CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday appointed state Budget Director Jerry Stermer as Illinois comptroller following the unexpected passing of Judy Baar Topinka. Stermer will serve as comptroller on an interim basis to ensure that state operations continue uninterrupted and will resign from the post on Jan. 12, 2015. “The sudden passing of Judy…

CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn is calling legislators back to Springfield on Jan. 8 to consider legislation that would allow voters to fill the elected position of Illinois comptroller. A special election will give voters the opportunity to choose the comptroller in the next statewide election on Nov. 8, 2016. The primary election is scheduled…

BLOOMINGTON  – The Illinois Soybean Growers says it welcomes the president’s effort to normalize relations and open up business opportunities with Cuba. “This is a very good opportunity for Illinois soybean farmers and the businesses who use our beans,” said ISG Chairman Bill Raben, a soybean farmer from Ridgway, Ill. “This opens a lot of…

ST. LOUIS – T. William White, senior vice president of Commerce Bank, has been elected chair of Better Business Bureau’s board of directors, effective Jan. 1 White, left, succeeds Robert Hoffmann, president of Hoffmann Brothers Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. Hoffmann remains on the board as immediate past chair. The local chapter serves Eastern Missouri…

Madison County, long known as a favorite lawsuit-filing destination for out-of-state personal injury lawyers and plaintiffs, is again on a list of the “Top Five Worst Judicial Hellholes” in the country. Today’s annual report on the nation’s worst “Judicial Hellholes” comes from the American Tort Reform Foundation, which defines a “judicial hellhole” as “a place…

At the request of HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board has deferred Tuesday’s vote on the hospital’s proposal to build a replacement hospital and ambulatory care center along Interstate 64 and Green Mount Road in St. Clair County. St. Elizabeth’s will request that HFSRB consider the project again at…

ALTON — The YWCA of Alton is seeking nominations for women of the River Bend who have demonstrated unselfish commitment through community and volunteer support. The public is invited to participate in making nominations for the 25th annual Women of Distinction celebration. Nomination deadline is Jan. 15, 2015. Honorees will be recognized during a silver-anniversary…

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, says Metro East is among beneficiaries of what he said is an imperfect spending bill passed in the final days of the Senate session. Durbin, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Consolidated and Further Appropriations Act of 2015 goes to the president for his signature,…

GODFREY – As part of the Mississippi River Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Consortium, Lewis and Clark Community College is launching a new logistics management program in the spring of 2015. Logistics management is the detailed coordination of a complex operation involving many people, facilities or supplies. “The need to move materials from one place to…

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS -Construction-management firm IMPACT Strategies recently completed construction of the St. Louis Metro East’s first HomeGoods, a popular off-price home and fashion retailer with more than 400 stores nationwide. The store is located on Illinois Route 159 across from St. Claire Square in the new multi-million-dollar Fairview City Centre, also constructed by IMPACT Strategies…