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Why Raising The Smoking Age To 21 May Not Be Enough
Just a few weeks ago, some Midwest state legislatures were aiming to raise the legal age for smoking. But Congress moved first, setting a new national…
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C-U Public Health Administrator To Serve On State Board Of Health
Champaign-Urbana Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde is among seven people appointed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to serve on the state’s Board of Public Health. The group of experts from medicine, environmental health and public health play an advisory role to the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Pryde said her role will…
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News Around Illinois – January 13, 2020
2 Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan From Illinois, Virginia KABUL, Afghanistan — The Pentagon says the two soldiers killed Saturday in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb were from Illinois and Virginia. On Sunday, military officials identified the casualties as 21-year-old Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon of Joliet, Illinois; and 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin of Newport…
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Unit 4 Superintendent Drops Campus Swap Proposal
CHAMPAIGN – Unit 4’s district superintendent says she’s dropping a controversial proposal for a campus swap between the Garden Hills elementary school and the International Prep Academy. A statement posted Friday afternoon (Jan. 10) on the Champaign Unit 4 website and Facebook page states: “Based on feedback from various stake holders over the last several…
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New Law Removes Big Barrier For Aspiring Teachers
SPRINGFIELD – In an attempt to relieve Illinois’ severe teacher shortage, state lawmakers last year voted to remove a requirement known as the “basic skills test.” That test has proven to be a stumbling block, especially for people pursuing the profession later in life, as a second career. This change, enacted just five months ago, has…
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Farmers Are Optimistic About The Economy’s Future
Farmers rounded out the year 2019 generally optimistic about the state of the economy and the future. That’s according to the Ag Economy Barometer, a monthly report calculated by Purdue University. Michael Langemeier is a professor at Purdue and helps put the barometer together. He says it was volatile throughout the last year amid trade…
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What Can Illinois’ Jails And Prisons Do To Improve The Lives Of The Children Of The Incarcerated?
Advocates have ideas being hashed out by a state task force. Attorney Alexis Mansfield said her clients have told her troubling stories of what happens…
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Five Charts That Show Who’s Leaving Illinois And Why
More people are leaving Illinois. The biggest jumps are among older folks, high-income residents and those with college degrees.
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News Around Illinois – January 10, 2020
Michael Madigan’s Friend Dodges Questions About ‘Rape’ Comment In An Email Consummate Illinois Democratic insider Michael McClain dodged questions Thursday about an email in which he sought leniency for a state worker in a disciplinary case, having argued that the man was politically loyal and had stayed silent about “the rape in Champaign.” In his…
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Illinois Official Highlights Election Integrity Problems, Solutions
WASHINGTON – A central-Illinois election official told a Congressional panel Thursday some of the voting machines Illinoisans used in the last election are still susceptible to tampering. But he said efforts are underway to prevent it from happening again. In 2016, Russian military hackers targeted Illinois’ statewide voter database. The State Board of Elections addressed…
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News Around Illinois – January 9, 2020
Illinois Task Force On Property Taxes Earns Critique SPRINGFIELD – Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin says a statewide task force designed to address local property taxes has so far failed to do so. He and other House Republicans roundly criticized the group Wednesday, which was created shortly after state lawmakers approved a ballot question…
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Bennett, Other Lawmakers, Voice Concern About “Rape In Champaign” Email
State lawmakers are reacting with alarm to a recently released email that refers to the cover-up of a quote “rape in Champaign”. State Senator Scott Bennett, a Champaign Democrat, says he was shocked and angered by the WBEZ report of a 2012 email from then-lobbyist Michael McClain to two aides in the administration of then-governor…
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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…
