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Budzinski Leads Illinois Delegation in Letter to Protect Head Start

2 months 1 week ago
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) led the Illinois delegation in a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., urging the importance of maintaining Head Start programs. The members sent the letter after the release of an alleged internal memo from the Office of Management and Budget, which instructed HHS to fully dismantle the Office of Head Start. The members write , “This year, Illinois Head Start and Early Head Start programs are expected to receive over $478 million in grants to serve over 28,000 children and their families across the State of Illinois. If Head Start were to lose this funding and shut down, it would be a direct attack on our most at-risk children, their well-being, and their families.” Congresswoman Budzinski, a strong advocate for increased funding for Head Start, emphasized the importance of these programs in fostering early childhood development. Head Start supports

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GCSD9 Announces Summer Food Service Program

2 months 1 week ago
GRANITE CITY – Granite City Community Unit School District #9 announced plans for its summer food service program, which is set to begin on Wednesday, May 28. Breakfast and lunch will be served Monday through Friday, and all meals must be consumed in the cafeteria. Meals will be free and available for children ages 0-18. Breakfast and lunch will be served at two schools in June: Granite City High School and Lake Educational Support Services Center, and just GCHS in July and August. The District will be closed on Thursday, June 19. Granite City High School - 3148 Fehling Road May 29-June 27 (Monday-Friday) July 7-31 (Monday-Friday) August 1-8 (Monday-Friday) Breakfast: 7:30-10 a.m. Lunch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Lake Educational Support Services Center - 3201 E. 23rd Street May 28-June 25 (Monday-Friday) Breakfast: 7:30-10 a.m. Lunch: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. To view the breakfast and lunch menus, visit: https://www.gcsd9.net/info/breakfast-and-lunch-menus

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Help first generation students succeed with College Bound on Give STL Day!

2 months 1 week ago
SPONSORED – This week marks one of the most impactful charitable events in the region: Give STL Day, and College Bound is stepping into the spotlight with a powerful message of opportunity, empowerment, and transformation. From April 28th through April 30th, College Bound and Give STL day are rallying community support to help first-generation students [...]

Illinois Celebrates Innovation Month with Major STEAM Expo

2 months 1 week ago
SPRINGFIELD – Last month, Governor JB Pritzker proclaimed April to be Innovation and Technology Month in Illinois. To celebrate, the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) co-hosted its second annual Career Spark STEAM Expo, in collaboration with Junior Achievement and the Learning Technology Center of Illinois, where they hosted more than 1,400 8th grade students and over 60 exhibitors. School districts representing Central Illinois students and professionals came together and explored the career possibilities in Illinois with an emphasis on those pertaining to science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics fields. “As someone married to a teacher, I see firsthand how curiosity and learning shapes young minds,” said Acting Secretary and State CIO Brandon Ragle . “Events like this help bridge the classroom and real-world careers, inspiring students and supporting our community’s future.” The STEAM Expo was a vibran

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Federal Court Says Cell Tower Dumps Violate The Fourth Amendment

2 months 1 week ago
Things continue to change thanks to the Supreme Court’s Carpenter decision. Prior to that, it was assumed the Third Party Doctrine justified all sorts of data dragnets, so long as the data was held by a third party. But that doctrine assumed the data being grabbed by law enforcement was being handed over knowingly and […]
Tim Cushing

In battle against transgender rights, Trump targets HUD’s housing policies

2 months 1 week ago
There is an intense focus on transgender people as the Department of Housing and Urban Development retreats from long-established fair-housing protections by closing their discrimination complaints and moving to undo the Obama-era Equal Access Rule that cemented transgender people’s rights to discrimination protection in housing. The
HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and SALLY HO

Lewis and Clark Hosting AI Summit for Campus & Community  

2 months 1 week ago
GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College is inviting the campus and community to its first ever summit on artificial intelligence at 2:15 p.m., Tuesday, May 6, in the Hatheway Cultural Center’s Ann Whitney Olin Theatre, following the State of Trailblazer Nation at 1 p.m. “AI is here and it’s not going anywhere,” LC President Ken Trzaska said. “We are interested in how we can utilize AI as a tool and a partner, rather than a roadblock to higher education.” An interdepartmental mover team comprising faculty and staff have spent the last year or so diving into the world of AI and developing policies and a guidebook for how its use might look like at the college, for both administrative and academic use. Joliet Junior College President Clyne Namuo will share his experience with an AI version of himself called “Cyber Clyde” that is utilized at JCC. Canyon GBS Founder Joseph Licata will be the keynote speaker, offering a

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Local High Schools Build Tiny Shelters for Unhoused Community Members

2 months 1 week ago
MADISON COUNTY - Hand Up Housing has started a new initiative where high school students can build shelters for unhoused community members. The 2025 Tiny Build Partnership has allowed students from Alton High School, Roxana High School, Southwestern High School and Triad High School to construct tiny shelters, which will be used to house individuals experiencing homelessness. The nonprofit Hand Up Housing has spearheaded this program to combat street homelessness in Madison County. “Our main goal right now is the Tiny Shelter Build Program with high schools,” said Maddie Bugger, the Hand Up Housing Director of Finance & Marketing. “I think people in our community really get engaged with the youth side of nonprofits. We have built this nonprofit to have an umbrella effect. There’s so many different puzzle pieces to make this a big picture that’s going to work and be successful.” The Madison County Employment and Training Workforce Program provide

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Godfrey's Arbor Day Celebration to Honor Lost Loved Ones with Ceremony and Fun

2 months 1 week ago
GODFREY - A special ceremony is planned this weekend to honor lost loved ones in Godfrey. The Village of Godfrey will host their annual Arbor Day celebration on May 10, 2025, at Glazebrook Park. The day kicks off at 9 a.m. with a Youth Fishing Derby , followed by face painting, crafts, games, and vendors until 3 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., a Memorial Tree Dedication Ceremony will recognize the people for whom trees, benches and bricks have been dedicated to them in the park. “I think just about anybody in town knows of someone or has a family member that has a tree that’s been planted for them,” said Chris Logan, Godfrey’s Parks and Recreation Director. “It’s a very symbolic gesture. I think when you lose someone and you can plant a tree, which represents new life and growth, kind of moving on and learning to live without them, which is hard, but it’s a nice way for people to remember those they love.” A local reverend will bless the ceremony,

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