Statewide: When a bombshell dropped in Bement

It was 1955. Marilyn Monroe was at the top of her stardom having just finished the film The Seven Year Itch. She made a one-day visit to a small east-central Illinois town, Bement, to highlight that village's centennial.

She made quite an impression. While Marilyn stopped at a retirement home, judged a beard contest and gave a speech about Abraham Lincoln, her appearance became one of the biggest events in the community's history, attracting an estimated 28,000 people.

As this week was the centennial of Marilyn's birth, we remember the day she came to town as we listen back to a previous conversation with Pat Tieman, who bought the house where the icon stayed.

Also:

* This Week in Illinois History recalls the launch of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

* Yvonne Boose takes us to a senior living community with a choir that does more than bring music to resident's lives.

* We learn about the oldest synchronized swimming club in the country.

* A couple of reporters, while in Rome, go on the hunt for one of the American-born Pope's favorite meals, Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times

* A longtime comedy club in Peoria may be nearing the end. Molly Hughes has the story.

* Peter Medlin has details on declining enrollment in Illinois schools and the impact on the bottom line.

* Evan Holden explains how an accident on a university campus helped spur legislation to rein in e-bikes and scooters.

* Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco reports on a national shortage of seeds forcing scientists to collect and share them.

* The nation's largest insurer is facing lawsuits over lack of payment on hail damage claims.

* Emily Hays talks with a University of Illinois student who, along with his classwork, has been dealing with the deportation of his uncle.