LECLAIRE, Iowa (AP) — Transportation officials have closed the outside lanes of an Interstate 80 bridge near the Quad Cities after finding cracks in its steel framing. On Thursday the Iowa Department of Transportation said in a press release the lane closings at the steel-girder bridge in LeClaire are a precaution. The closure is from the Illinois state line to the first Iowa exit, No. 30.
The cracks in framing under the deck of the bridge were found Wednesday during a joint inspection by the Iowa and Illlinois departments of transportation. The closures will remain in place until repairs can be made, according to the press release. The Illinois DOT is responsible for maintenance of the bridge and is expected to make repair plans and arrange for the work.
~ Small Newspaper Group
SPRINGFIELD – Faced with $1.4 billion in cuts to the proposed state budget this week, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his veto pen skipped over the La Salle Veterans Home this week, making room to open an 80-bed expansion.
Instead, his pen landed on the Prince Home at Manteno which could see a 17 percent drop from the proposed funding level this year.
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Nearly 9,000 job would be coming to Joliet if CenterPoint Properties goes ahead with a proposal to build a $2 billion train-truck intermodal distribution center in Elwood.
The company told Joliet officials Thursday that it wants to build a second center on the city’s south side. Tom Thanas, Joliet city manager, said CenterPoint Properties made the announcement at Joliet City Council’s Land Use Committee. The company has already bought more than 3,000 acres for the International Port and Logistics Center Joliet. And it has bought some but not all of the estimated 30 homes in the area it hopes to build on.
William Kerr, 70, of Braidwood, formerly of Cicero, died Saturday (Jan. 12, 2008) at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet.
Lee O. Hardaway, 76, of Nehalem, Ore., formerly of Kankakee, died Dec. 21, 2007. Funeral services will be held today at Bethel AME Episcopal Church in Nehalem. Arrangements are by Mt. Scott Funeral Home in Oregon.
Former Loda and Buckley fire department volunteer Steven Stout, 23, of Loda, was indicted Thursday on two counts of arson for allegedly setting fire to two garages in Loda. (more…)
A six-lane superhighway on the planning books since the 1960s will finally open next month, which will help for now to ease congestion on what originally were rural roads in Will County, but which also will contribute to growth and future traffic headaches.
Movies playing at local theaters for this weekend (Fri. 10/5 - Sun. 10/7):
Laura M. Pike, 89, of Peotone, formerly of Monee, died Thursday.
A monitor going out at a lift station in the village of Bourbonnais caused the evacuation of CIGNA Healthcare this morning.
It also caused Riverside Health and Fitness Center to close due to standing water on the ground floor.
Greg Klonowski, sewer maintenance supervisor for Bourbonnais, said the monitor went off around 8:15 a.m. before going back on between 9 a.m. and 9:10 a.m. This caused the system to backup, Klonowski said.
CIGNA, located at U.S. Route 45/52 and Indian Oaks Road was evacuated after sewer gas crept into the building. A CIGNA spokesperson said employees would be let back in between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Riverside, located next to CIGNA, had a foot of standing water on the ground floor.
The lift station is one of 16 operated by the village. Klonowski said no residential customers were affected.
