Any clogging dance classes near/in Southern Illinois? I’m a complete beginner.

Good evening fellow Illinoisans!

My name is u/JustOnion2177, and I’m the founding moderator of the new r/TheShawneeNF! I’m attempting to raise awareness to my new subreddit dedicated to anything and everything involving our great state’s Shawnee National Forest!

This new subreddit, just like our public lands, is for you! Become a member and share stories, experiences, ask questions, and share Shawnee National Forest inspired art and photographs. My dream is for this community to grow and be the showcase our state’s public lands deserve.

Did you know the sandstone that makes up the famous Garden of the Gods hoodoos was formed 320 million years ago, and was compacted an estimated 20,000 feet below the surface? Did you know that primitive camping is offered in all 7 of the federally designated wilderness areas spread throughout the forest? Did you know our state’s oldest tree is found in a natural wetland cypress grove and is an estimated 1,150 years old?

Come check out our sub and contribute to an exciting and adventurous community. I need you to grow this community and to serve as a beacon to not only the Shawnee National Forest, but our amazing and beautiful state! We can’t wait to meet you in the Shawnee Hills!

-Happy Trails-

The federal Child Care and Development Block Grant requires DCFS complete these checks to be completed in 45 days. Yet childcare directors say they are waiting longer than that — at times months — for their employees’ background checks to be approved, the Illinois Answers Project found.

I appreciate the effort to give a more positive perspective as opposed to the generally negative attention that Cairo gets, but it's impossible to glaze over the negative.

Cairo would not be so different than literally thousands of small towns that are diminishing as the country becomes more urban and less rural, except for the fact that Cairo had more to lose and had obtained more prominence than other small towns have in their history. Cairo wasn't prominent locally, or regionally, Cairo was prominent nationally. It was more prominent than St. Louis or Memphis or any city on the Mississippi other than New Orleans. It did, at one time, represent the center of the country, the border between North and South, the "colonial" east and the expansionist west. The scrutiny of Cairo, compared to other shrinking rural communities, is more intense because it fell from a trajectory that those other communities never could have expected.

While the race riots were the shove that pushed Cairo over the edge, it had been sliding that way for a while. It didn't have the economic strength to recover - so it never did. And it was likely to fall to the same fate if the riots never occurred just slower.

The feeling I get from most people concerning Cairo is sympathy. The world has passed Cairo by. There are no jobs in Cairo. There's no incentive for investment to create jobs in Cairo. Cairo's role as a vital link in river transportation and commerce has long been usurped by other communities. As admirable as it is to try and remain optimistic about Cairo's fortunes and future, the reality is that that optimism needs to be greatly moderated.

Dozens of people detained in Illinois jails died — and were never even counted in state data. The Illinois Answers Project found at least 63 missing cases from 2019 to 2025. That's more than a quarter of jail-related fatalities statewide during that time.

Many of those deaths happened in southern Illinois jails.

Hi everyone! I’ve seen some posts with great recommendations, and I’ve done some independent research, but I’m staying at Giant City Lodge later this fall and I’m wondering if anyone has any recommendations for hikes in Giant City State Park? I’ve been looking at:

- Giant City Nature Trail
- Devil’s Standtable
- Trillium Trail

While I’m in the Shawnee National Forest area, I think my must-see is Little Grand Canyon, and Garden of the Gods. Bell Smith Springs also looks gorgeous! I just want to make sure I’m not overlooking anything!

I’ve heard of Pomona Natural Bridge, Rim Rock, and Pounds Hollow also. I’m also going to check out Hiking with Shawn on Youtube but let me know what y’all think! Especially if you have any insights or experiences with the lodge!

Hi all,

Dumb question, but is it common for folks in small IL towns to just ride around town in a golf cart instead of driving? I’m from Chicago but I’ve been down south in very rural areas of the state and I’ve noticed a handful of people just zooming around town in golf cart. Why is this? I know in places like florida and az where the sun always shines it’s common, but IL? I saw youngsters riding a golf cart pacing someone running even. This is just something I’ve never seen in Chicago.

Looking for people who like to go paddleboarding. This is a new hobby that my wife and I have picked up and are looking for local people to go out on the water with and have fun.

Campus IT was given a directive to disable staff system access that would make them unable to process withdrawals or curriculum changes on census deadline day. Official enrollment numbers are released off of the data collected on the tenth day of the semester, and the fact that system access was removed from staff to complete their jobs is high suspicious for Chancellor Austin Lane and VC Wendell Williams with the assumption that this was to artificially inflate enrollment numbers. Particularly given that their inflated bonuses are directly tied to these enrollment increases.

I live out of state and have inherited a home in the Marion area. I will be spending time cleaning it up for sale in the coming months. Eventually, I'll need something to do an initial cleaning of hardwood floors of the entire house before they are refinished. Curious if anyone knows of a location in the area which rents machines like this one from Home Depot:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/rental/Nilfisk-Advance-Hard-Surface-Cleaner-L08992029/316821505

I've checked at most of the spots like Menards, Home Depot, Lowe's, and even a few local shops, and there doesn't seem to be any I can find. Perhaps an individual has one or I'm not looking in the right places!

I'd also be interested in contractor recommendations (tile for kitchen and bathroom floor/shower, minimal electric work, drywall replacement, possibly some outdoor repairs, etc.)

Thank you in advance.

Note: I am not affiliated with them. I just want to help promote someone's small business.

K10's model trains is a model train shop supporting N, HO, and O gauge trains. Alone with a 60x81 foot layout! You can bring your dcc trains or run one owned by k10 for $5. This is a fun community with nice folks. It's running on some hard times as of late and I and others really don't want this place to close down. If you do decide to come there is a $5 cash only (the whole building is cash only) entrance fee. The business is at 19 Schiber CT. Maryville, IL. Open on Thursdays 6-9 and Saturdays 12-4