Local News
Sunny, Breezy & Warmer today
It will be sunny, breezy and warmer today. We are looking at sunny skies today with a high of 62. Winds will gust from the southwest at better than 35 miles per hour. Tonight we'll see clear skies with a low of 36.
1h ago
It is Primary Election Day in Illinois
(Springfield, IL) -- Voters across Illinois head to the polls today in the state's primary election. The top of the ballot is the presidential primary, though President Biden and former President Trump have already secured their party's respective nominations. Chief Justice Anne Burke of the Illinois Supreme Court has ...
2h ago
Fayette Co Coroner handles 2 deaths in less than 24 hours
The Fayette County Coroner's Office handled two deaths in less than 24 hours. Coroner David Harris says he was called to the Emergency Room at SBL Fayette County Hospital on Sunday evening where 24 year old Carl E. Carroll of Ramsey was pronounced dead. Harris says then on Monday afternoon 40 year old Rebecca A. D'Ang...
2h ago
Vandalia City Council approves 2 Liquor Licenses, 1 Gaming License at Monday night meeting
The Vandalia City Council approved 2 liquor licenses and 1 gaming license at their meeting on Monday night. The City Council approved to expand to 3 Class B Liquor Licenses at Monday's meeting as they approved the beer and wine only licenses for South Central FS and Jack Flash. At the first meeting in March, it was st...
2h ago
Brownstown School Board Hires New Superintendent
The Brownstown School Board on Monday night, hired the next Superintendent for the district to replace departing Superintendent Mike Shackelford. During their monthly school board meeting, the board unanimously approved the employment of David Lund by a vote of 6-0 with one school board member not present for the meeti...
2h ago
Plan to rebuild Stateville, Logan prisons brings mixed reaction
There are differing opinions about Gov. J.B. Pritzker's plan to shutter Logan and Stateville correctional centers in an effort to build updated facilities. Pritzker made the announcement last week where capital funds will be dedicated to rebuild at a projected taxpayer cost of up to $935 million. The governor's office ...
2h ago
Industry group opposes legislation that would eliminate Illinois' tip credit
Calling it the D.C. Disaster where the tipped credit has been eliminated, an industry group is opposing a measure that would do the same in Illinois. The Employment Policies Institute said such a move would kill thousands of jobs and lead to over $20 million of lost earnings for tipped employees. Research director Reb...
2h ago
Internet Crimes in IL Up Last Year
(Bloomington, IL) -- The FBI reports internet crime across Illinois has risen and residents are losing millions of dollars to online scams. The bureau reports some 16-thousand Illinoisans lost more than 338-million dollars to internet crime in 2023. That's a 20 percent increase in the amount of dollars lost over 2022. ...
2h ago
Increasing Clouds and Chilly today---Hard Freeze again tonight
We will not fell very "spring-like" today. We will see increasing clouds today with a high of just 40. Winds will be there but not as strong as yesterday--out of the northwest at 9 to 15 miles per hour. Then, we will see below freezing temperatures again tonight with a low of 28.
Mar 18, 2024
Two Accidents shut down traffic on I-70 on Saturday in Bond County
Two accidents had traffic shut down for a time Saturday afternoon on Interstate 70 near Greenville. State police responded to a two-vehicle crash involving a truck tractor semitrailer and a Chevrolet Equinox on eastbound I-70 near exit 41 Saturday at 4:30 PM. One person was pronounced deceased at the scene. No other in...
Mar 18, 2024
VJHS Holds Book Signing for Student's Published Book "A Siren's Destiny: Dark Tide"
Vandalia Jr. High School hosted a book signing on Friday afternoon, celebrating the publishing of the book "A Siren's Destiny: Dark Tide" by VJHS student Amalia Weihrauch. During the event, books were available for purchase and for Weihrauch to sign. And, Weihrauch explains a little about the book's plot. As ...
Mar 18, 2024
Brownstown FFA's Seabaugh Named District FFA Proficiency Winner in Agriscience Research- Plant Systems
The Brownstown FFA has released the following information: Brownstown's Lexi Seabaugh was selected as the District FFA Proficiency Winner in Agriscience Research- Plant Systems. Lexi is a member of the Brownstown FFA Chapter of the Illinois Association FFA. Illinois FFA recognizes students in forty-eight different area...
Mar 18, 2024
Increased spending, growing demands, fund transfers part of Illinois' budget process
After Tuesday's primaries, Illinois legislators return to Springfield to continue crafting a plan to spend tens of billions of tax dollars. The total budget could be $123.2 billion with most coming from federal taxpayer funds. Gov. J.B. Pritzker looks to spend $52.7 billion of state taxpayer money for the next fiscal y...
Mar 18, 2024
Latest census data shows over 80% of Illinois counties losing population
The exodus from Illinois continues. A new report by the Illinois Policy Institute shows Illinois suffered population loss among all eight Illinois-based metro areas and 87 of Illinois' 102 counties from July 2022 to July 2023. Bryce Hill is the director of Fiscal and Economic Research for IPI. Cook County experienced t...
Mar 18, 2024
Voter Turnout Low for Primary
(Springfield, IL) -- Analysts say voter turnout so far for tomorrow's primary in Illinois is significantly low, especially for a general election year. Typically, voter turnout is low in a primary year but not in a year when the presidential election is held. One Northwestern University analyst -- Political Communicati...
Mar 18, 2024
Gov. Pritzker Announces Plans to Rebuild Two IL Prisons
(Springfield, IL) -- Governor J.B. Pritzker has announced plans to rebuild two state prisons -- the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln and the Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill. The Stateville prison opened almost a century ago and the Logan center opened in 1978. The plans are included in the governor's 2...
Mar 18, 2024
Increasing Clouds, Windy & Mild today
We will see increasing clouds and mild temperatures for today. We are looking at increasing clouds for today with a high of 66. Winds out of the west will gust better than 25 miles per hour today. Tonight we'll see partly cloudy skies with a low of 36. Winds from the northwest tonight will gust better than 25 miles ...
Mar 16, 2024
Cooler Temps for Today---Even cooler weather coming in a few days
We will be quite a bit cooler today and even cooler weather is on the way in just a few days. We are looking at gradually clearing skies for today with a high of 59. North winds will gust during the day today at better than 20 miles per hour. Tonight we'll see mostly clear skies with a low of 39. As for the weekend, ...
Mar 15, 2024