National Guard to assist migrant welcoming effort as Pritzker declares disaster

National Guard to assist migrant welcoming effort as Pritzker declares disaster

SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday that Illinois will continue to welcome migrants bused here from Texas as he blasted that state’s governor for relocating them to other cities without sharing information or providing resources. Pritzker said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and his agencies have been providing little notice for incoming migrants and has…

Metra cancels some Thursday night service as possible freight railroad worker strike looms

Metra cancels some Thursday night service as possible freight railroad worker strike looms

CHICAGO – Some Metra trains won’t be running beginning Thursday night as the commuter rail service braces for a possible nationwide work stoppage by freight railroad workers. Those workers are set to go on strike on Friday if an agreement isn’t reached and while Metra is not involved with negotiations, some of its lines are…

Welcome to the ‘hellhole’? Republican Darren Bailey is now living in the Hancock to ‘immerse’ himself in the city he disses

Welcome to the ‘hellhole’? Republican Darren Bailey is now living in the Hancock to ‘immerse’ himself in the city he disses

CHICAGO – It’s not quite like former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne moving into Cabrini-Green — but Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey is now living in the former John Hancock Center, one of Chicago’s most iconic high-rises, to “immerse” himself “in the culture” of a city he’s repeatedly dubbed a “hellhole.” Bailey, a downstate farmer and…

Voter roll purges are ‘not going to happen’ in Illinois, a state election official says

Voter roll purges are ‘not going to happen’ in Illinois, a state election official says

Election season is around the corner, and so are renewed conversations around voter fraud and election integrity. States like Wisconsin and Georgia have recently removed hundreds of thousands of names off their voter lists, in what critics are calling “voter purges.” And in preparation for the 2020 election, the Ohio secretary of state removed nearly…

Students at Illinois community colleges will focus on skill-building thanks to $5 million dollar grant
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Students at Illinois community colleges will focus on skill-building thanks to $5 million dollar grant

CHAMPAIGN – A total of eight Illinois community colleges will soon be certified to do competency-based learning, thanks to $5 million from the U.S. Department of Labor. This means students only need to take classes on new material — instead of sitting through lessons they already know. Nancy Sutton is the vice president for academic…

To understand the real toll of gun violence, look to survivors and their families

To understand the real toll of gun violence, look to survivors and their families

INDIANAPOLIS — When DeAndra Yates-Dycus got a phone call that her seventh grader was shot, she rushed to the hospital, frantic, hoping she wouldn’t be asked to identify a body. The sheriff met Yates-Dycus and told her that 13-year-old Dre “did not do anything wrong. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong…

217 Today: Survivors of gun violence struggle with long-term physical and emotional health issues

217 Today: Survivors of gun violence struggle with long-term physical and emotional health issues

Wednesday, September 14, 2022 Today’s headlines: Republican Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey supports an ad that shows a woman getting attacked in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. The state’s utility watchdog is rolling out a new guide to help buyers considering an electric vehicle. Seven community colleges in Illinois have won a total of $5 million from…