SPRINGFIELD — It’s been six months since Illinois State University graduate student Jelani Day went missing. His body was not found for nearly two weeks. Once found, Day’s remains went unidentified for three more weeks. State Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, says the process should not take so long. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s402/audio/2022/02/jelani-superspot.mp3 Listen to this story here. “When…
Governor JB Pritzker is set to deliver his State of the State and Budget Address today at 12 pm in the Old State Capital. He is expected to cover his plans to freeze taxes on groceries and gasoline and double the state property tax rebate. The questions we receive from you directly inform the stories…
URBANA – When Victor Figueroa got home from his private school in Chicago and started to wash his hair, he said he kept finding small pieces of paper in it. Puzzled, Figueroa said he didn’t know where they were coming from. One day while sitting in class, he turned around. He saw students holding small…
Editor’s note: At the request of Nikki Usher, we changed the pronouns in this article that pertain to Usher from ‘she’ to ‘they.’ – Reginald Hardwick, News Director, March 26, 2024 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Krannert Art Museum in Champaign has two entrances. One entrance is at the top of a flight of concrete stairs,…
CHAMPAIGN – Republican Congressman Rodney Davis says infrastructure is a top priority, but he voted no on President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law. He says Jan. 6 rioters should face charges for breaking the law, but he is not willing to criticize Republicans who encourage their beliefs. These are some of the fine lines Davis walks…
Updated November 2, 2021 at 3:14 PM ET President Biden has promised delegates at the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, that the U.S. is prepared to spend billions on measures to address climate change, but that legislation remains mired in intra-party squabbling by Democrats back in Washington. Biden is expected to be pressed on…
CHARLESTON — One of the things we’ve been looking at during our look at “Who’s in Charge of the News” is how information and misinformation spread, including on the COVID-19 pandemic. When the COVID-19 vaccine first began rolling out, white evangelicals — and Republicans — were among the groups most likely to say they were…
Editor’s note: At the request of Nikki Usher, we have removed the photo posted earlier. Also, Nikki asked that we change the pronouns in this article that pertain to Usher from ‘she/her’ to ‘they/their.’ – Reginald Hardwick, News Director, March 26, 2024 URBANA – In some rural Illinois ZIP codes, only one in five…
SPRINGFIELD – Democratic leaders in the Illinois General Assembly released a new proposed congressional redistricting map on Saturday. Leaders claim it better reflects representation of Latino voters in Illinois. According to USA Today, U.S. Census data released in 2021 showed that the number of Hispanics in Illinois rose by 309,832 people, or 15.3% between 2010…
When Northwestern University professor and video journalist Craig Duff heard that the 150-year-old Youngstown Vindicator was closing, he resolved to go back to the area where he grew up in northeast Ohio and document how the community was coping with the loss of its newspaper. What the veteran of CNN, Time.com and The New York…
UPDATE: The Champaign County Board approved a revised district map Thursday night. County board members voted along party lines to approve a map submitted by the board’s Democratic majority. It uses newly released Census data to revise a map approved last May. Republican Jim Goss criticized Democrats for calling their proposal an “equity” map —…
Editor’s note: At the request of Nikki Usher, we changed the pronouns in this article that pertain to Usher from ‘she/her’ to ‘they/their.’ – Reginald Hardwick, News Director, March 26, 2024 URBANA – Lawmakers can’t effectively control misinformation on Facebook. What they can do is limit the reach of the social media giant. That’s the…
CHAMPAIGN – Saturday, September 11, 2021 marks 20 years since one of America’s most tragic days. The Champaign Fire Department will hold a 9/11 Memorial Ceremony, Saturday at 8:46 a.m. on the northeast corner of West Side Park in Champaign. Illinois Newsroom’s Reginald Hardwick talked with Champaign fire chief Gary Ludwig about that terrible day, how…
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House on Thursday voted to accept changes to an ethics bill that Gov. JB Pritzker had requested, paving the way for it to become law once the governor signs it. Thursday’s vote came a little more than a week after an earlier attempt fell short in the House. That happened during…
URBANA – A revised use of force policy for Urbana Police covers 14 pages, instead of the eight pages covered by the old one. And it puts a new emphasis on de-escalating potentially violent situations. Urbana City Council members heard a presentation on the new policy at their Monday night meeting on August 23….