Metro-east roundup: Property sales, teacher contracts, crime. Here's what to know

The metro-east saw major commercial property listings, a long-awaited teacher contract, criminal charges and new state legislation. Here’s a quick look at those stories:

• Herald Square, a 0.94-acre entertainment property in Collinsville housing Ardent Spirits, The Press House and The Daily Draft, is listed for sale at $2.75 million as owner Derik Reiser shifts focus to his distillery. None of those businesses are closing due to the sale.
• Belleville’s Skyview Drive-In, owned by the Bloomer family for 77 years and recently voted the No. 5 best drive-in theater in USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Awards, is looking for a new owner to keep movies rolling.
• The Belleville News-Democrat won 15 awards from the Illinois Press Association for 2025 community reporting, including the Robert M. Cole Award for Best School Board Coverage earned by reporter Madison Lammert.
• Cameron D. Gasser, 20, of Coulterville, faces four Class X felony counts of reproducing child sexual abuse material and six Class 2 felony counts of possession after a task force investigation led by the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
• Illinois reported the third-greatest number of stolen vehicles last year with 28,327 statewide, with the Hyundai Elantra topping the list at 1,125 reported thefts.
• North Green Mount Road in Shiloh buckled between Frank Scott Parkway East and Cascade Lake Drive. County Engineer Norm Etling described the damage as a “blow-up” caused by pavement expanding in warmer temperatures.
• Two Swansea residents found a 9mm bullet lodged in their backyard deck, with police saying it was likely fired into the air up to three miles away.
• Millstadt homeowner Laura Schaefer was warned for violating a village code on vegetable growth, but the Institute for Justice intervened, citing the Illinois Vegetable Garden Protection Act and due process violations.
• Cahokia School District 187 and its teachers union reached a four-year tentative agreement that includes a 5% baseline salary increase and an additional $1,000 for medical insurance after working without a contract for an entire school year.
• Gov. JB Pritzker intends to sign Senate Bill 2427, which imposes a statewide ban on cell phones during instructional time in public and charter schools starting in the 2026-2027 school year.
• Thousands of pounds of explosive devices were recovered from a Troy home where an Easter Sunday explosion killed three people, and a judge ordered 22-year-old Colton Cissell to remain jailed until trial on six felony counts.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.