MURPHYSBORO – 58th District State Senator and Murphysboro native Terri Bryant will be a candidate for re-election for Illinois’ 58th district State Senate seat that will see new boundaries established starting in January 2023. Though some of the new legislative boundary lines may still change upon the resolution of pending legal challenges, Bryant said in…
Illinois has reached its first union agreement requiring vaccines for certain state workers in congregate facilities. The agreement covers approximately 260 supervisory employees at the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) and the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) which are represented by VR-704. Employees must receive their first shot by October 14, 2021. Should an employee…
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning of a spike in job scams in Illinois as people return to the workforce. And with some pandemic-related benefit programs scheduled to end soon, officials said they’re worried the problem could “get even worse.” A recent report indicated people ages 25-to-34 are the most common targets of the…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Abandoned coal mines in the U.S. have been polluting rivers and streams for decades, but efforts to finally clean up the sites could soon get a big boost from the infrastructure bill. Tucked into the Senate-passed infrastructure bill is $11.3 billion for the cleanup of defunct mines to be distributed over…
MT. VERNON – Jefferson County jurors on Monday found a 31-year-old Mt. Vernon man guilty of murdering his father after a few hours of deliberation in the 2020 Jefferson County case. Traviel Gibson was found guilty of first-degree murder for the May 13, 2020, shooting death of his father Sam Joseph Gibson, III. In addition…
ULLIN – Shawnee Community College (SCC) in Ullin and Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale formalized a historic agreement Friday providing a more seamless entry into several SIU online programs. The agreement, called Saluki Step Ahead, will offer SCC students who have entered into the agreement with SIU to receive automatic admission to SIU’s online accounting, business and…
MARION – Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois has announced that Flight 7 will transport 87 veterans from the region to Washington D.C. next Tuesday. This flight was scheduled to take place on May 5 of last year, but was postponed on multiple occasions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the latest guidance from the CDC and relaxing…
WAMAC – A 34-year-old Mt. Vernon man was arrested over the weekend following an alleged police chase with a Wamac officer. Matthew Smith reportedly fled early Saturday morning when a Wamac officer attempted to stop him on Wabash Avenue. Smith reportedly drove through multiple yards before his vehicle stopped running at Second and Perrine where he was…
Pictured: L to R: Keith Hagene; Jeff Fetcho (Photo credit: Jason Henry, SOTY Selection Committee Member) HAMILTON COUNTY – The Egyptian Division of the Illinois Association of School Administrators has selected Hamilton County Unit 10 Schools Superintendent Jeff Fetcho as the region’s Superintendent of the Year for the 2021-2022 school year. Fetcho, who has served…
MARION – State Senator Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) and the Southern Illinois Chambers of Commerce announced the postponement of the Southern Illinois Made Expo, originally scheduled to take place on Oct. 9 and 10. Fowler cited the rise in COVID-19 cases across the region for the cancellation. “While I am extremely disappointed that we couldn’t hold…