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Statement from Comptroller Baringer regarding her request to the Civil Service Commission to investigate the issuance of payroll checks

PONTOON BEACH – The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that in addition to the ongoing closure of Illinois 111 at Interstate 270 in Madison County, a full closure of the ramp from northbound Illinois 111 to eastbound I-270 will begin, weather permitting, Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. This closure is expected to last approximately 14 days as part of the I-270/Illinois 111 interchange reconstruction project. The posted detour for the ramp closure is as follows: Southbound Illinois 111 to eastbound Illinois 162, then northbound I-255 to eastbound I-270. Two additional outer ramps will be closed for 14 days, each at different times. Specific closure dates will be announced as the work progresses. Work on the entire interchange is anticipated to be completed by the end of October. Motorists should expect delays and are encouraged to use alternate routes during these closures. Drivers are urged to reduce speed, be alert for changing conditions, obey all construction

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Downtown Summer Nights — presented by Greater St. Louis, Inc. — is one of many efforts to increase vibrancy, boost local businesses, and encourage foot traffic in Downtown St. Louis […]

The post Downtown Summer Nights: Outdoor Concert: Matt “The Rattlesnake” Lesch appeared first on Explore St. Louis.

Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast about the latest news in online speech, from Mike Masnick and Everything in Moderation‘s Ben Whitelaw. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Pocket Casts, YouTube, or your podcast app of choice — or go straight to the RSS feed.

These days the president of the United States files frivolous lawsuits at an alarming clip, including against news outlets that displease him. He’s far from the only prominent public figure abusing the federal court system in this way, steering scarce judicial resources away from meritorious lawsuits by ordinary people who have suffered serious damages.

And yet, Congress has not seen fit to pass a federal “anti-SLAPP” law to stop billionaires and politicians from pursuing strategic lawsuits against public participation. But powerless prisoners? That’s another story. If they want access to the federal courts they need to navigate the Prison Litigation Reform Act — a maze of onerous procedural requirements. It’s supposedly intended to stop the courts from being burdened by inmates’ frivolous lawsuits.

We held a webinar to discuss the PLRA’s impact on incarcerated journalists and the journalists on the outside who cover the prison system, featuring Jeremy Busby, a journalist and Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) columnist who is incarcerated in Texas, and American Civil Liberties Union attorneys Nina Patel and Corene Kendrick. Patel is senior policy counsel at the ACLU Justice Division and Kendrick is the deputy director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project.

As Kendrick explained, the PLRA originated as one of the Clinton administration’s “tough on crime” initiatives as it pivoted right in preparation for the 1996 presidential election. The law was enacted despite a lack of evidence that incarcerated people file baseless lawsuits any more frequently than anyone else, presidents or otherwise. She said the law “singles out one disfavored group of people and categorically denies them equal access to the courts.”

She described how the harm extends beyond the impacted litigants, as the kinds of court filings foreclosed by the PLRA are “oftentimes the best way that information about conditions in our nation’s prisons and jails reach the public and members of the media.”

“The PLRA has, in practice, served as a real barrier for journalists to get any sort of information” about facilities that “get billions and billions of dollars a year to lock up human beings,” Kendrick said. “The ability to communicate with the outside world is so circumscribed and is monitored and recorded. And you know, once something gets to a federal court and it’s filed on the docket, it is out there.”

But when the court dismisses a case for procedural reasons without any consideration of whether the claims are true, all journalists are left with are untested allegations that they rarely have the resources to corroborate. “That happens all the time, and unfortunately, and it adversely affects journalists greatly,” Kendrick said.

Lawsuits are also the only recourse available to incarcerated journalists, who often report relentless retaliation when their work upsets prison officials. That’s what happened to Busby when he helped expose deplorable conditions inside the prison where he was housed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Busby said he was transferred to four prisons, each overcrowded with people sick with COVID, before landing in a cell without a mattress or sheets, where he was kept for six weeks. His property was damaged or seized, and he was written bogus disciplinary charges that were later overturned.

