Belleville News-Democrat
Kristen Poshard was fired from her Madison County and is now suing the county alleging she was fired after she accused a county board member of sexual harassment. The suit has cost county taxpayers more than $320,000 so far.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
A federal lawsuit alleging Madison County fired a former employee after she accused a county board member of sexual harassment has cost taxpayers more than $320,000, and there could be more to come.
In March 2019, Kristen Poshard filed suit against the county, alleging she was fired for complaining that board member Philip Chapman, of Highland, had repeatedly sexually harassed her in 2017 and that county administrators did nothing to stop it.
Belleville News-Democrat
Some public school districts in the Metro East lost students this fall, and the coronavirus pandemic is likely to blame.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
Some public school districts in the Metro East lost students this fall, and the coronavirus pandemic is likely to blame.
With 7,366 students this fall, Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 is the largest district in the Metro East. After at least four years of very consistent enrollment levels, the district lost about 100 students this fall. For a district that size, Superintendent Jason Henderson said the decline was small, but that it could affect class sizes slightly.
Former state legislator from East St Louis dies at age 71 after contracting COVID-19 stltoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stltoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Belleville News-Democrat
State Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson Sr. in the Illinois House Representatives in this Aug. 17, 2012 file photo. Jackson served for 8 years in the Illinois Legislature.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
A longtime educator, community leader and the “Dean of Politics” in East St. Louis has died. He had been fighting the novel coronavirus, according to those who knew him.
Eddie Lee Jackson Sr. served in the Illinois House of Representatives for eight years after retiring from a lengthy career as a science teacher and administrator in East St. Louis School District 189. He sat on the East St. Louis City Council for 20 years and is the father of Emeka Jackson-Hicks, the city’s former mayor.
File photo / Derik Holtmann / Belleville News-Democrat
Originally published on December 17, 2020 5:27 pm
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
State agencies in Southwestern Illinois are bracing for budget cuts after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a first round that will affect public safety and social services, with promises of more to come.
The more than $700 million in reductions are only a start in filling a $3.9 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Roughly $2 billion of Illinois’ deficit is attributable to tax revenue lost in the coronavirus pandemic.