Lexi Cortes

The bill that would force Freeburg to ditch its mascot is scheduled to be called in two House Education Policy Committee hearings this week.

The federal funding for farmers has been terminated under President Donald Trump’s administration. Family farmers in the Metro East now face abrupt uncertainty about how to fund plans they made for their growing businesses.

Frank Bergman, the county’s HR director until his termination in 2023, states in the lawsuit and other court filings that an investigation he was conducting into several employees’ allegations in the fall of 2022 revealed “inappropriate actions."

Advocates have said Freeburg's mascot, the "Midgets” 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 “Midgets” 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’s deputies injured two people detained at the jail.

The post’s 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 “high-flow conditions,” 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’s skeptical of the plan.