SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly are returning to Springfield to continue wrestling over a state budget deficit. The Senate will meet Tuesday to hear testimony on the impact of a state-imposed freeze on local property taxes. That’s one of the issues Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is pushing. The Legislature…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The chairman of a Missouri panel that regulates public utilities such as water and electricity will step down. Public Service Commission chairman Robert Kenney announced Monday that he’ll leave when his term expires in August. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon appointed Kenney in 2009 and named him chairman in 2013. Kenney…
St. Louis, MO ( KTRS ) A man who schemed with his ex-wife in a string of arson fires meant to defraud insurers has been ordered to spend nearly six years in federal prison for his role in a 2001 blaze that killed their teenage son. Steven Kemper was sentenced Monday in St. Louis to…
St. Louis, MO ( KTRS ) A Missouri man has been charged with burglary and stealing by the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. 25 yr old Peter Toth, of Gerald, MO. was arrested on May 24th when St. Louis County Police were called to a residence in the 16800 block of Kehrsdale Drive for…
Belleville, IL ( KTRS ) – Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner received a mixed reception during a southern Illinois stop meant to build public support for his legislative agenda. Union protesters jeered the first-term Republican at a Belleville farm market. It was the second of two Rauner rallies Monday afternoon before the Illinois General Assembly returns…
St. Louis, MO (KTRS) A 25-year-old man and his 6-year-old daughter have been shot near an elementary school in St. Louis. Reports say the two were shot in the leg Wednesday night near Lucier Park and Hamilton Elementary School in the Skinker DeBaliviere neighborhood. Authorities say both victims were taken to the hospital and are in…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan says the Illinois House will consider changes to the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system when it reconvenes Thursday. Madigan put out a release Wednesday noting overhauling workers’ compensation is one of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s top priorities. Madigan says considering the legislation shows lawmakers are “willing to…
(KTRS) Former U.S. Rep Aaron Schock’s executive assistant testified before a federal grand jury investigating allegations of improper spending by the onetime rising Republican star. Sarah Rogers was in Springfield’s federal building for a total of five hours Wednesday. But her attorney, Bill Coffield, says she did not testify the entire time. Prosecutors began reviewing…
( KTRS ) A top Missouri higher education official says he’s retiring next year. Higher Education Commissioner David Russell on Wednesday announced plans to leave the position Jan. 1. Russell replaced former Commissioner Robert Stein upon his retirement in 2010. The 67-year-old Russell leads the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Among the board’s responsibilities are…
SWANSEA, Ill. (AP) – A national animal rights group is honoring the southern Illinois animal rescue volunteer who was struck and killed by a regional commuter train while responding to a call about an opossum on the tracks. Fifty-eight-year-old Sandie Konopelski of Shiloh died last month after being hit by a MetroLink train east of…