In-depth reporting by Illinois Public Media News
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Story category: Illinois
Gery Chico Assesses Education in Illinois
Story air date: Monday, May 21, 2012
The chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education visited Urbana Middle School on Monday, May 21 to urge lawmakers to preserve funding for education. Gery Chico worries more education dollars could be stripped away if the Illinois House votes down Governor Pat Quinn’s proposal to cut $2.7 billion in Medicaid funding. Since being appointed to the chairmanship last year, Chico has been working alongside State Schools Superintendent Christopher Koch to provide education for less money. Chico talks with Illinois Public Media’s Sean Powers about some of the changes coming to the state’s schools.
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education • government • Illinois • people • politicsGambling Expansion, Pro and Con
Story air date: Wednesday, May 16, 2012
A bill authorizing new casinos and other expansions of gambling has been filed in the Illinois General Assembly --- and backers say the House could vote on it as soon as this week.
Like last year’s version, the bill would license new casinos, including one in Danville, and it would allow race tracks to install slot machines --- something Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn firmly opposes.
Illinois Public Media’s Jim Meadows spoke with advocates on both sides of the issue.
Former Illinois House member Bill Black of Danville supports the bill, and he is lobbying for it as chairman of the Illinois Revenue and Jobs Alliance. Black said the gambling bill won’t pass without the portion allowing slot machines at race tracks.
Anita Bedell, who is the executive director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems (ILCAAAP), opposes gambling expansion. Bedell said the social cost of gambling outweighs its potential for tax revenue.
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Former Illinois House member Bill Black of Danville supports the bill:
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ILCAAAP's Anita Bedell opposes gambling expansion:
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business • economy • government • IllinoisInitiative Encourages Biking, Walking to School
Story air date: Monday, May 07, 2012
Ever sit through that conversation with your parents about how they walked 10 miles to school uphill…both ways? Well, a new generation may tell similar tall tales to their kids thanks to the “Safe Routes to School” program in Champaign-Urbana. As part of our series on efforts in the region to increase health and wellness, Illinois Public Media’s Sean Powers reports on the program's activities in Champaign-Urbana.
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education • government • Illinois • United States • healthFracking: Energy Solution or Environmental Hazard?
Story air date: Thursday, May 03, 2012
Hydraulic fracturing – a process used to collect and extract natural gas – has been around for decades. But how and where it’s done today is new…and it has some worried about what it means for air and water quality. Several drilling companies have moved into southern Illinois to extract natural gas by using horizontal fracking, deep underground beneath shale. They could begin within a month.
Legislation in the Illinois General Assembly that has passed the Senate would allow the state's Department of Natural Resources to regulate hydraulic fracturing that cracks open fissures in southern Illinois' roughly 4,500-foot-deep New Albany Shale and other formations to get to trapped oil and natural gas. The legislation also would require energy companies to disclose the chemical makeup of the fracturing fluids and to test the integrity of the cement and steel well casings meant to protect groundwater during drilling.
Since October 2010, more than 100 bills across roughly 20 states have been introduced relating to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. David Morse from the Illinois State Geological Survey assesses the state of fracking with Illinois Public Media’s Sean Powers.
(AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)
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- Find out what other states are doing to regulate hydraulic fracturing
- More coverage on fracking from ProPublica
- “Fracking” Comes to Southern Illinois (Related))
- Is Fracking Making People Sick? (Related)
- New Study Fuels Hydraulic Fracking Debate (Related)
- Fracking Byproducts May Be Linked To Ohio Quakes (Related))
- A Debate Over Who Regulates Gas 'Fracking' In Pa. (Related)
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energy • government • Illinois • healthHealth Care Advocacy Group: Federal Health Care Law Helping People
Story air date: Tuesday, March 27, 2012
As arguments over the constitutionality of the federal health care law continue at the Supreme Court, one local supporter of the law is pointing out its benefits. The group Champaign County Health Care Consumers said even though the law has not been fully implemented, it’s already helping the people they serve. Illinois Public Media’s Jim Meadows spoke with Health Care Consumers executive director Claudia Lennhoff. She had supported a single payer healthcare system, but Lennhoff said the law now in place goes a long way towards improving healthcare coverage in America.
