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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Pat Quinn says he hopes a bill that would kick-start high-volume oil and gas drilling passes "swiftly" through the Illinois House and Senate after a House committee voted to send it to the full House.

The House Executive Committee voted 11-0 Tuesday to approve a measure regulating hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" - the use of high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals to crack rock formations deep underground and release oil and natural gas.

Proponents say it's safe and would create jobs in cash-strapped southern Illinois. Quinn has promised to sign the bill.

Opponents worry that fracking could cause air and water pollution and deplete water resources.

They favor a two-year moratorium on the practice, but House and Senate bills calling for a pause have been stalled.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Prison sentences for Missouri juveniles convicted of first-degree murder remain uncertain because lawmakers did not pass a new sentencing scheme before adjourning.

Under state law, people under 18 convicted of first-degree murder are automatically sentenced to life without parole. But a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision said such automatic sentences are unconstitutional.

The high court said states had to consider an offender's upbringing and role in the crime before sentencing a juvenile to life without parole.

Republican Sen. Bob Dixon, of Springfield, proposed legislation that would have left life without parole as a possibility but also would have allowed juveniles to be given a 50-year prison term. But it stalled in the closing days of the Legislature's session that ended last week

For a second day, heavy rainfall has delayed the start of a project at the Bridgeton Landfill.    

But when work begins to get rid of an odor coming from the landfill--homeowners who live nearby are staying in nearby hotels. They're concerned their homes could be broken into while they're away.

Missouri Attorney General and Bridgeton police chief Don Hood promise residents both marked and unmarked cars will be patrolling those neighborhoods affected by the temporary move.