Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 Today’s headlines: Since Illinois launched its legal sports betting industry nearly two years ago, in-state college teams have been off limits to bettors. But, that would change under legislation moving through Springfield this week. The White House announced Gregory Harris will be its nominee for U.S. Attorney for the central district…
Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021 Today’s headlines: Democrats in the Illinois Senate voted Tuesday night to repeal a decades-old law requiring the parents of teens who seek an abortion to be notified before the procedure. Jelani Day’s mother says the LaSalle County coroner’s report indicating her son drowned was an insult to her and her son….
URBANA – Urbana District 116 is the latest area school district to raise pay for its substitute teachers. The Urbana school board approved the increase Tuesday night. Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Angi Franklin told the school board that the raise would be the first one for District 116 substitute teachers in more than four…
As we ask Who’s in charge of news?, today, we’re exploring non-profit news organizations focused on hard-hitting investigations and statehouse reporting. We’re joined by representatives from Pro-Publica, the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, and Capitol News Illinois. GUESTS: Brant Houston Journalism Professor, Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Steve Mills Deputy Midwest Editor, ProPublica Jerry Nowicki Bureau Chief, Capitol News Illinois Tony…
CHAMPAIGN – Chicago-based security company AGB will continue to guard Champaign public schools this year. The company won out against the other bidder for the work — Stockholm-based Securitas. The Champaign Unit 4 School District Board of Education unanimously approved the contract on Monday, with questions about how the company has done so far. “There’s…
There are plenty of choices for you to get national news these days, but coverage of your local community, schools and small businesses is getting harder to find. Today on The 21st, learn about the six companies that own most of the TV stations and newspapers in downstate Illinois and how it affects coverage. GUESTS: David Folkenflik …
Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 Today’s headlines: State employees who work in congregate settings like prisons and group homes for adults with disabilities have until the end of the day today to get their first COVID-19 vaccine dose. But despite progress with Illinois’ largest public employee union, Governor JB Pritzker has reached an impasse on negotiations…
URBANA – The term “news desert” describes an area with a shortage of news coverage. According to research by Penelope Muse Abernathy, 28 Illinois counties have just one newspaper apiece, while two counties (Hamilton and Pulaski in southern Illinois) have none. As a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Abernathy…
SPRINGFIELD – Some version of the newspaper known today as The State-Journal Register has been published in Springfield and Sangamon County since 1831. It shared stories of fisticuffs in the state legislature and carried ads for elixirs and miracle cures. It reported on an ambitious local attorney and politician, named Abraham Lincoln — and in…
SPRINGFIELD – These days, you can find news anywhere, but not all sources are trustworthy. So we at ‘The 21st’ are asking: “Who’s in charge of the news?” Find out where to get news on communities of color, weigh whether new laws can save local journalism, and learn about who owns local TV stations and…
Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 Today’s headlines: Democrats who control the General Assembly are preparing to approve new political boundary lines this week for the next 10 years of congressional elections in Illinois. Federal regulators are set to decide soon whether to authorize the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Local providers are…
GIBSON CITY – In August, nine inches of rain dumped on one of Randy Aberle’s fields of corn and soybeans near Gibson City, Illinois. “We had some areas in those fields that the water was four feet deep,” he says. Luckily, he says, those fields have enough slope that the water drained off within a…
Updated Sunday 7:40 p.m. URBANA – The National Weather Service in Central Illinois is forecasting heavy rains and severe storms, including possible tornadoes, late Sunday. Because of the predicted weather, a Flash Flood Watch has been issued for portions of Central Illinois from Sunday 1:00 a.m. to Monday 7:00 a.m. Springfield, Decatur, and Mattoon are…
PAXTON – Ford County has lost a weekly newspaper. When the Ford County Record closed last month, it joined more than 21-hundred other American newspapers that have shut down since 2005. But the Ford County Chronicle, a new paper launched just last year, still serves Ford County, providing a test of whether residents of the…
URBANA – With newspapers on the decline in Illinois, you may be wondering where to get quality news about communities across the Midwest. During the week of October 25-29, 2021, Illinois Public Media is asking “Who’s In Charge of The News?” In June, students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism published articles and videos…