We will get in one more sunny day during this work week before rain and storms will move in. We are looking at sunny skies for today with a high of 87. Then, partly cloudy skies for tonight with a low of 69. The National Weather Service in St. Louis is talking today about storms, potential severe weather and potential...

Backpack 2 School is ready for their one night event. The program which provides a new backpack to all students in attendance will be held today from 4 pm to 6 pm at First United Methodist Church Family Center at 4th and Main Streets in Vandalia. Along with free backpacks, free haircuts will also be available and ther...

The project to bring a Racetrac Travel Center to the former Wal-Mart property in Vandalia will get some forwards steps in the next few weeks. During Monday's Vandalia City Council meeting, City Administrator LaTisha Paslay talked about some upcoming meetings later this month to move forward with the proposed truck stop...

The Fayette County Board on Tuesday night had a short Finance meeting with just a couple items to discuss but both involved key needs of the county. It was brought up during their July monthly meeting that the server used to run about 12 major databases for the county would need to be upgraded soon. It was explained th...

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says an upcoming sales tax holiday on certain purchases will lower costs. During the ten-day period starting on Friday, August 7, consumers can purchase qualified clothing and school-related items with a five-percent reduction in the state's portion of sales tax due. Gov. J.B. Pritzker spoke in Palat...

A law in Illinois creating restrictions on social media use and online activity for children was recently signed, though it won't take effect until 2028. One industry-backed trade group is maintaining the law is unconstitutional. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law Friday, and described it as a new way to protec...

(Chicago, IL) -- Illinois is taking action to protect consumers in the state from unfair home and auto insurance rates. Governor Pritzker signed two bills into law that give the Illinois Department of Insurance the authority to review and reject unfair auto and home insurance rates. The laws also ban insurers from i...

We will see another sunny and mild day today. We are looking at sunny skies today with a high of 85. Then, we'll see mostly clear skies for tonight with a low of 63. Wednesday will be pretty much exactly the same for the area, but the weather will begin to change early Thursday morning. There is a threat for severe w...

The City of Vandalia Police Department is getting new mobile radios that will get them off the "scanner." During Monday's Vandalia City Council meeting, the matter was discussed with Police Chief Jeff Ray telling the council this is a budgeted item. He says this will get them off the "scanner," and...

The City of Vandalia's Lake Committee met on Monday evening and those on the Lake's Northside are looking for a bigger return on their investment. Over the past few years, the City of Vandalia has raised those on the northside's fees $50 per year each year. But, those on the northside say they are not seeing any retur...

The Vandalia School Board held a special meeting on Monday night to handle some items after not having a regular meeting in July. After a short closed session, the school board took action on several personnel-related items beginning with the acceptance of resignations from IT Director CJ Schmidt, Ag teacher and FFA ad...

(Palatine, IL) -- Governor Pritzker is encouraging Illinoisans to participate in the Back-to-School State Tax Holiday. Pritzker says the tax holiday waives the state sales tax on back-to-school necessities from August 7th through the 16th. Officials say this 10-day period is expected to provide an estimated 10-million-...

After months of investigation and leadership discussions, an investigative report on a former Illinois state lawmaker was released Friday, detailing sexual harassment allegations. Following the unanimous vote to release Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey's report on former state Rep. Harry Benton, a redacte...

Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is running for mayor of Chicago while also seeking reelection to his current office. Giannoulias launched campaign ads over the weekend for the mayoral election on February 23. Giannoulias joined Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza in the race for Chicago mayor. Mendoza is ...

(Gilman, IL) -- An autopsy is scheduled today for a man killed in a workplace accident at a Gilman soybean processing facility. Authorities say the incident happened yesterday morning at the Incobrasa plant. The victim has been identified as Adrian Munoz. Munoz was helping load railcars with feed when he fell from the ...