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SPRINGFIELD – A historical marker will be erected later this year on the grounds of the Old State Capitol to commemorate Barack Obama’s momentous 2007 and 2008 presidential campaign announcements from the building’s lawn. The Old State Capitol Foundation and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced the plan today, the 15th anniversary of Obama’s Feb. 10, 2007, announcement in Springfield that he would seek the presidency. He went on to make history as the first African American elected president of the United States and the fourth Illinoisan elected to the office. “From his official presidential announcement to his service in the Statehouse, President Obama’s legacy of leadership began with his service to the people of Illinois,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “This marker of Obama’s historic announcement at the Old State Capitol will ensure his story will forever be a part of Illinois’ history. And alongside the

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It was called the slap heard around the world and I am sure if you were to stop and listen, you can still hear that sound echoing and reverberating from every corner of the earth. It probably went into orbit circling the galaxies. This inspirational sound that I speak of came from the unforgettable moment in the Oscar-winning 1967 drama, In the Heat of the Night , when a righteous bigot slaps Sidney Poitier’s character, Detective Tibbs, in the greenhouse, and Poitier, without missing a beat, slaps the man right back. It was a pivotal scene as well as a pivotal moment in time. It was called the slap heard around the world and if it weren’t for Poitier, audiences would have heard nothing at all. The script called for the white bigot to slap Tibbs without retaliation, a response that did not sit well for him. He told producers to change it or find a new actor. They changed it and a cinematic cultural milestone occurred. Poitier made it clear he would not appear weak or less

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Our Love Story: The Couple: Scott and Paula Steiner from Bethalto Date Met/Started Dating: January 1, 1990 Briefly Describe First Date: We met thru her brother and started dating around Christmas of 1990. Date Married: May 30, 1992 Name Something You Enjoy Doing Together: We love to watch series on Netflix. We also have a side hustle called Killer Kups & Twisted Tumblers. We enjoy working together, for the most part, LoL. We LOVE spending time with our 2 grandchildren, Myra and Kaizen. Share Advice For A Happy Relationship: Happy Wife, Happy Life!

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The federal government has a problem with secrecy. Well, actually it doesn't have a problem with secrecy, per se. That's often considered a feature, not a bug. But federal law says the government shouldn't have so much secrecy, what with the FOIA being in operation. And yet, the government feels compelled to keep secrets from its biggest employer: the US taxpayers.

Over-classification remains a problem. It has been a problem ever since long before a government contractor went rogue with a massive stash of NSA documents, showing that many of the government's secrets should have been shared or, at the very least, more widely discussed as the government turned 9/11 into a constitutional bypass on the information superhighway.

Since then, efforts have been made to dial back the government's proclivity for classifying documents that pose no threat to government operations and/or government security. In fact, the argument has been made (rather convincingly) that over-classification is counterproductive. It's more likely to result in the exposure of so-called secrets rather than secure the blanket-exemption-formality that keeps secrets from the general public.

Efforts have been made to counteract this overwhelming desire to keep the public locked out of discussions about government activities. These efforts have mostly failed. And that has mainly been due to vague and frequent invocations of national security concerns, which allow legislators and federal judges to shut off their brains and hammer the [REDACT] button repeatedly.

But ignoring the problem hasn't made the problem go away, no matter how many billions the federal government refuses to throw at the problem. Over-classification still stands between the public and information it should have access to. And it stands between federal agencies and efficient use of tax dollars. The federal government generates petabytes of data every month. And far too often, the agencies generating the data decide it's no one's business but their own.

It's not just legislators noting the widening gap between the government's massive stockpiles of data and the public's ability to access them. It's also those generating the most massive stashes of bits and bytes, as the Washington Post points out, using the words of an Intelligence Community official.

The U.S. government is drowning in its own secrets. Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, recently wrote to Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) that “deficiencies in the current classification system undermine our national security, as well as critical democratic objectives, by impeding our ability to share information in a timely manner.” The same conclusions have been drawn by the senators and many others for a long time.

