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The Huntsman Pigments and Additives plant at 2051 Lynch Ave. in East St. Louis employs about 30 people.

East St. Louis pigment plant to close

A plant that manufactures color pigments in East St. Louis will be shutting down by the end of the...

Belleville targets roadwork projects for 2015

The city has what the mayor calls “an aggressive” schedule of roadwork projects for...

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Metro-east News

Kids Count report finds child poverty is persistent post-recession

Children living in poverty remains persistent, which shows the lingering effects of the Great Recession and longer-term economic trends, according to a new report from the Voices of Illinois Children.

Crime

David Hahs

Jury convicts Troy man of molesting 6-year-old girl

A Madison County jury deliberated just 36 minutes Wednesday before convicting a Troy man of molesting a 6-year-old girl.

Hot Topics

Public pay database: What did teachers make last year?

See what government workers made last year.

Sports

Frederking talks about the Rockets making first sectional final appearance since 2009

Okawville cruises into sectional final with a dominant victory

Trailing 11-10 early, the Okawville Rockets floored the gas pedal Wednesday and quickly put the the Morrisonville Mohawks in their rear-view mirror.

Features

A small plane lies where it crash-landed on Penmar Golf Course in the Venice area of Los Angeles on Thursday, March 5, 2015. The course is near the Santa Monica, Calif. Municipal Airport, just west of a runway, but there was no immediate confirmation on whether the plane had taken off or was trying to land.

Harrison Ford injured in small plane crash at LA golf course

Harrison Ford crash-landed his small vintage airplane at a Los Angeles golf course Thursday, shortly after taking off from a nearby airport and reporting engine problems. 2 hours ago

State|Region

Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks to YMCA members Wednesday, March 4, 2015, in Springfield, Ill. A preliminary report filed Wednesday, in Chicago by attorney Noelle Brennan, a federal court-appointed monitor, recommended that the Illinois Department of Transportation clean house on hiring rules. The recommendations come after a lawsuit filed by anti-patronage activist Michael Shakman against IDOT claimed previous administrations’ made improper hires of politically connected candidates. Brennan’s report says IDOT should write accurate job descriptions and clearly identify each position that is supposed to be filled without political considerations _ they’re known as “Rutan” positions. Rauner’s office said in a statement the Republican is “committed to reversing” illegal hiring.

Unions sue to block Gov. Rauner's order on dues collection

Illinois labor unions filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to invalidate Gov. Bruce Rauner's executive order ending a requirement that state workers pay union dues even if they don't want to join a union. 1 hour ago

Nation|World

In early February 2015, Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan likened the wave of retiring baby boomers – Americans born between 1946 and 1964 – to the proverbial “pig in a python.” Meaning, the federal government will continue running deficits to pay for Medicare, Social Security and other programs that will be strained even more by the boomers’ retirement.

Boomers will keep U.S. debt sky high for years

As debt jumped over the past decade, economists warned that retiring baby boomers might soon overwhelm retirement programs, swamp the federal budget and keep the debt unusually high as far as the eye can see. That day has come and the answer now apparently... 53 minutes ago

Opinion

Public safety and dollar signs

The U.S. Justice Department issued a scathing rebuke of the Ferguson, Mo., Police Department this week. The pattern of racial bias outlined in the report – of African-Americans unfairly and disproportionately targeted by the police as part ...

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