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Blogs
April 11, 2012
Hell Hole vs. Murder City: Adjectives for East St. Louis Just Get Worse
Saturday Night Live poked some fun at East St. Louis with a political skit this past weekend that had Keenan Thompson (Good Burger, FTW), in character as ESL mayor Alvin Parks, proclaim his city to be a "hell hole." The real life Parks was reportedly not amused by the characterization.And then today ... More >>
Blogs
February 24, 2012
Cahokia Teacher Files Complaint Against Three Students for "Inappropriate Sexual Contact"
An unidentified female teacher at Cahokia High School filed has accused three of her students of "inappropriate sexual contact." No charges have been filed against the students yet, but they have been pulled out of school. The teacher has been put on paid administrative leave while the school dis ... More >>
Blogs
September 8, 2011
Mississippi River Bridge Project Employment Disparity Stings for African American Community Hit Hard By Recession
"I myself don't choose to be a third generation welfare mother. I want to work in the field that I'm trained in," says Dent.Tiama Dent is a single mother of two children and a graduate of the Illinois Department of Transportation's Highway Construction Preparatory Training program. The eight-w ... More >>
Blogs
September 6, 2011
Protestors Say They'll Stop Construction of Mississippi River Bridge
Mississippi River Bridge stirs controversy.Work on the new $700 million Mississippi River Bridge north of downtown St. Louis could come to a halt next week. East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks and the Metro-East Black Contractors Organization announced their plans for a protest on Friday, September ... More >>
Blogs
June 27, 2011
Washington Park Plans to Turn Library Into -- What Else? -- a Strip Joint
'Cause librarians are sexy, dammit!Washington Park is home to 5,000 people and eight strip clubs. Make that nine if officials in the impoverished metro East St. Louis community pass a plan to turn the town's former library into a topless bar.The property in question is owned by Willie "Big Mack" ... More >>
Blogs
May 31, 2011
Top 5 Objects Found on People Trying to Enter Madison County Courthouse
Image via"I promise I won't use 'em on the judge. Yet."Don Bridick just retired as director of courthouse security for the Madison County Sheriff. According to an exit interview he just did with the Belleville News-Democrat, here are five objects people had on them while trying to walk through se ... More >>
Blogs
May 25, 2011
Alcohol Spill Shuts Down Illinois Interstate Near Dupo
Image via
Blogs
April 11, 2011
Jury Selection Begins Today in Christopher Coleman Murder Trial
Christopher ColemanAttorneys representing the state of Illinois and accused murderer Christopher Coleman will begin sifting through a jury pool of 300 people in Perry County today. By the end of next week, the lawyers hope to have the twelve jurors needed to begin the trial. Coleman, 34, is accus ... More >>
Blogs
April 7, 2011
More Video Emerges as Blackmon's Plaza Loses Liquor License Following Brawl
YouTubeDozens of people skirmish around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at Blackmon's.New video appears at end of this post.East St. Louis officials yesterday temporarily suspended the liquor license at nightclub Blackmon's Plaza following a wild fight early Saturday morning. During the fight, captured on vid ... More >>
Blogs
March 28, 2011
Beat Me In St. Louis: Fairview Heights Mayor Fights Criticism Over "Porn Convention"
Welcome to Fairview Heights!Two dozen Fairview Heights residents showed up Thursday to a special meeting called to discuss outrage over a "porn convention" held in the southwestern Illinois town earlier this month. The event, titled "Beat Me in St. Louis," took place March 18-20 at the town ... More >>
Blogs
January 14, 2011
Court Upholds $5 Million Sex Abuse Judgment Vs. Belleville Diocese
An Illinois appellate court has upheld the ruling of a 2008 St. Clair County jury that awarded a man $5 million in a lawsuit versus the Belleville Diocese. The 2008 trial alleged that Rev. Raymond Kownacki sexually molested James Wisniewski of Champaign when Wisniewski served as an altar boy in t ... More >>
Blogs
December 22, 2010
East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Tries to Be Opposite of a Grinch
Keegan HamiltonEast St. Louis mayor Alvin Parks, Jr., at a town hall meeting earlier this year.Whatever the opposite of a Grinch is, that's what East St. Louis mayor Alvin L. Parks, Jr., is trying to be. Upon hearing that his city was planning to lay off nineteen police officers, four public ... More >>
Blogs
November 19, 2010
On Guinness World Record Day, Tallest Living Man Still Doesn't Measure Up to Alton Giant
Sultan Kosen stands 8'1" compared to Robert Wadlow's 8'11". For the record, yesterday was Guinness World Record Day. Thousands of record-setters and fans of the almanac of bizarre feats showed up in London to celebrate the occasion -- including Sultan Kosen of Turkey.
