Mark Kern

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.

The Belleville, Fairview Heights, Shiloh and Swansea police departments will allow off-duty officers to patrol up to 30 hours per week.

The 16,000-square-foot facility houses a new St. Clair County 911 dispatch unit, office space for the county sheriff's department and backup equipment for the light rail system's control center.

The allegations center around the more than $50 million St. Clair County received from the federal government as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

The Mascoutah airport, located adjacent to Scott Air Force Base, finalized the project Tuesday. It adds 41,000 square feet to the existing terminal.

In total, the federal government allotted St. Clair County more than $50 million to help it respond to and recover from the public health emergency.

The office has $200,000 more in its budget than it did about five months ago. The chief defender used the new money to raise salaries to retain existing lawyers and fill vacancies.

Boeing announced it will build its second production facility for the MQ-25 Stingray, an aircraft refueling drone for the U.S. Navy, at the Metro East airport.

“St. Clair County is big enough,” Kern said while county sheriff deputies argue the requirement that officers live within the county makes it difficult for them to recruit new ones.

Two county Republicans allege Democrats conspired to dilute conservative presence in some districts in the newly proposed redistricting map.