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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois State Police (ISP) intensified efforts to combat vehicle theft, hijacking, and related violent crimes between July and September 2025, utilizing grant funding from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Illinois Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention and Insurance Verification Council. ISP received a $10 million grant for the first fiscal year, followed by additional funding of $677,000 in June 2024 and $637,500 in July 2025 to support these initiatives. During the third quarter of 2025, ISP conducted 40 missions targeting stolen and hijacked vehicles and related violent crimes. The operations resulted in the recovery of 280 stolen or hijacked vehicles, 21 arrests related to stolen vehicles, and four arrests for vehicle hijacking. Law enforcement also seized 13 firearms connected to these crimes. The agency deployed 30 K9 units and conducted 34 air operations in support of these efforts. Forensic laboratories handled 1,287 assignments

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Flock Safety, the police technology company most notable for their extensive network of automated license plate readers spread throughout the United States, is rolling out a new and troubling product that may create headaches for the cities that adopt it: detection of “human distress” via audio. As part of their suite of technologies, Flock has been pushing Raven, […]

St. Louis police are investigating a report of possible shots fired inside a north St. Louis manufacturing plant Wednesday afternoon.

CHICAGO – Two Illinois Lottery players are now millionaires after each snagged a $1 million prize in Saturday night’s Powerball® drawing. The winning tickets were purchased at retailers in Rochelle and Colona, where excitement is running high among employees and customers alike. The first $1 million winning ticket was bought at Shell, located at 1350 Cleveland Road in Colona. The second $1 million winning Powerball ticket was purchased at Road Ranger, located at 890 East Highway 38 in Rochelle. Both tickets matched all five of the main numbers — 13, 16, 18, 20, and 27 — in Saturday’s Powerball drawing, missing only the Powerball number, 10, to win the game’s second-highest prize of $1 million. Employees at both locations were thrilled by the news. “Stop it! Are you serious?,” gasped Mellissa, manager at the Colona Shell, when she heard the news. She quickly shared it with a nearby coworker, who shouted, “We did!? No way!

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This report has been updated. WASHINGTON — A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday, blocking the Trump administration from moving forward with the thousands of layoffs it initiated after the government shutdown began Oct. 1, as well as any others that officials might want to carry out.   The hearing in the U.S. District […]

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) issued the following statement on today’s oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais : “All Americans should have a fair say in who represents them in Congress. Led by a President who tried stealing an election, Republicans have lost all respect for election integrity. We’re now witnessing a never-before-seen political pressure campaign to rig elections by enabling politicians to choose their voters—not the other way around. “Rather than tit-for-tat political games, the American people deserve stability at the voting booth. The Voting Rights Act has provided that consistency for decades—but faces escalating attacks from Republicans dead-set on politicizing election administration. “By ruling in favor of Black voters in Louisiana, the Supreme Court can protect fair representation

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SPRINGFIELD - Today, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) joined Innovative Rail Technologies (IRT) and Motive Power Resources, Inc. (MPR) to celebrate the commissioning of their latest zero-emission, battery electric locomotive. Bolstered by a Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois (REV Illinois) agreement , Motive Power Resources, Inc. has been expanding their facilities to increase production of IRT-designed battery electric locomotives and battery configurations to retrofit diesel locomotives for use in the United States and Canada.“I am proud to stand with Innovative Rail Technologies and Motive Power Resources as they unveil the latest in zero-emission, battery electric locomotive technology being made right here in Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker . “This advancement will make rail systems nationwide more reliable, more efficient, and more resilient – all while solidifying Illinois leadership

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A Venezuelan woman sentenced last month in a wrong-way crash that killed in an 11-year-old boy in St. Louis County now faces a lawsuit.

Will the Supreme Court restrain an unconstitutional power grab?

EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Chaya Gopalan, PhD, a professor in both SIUE’s School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB) and School of Nursing (SON), leads a partnership between STEM faculty of collaborating four-year and two-year institutions awarded $2 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant, titled "Developing STEM Education Reform Leaders through a Multidisciplinary and Cross-institutional Community Transformation,” supports the development of STEM education by introducing an innovative teaching model known as “Flipped Teaching” to faculty members across Illinois. The amount of $1,228,850 goes directly to SIUE and their partnering two-year institution St. Louis Community College (STLCC). Gopalan will be the lead Principal Investigator (PI) collaborating with Co-Principal Investigator Sharon Locke, PhD, Director of SIUE’s STEM Center. “Our goal is to empower a dedicated

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SAVOY - On Tuesday, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) met with air traffic controllers at the University of Illinois Willard Airport to hear how they are being impacted by the government shutdown. While air traffic are seldom furloughed during a shutdown because of their essential role, they are not paid. “My visit with air traffic controllers at Willard Airport underscored exactly why we must work to reopen the government as quickly as possible,” said Congresswoman Budzinski . “The workers I spoke with shared deep concerns about their ability to pay their bills and the strain caused by staffing shortages resulting from this shutdown. On top of that, the public safety risks that come with an understaffed and under-supported air traffic control system demand we act quickly. For the sake of our air traffic controllers and the traveling public, I urge my Republican colleagues to come to the table and reach a deal to end this crisis.” The shutdown has

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BETHESDA, MD. — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, underwent a preplanned medical procedure Monday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to address residual pain and mobility issues related to her combat wounds, a spokesperson said. The procedure, described as long-awaited, aims to improve Duckworth’s physical condition. According to the statement, the senator expects to return to Capitol Hill later this week. Duckworth has been open about the lasting effects of injuries sustained during her military service. The latest procedure reflects ongoing efforts to manage those challenges while continuing her legislative duties.

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CHICAGO - Bob Fioretti, a civil rights attorney and two-time Chicago alderman, announced his candidacy for Illinois Attorney General, positioning himself as a Republican challenger critical of the current officeholder’s ties to political insiders and donors. Fioretti, who switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party several years ago, said the Democratic Party “abandoned family, faith, and fiscal responsibility,” prompting his change. He launched his campaign with a pledge to serve as “the people’s lawyer,” rejecting what he described as the influence of politicians, donors, and insiders on the Attorney General’s office. “As your Attorney General, I will fight for common sense values we all share: standing up FOR crime victims instead of violent criminals, FOR our citizens instead of illegal aliens, FOR parents instead of teachers’ unions, and FOR taxpayers instead of corrupt politicians,” Fioretti said. He emphasized

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An Illinois man appeared in Madison County Circuit Court on Tuesday and was sentenced for torching his ex-wife’s home.

A former major with the city's corrections department says she was demoted after taking workers compensation and raising concerns about health and safety at the jail.