eyes" in St. Louis on March 25.

A blueprint for executive action includes 55 different items Biden can implement without Congress.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — I am deeply honored to witness this momentous occasion, taking in the weight of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Senate confirmation proceedings. Hearing the depth of her qualifications and credentials and her lifelong career of advancing justice makes me so proud as a fellow lawyer and American. There have been 115 Justices on the United States Supreme Court, and Judge Jackson is the very first Black woman to be nominated to the highest court of our land. As a Black woman and as the mother of four daughters, I'm overjoyed that children throughout Illinois and, quite frankly, the world will have a broader, more imaginative view of what's possible for their futures. Judge Jackson stands on the shoulders of Jane Bolin, Constance Baker Motley, and so many Black women of history who dared to strive for more in the legal profession. Like her predecessors, Judge Jackson's achievements today represent the excellence she holds and the potential that is in all of us. Becaus

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EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville seventh- and eighth-grade language arts teacher Mrs. Jordi Harre is one who thrives on giving back to causes she loves, and recently, she designed shirts for Liberty Middle School families to purchase. Harre involved her students in the fundraiser and proceeds were donated to the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis. A total of 98 shirts were sold, allowing Liberty Middle School families to donate a large total of $490 to the Down Syndrome of Great St. Louis. Harre's students also made a video to teach their peers about Down Syndrome Association. The students learned valuable lessons in the fundraiser about assisting others in the community. Harre previously said she loves working at Liberty Middle and that the Edwardsville community is "incredible," in a previous interview. Harre said at that time she loves seeing the students succeed and watching them grow. Harre is a business administration grad from SIUE and obtained a Master's in Education

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SPRINGFIELD – The innovative plan to create a mobile retirement savings account that travels with the worker topped the 100,000 enrollment milestone, Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs said today. Frerichs set up the Secure Choice retirement savings program to combat the retirement savings crisis in Illinois and across the country. Illinois is a national leader in offering an auto-enroll IRA program. Workers in Illinois began saving in July, 2018. “A retirement savings tool that can travel from job-to-job with the worker makes it easier to save, allows a worker to retire with dignity, and saves taxpayer money by reducing the need for publicly funded safety-net programs,” Frerichs said. Today, more than 100,000 workers and 6,400 employers participate in Secure Choice, with $82 million already saved. None of this was possible without Secure Choice. The 100,000 milestone was surpassed in the first quarter of this year. “I chose to enroll in Illinois

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ST. LOUIS-Authorities have released the identities of four people, including a Jefferson County man who died in a major crash on Interstate 57 in Mississippi County Thursday that involved dozens of vehicles and closed highway travel in Southeast Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says William Ryan, 75, of Pevely, was one of five people [...]

CHICAGO - The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced today that it has awarded $4 million in grant funding to support the Certified Recovery Support Specialist (CRSS) Success program. The CRSS Success program prepares students for entry-level positions as behavioral health workers, specifically in the areas of mental health and substance use recovery. The program is administered through IDHS’s Division of Mental Health and was created by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act which Governor Pritzker signed into law in 2019 and is funded by adult-use cannabis tax revenue. IDHS awarded CRSS Success Program grants to 11 post-secondary educational institutions across the state. Recovery Support Specialists work in a variety of capacities, such as inpatient and outpatient mental health and substance use treatment services, mobile crisis teams, recovery homes, and living rooms, which are programs that provide a safe, inviting, home-like atmosphere where individuals can calml

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ILLINOIS - Today, conservative champion Senator Ted Cruz announced he is endorsing Congresswoman Mary Miller for re-election in Illinois' 15th District. "I'm proud to endorse Mary Miller for Congress in Illinois' 15th Congressional District, and I ask my fellow patriots to support her," said Sen. Cruz. "Mary is a conservative and the kind of fighter we need in Congress who works every day to secure our border, protect life, and protect the Second Amendment." "Senator Ted Cruz is a conservative champion, and I am honored to have his endorsement," said Congresswoman Mary Miller. “I am proud to fight alongside Senator Cruz to protect our Second Amendment, defend the unborn, and stop the Democrat takeover of our elections. We will never back down in our fight against Joe Biden and the Democrats’ America Last agenda." "Grassroots conservatives across the country follow Senator Cruz's lead because he is an unapologetic conservative, and he is not afraid to take on the corrupt

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SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that applications are now being accepted for grants to provide public transportation providers with paratransit vehicles. Municipalities and local governments, as well as nonprofit agencies providing specialized transportation to seniors or individuals with disabilities, are encouraged to apply. “Public transportation is an essential service throughout the state in rural, suburban and urban communities,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “These grants – and the paratransit vehicles they provide – are an important part of our continued efforts to ensure everyone has safe, equitable access to the transportation they depend on.” The deadline to apply is May 2. Through its Consolidated Vehicle Procurement program, IDOT purchases accessible paratransit vehicles on behalf of eligible recipients using various federal funding sources. Applications should be submitted

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Over the past year I've gotten interested in the steady decline of children's mental health. I haven't looked into it in any depth, though, so I was interested in a survey of the topic by Judith Warner in the Washington Post Magazine yesterday. First off, she takes on the possibility that the crisis is an ...continue reading "Why do today’s kids have such big mental health problems?"

A preliminary investigation revealed no evidence of defense wounds or a struggle. Police are now calling it a suspicious death that is possibly a suicide.

An online business specializing in buying and selling precious metals could face millions of dollars in civil penalties for defrauding Missouri investors.

EDWARDSVILLE - Edwardsville High School history teachers Jill Gibson and Dave Dougherty are giving students the opportunity to learn a different side of American history. The pair designed a class called Black Experience that focuses on people and events in history that are not often talked about. “As a history teacher, we talk so much about the same people and the same things,” said Dougherty. “Every year, history gets longer, and we don’t have enough time to dedicate to other groups of people who don’t get talked about a lot. History tends to focus on the same people over and over. And when it comes to black history, it's typically along the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King, Harriett Tubman, and Rosa Parks. But there are so many other people.” Both Gibson and Dougherty were involved with the creation of the class. Gibson is in her 18 th year at EHS, while Dougherty is in his seventh year. “With the racial reconning that our country has gone

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The new brewery will feature a barrel-aging program and create seasonal beers using local ingredients.