Tuesday, April 26, 2022 Today’s headlines: Five Republicans running for Illinois governor shared a stage downstate last night with one empty chair. A federal jury has convicted an Illinois correctional officer of beating an elderly prisoner to death. Travelers are no longer required to wear masks in airports or train stations in Illinois. A program…
Monday, April 25, 2022 Today’s headlines: The National Science Foundation has given two groups of University of Illinois researchers awards totaling more than $40 million. The Autism Program at the University of Illinois continues to provide an online summer camp for prospective students with autism. Champaign-Urbana residents cheered as artist Langston Allston cut a ceremonial…
Looking for ways to fund lobbying and legal efforts to preserve their way of business, pork producers are turning down guaranteed money that could go to advertising and marketing. Pork producers are feeling threatened by attempts to change the way they raise pigs. So much so that they made the surprising move of reducing the…
CHAMPAIGN – A line of storms crossed Illinois on Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service in Central Illinois placed the area, including Champaign-Urbana, under a Thunderstorm Watch until 7:00 p.m. Forecasters say winds with gusts as high as 70 miles per hour, ping pong size hail and a few tornadoes are possible. Updated at 2:20…
URBANA – The Autism Program at the University of Illinois continues to provide an online summer camp for prospective students on the autism spectrum. The I-Ready Summer Camp is a weeklong online experience that encourages and promotes college readiness for students on the autism spectrum. This is the second year that high school students can…
Before closing out its truncated spring legislative session earlier this month, the General Assembly approved language that will be put to voters in November, asking whether Illinois should amend its constitution to add a so-called “Workers’ Rights Amendment” to guarantee the right to collectively bargain in a state with a long tradition of strong organized…
It’s never been a better time to sell manure. “We have been inundated with calls,” said Andy Scholting, president and co-founder of Nutrient Advisors, a Nebraskan manure broker. “We’ve certainly never seen so much demand for manure fertilizer.” Farmers are blowing up the office’s phones, hoping to find an alternative to expensive synthetic fertilizers. Prices…
DEKALB — Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker just signed a nearly $47 billion budget into law. That includes substantial increases to the need-based student Monetary Award Program — or MAP Grants. WNIJ’s Peter Medlin talked with Partnership for College Completion policy manager Mike Abrahamson about what it means for Illinois college students. Peter Medlin, WNIJ education…
Protestors gathered at Parkland College April 21 to demand the firing of a former Champaign police chief from his teaching position. Former police chief R.T. Finney has been teaching classes about community policing since the fall of last year. Finney was involved in a shooting that led to the 2009 killing by a different officer…
Friday, April 22, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinois has received its second bond rating upgrade in a year. Illinois is uniquely positioned to help mitigate the effects of climate change with carbon sequestration. A University of Illinois graduate is describing what it’s like to cover Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. About 40 protesters held a rally Thursday…
Rivian is turning to someone outside the automotive industry to become its first chief sustainability officer. Anisa Kamadoli Costa officially joined Rivian on Monday. She will be responsible for the electric automaker’s sustainability roadmap for both the business and its products. Costa spent nearly two decades at Tiffany & Co., where she aligned the company’s…
Applications are now open for an annual Illinois poetry contest. Henry Haupt, a spokesperson for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, said those who submit their work to the 18th annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award should let their true essence shine through. “That comes across, particularly in poetry,” he said. “If…
UIS faculty union members voted Wednesday to authorize an intent to strike. A notice will be filed Thursday with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. The first day faculty could walk out Is May 2. Kristi Barnwell is the president of the University Professionals of Illinois-Springfield United Faculty. “We authorized the vote in the hopes…
Thursday, April 21, 2022 Today’s headlines: Champaign’s new police chief begins work in six weeks. City officials announced Wednesday that state police officer Timothy Tyler will take over the job on June 6. University of Illinois campus police officers will take over patrols in the Campustown area of Champaign by October to help Champaign Police…
CHAMPAIGN – A Colonel in the Illinois State Police is the new Chief of Police in the city of Champaign. On Wednesday, City Manager Dorothy Ann David announced Timothy T. Tyler will become the new chief on June 6, 2022. Tyler’s starting annual salary will be $180,000. At a Wednesday morning news conference announcing his…