New Trade Deal For US, Mexico And Canada Clears Another Hurdle
A much-anticipated update to the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement is one step closer to implementation. On Tuesday, the Senate Finance…
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Illinois EPA Developing Rules To Regulate Coal Ash Ponds
A new law passed last year requires the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to develop rules regulating the closure of ponds that store waste from coal-fired power plants. The agency released a draft rule in December, and stakeholders met Monday in Springfield to share their thoughts. Andrew Rehn with the clean water advocacy group Prairie Rivers…
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President Trump To Deliver Statement On Iran
The president’s remarks Wednesday morning will come shortly after Iran launched missile strikes against U.S. military forces in Iraq in apparent retaliation for the killing of Qassem Soleimani.
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‘Leave Garden Hills Alone’ Champaign Residents Oppose Unit 4 Campus Swap
Garden Hills Elementary School parents, neighbors and Champaign community members said they opposed a proposal that would swap the school’s campus in north Champaign with the International Prep Academy — the district’s bilingual program. A diverse crowd packed the Garden Hills cafeteria for a listening and information session hosted by Champaign Unit 4 Superintendent Susan…
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Lawmakers Demand Answers On ‘Seclusion Rooms’
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday grilled officials about the practice of locking kids in “seclusion rooms” in schools. It’s the first legislative hearing since a news report brought attention to the practice late last year. The story, from ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune, revealed thousands of incidents in which kids with special needs were…
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News Around Illinois – January 8, 2020
An Email From A Powerful Former State Lobbyist Hints At A Rape Cover-Up A powerful former Springfield lobbyist and close friend of House Speaker Michael Madigan once sought leniency for a state worker in a disciplinary case by arguing that the worker “kept his mouth shut” about an unspecified rape in Champaign. In the previously…
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Breast Cancer Is Killing Amish Woman. This Bus Brings Help.
The Midwest is home to one of the largest Amish populations in the nation. And many of these settlements overlap with rural Appalachian counties, where…
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Transgender Students Secure Unrestricted Locker Room Access
PALATINE – A more than four year fight to secure equal access to locker rooms for transgender students in a north suburban Chicago school district ended Tuesday when a new policy allowing them unrestricted access took effect. The Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board voted 5-2 in favor of the policy change in November, WLS-TV…
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News Around Illinois – January 7, 2020
Decatur Schools, TA Union Fail To Reach Agreement In Latest Talks DECATUR – Negotiators for Decatur Public Schools and the union representing its teaching assistants met with a federal mediator for more than three hours Monday night. It was the first bargaining session between the two sides in nearly a month. A statement released by…
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U Of I Research: Yoga May Lead To Better Brain Health
URBANA – Practicing yoga could lead to improved brain health, according to a University of Illinois review of the available research on how the practice affects the brain. Neha Gothe, a U of I assistant professor and coauthor of the research review, said the brain health benefits of yoga are similar to the neural effects…
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News Around Illinois – January 6, 2020
Chicago-Area U.S. Soldier Killed In Attack In Kenya A U.S. solider from the Chicago area was among three people killed in an attack on a military base in Kenya. The family of Henry Mayfield Jr. of Hazel Crest confirmed his death to NBC affiliate WMAQ. The 23-year-old held the rank of Army Specialist. Mayfield’s mother…
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After Successful Debut, Pritzker Has Work On Taxes, Ethics
SPRINGFIELD – Last June, as the Illinois General Assembly wrapped up its spring session, first-year Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked whether he would simply kick back and wait for his re-election campaign. After all, he had accomplished virtually everything on which he had campaigned: A balanced budget, a multi-billion-dollar statewide construction program, legalization of marijuana…
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Illinois Shops Excited To Sell Bongs As Pot Law Takes Effect
CHAMPAIGN — Owners of Illinois glass pipe shops are elated to begin selling bongs after the state’s law legalizing recreational marijuana took effect. Jeremy Sample, part-owner of CU Glass Connection, told The News-Gazette that he and primary owner Owen Serpetis opened their shop Dec. 16 in anticipation of the new Illinois law that started Jan. 1. “I’ve…
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Decatur Mayor Says Her Mind Is Made Up On Banning Cannabis Sales, At Least For Now
DECATUR – The mayor of Decatur said she’s waiting to see how the legalization of recreational cannabis in Illinois plays out in towns across the state before she’ll be swayed in her position against allowing cannabis sales in her city. Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe and the City Council voted last fall to ban the sale…
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News Around Illinois — January 3, 2020
Illinois Sold More Than $3 Million In Legal Weed On First Sales Day Illinois’ recreational cannabis dispensaries made around $3.2 million in sales on New Year’s Day, according to early estimates from a state agency overseeing the now-legal industry. Customers lined up at 20 dispensaries that were open across the state and made more than…