Blogs
October 28, 2010
Dancing Transsexual and Belleville Tire-Slasher One and the Same
Last week an anonymous evildoers slashed 33 tires in various parking lots around Belleville. Yesterday Belleville police apprehended a suspect in two of the slashings -- and it was someone very well known to Bellevillians. David L. Stone, who also goes by Susan L. Stone, has become a regular presen ... More >>
Blogs
August 16, 2010
East St. Louis School Thefts Delay Start of Classes
image viaAt Younge Middle School in East St. Louis, it's still summer vacation.Last week the Belleville News-Democrat reported that over the course of the last school year, more than $1 million worth of electronic equipment was stolen from East St. Louis schools. However, District 189 officia ... More >>
Blogs
July 28, 2010
Woman Accused of Murdering Husband: "We Didn't Always Get Along"
image viaErick ShepheardCindy Shepheard, a Belleville woman who is on trial for the murder of her husband Erick Shepheard, definitely has a gift for understatement. "We didn't always get along. That was no secret," she told the jury yesterday. "One minute we're arguing. I have to pack my bag ... More >>
Blogs
July 27, 2010
Those Dirty Dogs! Collinsville Burglars Mark Their Territory
image viaThe writing on the wall.Not content with merely stealing electronics and jewelry, the burglars who broke into a Collinsville home last Wednesday, July 21, decided to mark their territory. They used red spray paint, which is not the easiest to remove, but definitely smells better than ... More >>
Blogs
July 2, 2010
Washington Park's Mobil Gas Station of Death
Those gas prices are killer!Running on empty in southern Illinois? You might want to avoid filling up at the Mobil station on Kingshighway in Washington Park.After yet another homicide in the gritty East St. Louis suburb, the village's police chief told the Belleville News-Democrat that police "a ... More >>
Blogs
June 29, 2010
Kevin Johnson: East St. Louis Homicide No. 16; Killed Early Monday Morning
Johnson was found outside this building on N. 51st Street.East St. Louis police have identified the man shot dead early Monday morning as 34-year-old Kevin Johnson. Johnson, of the 1700 block of Belmont Avenue in East St. Louis, was found dead outside a building at 742 N. 51st Street around 1:10 ... More >>
Blogs
June 29, 2010
Tuesday Tussle, Part 2: Supreme Court's Gun Ban Ruling Will Not Lead to More Bloodshed
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that state and local laws can not supersede the Constitution when it comes to Americans' right to keep arms.The decision throws out laws in Chicago and its suburban neighbor, Oak Park, that banned residents from keeping handguns in their homes. The ruling also o ... More >>
Blogs
June 25, 2010
Shocking Number of Fugitives Hiding in East St. Louis Nursing Homes
Don't get burgled, grandma!In a sweep called "Operation Guardian," the state of Illinois is ferreting out wanted criminals blending in among nursing home populations. The Belleville News-Democrat just ran a story on their raid in Metro East, and in Daily RFT's opinion, that newspaper buried the ... More >>
Blogs
June 22, 2010
Would-be Burglar Gets Tackled, Pinned and Generally Humiliated by High School Footballer
Image via"Nobody robs a store in MY town!"Hey burglars, next time you burglarize in small-town America, make sure no enormous high school football linemen are watching.Reports The Belleville News-Democrat: At about 1:15 a.m. Saturday, Roger Farmer -- an 18-year-old member of the Wesclin Hig ... More >>
Blogs
June 4, 2010
Heard the One About the Shoplifting Priest With A Tombstone and Shackles in the Rectory?
