Tuesday June 8, 2021 Today’s headlines On Monday, Joanne Geigner helped raise the rainbow flag above the Urbana City Building in honor of Pride Month. The Flash Index to the Illinois economy increased to 105.3 for May. That’s the second consecutive month above 100, which means economic expansion. A bipartisan group of downstate lawmakers is…
Monday June 7, 2021 Today’s headlines: Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law legislative district maps to govern elections for the next 10 years. Champaign County is reporting a new death from COVID-19. The public health department says a man in his 80s is the 149th person to die from the illness. There are 122 active cases…
Friday June 4, 2021 Today’s headlines: In the wake of an ongoing federal investigation that’s nabbed political types from Chicago to Springfield, Democratic lawmakers earlier this week pushed through ethics legislation that Republicans say is weak, but they still voted for it. The state legislative maps approved by the Illinois General Assembly last week created…
Thursday June 3, 2021 Today’s headlines: Lawmakers left Springfield Tuesday without a final vote on a plan to both prevent the threatened closure of three nuclear power plants or lay down tough standards for clean energy in Illinois moving forward. But Governor JB Pritzker says he believes a deal is imminent. Central Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood says…
Wednesday June 2, 2021 Today’s headlines After weeks of negotiating with nuclear giant Exelon, there’s a tentative deal for state subsidies to keep power generators online, but another issue threatened to blow up bargaining over the holiday weekend. As of this morning, there’s a new place for medical helicopters to land in Champaign County. It will…
Tuesday June 1, 2021 Today’s headlines: Six months ago, Illinois voters rejected Governor Pritzker’s signature graduated income tax plan. Since then, the governor has been warning of difficult budget choices, but that didn’t end up happening. Birthing hospitals in Illinois are invited to participate in a new effort to improve outcomes for moms and babies. Katie…
Friday May 28, 2021 Today’s headlines: A State Police investigation continues into the fatal shootings of Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim and a suspect, Darion Lafayette. State police have released security and bodycam video of last week’s pre-dawn shooting, and a state’s attorney’s report says a second officer’s shooting of Lafayette was justified. Democratic U.S….
Thursday May 27, 2021 Today’s headlines: An estimated 2,000 friends, family, and police officers filled a church in Decatur Wednesday for the funeral of Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim who was killed last week while answering a domestic disturbance call. While the funeral was private, the public was encouraged to come out and view the procession that…
Wednesday May 26, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinois’ constitution mandates the legislature re-draw their own district boundaries every decade, the year after a Census, but the state’s judicial districts haven’t been touched since the early 1960s. The Illinois Senate Tuesday voted to repeal a 1989 law criminalizing the transmission of HIV. It’s been one year since…
Tuesday May 25, 2021 Today’s headlines: Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim, who was killed last week, will be laid to rest Wednesday. Illinois higher education institutions are getting emergency relief funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. April home sales were up sharply from a year ago in Illinois, while rising more modestly in…
Monday May 21, 2021 Today’s headlines: The fight over how to draw Illinois’ legislative districts for the next ten years is set to reach a fever pitch in Springfield this week. Democrats who control the remap process published their proposed maps Friday night. Fewer rural people are vaccinated than their urban counterparts. That’s according to…
Friday, May 21, 2021 Today’s headlines: A police processional escorted the body of a slain Champaign police officer Thursday from Urbana to Decatur. Sex education teaching standards would be updated in Illinois under a bill that passed the State Senate Thursday. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is urging Gov. JB Pritzker to reopen the state’s…
Thursday May 20, 2021 Today’s headlines: Officials say the investigation into the fatal shooting of a Champaign police officer is ongoing. Students in Illinois would be required to return to in-person learning this fall under a resolution unanimously approved by the State Board of Education. The Champaign County Board will hold a public hearing and…
Wednesday May 19, 2021 Today’s headlines: A lawsuit filed by 22 Illinois school districts alleges Gov. JB Pritzker is not doing enough to emphasize spending on education. The ACLU of Illinois says a Black member of the Eastern Illinois University men’s swim team is ending a lawsuit filed against police officers who mistakenly detained him….
Monday May 17, 2021 Today’s headlines: With two weeks remaining in the General Assembly’s spring session, lawmakers’ attention will turn toward the state budget, and how to fill a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall. City leaders in Champaign are calling for an end to gun violence, as the number of shooting incidents increases. With the COVID-19…