Top stories: A recap of the week in metro-east headlines

The Belleville News-Democrat covered a wide-range of news stories from the past week in the metro-east region, from targeted shootings in East St. Louis to major infrastructure and public health changes.

Here’s a look back at the most impactful stories of the last week at bnd.com:

• A new nonprofit led by former Congressman Bill Enyart aims to raise $1.2 million to $1.5 million and complete the Gustave Koerner House restoration in three years, with the Belleville City Council agreeing to rent the property to the foundation for $1 a year through at least 2031.
• Illinois ranked as the No. 9 safest state to retire in 2026 in a CareScout analysis that evaluated all 50 states on crime rates, fraud reports, police staffing and fall-related death rates, with the state’s weakest showing in scam victimization of adults 60 and older.
• Eastbound Interstate 64 near the Mascoutah exit reopened around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after a three-car crash closed the highway for about four hours, with at least two occupants taken to a local hospital with injuries.
• Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Brad Thompson is part-owner of Home Turf Sports Complex, a 45,000-square-foot indoor facility under construction in Fairview Heights that could open as early as February with batting cages, golf simulators and space for baseball, softball, football, soccer and lacrosse.
• Afterschool for Children and Teens Now Illinois plans to appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals after a federal court denied its request to stop the U.S. Department of Education from discontinuing Full-Service Community Schools grant funding, including $500,000 each for James Avant and Annette Harris Officer elementary schools in East St. Louis.
• The Hope Fair Housing Center has identified more than 400 metro-east properties owned by out-of-state companies using predatory “bond for deed” tactics, with some contracts carrying interest rates of 11% to 17% that can turn an $89,000 home into a $350,000 obligation over 30 years.
• Funeral services for three East St. Louis shooting victims — Cherie May, 49, her son Devin May, 24, and 74-year-old church matriarch Patricia May — are set for Saturday, July 25, at House of Prayer to All Nations, with 16-year-old Ja’ymeir M. Davis charged as an adult with first-degree murder.
• Six months after Illinois State Police fatally shot 40-year-old Rachel Tarrence in East St. Louis, no public ruling has been issued on whether the trooper was justified, even though ISP completed its investigation in February and turned findings over to the St. Clair County state’s attorney’s office.
• East St. Louis officials pointed to a 45-year low of 15 homicides recorded last year, down from 36 in 2019, as they urged community support following a series of targeted shootings that killed five people and left two hospitalized.
• Casey Watt, a 36-year-old Freeburg man, died Thursday afternoon after a crash on I-255 near I-64 in which a southbound passenger vehicle crossed the median and struck a northbound vehicle head-on around 2:49 p.m.
• All Illinois children will now automatically receive blood tests for lead poisoning at 12 and 24 months under a July 1 rule change that expanded requirements from only high-risk zip codes to universal testing, with public health intervention triggered above 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.

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.