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BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A southwestern Illinois jury has acquitted one of four people who had been accused in the 2011 stabbing death of a Georgia man.

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The Belleville News-Democrat reports that 39-year-old Christopher Mays of Caseyville was found not guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder and felony murder.

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Authorities say 38-year-old Melvin Gregory moved to the area from Conyers, Ga., to live with his girlfriend. After those two got into an altercation that involved Mays and two other defendants, Gregory's body was found in August 2011 on the side of a road by horseback riders near Cahokia.

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The three other defendants have pleaded not guilty and await trial.

 

Washington, DC (AP) - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is asking energy drink companies to stop marketing their products to children.

The Democratic senator from Illinois sent a letter Monday to the CEOs of Red Bull, Rockstar and Monster asking for an explanation for the companies' sponsorship of sporting events that target children.

Durbin says the companies have often claimed they do not market their drinks to youngsters. But he says he is aware of multiple situations that contradict their claims.

Durbin cites several examples in his letter, including a high school football tournament and a motorcycle race for children as young as thirteen endorsed by Red Bull.

Durbin says his letter stems out of growing concerns during the past year about the potential health risks posed by energy drinks.

CHICAGO (AP) - Gov. Pat Quinn says any overhaul of Illinois' worst-in-the-nation pension problem should have a funding guarantee.

He spoke yesterday just days after House lawmakers approved their third pension-related bill. The latest would reduce and delay cost-of-living increases in state employees' retirement pay.

Pensions have been Quinn's top issue for more than a year. He says lawmakers' work last week was a step in the right direction but there's further to go. Quinn says any reform package should address retirement age and pensionable salary.

Illinois has nearly $100 billion in unfunded pension debt because lawmakers skipped or shorted pension payments for years.

House lawmakers recently OK'd bills that would cap the salary on which benefits are based to the limit set for Social Security and delay the retirement age incrementally.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) - It isn't just Illinoisans who are closely watching a bill in the Illinois House that would regulate fracking. Missouri mining organizations have a keen interest, too.

The Southeast Missourian reports that the Missouri mining industry stands to gain from an increased need for silica sand, which is used in the process of large-scale hydraulic fracturing - or fracking.

Missouri is not an abundant resource of oil or natural gas, but it is a resource for silica sand. The silica sand is critical for the process of fracking.

Environmentalists in Missouri say there is concern that expanded sand mining will cause environmental damage.

The January 2013 Mineral Commodity Summary by the U.S. Geological Survey says Missouri is the sixth-largest producer of industrial sand and gravel.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Shane Larkin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with a minute left and Miami kept possession on a ball knocked out of bounds that probably should have gone to Illinois, helping the Hurricanes hold on for a 63-59 victory Sunday night to advance to the NCAA round of 16.

After Larkin's first field goal in about 9 1/2 minutes, D.J. Richardson missed a 3-pointer. In the fight for the rebound, the ball appeared to ricochet off the hands of Miami's Kenny Kadji out of bounds. But the Hurricanes kept the ball, and Durand Scott made two free throws after that.

Miami (29-6) is in the round of 16 for only the second time in school history. The Hurricanes play Marquette (25-8) in Washington D.C. on Thursday night.

Larkin, the only non-senior starter for Miami and the ACC player of the year, finished with 17 points. Rion Brown had 21 with five 3s.

Brandon Paul had 18 points for Illinois (23-13).

CHICAGO (AP) — Five small airports in Illinois are among dozens nationwide that will lose their air traffic control towers under budget cuts that have hit the Federal Aviation Administration.

The agency announced Friday that it will begin closing 149 air traffic facilities starting April 7.

The affected Illinois towers are at St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal, Decatur Airport, Southern Illinois Airport in Carbondale and Waukegan Regional Airport near Chicago.

All of the affected airports will remain open. Under long-established procedures, pilots will be left to coordinate takeoffs and landings among themselves over a shared radio frequency without help from controllers.

The FAA is being forced to trim $637 million for the rest of the fiscal year under the federal cuts known as sequestration.

CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn says there's need for improvement after the private manager of the Illinois Lottery fell short of promised profits.

The lottery says that Northstar Lottery Group projected net income of about $851 million for fiscal year 2012. The lottery says profits actually were $757 million, about $95 million short. Northstar took over management of the Illinois Lottery in July 2011.

Quinn told reporters after an unrelated event in Chicago that the management model needs improvement. He didn't offer many specifics but says one fix could be trying to attract more people to play the lottery.

The profit targets are part of a management agreement between the lottery and Northstar. The agreement says Northstar must pay the lottery $20 million if it doesn't reach the target.

He may not be coming back, but it is clear Chief Illiniwek still has strong support among University of Illinois students.

Almost 80 percent of the more than 11,500 students who voted in a recent campus referendum said they believed the American Indian mascot should be the symbol of the university's Urbana-Champaign campus.

University officials say that's not going to happen.

The university dropped the Chief mascot in 2007 under pressure from the NCAA.

CHICAGO (AP) — Environmentalists are praising Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan for showing what they call "real leadership" on fracking.

Madigan said today he supports a temporary ban on the drilling practice that critics say causes air and water pollution. Lawmakers are working on a bill to regulate the practice that drillers say is safe.

CASEYVILLE, Ill. (AP) - The police chief in the southern Illinois village of Caseyville has been placed on paid administrative leave because of a grand jury investigation into his use of a truck seized as part of a drug case.

The Belleville News Democrat reported Monday that Police Chief J.D. Roth did not sell the pickup truck at auction, as directed by state law. Village records show that Roth instead drove the 2003 Dodge Ram 65,000 miles for personal use and charged the village more than $6,000 for maintenance.

Roth was placed on leave Monday by Mayor George Chance after St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly asked that Roth not be involved in police investigations or have access to evidence or village computers.

Roth says he can't comment without the village's permission.