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Texas advocates see familiar health care turmoil brewing as ‘defunding’ rule hits rest of the US

4 months 2 weeks ago
First in a five-part series. To some, the warning bells started sounding years ago. When a Republican supermajority in the Texas legislature gutted the state’s family planning budget in 2011 and then in 2015 kicked Planned Parenthood — the country’s largest reproductive health care provider — out of its Medicaid family planning program, reproductive health […]
Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Sofia Resnick

National Kinship Care Awareness Month Focuses on Keeping Kids with Family

4 months 2 weeks ago
ILLINOIS - As National Kinship Care Awareness Month comes to a close, representatives from Brightpoint are sharing more about their work to keep kids with family members. As an organization, Brightpoint provides foster care and support services to kids and families across the state of Illinois. Loni Wilson, LCSW, Statewide Director of Foster Care, shared that while there will always be a need for traditional foster parents, Brightpoint makes kinship care — foster care that places a child with a relative or someone else known to the child — a priority. “We know that outcomes for our families are going to be so much better if we can keep families together at their core,” Wilson explained. “We really do try to make sure whenever possible we can keep kids with their family, however that is defined for them…Our goal is always to ensure that our kids are stable and that they are loved and that they’re able to maintain those cultural connections,

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Neurologist Dr. Roula al-Dahhak Begins Practice At O'Fallon Clinic

4 months 2 weeks ago
O’FALLON, Ill. – HSHS Medical Group is pleased to welcome Dr. Roula al-Dahhak, a board-certified neurologist, to HSHS Medical Group Multispecialty Care - St. Elizabeth’s at 3 St. Elizabeth’s Blvd., Suite 5000, O’Fallon, Illinois. Dr. al-Dahhak has more than 30 years of clinical experience. She specializes in neuromuscular diseases, clinical neurophysiology and cognitive rehabilitation. As a staff physician at John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis, Dr. al-Dahhak founded the Memory Training Center, where she offered personalized cognitive training programs for adults experiencing memory and attention difficulties. She holds board certifications in neurology, clinical neurophysiology and neuromuscular medicine from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. After earning her medical degree from Damascus University Faculty of Medicine in Damascus, Syria, Dr. al-Dahhak completed her neurology residency at Ohio State University Hospital in Columbus,

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Adoption Day Celebrates Fifteen Children's New Beginnings

4 months 2 weeks ago
BELLEVILLE - Caritas Family Solutions recently celebrated an Adoption Day event at the St. Clair County Courts, where 15 children in Caritas’ care officially joined their forever families. Held at the St. Clair County Courthouse in collaboration with Judge Elaine LeChien, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), and other adoption and family services agencies, Adoption Day is expected to become an annual event where families gather to celebrate and finalize adoptions. “Adoption Day has quickly become one of our favorite days of the year and serves as a reminder of why we do what we do,” said Brooke Portz, Assistant Program Director of Foster Care at Caritas. “There is nothing that compares to the joy of seeing children find safe, loving, and permanent homes. These moments reflect the heart of our mission, while also honoring the dedication of the families who open their hearts and homes, and the tireless commitment of caseworkers

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Maryville Christian Welcomes Back Alumna McKayla Hendrick

4 months 2 weeks ago
MARYVILLE - Maryville Christian School has welcomed back alumna McKayla Hendrick as part of its teaching staff, where she now educates students in sixth-grade social studies and seventh-grade Bible. Hendrick, a 2020 graduate of Maryville Christian School, returned to her alma mater after earning a degree in History and Secondary Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In her second year of teaching at Maryville Christian School, Hendrick expressed appreciation for the community that shaped her experience as a student. “When I was a student at MCS, my favorite thing was the family-like community I experienced and the care and intention I received from my teachers. It’s what inspired me to become a teacher myself!” she said. Hendrick described her current role as a privilege, and said: “I feel both blessed and privileged that I now get to continue experiencing the care and community of MCS as a staff member.”

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Jersey Community High School Students Encourage Patience with "Start Seeing Farmers" Initiative

4 months 2 weeks ago
JERSEYVILLE - As the harvest season commences, students at Jersey Community High School have started an initiative to promote road safety for farm vehicles. The JCHS Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter formed the Safety in Agriculture Committee to support farmers. They recently launched the "Start Seeing Farmers" initiative, which aims to bring awareness to farm vehicles and the importance of patience when encountering these vehicles on the road. “I decided that the ‘Start Seeing Farmers’ initiative would be good because we’re a very large farming community, and it could help us,” said Tucker Woolsey. “I feel like it would help the community, being able to get it out there and say, ‘Hey, there are these things that we could do to help prevent other issues.’” Woolsey, a sophomore at JCHS, serves as the 2025–2026 FFA sentinel. He is leading the Safety in Agriculture Committee and has worked hard to spread the word

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Belleville Police Investigate Suspicious Incident Near West Main Street

4 months 2 weeks ago
BELLEVILLE — The Belleville Police Department is investigating a suspicious incident reported near the intersection of West Main Street and Carbon Street on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 25, 2025. The department was notified around 4 p.m. on Sept. 25, 2025, after a student from Belleville West High School reported the incident. Authorities have not confirmed the nature of the event and are addressing conflicting statements. "We are aware that there are other social media posts classifying the incident as a Child Abduction or an Attempted Child Abduction circulating on social media," the Belleville Police said. “At this time, there are conflicting statements regarding what occurred,” the Belleville Police Department said in a statement. “This is an ongoing investigation.” Officials are urging anyone who was in the area around the time of the incident and who may have witnessed anything or has information to contact the Belleville Police Department. No

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Hundreds of thousands of federal employees face furloughs under Trump shutdown plans

4 months 2 weeks ago
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration began posting plans over the weekend that detail how hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be furloughed during a government shutdown, while others will keep working without being paid.  The updated guidance gives the clearest picture yet into how President Donald Trump and White House budget director Russ Vought […]
Jennifer Shutt

Man Allegedly Breaks Into Two Homes and Damages Police Car

4 months 2 weeks ago
VIRDEN — A 28-year-old Virden man faces multiple charges after allegedly breaking into two homes and damaging a police vehicle in the same community. Timothy J. Garrison was charged with two counts of residential burglary and one count of criminal damage to government property. On September 20, 2025, Garrison allegedly broke into two residences on the same street in Virden with the intent to commit theft. Additionally, he is accused of damaging a Virden police car by breaking a door handle. All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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