WILL-AM

News Local/State

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 police that he was heavily armed.

News Local/State

At the beginning of their June 14 meeting, Western Illinois University trustees agreed to a plan that calls for WIU President Jack Thomas to step down on June 30.  After the 7.5 hour meeting, Tri States Public Radio talked to Board of Trustees Chairperson Greg Aguilar about the deal.

News Local/State

Testimony resumes Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Peoria, in the capital murder trial of Brendt Christensen. The former grad student is accused of kidnapping and killing University of Illinois visiting scholar Yingying Zhang of China in 2017.

News Local/State

Here's an update on the case against the alleged militia leader from Ford County, Illinois, accused of orchestrating the firebombing of a Twin Cities Minnesota mosque nearly two years ago. Federal prosecutors say Michael Hari tried to escape from custody while he was being moved from Illinois to Minnesota. 

News Local/State

Looking at the well-being of Illinois’ children through a racial lens shows big disparities, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual KIDS count report.

News Local/State

Testimony resumes Tuesday morning in Peoria, in the capital murder trial of Brendt Christensen. Prosecution witnesses are continuing to describe their investigation of the disappearance of University of Illinois visiting scholar Yingying Zhang, and the man they believe kidnapped and killed her.

News Local/State

A new exhibit at the University of Illinois Rare Book and Manuscript Library features the tools that writers have used throughout history to record their words. One of the items displayed at the “Writers and Their Tools” exhibit is a typewriter that belonged to a U of I student named Hugh Hefner.

News Local/State

Last month, state lawmakers passed a bill mandating the Illinois Department of Corrections and Prisoner Review Board track and publicly report data on the program.

News Local/State

The Illinois budget that goes into effect July 1st includes a 3.5% rate increase for state-funded agencies that provide services to people with disabilities. But after more than a decade with no significant rate increases, some who work in the disabilities services sector say the new funding is not enough to ensure people with disabilities get the care they need.

News Local/State

Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas said his final day on the job will be June 30, 2019, ending a presidency marred by employee layoffs, declining student enrollment, and increasing tensions between the administration and faculty.