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GRAFTON – Raging Rivers WaterPark is set to make a splash as it opens for its 36th season on Saturday, May 17. This summer promises more excitement than ever, with Season Pass holders enjoying a host of exclusive perks. In addition to unlimited park admission, pass holders will receive a complimentary ticket to the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Indy Car event in June, special event access at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, IL, and free admission to Santa’s Village in East Dundee, IL. Other benefits include exclusive offers, bring-a-friend-free days, and complimentary fountain drinks for both pass holders and daily guests. The 2025 Special Event lineup offers something for everyone: Rubber Duck Race on May 17, with a chance to win $1,000 and other prizes Educator Appreciation Days from May 24–26, offering free admission to school staff with valid ID Magical Mermaid Mondays on June 9, July 7, and August 4 QEM Big Red Day on June 27, featuring firetruck

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding the legal justification for President Trump’s attempted acquisition of a private jet as a gift from the royal family of Qatar, which the President has since confirmed . Bondi reportedly provided a memo to the White House Counsel’s Office (WHCO) deeming the gift “legally permissible,” despite its unconstitutionality and her clear conflict of interest with Qatar from past lobbying work. Durbin outlined the gift’s blatant unconstitutionality, writing: “As reported, this gift clearly violates the Constitution and the statutory regime enacted by Congress to govern such gifts. The Constitution unequivocally bestows on Congress the power to control whether any officer of the United States, including the President, may accept a gift ‘from any King, Prince, or foreign State.’&rdquo

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WASHINGTON – As Russia continues their unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, today introduced legislation to prohibit the United States from recognizing the Russian Federation’s claim of sovereignty over Crimea or any other forcibly seized Ukrainian territory, including any related airspace or territorial waters. The bill simply states that it is the policy of the United States not to recognize Russia’s claim of sovereignty over Crimea or any other forcibly seized Ukrainian territory and that no Federal department or agency may take any action, extend any nonhumanitarian assistance, or spend any funds that implies such recognition unless any such claim is formally recognized by the democratically elected Government of Ukraine. In 2022, Durbin, along with then-Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), introduced similar bipartisan legislation, the Non-Recognition of Russian

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COLLINSVILLE – The Illinois Department of Transportation today announced that intermittent lane closures on Beltline Road between Johnson Hill Road and Illinois 157 in Madison County will begin, weather permitting, Monday, May 19, 2025 for bridge repairs. Beltline Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Drivers are urged to reduce speed, be alert for changing conditions, obey all construction signage, and refrain from using mobile devices while approaching and traveling through the work zone. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the week. For IDOT District 8 updates, follow us on the social media platform X at @IDOTDistrict8 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com .

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Pierce Rohman is set to graduate from the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, a top-ranked magnet school within St. Louis Public Schools, after achieving a perfect score on the ACT.

CARROLLTON — The Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society has a very special meeting on May 18, 2025, when Carrollton High School grad David Gillingham will present a program about lessons from his late father, Neal Gillingham. The Greene County Historical and Genealogical Society changed the venue for the meeting and program to accommodate a larger audience. The event, originally scheduled to be held at the Lee-Baker-Hodges House on the Carrollton Public Square, will now take place at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Carrollton. The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 18, 2025, with a brief business meeting and election of officers. Following the business portion, Gillingham, now of Belleville, a retired Metro East history teacher, will present a program titled "Neal: Laughs and Lessons from a Great Raconteur." The talk will focus on his father, Neal, and will include entertaining and illustrated stories. The Methodist Hall is located behind the

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EDWARDSVILLE – The Edwardsville Police Department is reminding drivers to buckle up as part of the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign. This high-visibility seat belt enforcement initiative runs from May 16 to May 27, 2025, coinciding with the Memorial Day holiday. "Seat belts should be used by everyone, and it is the simplest way to reduce injury or save a life in a crash," said Lt. Matt Senci. Illinois enacted its seat belt law 40 years ago on July 1, 1985, becoming the third state to require seat belt use for drivers and front-seat passengers aged eight and older. Children under eight were required to be secured in appropriate child safety seats. In July 2003, Illinois strengthened the law to allow officers to pull over and ticket drivers solely for failing to buckle up – a change that led to a significant increase in compliance. Since the seat belt law’s initial introduction and subsequent upgrade more than two decades ago, seat belt usage has

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The House GOP is crafting legislation that would provide an additional $4,000 federal income tax deduction for lower- and middle-income seniors 65 and over.

Authorities have now identified a suspect killed in a shootout with a St. Louis officer and an ATF special agent last week, along with three homicide victims linked to the investigation.

On This Day, May 14, 1988 ...The surviving members of Led Zeppelin — Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones — reunited to perform at the Atlantic Records 40th…

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SPRINGFIELD – House Republican members of the Illinois House Energy & Environment and Public Utilities Committees held a Capitol news conference on Tuesday to warn of a coming summer energy cost crisis and offer solutions to expand energy production capacity. The Republicans held the press conference after last week sending the House’s Energy & Environment Committee Chair and Vice Chair a letter explaining the urgent need for hearings into the recent results of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) capacity auction which returned a shocking $666.50 per Megawatt-day price across all zones in the summer. That same price just one year ago was $30. State Representative Dave Severin (R-Benton) serves as the House Republican ranking member and spokesman on the House Energy & Environment Committee. Severin says Illinois' energy policies are to blame for the recent huge spikes in energy costs for Illinois utility customers. “House Republicans are concerned

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And it could take months for all approvals to be finalized.

Our long national nightmare is over. More lives have been saved than have possibly ever lived. And that’s just since earlier this year. Using the same drug math that turns a couple of kilos into something with tens of millions of dollars of “street value,” Attorney General Pam Bondi publicly claimed Trump’s return to office […]

Adriana Smith's been on life support 90+ days with weeks to go in her pregnancy. Her family questions Georgia’s heartbeat law — and why they had no say in her care.

Last summer, Kenneth Barrett recalls spending 46 days — about half the summer — in solitary confinement at Algoa Correctional Center, a minimum security prison in Jefferson City.  In segregation, he was confined to a cell roughly the size of a parking spot for 23 hours a day. Barrett said he had brown tap water […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To honor our nation’s Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers and commemorate the 100th anniversary of Veteran-focused research beginning at what is now known as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S Senators Murray (D-WA) and Blumenthal (D-CT)—member and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC), respectively—introduced a resolution to designate May 12th to 16th as Veterans Affairs Research Week. Her resolution recognizes the vital, lifesaving and cutting-edge research conducted by the department that improves the lives of Veterans, people in the United States and individuals worldwide. Duckworth is a combat Veteran and a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC). “The scientists and researchers at the VA are incredible public servants who work relentlessly to improve the care and services our Veterans have earned,”

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EDWARDSVILLE – Center Grove Road will be closed east of Esic Drive for several months beginning Tuesday, May 27, 2025, for replacement of the bridge that carries traffic over the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. The approximately $3.6 million project will include replacement of the bridge superstructure and guardrails, pier repairs, pavement patching and marking. The closure was scheduled for the summer months to limit travel disruptions and slowdowns near the two schools on Center Grove Road – Edwardsville High School and Metro East Lutheran High School. The road is expected to reopen just prior to Edwardsville School District 7’s first day of the 2025-26 school year, which is Wednesday, August 20. Construction crews will be on site 10 hours a day, six days a week, weather permitting. Detour signs will be posted. To bypass the closure, drivers can use Esic Drive and Governors’ Parkway for access to and from Illinois Routes 159 and 157. Access will be maintained throughout

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