// a href = ./ //

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A southwestern Illinois village clerk seeking to be mayor is free on bond after being accused of sneaking a cellphone to a jailed relative while working as a records clerk for the sheriff's department.

Alorton Village Clerk JoAnn Reed was arraigned Monday on charges of official misconduct and bringing contraband into a penal institution.

St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson says he suspended Reed with pay in the wake of allegations she smuggled food and a cellphone to her niece while that relative was jailed Feb. 3 in Alorton on charges that accused her of assaulting a pregnant woman.

Reed's attorney, John O'Gara, declined to comment after Monday's court appearance.

The charges are the latest involving officials in Alorton. A former mayor and a former police chief are in prison.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - An appraisal of land purchased by the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis suggests that the museum overpaid by about $615,000.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the appraisal was released Tuesday.

The museum purchased the land from former Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. in 2006, paying Bosley and a business partner $875,000. The appraisal determined the land's value at about $260,000 at the time, and about $215,000 now.

The land was also contaminated, requiring up to $300,000 for environmental cleanup.

Robert Archibald resigned as museum president in December, though both he and Bosley denied that personal or political connections played a role in the deal.

A woman is found dead in East St. Louis, police say she was shot in the face. The Illinois State Police are assisting East St. Louis in the investigation of the city's third homicide this year. The victim is a 29-year-old woman and she was a known prostitute. Police do not have a motive or suspect at this time.