News

Illinois businesses waiting for long-overdue tax refunds aren't getting any good news from the state capitol.

Illinois owes about $850 million to roughly 36,000 businesses that overpaid their income taxes. Some have been waiting since 2008 to get their money.

Gov. Pat Quinn proposed borrowing money to pay the refunds, but legislators have shown little interest in that idea.

Budget proposals being considered by Democratic lawmakers would do little to chip away at the backlog.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation repealing part of a voter-approved dog-breeding law in an agreement with lawmakers to consider more changes to breeder regulations.

Nixon signed the legislation Wednesday. It eliminates a cap on owning 50 breeding dogs and rolls back various requirements on dogs' living conditions. Instead, breeders would need to provide appropriate space for dogs based on regulations set by the Department of Agriculture. Operators would pay more for licenses and help finance a program that crack down on unlicensed breeders.

Flooded Poplar Bluff Hit with More Rain

The southern Missouri town of Poplar Bluff endured another night of torrential rain, this time dropping another two inches of water onto already saturated ground.

 The Black River levee that protects the town's low-lying neighborhoods survived Tuesday night. The earthen wall was breached yesterday south of town, which flooded farmland, but released pressure within city limits.

The Missouri House has passed a bill that includes language banning texting while driving for motorists of all ages.

Current law only bans texting while driving for those age 21 and younger.

Updated 5:42 p.m. to reflect that the state has received Kinder's check:

Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder has paid the state $52,320 to cover any potentially questionable expense reimbursements during his term in office.

Kinder wrote the check from his personal funds - a change of plans from when he announced earlier this month that his campaign would pay the state $35,050 to cover St. Louis area hotel stays cited in a story by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.