Illinois Public Media News

On the 21st: We broadcast live from the floor of the state capitol ahead of Governor J.B. Pritzker's first budget address. We hear from Comptroller Susana Mendoza, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, and Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Finally, we get some analysis from UIS professor Ken Kriz and Illinois Public Radio's Brian Mackey ahead of the speech. 

Health officials say teenagers are using e-cigarettes at epidemic rates. Lawmakers in a number of Midwest states, like Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota, are addressing the problem and so is the FDA. Side Effects Public Media spoke with Mitch Zeller, director of the agency's Center for Tobacco Products, about efforts to curb the use of smokeless tobacco among youth.

Crumbling sidewalks, gas line failures and cracked concrete — the problems at Brookfield Zoo are a metaphor for what’s wrong with public infrastructure throughout Illinois. As lawmakers begin negotiating a statewide spending plan to fix it, the zoo is among a growing list of those coming to Springfield with their paws out.

The University of Illinois System will need an additional $2.5 million in its operating budget to finance the minimum wage increase signed into law Tuesday by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, according to a spokesperson, and that could mean increased tuition costs across the state’s three campuses in the coming years.

Illinois became the first state in the Midwest Tuesday to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield.