News Local/State
As we look back on 2017, one of the big stories was the two-year budget crisis that finally came to an end. The lack of a budget hit several human service agencies hard, including Champaign-based Courage Connection.
News Local/State
In the wake of a Christmas Eve snowfall that dropped 3.2 inches of snow on the area, the cities of Urbana and Champaign have activated their sidewalk snow removal requirements for certain areas with high pedestrian traffic.
News Local/State
Illinois lawmakers ended the state budget impasse and made big changes to how the state pays for public schools. The state also wrestled with the debate over abortion and a nationwide rise in hate incidents.
News Local/State
Champaign-Urbana area residents who would otherwise be alone on Christmas Day have the chance for food and fellowship at First Christian Church in Champaign.
News Local/State
The first measureable snowfall of the season in Champaign-Urbana may come just in time for a white Christmas.
News Local/State
This story was inspired by a question submitted at a Listening Post the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting held in August. Stuart Levy in Urbana, Illinois, asked us what would be needed for row crop farmers to switch from corn and soybeans to “something more sustainable.” We dug into that question, which starts with the unlikely circumstances that turned the soybean into a multi-billion dollar industry, and what this history might reveal about the future of U.S. agriculture.
News Local/State
If you’re hitting the road for holiday travel, be ready to pay more at the gas pump.
News Local/State
Many rural businesses and farms will benefit from the tax overhaul passed Wednesday by Congress. But there’s a catch: If the changes fail to spur economic growth as intended, programs that rural areas rely on could be on the chopping block.
News Local/State
Illinois public health officials delayed informing the public for nearly a week about a deadly 2015 Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a state veterans’ home in Quincy despite knowing the facility was facing “the beginning of an epidemic,” according to internal emails from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office obtained by Illinois Public Radio's member station in Chicago, WBEZ.
News Local/State
Advanced biofuels have been touted as the next step beyond the corn-based ethanol that’s the bulk of the country’s renewable fuel for cars and trucks. These next-generation options were supposed to bring jobs to rural communities and provide farmers with fresh revenue sources, in addition to reducing the carbon footprint of vehicles.
