East St. Louis

Two years ago, Ameren finished the first solar farm in East St. Louis. Company leaders hope the second facility’s completion will spark similar investments.

Some residents in East St. Louis on Wednesday called on the city to do more as floodwaters lingered in their neighborhood following heavy rains in the Metro East on Tuesday.

One of the six seats Democrats hope to flip is the 114th District, which covers East St. Louis and some surrounding rural areas.

Little Rock Nine member Thelma Mothershed-Wair died this month in Arkansas. She taught in East St. Louis for nearly 20 years before retiring and working at the St. Clair County Jail and Juvenile Detention Center. She was 83.

East Side Aligned received a nearly $450,000 Illinois state grant to help bring safe and enriching afterschool programming to the Metro East. The East St. Louis nonprofit plans to open on-site mental health services and expand its STEAM programs to area youth.

Thursday was the final day of the East St. Louis trial challenging the law, passed in response to the 2022 mass shooting in Highland Park.

The case, on its second day on Tuesday, is being heard in federal district court in East St. Louis.

The first witness called by those challenging the ban was a downstate gun dealer who testified AR-15-style guns are used for self-defense.

Educators, religious leaders and Metro East officials gathered Tuesday in East St. Louis, where the poverty rate for children is three times the national average, to discuss potential solutions.

The stop at Emerson Park in East St. Louis marked the first of MetroLink’s “secure platforms” — a $52 million upgrade for stations that will include turnstiles, gates, fencing and checking tickets.