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SAN Cafe and Market cited a decline in sales fueled by other businesses leaving downtown for its closure.

“In Touch with Sally Jessy Raphael” debuted as a local 30-minute weekday program on Oct. 17, 1983, airing after “Donahue.” It was shot at KSDK’s studio.

The surveillance camera company Flock sent DeFlock a cease-and-desist. DeFlock is fighting back.

On Monday, FOX 2's Max Diekneite visited some future journalists at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish third grade class.

Alex Meyer, a De Smet Jesuit High grad, has been named as deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

On this date, more than a decade ago, St. Louis native and bowling Hall of Famer Pete Weber delivered a viral quote that continues to captivate sports fans.

It's the final week of heart month, and Tammy Mitchell shares her story about surviving a stroke and how it strengthened her faith in God.

Get a taste of the culinary richness showcased in halal restaurants across the region.

CHICAGO - Today Governor JB Pritzker joined advocates, healthcare professionals, and patients to announce that the latest round of relief in the Illinois Medical Debt Relief Program has abolished more than $220 million dollars in medical debt for approximately, 170,000 additional individuals statewide. The average amount of debt abolished per person during this round is nearly $1,300, bringing the program’s total erased debt to more than $345 million dollars for nearly 270,000 Illinois residents. This event comes on the heels of the Governor’s State of the State address and FY26 proposed budget, where he laid out the state’s plans to make healthcare more affordable and accessible for Illinoisans. “We started this program with a simple premise: in a healthy and functioning society, no one should be in financial ruin simply because they get sick,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This program makes a major impact on the lives of the most vulnerable Illinoisans

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The Memphis Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, are conducting a study on the potential cost of renovations at AutoZone Park.

ST. LOUIS - Nick Vogel, a native of Bethalto, Illinois, is competing on the third season of FOX's hit game show 'The Floor,' which airs Wednesday nights. 'The Floor' is FOX's most-streamed game show debut ever, featuring 100 contestants who compete in trivia with pictures to win a grand prize. The show is filmed in [...]

The secretary whose employment at the Missouri state public defender’s office nearly derailed the agency’s entire budget has been terminated, clearing away legislative opposition during a committee hearing on Wednesday.

by Jesse Coburn

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has gained access to a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development system containing confidential personal information about hundreds of thousands of alleged victims of housing discrimination, including victims of domestic violence.

Access to the system, called the HUD Enforcement Management System, or HEMS, is typically strictly limited because it contains medical records, financial files, documents that may list Social Security numbers and other private information. DOGE sought access, and HUD granted it last week, according to information reviewed by ProPublica and two officials familiar with the matter.

This is just the latest collection of sensitive personal information that DOGE has tried to access in recent weeks. It has also sought personal taxpayer data kept by the IRS and information on Social Security benefit recipients, and it attempted to enter the Treasury Department’s payment systems. DOGE’s stated mission is to modernize government technology and cut excessive or improper spending. The administration of President Donald Trump has argued that DOGE needs “direct access” to such systems to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.”

DOGE’s data-gathering moves at some agencies have sparked forceful pushback, including lawsuits over alleged privacy violations and opposition from career officials who have resigned or retired following access requests. Judges have temporarily blocked DOGE from gaining access to records at the Department of Education, the Office of Personnel Management and the Treasury Department. And, faced with resistance, DOGE agreed to view only anonymized taxpayer data at the IRS.

Few records in the HUD system are redacted or anonymized, and many contain deeply personal material about those who have alleged or been accused of housing discrimination. Domestic violence case files can list addresses to which survivors have relocated for their safety. Harassment cases can include detailed descriptions of sexual assaults. Disability cases can include detailed medical records. Lending discrimination files could feature credit reports and bank statements. The names of witnesses who offered information — in some cases anonymously — about landlords accused of discrimination are among the files as well.

HUD enforces numerous civil rights laws, including the Fair Housing Act and aspects of the Violence Against Women Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Such statutes collectively prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, disability and other characteristics.

HUD officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, voiced concern that DOGE’s access to HEMS could violate the privacy rights of discrimination victims and potentially put them at risk if their information is mishandled or leaked.

The episode is one of many roiling HUD, where the Trump administration is reportedly considering a 50% cut to the nearly 10,000-person workforce. The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, which combats housing discrimination, may see its roughly 500-person staff cut by as much as 76%, according to an unconfirmed projection circulating widely among HUD employees and viewed by ProPublica.

Civil liberties advocates expressed alarm about DOGE’s access to the HUD data, saying it may violate the Privacy Act. “It’s difficult to see why a system dedicated to civil rights complaints would have any impact whatsoever on a department looking for inefficiencies in governmental spending,” said Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Venzke suggested DOGE may use HEMS data as a basis for scaling back housing discrimination enforcement. “There is deep concern that DOGE is not there to identify government inefficiencies, but rather to shutter programs that the administration disagrees with,” he said.

