Tuesday, November 1, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinoisans have so far requested far fewer mail-in ballots for the Nov. 8 general election than they did in 2020. The company that owns the Clinton Nuclear Power Plant says it wants to keep the generating station open for another 20 years. An old virus is getting young children sick…
ARCOLA – Drive a half-hour south of I-57 from Champaign and you’ll arrive in Arcola. The small town is in a part of the state known for its Old Order Amish community, centered around the nearby town of Arthur. Now, Latinos in Arcola are increasing in population and power. It’s close to lunchtime, and doors…
SPRINGFIELD — Since late summer, many Illinois residents have been receiving newspapers that they haven’t paid for nor, in many cases, even heard of. Each paper bears a clear-cut tagline: Real data, real news. And each publication that shows up in driveways and mailboxes carries a partisan punch that’s blatant, but not formally disclosed. “They…
SAN FRANCISCO — Serena Maria warmly remembers the first older person she took care of. “Her name was Liberty Bell, and she was born on [the] Fourth of July and she was the sweetest thing,” Maria said. Listen to this story here. For about a year, Maria would go to the nonegenarian’s home in Southern…
Monday, October 31, 2022 Today’s headlines: A lawsuit that seeks to stop mail-in ballot counting after Election Day in Illinois is still pending even though the election is less than two weeks away. New legislation will provide a financial boost to Illinois Agritourism businesses. Researchers at the University of Illinois said patients with neurological ailments…
SPRINGFIELD – Student test scores continued to fall last year but new data shows Illinois’ students are on the path to recovering from the learning loss that occurred during the pandemic. Numbers from standardized tests administered last spring show steep declines in the percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards in English language…
Updated October 29, 2022 at 6:38 AM ET SAN FRANCISCO – The attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was “intentional” and the police dispatcher’s “intuition” and “quick thinking” resulted in a faster police response, San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said. Paul Pelosi was “violently attacked” by an intruder who broke into…
CHICAGO — Illinois students continue to perform far below pre-pandemic levels on state reading and math exams for a second year, test results released Thursday show, offering another sign of the ongoing toll of COVID-19 and remote learning. Students performed at roughly the same level as last year, which is well below the last round…
Hundreds of buffalo raised in preserves throughout the Midwest will soon begin their journey to tribal lands across the country. It’s part of an effort led by the InterTribal Buffalo Council, a network of 79 tribal nations that work together to distribute buffalo. This year the group plans to relocate some 1,500 buffalo to member…
SPRINGFIELD – Justice Mary Jane Theis was sworn in Wednesday as chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, the fourth woman in the state’s history to hold the position. She’ll serve a three-year term replacing Justice Anne M. Burke, whose term as chief justice concluded Tuesday ahead of her planned retirement effective Nov. 30. Theis…
BLOOMINGTON — Illinois will soon have a new Secretary of State for the first time in nearly a quarter century. Longtime legislator Dan Brady of Bloomington says he bided his time until Jesse White retired to run for the office. Brady faces Alexi Giannoulias, a well-financed opponent who is seeking his second statewide office. Listen…
MATTOON — Black and Hispanic students are learning more quickly in the Mattoon school district than in any other school district in east central Illinois. The Illinois State Board of Education published information on student growth Thursday alongside its 2022 Illinois Report Card. The state calculated growth for local schools and districts by measuring student…
Thursday, October 27, 2022 Today’s headlines: Two of those candidates for Illinois Secretary of State are split on how involved the office should be in elections. Faith leaders from across the St. Louis region are asking to be included in the community response to the fatal shootings this week at a south Saint Louis high…
A young male mountain lion is making its way through central Illinois and conservation officials are asking the public to let it continue to roam. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources said it was captured and fitted with a GPS collar in Nebraska last fall as part of a research project. IDNR is notifying residents…
CHICAGO — A recent report from the Better Government Association, a nonpartisan watchdog group, called congressional candidate Nikki Budzinski into question for ‘cashing in’ as a political consultant. Budzinski is a Democrat running in Illinois’ 13th congressional district against Republican Regan Deering. “We looked at a powerful government official, state government official, who welcomed and…