Wednesday, July 14, 2021 Today’s headlines: As the Delta variant of the coronavirus spikes COVID-19 caseloads and hospitalizations in Missouri, Illinois regions near the Missouri border have seen huge jumps in test positivity, too. State Treasurer Mike Frerichs says state lawmakers and Governor Pritzker did a good job in passing a balanced budget this year…
Tuesday, July 13, 2021 Today’s headlines: Cities and towns in Illinois are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration to apply for the federal funds they’re entitled to under the American Rescue Plan. The annual Redneck Fishing Tournament is coming back to Central Illinois after a two-year hiatus. A new bill awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature…
Monday, July 12, 2021 Today’s headlines: Governor JB Pritzker signed a law Friday making Illinois the first state in the nation to mandate schools teach Asian American history. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says Senate Republicans face a “moment of truth” on infrastructure. Recent tests confirm air and water quality levels near the Rockton chemical fire are safe….
Friday, July 9, 2021 Today’s headlines: Provisions in a massive criminal justice reform bill pushed by Black Illinois lawmakers earlier this year began taking effect last week, but the state’s legislative Black Caucus has experienced fractures over something that didn’t end up in the law: ending qualified immunity for police officers. Millions of rural residents across the…
Thursday, July 8, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinois’ first vaccine lottery drawings take place today, with $1 million dollars and three scholarships on the line. A pro-EV group is urging Illinois and other states to encourage more widespread adoption of electric buses and semis. Researchers in Fulton County are using image recognition technology to control invasive…
Tuesday, July 6, 2021 Today’s headlines: There have been no arrests after a mass shooting at an American Legion post on the north side of Champaign on Friday afternoon. Calling the police simply because a person looks suspicious based on their race could become a hate crime under a measure awaiting the Illinois governor’s signature….
Friday July 2, 2021 Today’s headlines: Drivers in Illinois will no longer have their licenses suspended because of unpaid fines, under a law that took effect Thursday. A Bloomington attorney and Lincoln scholar is giving an 1854 letter Lincoln wrote to a Peoria Attorney to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Presidential Museum in Springfield. Only…
Thursday, July 1, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinois’ senior-most judicial authority says Springfield Democrats’ efforts to re-draw the state’s judicial district boundaries for the first time in 60 years could interfere with a major law aimed at criminal justice reform. A portion of Illinois’ recreational cannabis revenues goes into the R-3 program, which aims to reinvest…
Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Today’s headlines: The investigation continues into Monday night’s explosion at a residence hall on the University of Illinois Urbana campus. Public health officials say a more contagious variant of the coronavirus is fueling a rise in infections just to our west in Missouri. College athletes throughout Illinois will now be able…
Tuesday, June 29, 2021 Today’s headlines: Urbana firefighters are trying to figure out what caused an explosion at a privately-run residence hall on the University of Illinois campus Monday night. A Champaign County Board committee holds a study session Tuesday to gather input on improving local broadband service. The Illinois Department of Public Health is…
Monday, June 28, 2021 Today’s headlines: Cleanup continues after a portion of a historic building in Champaign collapsed over the weekend. The General Assembly this spring approved a measure that would allow pharmacists to hand out hormonal birth control to a patient who has not seen a doctor. New research from the University of Illinois explores…
Friday, June 25, 2021 Today’s headlines: State Democratic leaders are touting a Wall Street agency bumping Illinois’ credit rating outlook from negative to positive this week as the state continues to recover from the COVID-19 recession. In May of last year, Champaign County home sales were at their lowest point due to the COVID-19 pandemic,…
Thursday, June 24, 2021 Today’s headlines: Some Democrats in the Illinois Senate are beginning to push for allowing non-citizens to vote in local school board elections. When schools in Illinois re-open for the new school year, they’ll still have to take precautions against the coronavirus. Illinois could become the first state to require the teaching…
Wednesday, June 23, 2021 Today’s headlines: The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs says it’s working on a fix to allow veterans who got their COVID-19 shots at VA facilities to participate in Illinois’ vaccine lottery. A new plan that just passed in Springfield and a recent report from the State Board of Higher Education come…
Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Today’s headlines: The University of Illinois plans a return to mostly normal class schedules in the fall, but vaccinations for COVID-19 will be a requirement for students. One of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s top advisors is leaving his administration. Former Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes has served as Deputy Governor for Budget and…