Lexi Cortes
-
Advocates have said Freeburg's mascot, the "Midgets鈥� to be derogatory, objectifying and dehumanizing. A bill proposed in the Illinois General Assembly would ban public schools from using derogatory names for people with disabilities as mascots. -
Addington Place managers announced this month that the facility is closing in April because the owner of the building sold the property, and the new owner does not want to use it for assisted living. -
Freeburg has been the 鈥淢idgets鈥� for 90 years. Many people with dwarfism now consider the term a slur. -
The settled lawsuits involved allegations that St. Clair County did not pay overtime compensation to employees and that sheriff鈥檚 deputies injured two people detained at the jail. -
The post鈥檚 104-acre property in the rural Freeburg that has been plagued by squatting and criminal activity in recent years. -
The complaint alleges that untreated sewage spills from East St. Louis outfalls into the Mississippi River and Whispering Willow Lake during 鈥渉igh-flow conditions,鈥� such as heavy rain. -
In a court filing, Cahokia Heights residents want a federal judge to allow their claims for damages and claims related to flooding issues to proceed. The city's work with federal agencies is limited to the sewer system and will not address flooding concerns. -
The old Belle-Clair Speedway racetrack and other structures in Belleville will soon be torn down to make way for renovations including a brand new speedway. -
St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson said a $300,000 plan put forth by the county board was a good gesture, but he鈥檚 skeptical of the plan. -
Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation soon plans to turn Cahokia Heights properties where derelict homes were once boarded up into a new low-income housing development called Vivian鈥檚 Village. -
The U.S. Department of Labor is now suing the owner, Khalid Ramadan, for approximately $367,890 in compensation and damages for 179 IHOP workers. -
To date, only 4% of the money sought for projects to help the city of Cahokia Heights address its flooding and sewage crisis has been spent, according to an EPA analysis.
