Tuesday, October 31, 2023 Today’s headlines: The state’s annual public school report card shows students have largely caught up to where they were before the pandemic in reading, but are still struggling in math. Black students across Illinois grew their reading skills last year faster than any other group. Illinois taxpayers have been spending up…
Monday, October 30, 2023 Today’s headlines: A sheriff in northwest Illinois is defending a cop who joined an anti-government extremist group. A consortium of businesses, local governments and colleges has until the end of February to turn in an application that could bring tens of millions of federal dollars to central Illinois. Two student groups…
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 Today’s headlines: Illinois lawmakers are heading back to Springfield Tuesday to address the governor’s vetoes. Lawmakers in Washington D.C. have a little more than two months to pass the 2023 farm bill. Governor J.B. Pritzker is with Arab American and Muslim groups to condemn what they say is a sharp increase in…
Monday, October 23, 2023 Today’s headlines: One Republican from Illinois’ congressional delegation is frustrated at his party’s inability to elect a new House speaker. Some Illinois lawmakers accepted campaign donations from red light camera companies even though they had just passed a bill to prohibit those contributions. A new facility at Parkland College in Champaign…
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 Today’s headlines: The killing of the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in the Southwest suburbs is sparking widespread condemnation among elected officials across Illinois. The FBI is reporting a recent rise in hate-crime incidents in the Chicago area and is opening a hate-crime investigation into the weekend stabbings of a suburban Muslim boy…
Monday, October 16, 2023 Today’s headlines: The state of Illinois is investing an additional $10 million in Israeli government Bonds. New legislation in Springfield could change how cannabis gets from grow facilities to dispensaries. The Fighting Illini football team defeated the Maryland Terrapins 27-to-24 Saturday. More than 250 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students were…
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 Today’s headlines: Some Illinois state lawmakers are calling for a de-escalation in the war happening in the Middle East. The Urbana school board plans to hire an outside company Tuesday to redistrict its schools. More than a hundred people gathered Monday at the University of Illinois’ Main Quad to show support for…
Monday, October 9, 2023 Today’s headlines: House Republicans are threatening to deny further aid to Ukraine, and Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin warns that could put other countries at risk. Illinois Democrats are criticizing the Biden administration for its plans to expand the Southern border wall. Fighting Illini Hall of fame linebacker Dick Butkus was…
This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and IPM Newsroom, which provides news about Illinois & in-depth reporting on Agriculture, Education, the Environment, Health, and Politics, powered by Illinois Public…
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 Today’s headlines: The City of Chicago is receiving about $30 million from the Illinois state government to help support asylum seekers. Illinois residents can now register their assault-style weapons as required by law. A new University of Illinois study says women feel like they are on trial when trying to convince…
Monday, October 2, 2023 Today’s headlines: Decatur Public Schools is breaking ground on a new school building that’s being named after one of Illinois’ Tuskegee Airmen. Large crowds gathered in downtown Urbana during Champaign-Urbana’s annual pride parade on Saturday. The Champaign County Community Coalition hosted the first Black Mental Health and Wellness Conference at Parkland College on…
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 Today’s headlines: U.S. Senator Dick Durbin joined members of the United Auto Workers on the picket line Monday at the General Motors in Bolingbrook. Rantoul residents picked up clothes, baby food and even a home printer free of charge on Monday. The new COVID-19 booster shot is now available. The shots…
Monday, September 25, 2023 Today’s headlines: The Biden administration’s move to expand work permits for some seeking asylum in the U.S. is welcome news to immigration advocates. But some experts want to see expanded protections to enable all undocumented immigrants to find work. Many hospitals across the Chicago area do not have midwives, despite research showing…
CHAMPAIGN — Local activists are urging the Champaign County Board to lower the costs of phone calls at the Champaign County Jail. Tamika Davis, who spent six months in the county jail, said the high prices of phone calls made it difficult to communicate with her children and her lawyer. “How am I in…
Tuesday, September 19, 2023 Today’s headlines: Monday was supposed to be Illinois’ first day without cash bail. But judges in some counties were still setting money bonds. Despite the historic changes to cash bail, it was mostly a slow day in Metro East courthouses. Illinois passed a new law that allows Native American ancestral remains to…