He brought a federal lawsuit, but because he was retaliated against in four different prisons, the judge said the PLRA required four separate lawsuits in four different courts. “I wasn’t able to successfully keep up with four active litigations in four different courts in four different counties, from the solitary confinement cell that I was being held in,” Busby explained, resulting in his lawsuits each being dismissed on procedural grounds before the merits of his claims could be adjudicated.

Busby is a college graduate and accomplished writer — if he can’t navigate the PLRA, it is all the more difficult for an average member of the prison population to do so. Even the experienced lawyers on the webinar acknowledged how challenging it can be to comply with the PLRA when representing their incarcerated clients. Incarcerated litigants, Busby noted, must also pay court fees — in his case, a $400 fee became $1,600 when his lawsuit was split into four.

“You don’t get paid for work here in Texas, and so most guys, they don’t even want the $400 thing against their account because their family members can maybe send $20 for toothpaste and deodorant every month or so, or every two or three months, and they don’t want to sacrifice their deodorant and toothpaste money to pursue this lawsuit,” he said.

So what’s the point of the PLRA? As Patel noted, “The courts are well equipped to throw out lawsuits that are frivolous,” and do so every day in cases involving non-incarcerated people. Patel believes the real problem the PLRA is meant to address isn’t that incarcerated people file so many invalid claims — it’s that they file so many valid ones.

With around two million people incarcerated in the United States, “a functional system where someone can go to the courts and have their constitutional violations in prison litigated and then compensated would break most prison systems in this country,” Patel explained. “That is the dirty truth of the PLRA.”

She added, “Everyone knows, and it’s not a secret, that it would bankrupt the system, and it would break it, and that we couldn’t do what we do in this country, which is lead the world in mass incarceration.”

Watch the full webinar here, and subscribe to our newsletters to get notice of future events.

Note: FPF Advocacy Director Seth Stern, who authored this article and moderated the webinar, is on the board of Busby’s nonprofit organization, JoinJeremy.

Community Cuts for Kids is celebrating 24 years of providing free haircuts and back-to-school necessities to children in St. Louis, founded by Craig Blac of The Burton & Craig Shields Foundation.

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) will offer plenty of public health information and services, along with some giveaways, in its two locations at the Illinois State Fair. The Springfield fair runs August 7-17, 2025. “It is almost time for the annual Illinois State Fair, and I can’t wait to enjoy this truly, unique Illinois experience,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “As you enjoy the food and fun, please stop by one of IDPH’s two exciting locations to learn valuable information to keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy. We look forward to seeing you at the Fairgrounds.” The IDPH main tent will be located on the east side of the Annex Building, just across from the Lincoln Stage. A different IDPH program will be spotlighted each day of the fair: Thursday, August 7: the Oral Health program Friday, August 8: Office of Racial and Cultural Health Equity (ORCHE) Saturday, August 9: Children’s Health

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BELLEVILLE — A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support Christine Rejniak, a Belleville-area woman facing significant medical challenges after a cancer diagnosis, according to organizer Ashley R. Christine Rejniak, described by Ashley as a devoted mother, sister, daughter and wife, has been recognized for her selflessness and dedication to her family and community. Ashley said Rejniak has cared for their grandmother and father following strokes, managed a company overseeing hundreds of properties, and regularly provided food, furniture, jobs and donations to those in need. The fundraiser aims to assist with Rejniak’s medical expenses, potential loss of income and other hospital bills during what Ashley called “a very scary time.” Ashley encouraged contributions of any amount, including messages of support. On July 30, 2025, Ashley provided an update on Rejniak’s condition, stating that she will require surgery, radiation and intravenous chemotherapy.

