Lexi Cortes | Belleville News-Democrat

“The long-lasting impact of this oil spill could be detrimental if not properly and quickly remediated,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said.

Residents reported a strong smell of gas, and the city said the odor was a result of the leak.

It was common knowledge in the nursing home business, but perhaps not to the families trusting those facilities with a loved one’s care.

Search and recovery efforts continued Saturday and were expected to take three additional days, said Edwardsville Fire Chief James Whiteford.

Officials have not released the identities of the people who died as of Saturday morning pending family notification. Another person was taken by helicopter to a St. Louis area hospital with injuries.

Nearly all new COVID-19 hospital patients in the region are unvaccinated and the number of hospitalized young people, including those under 25, is growing.

"It’s so many families out there that are suffering, and we’re not getting any closure,” one community member said.

On Friday, an estimated 800 people who were not eligible under state and county vaccination guidelines had scheduled appointments.

As Vaccines began arriving at Illinois nursing homes and other long-term care facilities Monday. Metro East leaders said the facilities have been addressing skepticism among some residents and staff as part of the vaccination rollout.

The city of Edwardsville is considering renaming a downtown park and relocating a statue of the city's namesake after a group of people from the Edwardsville area informed city leaders in June that Ninian Edwards was a slave owner who actively advocated for slavery.