Riddle Hill
Snow on the boulevard doesn’t cancel this Sunday market. When winter hits, the whole thing simply heads indoors and keeps going. I love that idea. Your weekly bread, eggs, and cheese haul doesn’t have to pause just because Illinois decided to freeze solid for a few months. In...
Illinois collected $311.1 million from alcoholic beverage sales taxes in 2024, accounting for 0.5% of the state’s total tax revenue of $66.9 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State Government Tax Collections (STC). The State Government Tax Collections (STC) survey tracks five major tax categories...
Some of the best stops in Illinois are the ones you almost walk right past. I went looking for a quick souvenir and left with a story, a handful of postcards, and a real urge to come back. The little shop I found felt less like a store and more...
If you’re looking for a desk job in southwestern Illinois, the state government has several opportunities, including some that don’t require a college degree. The Illinois state government is hiring for 380 jobs statewide, including at least 49 in the metro-east. While the Land of Lincoln’s unemployment rate has seen a slight decrease recently, it remains higher than the national average, and the state was recently named below-average in the U.S. for job opportunities . However, there are several local openings with the Illinois state government, from clerical work in East St. Louis to a human resources position in Fairview Heights. Here’s an overview of five open positions. Team clerical Agency: Department of Children and Family Services Wage: $4,144 anticipated starting monthly pay; full range is $4,144 to $5,429 per month. Location: East St. Louis Application deadline: Tuesday, Nov. 10 Minimum qualifications for this position include “knowledge, skill, and mental development” equivalent to the completion of high school, two years of office experience and the ability to type accurately at 45 words per minute, the listing says. Job responsibilities include, according to the listing: “Serves as Team Clerical. Answers incoming phone calls and greets visitors. Establishes and maintains case files.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is offering its insurance discount program for cover crops for the eighth year. The program, called Fall Covers for Spring Savings Program, encourages cover crop acres not supported by other state or federal incentives. Cover crops are plants grown primarily for the benefit of the soil and ecosystem rather than for food or sale.
The first time I walked into a small-town butcher shop in Illinois, I expected a quick stop and walked out with a cooler so full I could barely close the trunk. The meat looked better, the people knew their stuff, and the bundle prices made my usual grocery bill look silly.
Homeowners 65 and older in Colorado, North Dakota, Illinois and Texas can cut their property tax bills through senior programs that state agencies publish, and each program runs on its own application calendar. North Dakota’s credit reaches households with income up to $70,000, according to the state’s tax office. The four programs differ in what […] The post Homeowners 65 and older in Colorado, North Dakota, Illinois and Texas can claim senior property-tax breaks, and North Dakota’s credit covers incomes up to $70,000 appeared first on The Money Overview .
A field study at the Morgan Solar arrays near Meredosia reveals endangered Illinois chorus frogs and regal fritillary butterflies are thriving.
More than 3,200 acres of farmland are scheduled to be auctioned in Illinois during November 2026. Listings span 19 counties and range from 27 to 375 acres. Here’s a closer look at three notable sales. Grundy County. A 140-acre farm in Grundy County, northeast Illinois, was offered in a...
TAYLORVILLE — Ameren Illinois representatives Brian Martin and Brian Bretsch met with the Breeze-Courier Thursday, Nov. 5, to provide an update on the former manufactured gas plant site on South Webster Street and address concerns about possible contamination at nearby Manners Park. The company is preparing to temporarily shut...
Health Care Service Corp., the Chicago-based parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and the Blues plans in several other states, is leaving 498 counties for its Medicare Advantage drug plans in 2027 and entering none. The count comes from KFF’s county-level review of the 2027 plan landscape. Members in those counties have […] The post Health Care Service Corp. is leaving 498 Medicare Advantage drug-plan counties for 2027 and entering none, and its Illinois reach falls from 100 counties to eight appeared first on The Money Overview .
Air Force veteran and AmVets/VFW leader Shawn Miller highlights his growing Illinois veteran-owned and veteran-supported business network.
Sunraycer Renewables, an independent power producer backed by Crayhill Capital Management, has acquired two utility-scale solar projects totaling 325 megawatts of alternating-current capacity from Apricus Energy. The transaction expands Sunraycer’s development pipeline into Illinois and Missouri while strengthening its presence within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) electricity market.
American Water Works Company and Essential Utilities have received approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission for their proposed all-stock merger, marking another regulatory milestone toward completion of the transaction. The approval represents the fourth favorable state regulatory decision involving the combination, which was originally announced on October 27, 2025. The...
A nationwide uptick in mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry is having a visible effect on the Springfield market – with banks changing names and new players coming to town. According to national reports, merger and acquisitions activity rebounded in the U.S. banking market in 2025 after a...
As farmers face sky-high costs, the lawmakers say USDA Risk Management Agency must rebalance premium costs and refund Illinois and Midwestern farmers SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17) and Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), both members of the House Agriculture Committee, today sent a letter to the Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency, calling for a review of the Federal Crop Insurance Program to rebalance payments for farmers that are routinely overcharged for federal crop insurance premiums. While the Federal Crop Insurance Act requirescrop insurance premiums to roughly equal the indemnity payouts over the long term, Illinois corn and soybean farmers have been systemically overcharged for crop insurance premiums as they rank among the lowest in the nation for crop insurance payouts. “Farmers face record costs for farm inputs, including diesel, fertilizer, seed, and equipment. As policymakers explore options for relief, we ask USDA to begin a targeted review as soon as possible of the counties and crops that have consistently been overcharged in the Federal Crop Insurance Program, and
The state of Illinois received approval for 240 tracts of land to be included in the Opportunity Zone 2.0 federal program.
Illinois HB 228 requires advertised prices to include mandatory fees from Jan. 1, 2027, covering hotels, delivery, restaurants and tickets.
