Category Archives: Local News

Salem Community Theatre hosts Harry Potter Birthday Party Saturday
The Salem Community Theatre is hosting the annual Harry Potter Birthday Party Saturday night. Kathie Garren is leading the group working on the project this year. "This year the movie we are showing i...
Bruce Kropp Jul 28, 2023 Salem Community Theatre decorated for Harry Potter's birthday party Saturday night. Photo by Bruce Kropp.

State announces 3rd manufacturing expansion spurred by new tax credit; this one in Du Quoin
3 downstate companies have signed contracts to receive tax credits, create and maintain jobs By JERRY NOWICKI& MOLLY PARKERCapitol News Illinoisnews@capitolnewsillinois.com Gov. JB Pritzker announ...
Bruce Kropp Jul 28, 2023 Gov. JB Pritzker takes questions at a Prysmian Group manufacturing facility in Du Quoin on Thursday. The company will receive approximately $17.7 million in tax incentives from a state grant program as a result of its $64 million expansion that will lead to 80 new jobs at its Du Quoin plant. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Molly Parker)

Centralia High School to operate own buses; board gets project updates
Centralia High School will operate its own bus fleet for the 2023-24 school year, marking the end of a decades-long relationship with West Bus, which informed the district recently that services will ...
WJBD Staff Jul 28, 2023

Marion County Fair getting underway; Motocross start moved back to seven Saturday night
The 2023 Marion County Fair is getting underway. Exhibit building entries will be accepted from noon to six on Friday and again from nine to noon on Saturday. The 4-H livestock shows highlight the day...
WJBD Staff Jul 28, 2023

Fire destroys mobile home in Wamac
An unoccupied mobile home was destroyed by fire in Wamac early Thursday morning. Centralia Fire Protection District Chief Ross Boshera says flames were shooting through the windows and around the roof...
WJBD Staff Jul 28, 2023 Fire heavily damages an unoccupied mobile home at 300 Sanders Street in Wamac. Photo by Tim Ferguson.

Unemployment up in South Central Illinois
Unemployment jumped across South Central Illinois in June. The Illinois Department of Employment Security reports Marion County's unemployment rate jumped eight-tenths of a percent from May to 5.2-per...
WJBD Staff Jul 28, 2023 Eric Prouzet / Unsplash

Centralia man receives 100-month federal prison term for distributing meth
A 33-year-old Centralia man has been sentenced to 100 months in federal prison for distributing more than 50 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine. Ricardo Little had been arrested on the char...
Bruce Kropp Jul 27, 2023

Misleading clients on abortion could cost Illinois pregnancy centers
By JOHN O'CONNOR AP Political Writer SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois crisis pregnancy centers, which often pop up near abortion facilities to offer information about alternatives, could face penalti...
Bruce Kropp Jul 27, 2023 Gov. JB Pritzker.

Audit: Illinois paid $5.2-billion in excessive or fraudulent unemployment claims during COVID-19
The Illinois Auditor General has issued a report indicating the state paid out more than $ 5 billion in excessive or fraudulent unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the findings i...
Bruce Kropp Jul 27, 2023

Mt Vernon man receives 18-year prison term for armed violence
A 29-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty in Jefferson County Court to an armed violence charge. As part of the deal, Codey Ince had charges of armed ...
Bruce Kropp Jul 27, 2023
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