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MADISON - Tiffany Rogers is organizing a fundraiser to support Dyllan Williams, a former Madison Junior High School student who was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The fundraiser aims to assist Dyllan and his mother, Lakisha, with medical expenses and daily living costs during this challenging period. Dyllan became ill during what was expected to be a typical summer break, experiencing a high fever that persisted for several days. After attempts to treat his symptoms at home proved unsuccessful, Lakisha took him to the emergency room, where doctors confirmed the cancer diagnosis. Since then, Dyllan has undergone five surgeries and continues to receive chemotherapy treatments every other week, along with regular blood tests. Lakisha has left her job to provide full-time care for her son, a decision that has significantly impacted the family’s financial situation. The fundraiser seeks contributions from the community to help cover medical bills, transportation,

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SPRINGFIELD – State fairgoers can get a deal on camping at any Illinois state park or historic site with a campground through the end of the year in honor of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' 100th anniversary in 2025. Visitors to Conservation World at the Illinois State Fair can stop by the Illinois State Parks: A Century of Fun tent to pick up a coupon good for one free night of camping at any Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) site with the purchase of at least one additional night of camping. Only 100 coupons will be available each day during the fair. “What better way to celebrate IDNR’s centennial than by offering a special deal on camping at one of the state’s many breathtaking parks and historic sites,” said IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie. “Fall will be here soon, and I encourage everyone to experience camping at one of our sites as the leaves change color and the autumn nights cool down.” During

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GRAFTON - Destination Totem Poles are found all over the world and are meant to portray destinations that visitors may have come from when visiting a town. Each sign’s mounting direction is correct by compass; distance from Grafton is given in nautical miles. The pole has been a fixture on Grafton’s riverfront for many years and has recently been refurbished, with new signs added. Grafton resident Tom Lenkman made the signs and Emily Gilmore, Cheryl Pfeiffer, Jennifer Beuhuer and Lou Lenkman designed and painted them. Many citizens donated paint to help defray costs. Lou said, “We originally did a Facebook poll and asked locals to name a place that they may have visited. This year we added 5 new signs. Each sign represents a place accessible by boat from Grafton; actually, that’s anywhere in the world. The top sign is for the veterans—Omaha Beach, Normandy, France—WWII, and the bottom sign is for Grafton; 'Start your journey here.’ The others

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The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday terminated a $7 billion grant program that was intended to help pay for residential solar projects for more than 900,000 lower-income U.S. households.

From STLToday: ST. CHARLES — A series of farm fields along Highway 370 in the floodplain here could soon be transformed into a sprawling 440-acre data center. The plan is sparking environmental and operational concerns from city leaders and residents, who filled the St. Charles City Hall meeting room on Tuesday night. They worry the […]

The post Proposed 440-Acre Data Center in St. Charles Faces Headwinds from Area Residents appeared first on Construction Forum.

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Governor JB Pritzker and Illinois State Fair officials unveiled the 2025 Butter Cow in the Dairy Building today. Inspired by this year’s fair theme of “Adventure Awaits,” sculptor Sarah Pratt’s creation captures the spirit of the fair through the eyes of an adventurer. While the Butter Cow is the undisputed star of the show, the cow has a delightful companion – an adventurer seeking hidden treasures across the fairgrounds. As in years past, 13 hearts have been hidden between the two displays to signify the 13 essential nutrients found naturally in milk. Pratt was joined this year by her husband and twin daughters, Hannah and Grace, 21. “My daughters would always find heart-shaped rocks and hidden treasures in everyday life, and that is what this year’s sculpture is all about,” said Sarah Pratt, Illinois State Fair butter cow sculptor . “With our additional sculpture located across from the dairy cow,

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GODFREY - Evangelical United Church of Christ invites the community to come out for a special back-to-school service where you can meet Evangelical School’s teachers, tour the school, and praise God. At 10 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, the service will commission the school’s teachers and staff members. The church will also vow to once again serve alongside the school. Intentional interim minister Reverend Tim Darmour-Paul expressed his excitement to share the service with members of the school community and beyond. “We commission for their ministry to the school and the students for the upcoming year,” he explained. “They will all come forward in front of the congregation, and they will promise to serve God and serve the kids and serve the families. And we will, as a church, promise to serve with them and support them.” Past and present students and their families, teachers, staff members and congregation members are invited. After the

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