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An O’Fallon, Missouri Family is suing multiple police departments after a man died in an officer-involved shooting.

The crash occurred about 12:30 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is reminding residents of Jo Daviess and Carroll counties that a black bear has been observed by multiple landowners over the past several weeks in the vicinity of Mississippi Palisades State Park and, in recent days, frequenting private residences south and east of Galena. Seeing a bear may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and their presence should not necessarily be perceived as a threat to human safety. Nevertheless, it’s important to remember bears are wild animals and should be treated as such. IDNR encourages residents throughout Jo Daviess and Carroll counties to avoid direct encounters with this bear and to check their property for food sources that may attract it to their residences. Through learned behavior, bears often investigate anything that may yield a food reward, such as bird feeders, barbeque grills, garbage cans, and dog food. Once a bear finds a food source, it will likely return,

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Two weeks ago the Supreme Court rejected an effort by a dodgy right wing activists to destroy an $8 billion FCC program that connects poor and rural communities to the internet. The plaintiff in the case, a fake right wing “consumer group,” had tried to argue that the bipartisan subsidy (the Universal Service Fund, or […]

MISSOURI - Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe has signed a bill that provides tuition coverage for public safety personnel and their families under specific conditions. “This legislation reflects that commitment and the bipartisan work to get it here,” said Kehoe. “It truly was a bipartisan bill, and public safety is not partisan." The Public Safety Recruitment and [...]

CHAMPAIGN - On Friday, July 11, 2025, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) led an important discussion on the future of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program in Illinois, held at Wagner Machine Company, a local business participating in the program. The event brought together key stakeholders to address concerns over the Trump Administration’s proposal to eliminate the program, which has been a cornerstone of economic growth and job creation in the district. “The impact the MEP program has had on our district cannot be overstated,” said Congresswoman Budzinski . “MEP has aided local business, generating millions in new investments and creating and maintaining good-paying jobs right here at home. Threats to this program are yet another attempt by the administration to cut funding that is doing real good in our communities. Today's tour made clear that if we are going to truly support small and mid-sized manufacturers like Wagner, we must

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ALTON – A 72-year-old Alton man remains in custody on criminal charges of sexual abuse and more against a 14-year-old victim. David A. Gray, 72, of the 100 block of East 14th Street in Alton, was charged on July 3, 2025 with the following offenses: Attempted criminal sexual assault (Class 2 felony) Aggravated criminal sexual abuse (Class 2 felony) Indecent solicitation of a child (two counts, both Class 3 felonies) Battery (two counts, both Class A misdemeanors) Gray is accused of committing and attempting to commit acts of sexual abuse by use of force against a female victim who was 14 years old at the time of the offenses. He is also accused of soliciting the same victim and asking them to perform sexual acts on at least two occasions, as well as inappropriately touching and forcibly kissing the same victim. The investigation began after the victim reported the sexual abuse to the Alton Police Department on June 5, 2025, according to the state’s petition

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JERSEYVILLE — The Jersey County Fair rodeo on Thursday night, July 10, 2025, drew one of the largest crowds in recent memory, according to Phil Ringhausen of the fair. The event nearly reached a sellout. This year’s rodeo featured Whippoorwill, a new rodeo company brought in to elevate the quality of the show. Whippoorwill Rodeo of Macedonia, Illinois, is owned and operated by past, present, and future rodeo champions. With over 25 years of rodeo experience on both sides of the arena as rodeo contestants & stock contractor’s the company's overall mission is to keep the legacy of America’s original extreme sport alive for generations to come. The company's other part of the mission is to preserve the values of Western heritage and the cowboy way of life. “We had changed rodeo companies not because of any issues, but because we wanted a different grade of show,” Ringhausen said. “They did a phenomenal job with entertainment. Rated No. 1 in

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ALTON - Residents of the 1st Ward are invited to attend a community meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will take place at City Hall. Chris Bohn, the 1st Ward alderman, announced the gathering and said John Mitchell, the newly appointed Public Works Director, will be present to address questions about upcoming projects, road conditions, and other related concerns. The meeting offers an opportunity for residents to engage directly with local officials regarding public works and community issues. Bohn expressed anticipation for the event, encouraging attendance.

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FOX 2 obtained exclusive documents about the East St. Louis community pool delay.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is asking for the public's help with locating a suspect accused of fatally shooting another man's dog.

O’FALLON – An ordinance to keep a 1% sales tax on groceries in place to offset over $1 million in potential revenue loss is set for a final vote from the O’Fallon City Council. The ordinance received a first reading at this week’s City Council meeting and is set for a second reading and vote for final approval at their next meeting on Monday, July 21, 2025. The need for such an ordinance stems from the Illinois General Assembly’s vote in 2024 to repeal the state grocery tax effective Jan. 1, 2026. Since 100% of the proceeds from the state grocery tax went directly to local municipalities, O’Fallon joins a growing list of communities faced with either replacing the state grocery tax with a local version or finding another way to make up for the significant revenue loss. “If the grocery tax is not retained, the General Fund would experience a loss of approximately $1.2 million per year,” according to the City Council meeting documents

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Officials are considering asking voters to eliminate a provision in the city charter that clashes with a voter-approved change to city election law.

Officials from the office of Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced Wednesday that letters have been sent to major companies with Artificial Intelligence bots due to what he claims has been a "new wave of censorship targeted at our president."

Dear Friend of Press Freedom,

It’s the 107th day that Rümeysa Öztürk is facing deportation by the United States government for writing an op-ed it didn’t like, and the 27th day that Mario Guevara has spent behind bars for covering a protest. Read on for news on more recent affronts by the government on the free press.

