Jerseyville, Ill. — Another Metro East county will take up a symbolic secession referendum after the Jersey County Board voted this week to place a question on November's ballots . Madison County took similar action last month. St. Louis Public Radio

🗺️: Illinois Separation Referendum

Widespread rain last month means much of Missouri is no longer experiencing drought. Illinois has seen similar improvement in recent weeks.

Kate Grumke reports:
stlpr.org/health-science…

Great news, St. Clair County! Repairs to Interstate 55/64 in East St. Louis wrapped up a week ahead of the original schedule! Favorable weather and repairs going as planned allowed the overall $5.2 million project to be completed in only five weekends.

AltonWorks’ next big renovation project in downtown Alton’s historic district is underway at the Lucas Row building, located at 601-611 E. Broadway.

Learn more about this exciting project and the value it will bring to downtown Alton: altonworks.us/wp-content/upl…

#AltonIllinois

In the latest on the Fairview Heights school district finance saga, Kelly Smits reports that Grant 110 failed to apply for several federal grants — leaving nearly half a million on the table.
stlpr.org/education/2024…

BIG NEWS for NEWS: Nebraska Public Media Acquires ‘The Reader’ and ‘El Perico’
nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/about/press…

ST. CLAIR COUNTY: Beginning at 9 p.m. May 10, to 5 a.m. May 13, westbound I-55/64 lanes from the I-55/64/70 interchange to the Poplar Street Bridge in East St. Louis, including all ramps to and from westbound I-55/64 within the project limits, will be closed for resurfacing. 🧵⬇️

Rampant sexual abuse occurred unchecked for decades at Illinois’ juvenile detention centers, a new lawsuit alleges.

One of five state centers still open sits just outside Grafton, Illinois, in the Metro East.

More from Hannah Meisel:
stlpr.org/law-order/2024…

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/…

Sad that these are my last few days at St. Louis Public Radio. I'll have more to say too, but first here is a photo of St. Louis seen during a LightHawk 🌎🛩️ flight.

The new iteration of “The Office” has been picked up to series at Peacock.

According to the official logline, the series will focus on “a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.” bit.ly/3UACZVO

Three Metro East police departments — Brooklyn, Washington Park & Alorton — rank in the top 10 of Illinois agencies that have hired the most officers after being fired elsewhere.

Caveat: Alorton merged with Cahokia and Centreville to form Cahokia Heights back in 2021.

O'Fallon, Ill. — HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is now offering donated milk to families in the Metro East who need breast milk for their babies.

From St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Fentem:
stlpr.org/health-science…

World’s largest bounce house comes to Sauget. It’s half an acre. dlvr.it/T6b71M

ICYMI: As Farm Bill negotiations hit full force in the next few weeks, Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a Metro East stop that he’s not on board with making cuts to SNAP — formerly known as food stamps.
stlpr.org/government-pol…

Illinois is flirting with ranked choice voting. A state task force is expected to release its report recommending whether to adopt the voting method to state lawmakers in the coming weeks.

More from Mawa Iqbal (she/her):
stlpr.org/government-pol…

A new housing development in East St. Louis, funded by a local nonprofit, opened over the weekend. The project is some of the first non-government housing of this size the area has seen in decades.

From Lexi Cortes:
stlpr.org/economy-busine…

Come be my boss at St. Louis Public Radio!

The Digital Editor, along with our newsroom leadership, will set the vision for the St. Louis NPR station's digital news operation while managing a team of digital specialists.

Pay: $70-$84K + University of Missouri–St. Louis benefits.

stlpr.org/job-listing/20…

Longtime Metro East lawmaker State Rep. Jay Hoffman sponsored legislation that would ask Illinois voters this November if millionaires should be taxed more and if insurance policies should cover in vitro fertilization, among others.

More from Alex Degman:
stlpr.org/government-pol…

ICYMI: A recently-published report outlines what the city of Cahokia Heights has done to obtain state and federal money to fix deteriorating water and sewer infrastructure.

From Lexi Cortes:
stlpr.org/government-pol…