SPRINGFIELD – Four months before the general election, six incumbent state lawmakers appeared primed for an early rejection by voters based on unofficial tallies this week. The longest-serving of the incumbents to lose their primary election was Democratic Rep. Mike Zalewski, of Riverside, a founding member of the House’s “Mod Squad” of moderate Democrats. He…
A mass shooting in Highland Park at a Fourth of July parade prompted questions about how the suspect was able to obtain a gun in a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. Law enforcement officials have said that the Highland Park shooting suspect, Robert Crimo III, 21, legally purchased and…
On July 1, Governor J.B. Pritzker froze a proposed gas tax hike, while suspending the grocery tax on certain items. These were two of many initiatives meant to quell rising inflation. Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, described inflation as a time when “most prices are rising,” as…
Monday, July 11, 2022 Today’s headlines: An Illinois lawmaker wants to prevent minors who have hurt themselves or others — or tried to — from legally buying guns. Illinois is receiving nearly five thousand doses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine from the national stockpile. A new coal mine planned for southeast Champaign County is no…
https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/06/sicklecelladults-feature-web.mp3 One night when Paul Gakpo was 9 months old, he fell sick and wouldn’t eat. His parents grew worried and rushed him to a nearby hospital the next morning. It was 1984. The doctors figured out baby Gakpo’s red blood cells were changing from the typical doughnut shape into the shape of a…
Friday, July 8, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinois’ Republican candidate for governor blames the state for letting the alleged Highland Park shooter buy his guns. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is hiking financial support to foster parents and caregivers to offset the impacts of rising costs. A week after the first Black woman…
SPRINGFIELD – Lisa Holder White was sworn in Thursday as the first Black woman to serve on the Illinois Supreme Court. Holder White, who previously served on the 4th District Court of Appeals, was chosen to succeed one of her mentors in the legal profession, retiring Justice Rita B. Garman, who broke many barriers herself as…
The electric automaker Rivian has been working to ramp up production on three vehicles in Normal in the face of global supply-chain problems that have disrupted many automakers. Those supply-chain issues have contributed to delivery delays and led Rivian to set a production target of 25,000 vehicles in 2022 — a number that’s half what…
Thursday, July 7, 2022 Today’s headlines: A Lake County Judge is denying bail to Robert Crimo III while he awaits trial on charges that he killed seven people in a mass shooting in Highland Park on the Fourth of July. Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey wants to scrap the state’s decades-old gun-permitting system. The head…
Mark Mueller sleeps anxiously this time of year. Except when it rains. The northeast Iowa farmer said the corn on his farm near Waverly is slightly shorter than normal for this time of year, but he expects that to change very soon. “Every year, I do more pray for rain in July than I do…
CHAMPAIGN — Custodians, assistant teachers and other support staff in the Champaign Unit 4 School District are all making at least $15 an hour, as of July 1. Both the school board and members of the Champaign Educational Support Professionals union approved a new, four-year contract last week. “Knowing what we proposed in the very…
HIGHLAND PARK – As of Wednesday, we know the names of the seven people who died after a mass shooting at Highland Park’s Independence Day Parade. Their names are: Katherine Goldstein, 64 Irina McCarthy, 35 Kevin McCarthy, 37 Jacquelyn Sundheim, 63 Stephen Straus, 88 Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, 78 Eduardo Uvaldo, 69 According to CBS Chicago, Uvaldo…
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 Today’s headlines: A survivor talks about his experience at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park on July 4 that killed seven people and hospitalized two dozen more. Alleged Highland Park gunman Robert Crimo III has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. After hearing gunshots at the Independence…
HIGHLAND PARK – A seventh person died Tuesday of injuries sustained during a mass shooting at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade, as prosecutors announced the alleged gunman will face seven counts of first-degree murder with “dozens” more criminal charges soon to follow, authorities said Tuesday. At a news conference Tuesday staged just west of…
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker and top Democratic leaders in the Illinois General Assembly said Tuesday that while they still plan to call a special session this year to strengthen abortion rights, they expect to take the “remainder of the summer” to craft policies before lawmakers return to the Capitol. Pritzker first announced his plan…