Beginning in January, all Illinois employers will have to start providing sexual harassment training for their employees. It’s part of a new law called the Workplace Transparency Act. Every employer of any size, whether public or private, will now have to provide training based on a model the state’s Department of Human Rights will come…
An Illinois Department of Corrections’ policy prohibiting disparaging language on social media about inmates went into effect November 1. Beginning December 1 transgender individuals were included among protected groups. The original policy forbid department employees from posting vulgar, obscene, intimidating, harassing; or disparaging content to a person or group based or race, religion, sexual orientation…
The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could determine whether a person convicted of battery can still own a gun. The plaintiff is Shawna Johnson, a southern Illinois woman, who had her Firearm Owner I-D — or FOID — card revoked by the state police, and she’s suing to get it back. Johnson…
Speedy drivers have been a particular problem for the Illinois State Police so far this year. Troopers across the state have issued nearly 2,500 tickets…
Missouri has already approved more than 17,000 patients for its yet-to-be-launched medical marijuana program — a stark contrast to neighboring Illinois,…
A new report from a University of Illinois panel on faculty misconduct seeks a broader definition of sexual harassment and more transparency. But a university spokesperson couldn’t say when the reforms would be adopted or how much they would cost. This article was produced in partnership with the ProPublica Local Reporting Network . The University of Illinois…
Lance Pittman arrived at the Danville Correctional Center on Jan. 10 with multiple boxes of books, and bound printouts of articles and book chapters….
The city of Granite City in the Metro East is facing a lawsuit claiming its crime-free housing rules are unconstitutional. Attorneys with the Institute for Justice , a libertarian, public interest law firm based in Arlington, Virginia, filed the lawsuit in the Southern District of Illinois’ U.S. District Court in East St. Louis Thursday on behalf of…
The new director of the Illinois Department of Corrections said during a legislative hearing in Chicago on Monday that the agency plans to revise its…
Illinois lawmakers plan to ask state prison officials why more than 200 books were removed from a college in prison program’s library at the Danville…
The Mississippi River system is both an artery and a vein. It pumps ag products out of the heartland and into the world while bringing back fertilizer…
Earlier this year, police dispatchers in Evansville, Indiana, received a chilling call. A man said he was holding his wife at knifepoint, and he warned…
Augie Torres said he missed between seven and 10 job interviews when he was released from prison in October 2014 because he was on an electronic monitor…
Losing a loved one to gun violence can cause anxiety, stress and other mental health symptoms . So can simply living in an environment where violence is…
Last week, Illinois Newsroom reported on the removal of more than 200 books from the shelves of a college in prison program’s library inside the…