WASHINGTON, March 21 -- The U.S. Department of Education issued the following news release: President Biden will email an additional 380,000 public service workers thanking them for their service and notifying them they are on track to have their debt cancelled through PSLF within two years The Biden-Harris Administration announced today the approval of $5.8 billion in additional student loan debt relief for 77,700 borrowers. These approvals are the result of fixes made by the Administra  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 22 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Midwest Regional Information Office issued the following report on March 20, 2024, entitled "County Employment and Wages in Minnesota - Third Quarter 2023": * * * Employment rose in 7 of the 8 largest counties in Minnesota from September 2022 to September 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in  more

ALBANY, New York, March 22 -- The city of Albany issued the following news: The City of Albany, NY, is thrilled to announce that our community is one of the selected 24 cities to participate in the Cities Forward program, a collaborative initiative between the U.S. Department of State, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Resilient Cities Catalyst, and the Institute of the Americas. Launched at the Cities Summit of the Americas, this program is dedicated to assisting Latin America and th  more

WASHINGTON, March 22 -- The U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Solicitor issued the following news brief on March 21, 2024: * * * Employers: Red Oak Tree Service Inc., Crystal Lake, Illinois, Humberto Gonzalez, owner Action: U.S. Department of Labor complaint filing Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division (Rockford) Court action: The department filed a complaint on March 21, 2024, after an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division found the e  more

ARGONNE, Illinois, March 21 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory issued the following news release on March 20, 2024: * * * The U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office spotlights impactful Argonne hydropower research in its annual accomplishments report * * * Three recent studies by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory advance the role of hydropower in driving the clean energy transition. The research explore  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois Auditor General issued the following compliance examination on March 21, 2024, involving the Governor's Office of Management and Budget. Here are excerpts: * * * FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS NONCOMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE CASH MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT ACT The Office did not fully comply with the provisions of the Cash Management Improvement Act (CMIA) regarding required reports and threshold computation. The CMIA is a fe  more

BOLINGBROOK, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: State Rep. Dagmara "Dee" Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, is working to make internet access more affordable with new legislation slashing cable and video provider charges for internet service customers. "Internet services should be affordable and accessible for all. That's why I'm working to regulate the fees charged by cable and video providers to customers who rent modems and routers, which is extremely importa  more

BOLINGBROOK, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news on March 21, 2024: State Rep. Dagmara "Dee" Avelar, D-Bolingbrook, will team up with state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, to host a free community drive-thru shred event on Saturday, April 13 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Bolingbrook Park District's Annerino Center, located at 201 Recreation Drive. "Not everyone can access a personal shredder or a secure disposal method for sensitive documents. This free comm  more

PLAINFIELD, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: State Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, is increasing his efforts to solve the Illinois teacher shortage by joining the newly formed Teacher Shortage Working Group. This group, chaired by state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, will work to find practical solutions to the ongoing issue. "Teacher and support staff vacancies are one of the biggest problems the Illinois' public education system and early chi  more

BLOOMINGTON, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, is increasing her focus on addressing the state's high levels of teaching vacancies by joining the newly formed Teacher Shortage Working Group. This group, chaired by state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, will work to find practical solutions to the ongoing issue. "Illinois families deserve the piece of mind that comes from knowing their children are attending p  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: With encounters between street racers and law enforcement continuing to go viral on social media, state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, is pushing a plan in Springfield that would enable law enforcement to more easily tow vehicles, while also expanding the state's mob action laws to include illegal street racing, drifting and other dangerous vehicle stunts. "We can't ignore the real safety hazard that is c  more

BELLEVILLE, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: State Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Swansea, is encouraging interested parties to take advantage of a new funding opportunity from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to support the construction of new electric vehicle charging stations across the state. "Electric vehicles continue to be more common on our roads, and it's important that we continue to support infrastructure investments that support job  more

ROMEOVILLE, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: To ensure that nonprofits who assist community members are able to continue their work, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, is encouraging small nonprofits to apply for a grant through the Charitable Trust Stabilization Program. "Nonprofits play a vital role in providing aid to residents throughout our community," said Manley. "With the many critical services that they offer, providing assistance to thes  more

AURORA, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news on March 20, 2024: State Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, is joining with state Sen. Karina Villa, the Illinois Department of Commerce, the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to hold a workshop to connect Latina entrepreneurs with state services. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Belle Salle Banquet, at   more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following news: State Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, has been selected by Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch to lead a legislative working group formed in order to focus Illinois' response to widespread difficulties with teaching vacancies. "I approached Speaker Welch about forming this working group because teacher turnover continues to increase and districts are struggling to fill vacancies," Stuart said  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois Senate Republicans issued the following news: As Illinois families continue to face the challenge of how to pay the rapidly growing costs of nearly everything they need, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sue Rezin (R-Morris) and Senate Republican Caucus Whip Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) have filed new legislation to provide additional financial support for struggling Illinois parents. To accomplish this goal, Senators Rezin and Tracy have filed legislation to en  more

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois House Democrats issued the following statement on March 21, 2024, by State Rep. Lilian Jimenez, D-Chicago: * * * Emergency mental health professionals would be guaranteed disability coverage and line of duty compensation under new legislation advanced by state Rep. Lilian Jimenez, D-Chicago. "As our approach to emergency response and 911 operations includes the invaluable expertise of mental health professionals, these first responders deserve t  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 22 (TNSres) -- The Illinois Commerce Commission issued the following news release on March 21, 2024: The Illinois Commerce Commission released its annual report on accidents and incidents involving hazardous materials (hazmat) on Illinois railroads. Of the 9,004 rail cars inspected in 2023, the ICC found violations in only 0.8 percent of all inspections, down from 1.3 percent last year. When the ICC's hazmat inspections first started in 1981, violations topped 12 percen  more

CHICAGO, Illinois, March 22 -- The Illinois Commerce Commission issued the following news release: The Illinois Commerce Commission approved its annual five-year Crossing Safety Improvement Program (FY 2025-2029) to implement life-saving safety upgrades at highway-rail crossings across Illinois. Over $410 million from the Grade Crossing Protection Fund (GCPF) and Rebuild Illinois (RBI) will help local communities and railroads pay for much-needed safety improvements at 1,310 crossing locations.  more

LANSING, Michigan, March 22 -- Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued the following news release: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a multistate coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a motion to intervene on behalf of the State of California and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to defend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Oil and Gas Methane Rule. The EPA's Final Rule strengthens the reg  more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, March 22 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina issued the following news release: A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment charging two men with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit money laundering concerning obtaining fraudulent proceeds of Economic Injury Disaster Loan ("EIDL") COVID-19 loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. "The pandemi  more

WASHINGTON, March 22 (TNSres) -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Protected Resources issued the feature story: * * * Our marine mammal network partners leverage the Prescott Grant Program's competitive grants to improve their stranding response and investigation capabilities for pinniped conservation. * * * The John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program provides funding to stranding network participants. It allows them to better respond to   more

WASHINGTON, March 21 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency issued the following news release: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Harold O. Poulter, 23, of Charleston, Illinois, killed during World War II, was accounted for January 17, 2024. In February 1945, Poulter was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division. His regiment was engaged in fierce fighting near the town of B  more