BELOW: Lauren Heischmidt, left, prepares to speak to sixth-graders at Alton Middle School on Friday. From Illinois Business Journal news services EDWARDSVILLE — Assistant prosecutors with the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office spent their Friday training caseworkers with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and speaking to sixth graders about the dangers…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services EAST ST. LOUIS –  A Belleville woman whose fiancee was killed in the line of duty in 2011 was sentenced Friday to a year and a day in federal prison as a result of her convictions for mail fraud and wire fraud in a scheme to defraud and…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services EDWARDSVILLE – Citing changing trends in the health-care industry, Hospice of Southern Illinois has announced it plans to close its Hospice Home Relais Bonne Eau in Edwardsville at the end of the year. The announcement was posted Aug. 19 on the organization’s website.The organization plans to sell the…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services SPRINGFIELD – A first-of-its kind program in the U.S. to provide locking devices on painkiller prescriptions containing hydrocodone is now a reality in Illinois after legislation to launch the pilot program was signed into law today. House Bill 3219, co-sponsored by State Reps. and former prosecutors Michael Zalewski,…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services SPRINGFIELD – Legislation sponsored by state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, allowing for the dissolution of Belleville Township was signed into law Thursday. The dissolution of the township will help reduce the size and cost of local government in Belleville, he said. “This new law is a common-sense reform…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services EAST ST. LOUIS — The Casino Queen is again offering a free shuttle service to and from St. Louis Rams games this season, starting with the first home game of the preseason against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, Aug. 29. The shuttle, which is open to fans of…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services ST. LOUIS – Longtime St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz starts a new career with a return to radio on Monday. Miklasz starts in his role with 101ESPN with a revival of The Bernie Miklasz Show, weekday mornings from 7 to 10 a.m. He’ll be broadcasting and writing…

The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville and the St. Clair County Mental Health Board Suicide Prevention Alliance are inviting the public to a candlelight vigil, Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 7:45 to 8:15 p.m. at the Shrine’s Lourdes Grotto. The event will to remember loved ones who have died by suicide.…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services The first Alton Food Truck Festival presented by Sauce magazine will be at the Liberty Bank Alton Amphitheater, Saturday, Aug. 29. The food trucks will provide their products for purchase from 4 to 8 p.m. while live music will play throughout the festival and continue until 10 p.m.…

  From Illinois Business Journal news services EDWARDSVILLE – Madison County has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify brownfields — historically contaminated properties — for clean-up and redevelopment. The announcement was made jointly Wednesday by Chairman Alan J. Dunstan and U.S. Congressmen John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville,…