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Illinois Treasurer Frerichs Returns $22 Million to Residents in January Through I-CASH

10 months 3 weeks ago
SPRINGFIELD - Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned $22 million to nearly 19,000 people in January through I-CASH, the state’s missing money program. “Returning this money to the rightful owners is better than keeping it in our bank vaults,” Frerichs said. “It helps our state’s economy when people have a little more money in their pockets to spend at local businesses.” Companies and banks turn over uncashed rebate checks, unpaid life insurance claims, forgotten checking accounts and the contents of overlooked safe deposit boxes to the Illinois Treasurer’s Office after a few years. The state treasurer is legally required to return unclaimed property to its owners or their heirs, no matter how long it takes. One way the office tries to return missing money is by highlighting National Unclaimed Property Day (Feb. 1) to encourage people to check the I-CASH website . Media coverage helped set a record this year. For the week ending

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Amber Porter Seeks Community Support For Brother's Recovery After Dog Attack

10 months 3 weeks ago
GRANITE CITY - Amber Porter is spearheading a fundraiser to support her brother, Matt, who was severely injured in a dog attack at his home on Feb. 19, 2025. The incident involved Karma, a pit bull that Matt had rescued eight months prior from an abusive environment. According to Porter, Matt, 35, had taken extensive measures to care for Karma, ensuring she was up to date on her vaccinations and providing a loving home. However, on the day of the attack, Porter described the situation as shocking and unprovoked, stating that “Karma just switched and started attacking him.” Matt, who is currently recovering at SLU Hospital, described the encounter as a “fight for his life.” He emphasized the unexpected nature of the attack, saying it caught him off-guard. The emergency crew reported that he had lost a significant amount of blood, attributing his survival to the adrenaline coursing through his body during the ordeal. At present, Matt is undergoing multiple surgeries,

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Velocity Returns in 2025 at The Wedge in Alton

10 months 3 weeks ago
ALTON — In a move to invigorate the bi-state region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the popular startup workshop series, Velocity, makes its return in a reimagined format and at a new location on March 10th. The TechSTL application-only program will now be led by Vikram Lakhwara and Danielle Deavens of Stakehouse Fund and be housed at the Wedge - a 55,000 square-foot social impact, research lab, think tank, and workspace in downtown Alton, Illinois set for its own grand opening in April. The six-week Velocity series, sponsored by Fidelity Private Shares, will provide a comprehensive startup education at no cost to participants. The curriculum covers essential entrepreneurial fundamentals, including customer discovery, value proposition development, market sizing and competitive analysis, and fundraising strategies. As a special incentive, participating startups will receive exhibition space at STL TechWeek 2025's startup alley. "Access to workshops like these - where founders

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Attorney General Raoul Co-Leads Bipartisan Coalition Urging Congress To Take Action Against Rise In Organized Retail Crime

10 months 3 weeks ago
CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today co-led a bipartisan coalition of 38 states and territories sending a letter urging Congress to take action to address the rise in organized retail crime across the country. “I am urging Congress to reintroduce a bill to combat organized retail crime because the complex nature of these crimes frequently involves multiple jurisdictions at the local, state and federal levels. Organized retail crime can take many forms and is often a mechanism used to support other types of crime. It is imperative that Congress pass national legislation to streamline the sharing of resources and information between law enforcement agencies and states,” Raoul said. “I created an Organized Retail Crime Task Force in Illinois to facilitate collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement. Our bipartisan collaboration is calling for Congress to take action that will allow states to better collaborate and hold accountable the organizations

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St. Louis garbage truck drivers have their pay docked

10 months 3 weeks ago
St. Louis garbage truck drivers recently received a letter from the city's Department of Streets letting them know their pay will be docked 10% for the next three pay periods. KSDK obtained a copy of the letter, which said the docked pay was due to trash pickup delays the city faced after January's snowstorm. "You refused a direct order from supervision to report to your assigned route," the letter said. "Due to the fact that we did not work the previous two days because of weather conditions,…
Hunter Bassler, Mark Maxwell

Missouri Senate committee moves quickly on capital gains tax cut

10 months 3 weeks ago
The first bill passed by the Missouri House that is headed to the Senate floor for debate would exempt long-term capital gains from the state income tax. On a 3-2 party-line vote, the Senate General Laws committee approved the bill to create the new tax deduction. The bill passed the House on Feb. 13, also on a party-line vote, with Republicans supporting the measure and Democrats opposed. If passed into law, the proposal sponsored by House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins, a Republican from Bowling…
Rudi Keller

Gov. Pritzker Delivers Remarks to American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) in the Midwest

10 months 3 weeks ago
CHICAGO - Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined a virtual leadership meeting of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) District 7 to offer guidance and support to leaders as they navigate new protocols from the White House. The leaders on-call represented over 43,000 federal workers of Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. “Federal workers are on the frontlines every single day keeping our country running – protecting our national security, cleaning up our environment, securing the financial future of our seniors, taking care of our veterans. This is some of the most important work in our society and it too often goes unseen,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I have been downright disgusted by the attempts from those in Washington to demonize these jobs – hard, essential work being done by ordinary Americans, for ordinary Americans. This isn’t really about efficiency or saving taxpayer dollars. If it was, we’d be hiring more employees

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Durbin, Crapo Celebrate Senate Passage Of Bipartisan Resolution To Designate February As American Heart Month

10 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID), Co-Chairs of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Caucus, today celebrated Senate passage of their bipartisan resolution to designate February 2025 as American Heart Month. The resolution reaffirms the government’s commitment to fighting cardiovascular disease by supporting research and improving access to affordable, quality care to reduce long-term disability and mortality. “As the leading cause of death in the U.S., heart disease has touched nearly every American family. It’s critical that we advance clinical research and treatments to support those suffering from cardiovascular diseases,” said Durbin. “I’m encouraged that my Senate colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, saw the value in raising awareness around the damaging impacts of cardiovascular disease by passing my resolution with Senator Crapo. I hope together we can use American

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Budzinski Convenes First Hearing as Veterans' Affairs Ranking Member of Technology Modernization Subcommittee

10 months 3 weeks ago
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) helped lead the first hearing as Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization. The hearing focused on the ongoing implementation of the Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program and the VA’s coordination with Oracle. Budzinski urged the VA and Oracle to work together to implement more disciplined project management protocols, bolster staff training modules, and set benchmarks to meet launch deadlines to ensure that the EHRM project accomplishes its goal of improving quality of care for veterans. She also raised concerns regarding the firing of VA employees by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and the impact these actions will have on the VA’s ability to bring these projects online in a manner that can effectively serve our veterans. As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, Rep. Budzinski is focused on streamlining outdated

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Video captures near-miss between Southwest Airlines plane, jet on runway at Chicago's Midway Airport

10 months 3 weeks ago
CHICAGO — A near-miss has been confirmed between a Southwest Airlines planes and a jet on a runway at Chicago's Midway International Airport. The incident happened around 8:50 a.m. Tuesday and was captured on video by Airport Webcams. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released the following statement regarding the incident: The crew of Southwest Airlines Flight 2504 [...]
Marisa Rodriguez