St. Clair County

The board that manages St. Clair County-owned buildings has purchased a total of four pieces of property near the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds so far this year.

The new Metro East facility will serve lower-income families near O’Fallon, Shiloh, Lebanon and east Belleville. Center directors said they observed a need for such a facility as St. Clair County residents moved east.

Starting Monday, the first block of South First Street between West Main and West Washington streets will be closed to through traffic.

The courthouse will remain open to the public, but the southwest entrance and the pedestrian crosswalk tunnel between the South First Street public parking garage and courthouse will be temporarily closed.

Officials say the construction project will expand the entry lobby, improve the security checkpoint there and provide street-level entry on the southwest side of the building.

The Metro East suburb will use about $4.75 million in state funding to help complete the projects, which are needed as the community continues to grow.

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 sheriff’s patrol budget is increasing 2% next year. Republican members of the St. Clair County Board say there's not enough deputies. The sheriff has also told the board staffing challenges.

The longtime civil rights and voting rights activist died Thanksgiving Day in O'Fallon, Illinois. Scott spent 32 years as the head of the East St. Louis NAACP branch.

For the median homeowner in Collinsville, whose home is worth $182,000, there will be an estimated increase of $9.38 in property taxes next spring. In Fairmont City, where the median home is worth $100,000, there will be an increase of $4.95, according to district documents.