John Davisson, director of litigation at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which is suing DOGE and other federal agencies and officials over DOGE’s access, contended that the department had gained access to HEMS and systems like it “under the false pretenses of identifying fraud and abuse, when what’s really going on is DOGE is trying to gain control over these databases to direct the activities of federal agencies.”

Spokespeople for HUD, the White House and DOGE did not respond to requests for comment (including a question to DOGE about what it plans to do with HEMS). After this article was published, Kasey Lovett, HUD’s head of public affairs, emailed ProPublica and stated, “to be clear, DOGE does not have access to HEMS.” Lovett declined to provide on-the-record evidence for her assertion.

HUD’s Fair Housing office receives tens of thousands of housing discrimination allegations or inquiries annually and investigates — or assigns to state or local agencies — around 8,000 of them each year. Those investigations can last months or years and lead to financial settlements, compliance monitoring and policy reforms by landlords, mortgage lenders, local zoning officials and homeowners associations.

Access to HEMS is usually limited to Fair Housing staffers, HUD attorneys and auditors, and state and local investigators. However, DOGE requested entry, and HUD granted read-only access last week to Michael Mirski, who has a HUD email address and whom officials at the housing agency have identified in internal discussions as being affiliated with DOGE. Mirski did not respond to a request for comment.

Update, Feb. 26, 2025: This article has been updated to include comment from HUD’s head of public affairs, which was provided only after the article was published.

Doris Burke contributed research.

Judge frees Leon Lamb on bond in murder case filed after previous suspect was convicted and then exonerated.

This stupid state. These stupid legislators. This goddamn constituency. This is my current home state. And it is painful to be here. Kristi Noem is now the head of the DHS, presumably because she never asked what this country could do for her, but instead asked “what can I do for Donald Trump?” She kept […]

Springfield, IL – On Wednesday, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) joined Senator Celina Villanueva and Representative Will Davis to unveil legislation to reform the Illinois Commercial Safety Towing Law and crack down on predatory towing practices. ICC Chief of Police Ruben Ramirez Jr. joined the lawmakers at a Springfield press conference to express support for the enforcement changes. “As ICC Chief of Police for the last five years, predatory towing operations have been a consistent thorn in our side. My officers conduct weekly joint details to catch irresponsible towers in the act, and our agency has raised violation fines, but we’re limited with what we can do in our enforcement efforts,” said ICC Police Chief Ruben Ramirez Jr. “Instead of fining the same bad actors again and again, the ICC needs stronger enforcement tools to stop predatory towers from being able to tow peoples’ cars in the first place.” Repeat offenders have racked

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) released the following statement after voting against the House Republican budget resolution. The resolution would raise the federal deficit by more than $4 trillion through tax breaks for billionaires and large corporations. At the same time, it calls for making as much as $2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, nutrition assistance, education programs, and other vital public programs. "This budget proposal from President Trump and House Republicans clearly signals that they care more about tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations than protecting healthcare, nutrition assistance, child care, or early childhood education,” said Congresswoman Budzinski. “By proposing devastating cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, they are risking the well-being of more than 90,000 children in my district. A 60-year-old couple with a household income of $85,000 could see their health insurance costs increase by more than $24,000.

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CHICAGO- Today, Governor JB Pritzker, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Tammy Duckworth, and various members of the Illinois congressional delegation issued a joint letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director, Russell Vought. The letter demands action and accountability from OMB on the approximately $1.88 billion in funding that is being withheld from taxpayers despite numerous court orders and a rescission of the original OMB memo issued on January 27, 2025. The letter provides an update that as of mid-February many agencies and organizations in Illinois have reported an inability to access funds, with some in danger of needing to pause operations, cancel projects, or lay off staff. Impacted grant programs and organizations include, but are not limited to: Nine state agencies, boards, and commissions have a total of $692 million in federal funds obligated but not yet received, and they are unable to access those funds. 10 state agencies, boards, and commissions

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CHICAGO- Today, Governor JB Pritzker delivered remarks on day one of the 2025 Together for Democracy conference, hosted by Democracy Forward at the National Press Club. The Together for Democracy Conference audience included around 250 lawyers, advocates, and organizational leaders working to navigate and counteract the unlawful actions of the Trump administration. Other speakers included Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), and former Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The Governor’s full remarks are included below. 2025 Together for Democracy Conference Tuesday, February 25, 2025 *Remarks as Prepared for Delivery* Good afternoon, everyone! I am honored to be here at the 2025 Democracy Forward Conference. I want to begin with a thank you. Thank you to the lawyers, activists, advocates, and thought leaders assembled here today. Thank you for your late nights, for your early mornings, thank you for leaving family functions to formulate legal

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