Image via BND.com Rev. Steven PooleJust when you think the reputation of Catholic priests couldn't be tarnished any further, a reverend from Illinois gets caught shoplifting and decorating his living space with a bizarre assortment of items.How bizarre you ask? Like gravestones, shackles a ... More >>
Blogs
June 3, 2010
Marcus Blue & Jeremy Davis: East St. Louis Homicides No. 8 & 9; Shot During Memorial Day Domestic Disputes
Marcus Blue, a 23-year-old from Belleville, was shot to death Tuesday night at 1235 Boisemenue Ave, in East St. Louis. View Larger MapPolice were called to the residence at 12:48 a.m. when Blue attempted to enter the home, which belonged to his ex-girlfriend. Her new boyfriend, another 23-year-old ... More >>
Blogs
May 25, 2010
UPDATED: Christopher Coleman's Illinois Home/Murder Scene Up for Auction This Afternoon
Chris Coleman's home is up for auction. Crime scene tape not included.UPDATE 2:21 p.m.: According to Diane Sendelbeck, Monroe County's deputy court clerk, the Coleman casa sold for $256,419.96.The buyer? Wells Fargo Bank.Sendelbeck said nobody from the public bid on the house."Channel 2 and 4 and ... More >>
Blogs
May 20, 2010
St. Louis Cardinals Twitter Accounts You Should Follow
Keep up on the latest 140-character bursts of news, humor and statistics related to the St. Louis Cardinals on Twitter with this list of accounts you should follow, curated by the RFT staff. The tweeters below are all real people with opinions and we've excluded those Twitter accounts that simply ... More >>
Blogs
May 10, 2010
Serious Weight: Dealer Sentenced for Moving 8.5 Tons of Pot Over 5 Years
So, exactly how much is 8.5 tons of pot? Obligatory photograph of pot.Answer: 17,000 pounds or 7,711 kilograms or 103 Michael Phelpses or 38,555 copies of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon or 453,592 Twinkies or 131,949 White Castle Sliders. That's how much mary jane an East St. Louis drug de ... More >>
Blogs
May 6, 2010
Aaron Jackson: Washington Park Murder Suspect Arrested
Aaron "Chill" JacksonThe man suspected of shooting to death Washington Park Mayor John Thornton last month was arrested yesterday in a Metro East hotel. The police chief in the tiny municipality of Alorton got a tip yesterday that Aaron Jackson -- on the lam since early April -- was staying at a ... More >>
Blogs
April 26, 2010
East St. Louis Schools Make Consultants Cash Money Millionaires
Image viaThe motto of East St. Louis School District 189?It's never a good sign when a public agency refuses to turn over financial information for a newspaper's public records request. Logic says if there's nothing to hide, then why not hand over the data as required by law?Since East St. Louis ... More >>
Blogs
April 22, 2010
Woman Kidnapped from Kansas City, Saved at Metro East McDonald's
A likely suspect.I'm guessing it was the Hamburglar and perhaps Grimus, too. Though police have yet to name the two male suspects arrested for kidnapping a woman from Kansas City on Tuesday and driving her to a McDonald's in Fairview Heights, Illinois. As the Belleville News-Democrat reports this ... More >>
Blogs
April 1, 2010
City Nights: Secretive Construction on Murder Site Lends Itself to Conspiracy
What's he building in there? I'll tell you one thing, he's not building a playhouse for the children.What's he building in there? -- Tom WaitsCity Nights as it appeared before a fire last December.Remember the story of the City Nights, the supposedly racist strip club in East St. Louis where a bl ... More >>
Blogs
March 1, 2010
Pink Handcuffs Can't Hold Brooklyn Man Arrested For Burning Rubber
Image ViaCops love donuts but not this kind.Just when you think crime and punishment in the metro east suburbs can't get anymore absurd (Taco Bell police chase, anyone?) a guy goes and escapes from the pink handcuffs of a female Brooklyn police officer.A 23-year-old man -- police declined to name ... More >>
Blogs
February 17, 2010
Pro Tip: When Stealing Heavy Equipment, Cover Up the Footprints in the Snow That Lead To Your Front Door
Image Via The oldest blunder in the book?Teenagers are capable of many less-than-intelligent deeds, but a trio of eighteen-year-olds from Godfrey, Illinois, may have set a new standard for brainless bumbling earlier this week.Early Monday morning, the Belleville News-Democrat reported ... More >>
Blogs
February 15, 2010
The Best Video of a Meth Addict Jumping Into A Frozen Pond You'll See Today
Image via National Geographic A suspected Madison County meth maker took a polar bear plunge while attempting to elude policeAhhh, methamphetamine. It makes human beings do some amazing things -- amazingly dumb things.Take the case of 50-year-old Robert C. Kelly of Madison County, Illinois ... More >>
Blogs
February 9, 2010
House of Horrors: Bank Forecloses on Chris Coleman's Home
Image Via Nevermind the blood stains, it's a bargain! Attention home buyers: Great bargain available. Don't hesitate; this offer won't last long:Asking Estimated price: $170, 000Address: 2854 Robert Drive, Columbia, Illinois 62236Amenities: Three bedrooms, garage, 11,760 square-foot lot ... More >>
