ILLINOIS STATE NEWS BRIEF (11/30/2023)

(SPRINGFIELD) The State DNR will host its annual Christmas Remembrance Ceremony for Illinois soldiers listed as prisoners of war or missing in action during the Vietnam War this coming Saturday at the Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. Family and friends of soldiers will have the opportunity to hang heart-shaped ornaments with the names of loved ones on a tree near the memorial.

(SPRINGFIELD) Nearly 350 Illinois school children will visit state historic sites this school year as a result of grant funding provided through the State DNR’s State Historic Sites Field Trip Grant Program. More than $5,200 in private donated funds were awarded for ten field trip grants this school year. The program allows Illinois teachers to apply for funds to take students on field trips to visit and learn more at select Illinois state historic sites.

(CHICAGO) IDOT has announced the completion of a multiyear project to install a new deck on the I-280 Sergeant John F. Baker Junior Bridge over the Mississippi River up in Rock Island County. The original Baker Bridge opened in 1973 and today carries more than 28,000 vehicles a day, almost 20% of which are semi-trucks. The Iowa DOT contributed nearly $19 million to the bridge improvement work which cost a total $65 million.

(SPRINGFIELD) The Rolling Stones are adding a second Chicago show to their 2024 Hackney Diamonds Tour in America. Due to overwhelming demand, the second show will take place June 30th, also at Soldier Field, three days after the first show on the 27th. The tour, sponsored by AARP, will travel to 16 U.S. cities between April and July of next year.