As this letter hints at, over-classification doesn't just affect the great unwashed whose power is generally considered to be far too limited to change things. It also affects agencies and the entities that oversee the agencies -- the latter of which are asked to engage in oversight while being locked out of the information they need to perform this task.

If there's any good news here, it's that the Intelligence Community recognizes it's part of the problem. But this is just one person in the IC. It's unlikely every official feels this way.

The government is working towards a solution, but its work is being performed at the speed of government -- something further hampered by the back-and-forth of periodic regime changes and their alternating ideas about how much transparency the government owes to its patrons.

The IC letter writer almost sees a silver lining in the nearly opaque cloud enveloping agencies involved in national security efforts.

So far, Ms. Haines said, current priorities and resources for fixing the classification systems “are simply not sufficient.” The National Security Council is working on a revised presidential executive order governing classified information, and we hope the White House will come up with an ambitious blueprint for modernization.

The silver lining is "so far," and the efforts being made elsewhere to change things. The rest of the non-lining is far less silver: the resources aren't sufficient and the National Security Council is grinding bureaucratic gears by working with the administration to change things. If it doesn't happen soon, changes will be at the discretion of the next administration. And the next administration may no longer feel streamlining declassification is a priority, putting projects that have been in the on-again, off-again works since Snowden's exposes on the back burner yet again.

Our government will never likely feel Americans can be trusted with information about the programs their tax dollars pay for. But perhaps a little more momentum -- this time propelled by something within the Intelligence Community -- will prompt some incremental changes that may eventually snowball into actual transparency and accountability.

The victim was found dead about 1:45 a.m. Thursday in the 7200 block of Norstead Walk.

Sting is the latest rock legend to cash in by selling the rights to his music. MusicWeek reports that Sting has sold his entire songwriting catalog to Universal Music Publishing…

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Do paper piles line your countertops? Does the need to find a form send you into a panic? Are you constantly losing papers that you put in a ‘safe place’ where you are sure to find them, only to lose them? If so, you’re not alone. Papers are the bane of my existence. Nothing screams to me, “I may need this one day”, more than paper. And, because of that, I accumulate piles for that elusive day. I know I’m not alone. Papers are a problem for a lot of people, professional organizers included. At least this one. Yes, I have a strategy for my incoming papers, and a place to file them, but I am still inclined to hold onto too many. I know it, acknowledge it, and claim it. I also know better. But letting them go can be difficult. I’ve gotten much better. It’s easier for me to get rid of papers now, but it has taken me a while to get to this point. If I’m not diligent, I can amass a stack of “I might need that” papers

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The pinnacle of Tim Peel’s career came in the 2014 Winter Games, where he received a bronze medal for the game he refereed.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A car was rear-ended by an 18 wheeler Thursday morning in south St. Louis County. The crash happened on northbound 55 at Butler Hill at about 7:30 a.m. It is unknown if anyone involved was injured. FOX 2's Bommarito Automotive Group SkyFOX helicopter was flying over the scene.

Crawford, 86 was a leader in STL amateur sports and a former national president of the Amateur Athletics Union. The AAU's lifetime achievement award is named after her.

The St. Louis area coach stresses not only doing it right but also embracing the opportunity.

A fiscal analysis of the bill estimates it would divert more than $18 million from SLPS to charter schools.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY - St. Louis County Police Department Crimes Against Persons detectives are currently investigating a homicide in the 7200 block of Norstead Walk in the Central County Precinct which resulted in the death of an adult male. At 1:45 a.m. on February 10, 2022, St. Louis County Police officers from the Central County Precinct responded to a call for service for a shooting in the 7200 block of Norstead Walk. Responding officers located an adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. The victim was pronounced deceased on the scene. The investigation is very active at this time. Additional information will be disseminated as it becomes available. Please contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210 to speak to investigators if you have any information regarding the incident. To remain anonymous or potentially receive a reward, please contact CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS (8477) if you have any information regarding the incident.

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If you've been wondering what Invisibly —St. Louis' most stealthy startup— actually does, here's an explanation from the fintech-meets-adtech startup founder, Jim McKelvey.

A viewer asked the Verify team if their testing kits were already expired. Recent updates to kit expiration dates add to the confusion.