Blogs
January 26, 2010
Illinois Proposes Law to Prevent Labor Lockouts At Fairmount Park
Horse racing fans celebrated yesterday like a gambler who just hit the daily double. A last-minute deal was reached to allow Fairmount Park to host 52 days of live racing in 2010, as opposed to the three days the track was stuck with after a prolonged labor dispute.It's not exactly a full schedule ... More >>
Blogs
December 4, 2009
Chris Coleman's Attorneys Apparently Lack Internet Access
WWMD?We're not lawyers here at Daily RFT, but we occasionally like to play attorneys on the Internetz. (In this imaginary world we always think of ourselves as Matlock. Please humor us in this request.) So, today we're scratching our silky white coif and nervously fraying the lapels of our seersu ... More >>
Blogs
December 4, 2009
Today In Pathetic Criminal Defense: Dimwit Robbers, Angry Drug Dealers, and Murder Dog Magazine
Image via Jurorthirteen.comIn America's justice system, sometimes the innocent are proven guilty, sometimes the guilty are found innocent, and sometimes the guilty are so monumentally stupid that they defy all logic and common sense and make you wish for the ability to skip the trial completely a ... More >>
Blogs
November 23, 2009
The Justice System is On Crack
Image ViaIn the '80s, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin thought he was leading the charge in the war on drugs. He advocated significantly stiffer sentences for possession of crack than for powder cocaine -- to the point that, to this day, it still takes 100 times as much powdered booger sugar to trigg ... More >>
Blogs
November 13, 2009
Rap Lyrics or Deranged Terrorist Threat? You Decide!
An Illinois judge is left to fill in the blanks.Not that rap lyrics are required to rhyme, but we here at Daily RFT are having the darndest time imagining the following sentence as musical verse: If this account doesn't reach $50,000 in the next 7 days then a murderous rampage similar to the VT s ... More >>
Blogs
November 9, 2009
The Big Bloody: Melee At Brooklyn's Bottoms Up Strip Club
A strip joint, a late-night shooting, at least 30 shell casings recovered, three weapons five arrests, and one man hospitalized: Was Adam "Pacman" Jones in town Saturday this weekend?Yes, the Belleville News-Democrat is reporting yet another shooting incident at a Brooklyn, Illinois strip club, this ... More >>
Blogs
October 15, 2009
Illinois Doctor in Trouble For DUI's Uses Fuzzy Math to Fool Court
mugshot via stltoday.comDr. Charles EarnshawOn Tuedsay, Dr. Charles Earnshaw of Alton, Illinois pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and unlawful use of a weapon. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to drop other weapons and DUI charges the doctor was facing. The judge in the ca ... More >>
Blogs
October 14, 2009
Latest Panacea for Fairmount Park: Internet Gambling
After trying for years to get slot machines at tracks, the Illinois horse-racing community is hoping the next-best thing will help the troubled industry. Yesterday the Illinois Racing Board legalized online gambling for horse racing. As the Belleville News-Democrat reports this morning, the ... More >>
Blogs
August 14, 2009
There Must Be Something In the Music at Alton High School
Thanks to dozens of pun-filled Fark headlines a day about America's high school teachers schtuping their students, the world is fairly desensitized to the unfortunate (unless it's the cheerleading coach) phenomenon of inappropriate teacher-teen relationships.So when the Belleville News-Democrat repo ... More >>
Blogs
August 5, 2009
Another Lawnmower DUI; Illinois Drunk Drives Cub Cadet to Store for Milwaukee's Best
bnd.comDennis CrettonYesterday we speculated that driving lawnmowers while intoxicated was a recreation sport unique to Missouri. We were wrong. Drunk lawnmowering (that a word?) seems to be a favorite pastime of inebriates everywhere -- particularly those who've lost their drivers license from a ... More >>
Blogs
January 19, 2009
FoodWire: Some J. Buck's No Longer J. Buck's
I've received a couple of reader e-mails noting the strange goings-on at some of the area's J. Buck's: signage disappearing, menus without the restaurant's name. This article from the Belleville News-Democrat does a nice job of summing up what's happening: The Clayton and downtown J. Buck's will re ... More >>
Dining
August 22, 2007
Smoked Catfish
$7.95 Per Pound
Jay International Foods Company
3172 S. Grand Blvd.
News
February 22, 2006
Hair Shirt
Revealed! The diary of a traumatized Shih Tzu, a local blogger's bedroom confessions and the wherefores of wearing human hair! Plus, the triumphant (and drunken) return of Charles Bearkowski.
News
June 1, 2005
Letters
Week of June 1, 2005
Calendar
September 1, 2004
Gimme Some Skin
Takashi Horisaki strips down
More >>

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