LA journalists reflect on protest attacks

Journalists covering recent demonstrations in California have been assaulted, detained, shot with crowd-control munitions, and had their equipment searched — simply for doing their jobs.

Independent journalists from Los Angeles talk to FPF about the attacks from law enforcement they endured while covering recent demonstrations.

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Independent reporters are especially vulnerable. We hosted an online discussion with some of them — Ben Camacho, Sean Beckner-Carmitchel and Tina-Desiree Berg — to hear their firsthand accounts of their efforts to uphold the public’s right to know. We were also joined by Adam Rose, press rights chair at the Los Angeles Press Club, which, along with others, has sued law enforcement agencies for violating freedom of the press at the recent protests. Since our discussion, the judge in one of those lawsuits has ordered the Los Angeles Police Department to stop violating the First Amendment rights of journalists covering protests.

Listen to the conversation here.

New Jersey prosecutors ignore Constitution

Prosecutors are pursuing blatantly unconstitutional criminal charges against two Red Bank, New Jersey, journalists for declining to remove a police blotter entry about an arrest from a news website after the arrest was expunged, as FPF’s U.S. Press Freedom Tracker first reported.

They’re alleged to have engaged in disorderly conduct by revealing the existence of an arrest, knowing that the arrest record has been expunged or sealed, in violation of New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 2C:52-30.

We said in a press release that “prosecuting journalists for declining to censor themselves is alarming and blatantly unconstitutional … Any prosecutors who would even think to bring such charges either don’t know the first thing about the Constitution they’re sworn to uphold, or don’t care.” Read more here.

The rise and fall of FOIA Gras

Tom Hayden never intended to become a journalist. But in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hayden decided to look into how his local school district in Evanston, Illinois, was making decisions about when to send kids back to school.

That led to his Substack newsletter, FOIA Gras. As the name implies, it focused on Freedom of Information Act-based reporting. He broke important stories about local schools and more, and FOIA Gras became an invaluable resource for Evanstonians.

But earlier this year, he decided to shut it down after growing tired of the personal toll of being an unpaid citizen journalist covering politically charged news. Read more here.

Secrecy surrounds ICE’s for-profit detention network

President Donald Trump’s signature budget legislation allocates Immigration and Customs Enforcement a staggering $45 billion to expand immigrant detention efforts. Much of this money will go towards tripling ICE’s for-profit detention facility network.

Even though these private facilities hold human beings in federal custody under federal law, they are not subject to FOIA, the federal transparency law. This must change. Read more here.

Speaking of secret police…

Louisiana is the latest state to ignore the First Amendment to restrict journalists and others from recording police up close. Countless important news stories have come from footage of police abuses — which is exactly why we keep seeing laws like these.

We joined a legal brief led by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and National Press Photographers Association. If you’re able, NPPA is definitely an organization you should support. They do an incredible job protecting the rights of photojournalists and all journalists, but they’re in financial trouble and need your help. Read the brief here.

What we’re reading

SPJ urges caution on anti-doxing laws, warns of threat to press freedom (Society of Professional Journalists). Anti-doxing laws, if not drafted carefully, could become tools to punish journalism. Read the letter we signed urging the Uniform Law Commission to pause potential legislation.

‘I am being persecuted’ | Atlanta journalist held in ICE custody releases letter (WALB News). “I am being persecuted for having carried out my journalistic work ... I need to get out in order to continue with my life, return to my work, and support my family,” wrote imprisoned journalist Mario Guevara.

Immigration officials used shadowy pro-Israel group to target student activists (The New York Times). Students exercising their First Amendment rights shouldn’t concern the government. And officials should base decisions on real intelligence, not “research” by amateur internet trolls.

Trump officials want to prosecute over the ICEBlock app. Lawyers say that’s unconstitutional (Wired). “ICE and the Trump administration are under the misimpression that law enforcement in the United States is entitled to operate in secret,” we told Wired.

I chaired the FCC. The ‘60 Minutes’ settlement shows Trump has weaponized the agency (The Guardian). “What was once an independent, policy-based agency is now using its leverage to further the Maga message,” writes former Federal Communications Commission Chair Tom Wheeler.

Gabbard’s team has sought spy agency data to enforce Trump’s agenda (The Washington Post). This retaliation could chill FOIA releases across the government. We are filing FOIA requests to learn how Gabbard’s agency is trying to stifle lawful disclosures.

Wishing for a world where corporate motives didn’t clash with the sacred trust of journalism (Poynter). “The ethics of the professional and the business can bump into each other. When they do, it is imperative that the ethics of the profession take precedence.”

The 50th anniversary of Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album is being celebrated with two new upgraded audio releases. Rhino is set to release the album on Blu-ray Audio and High Fidelity…

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ALTON - Felyncia Matlock has launched a fundraiser to support the family of 17-year-old Shabrya L. Hudson, who died in a tragic shooting incident on the early morning of July 4, 2025. The fundraiser, hosted on GoFundMe , aims to assist the grieving family with financial burdens during this difficult time. Shabrya was described by Matlock and her family as, "Our loving, and beautiful 17-year-old babygirl, was taken from us far too soon. Her loss has left her family devastated, heartbroken, and overwhelmed by grief. She was a sweet, joyful spirit who loved music and spending time with her family. A young life full of promise, taken far too soon." Matlock said the fundraiser was created in response to numerous inquiries from people wanting to help. "Donations will be used to ease immediate expenses, allowing the family to focus on healing without additional financial stress," she said. "The campaign emphasizes that any contribution, regardless of size, will be deeply appreciated."

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Clyde J. Thibodeaux, 67, has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault on minors, spanning a period of 50 years.