WILL-AM

News Local/State

Dan Caulkins hopes to be one of at least 25 new members of the Illinois House next year. The Decatur businessman, Eastern Illinois University trustee and former Decatur City Councilman is one of three candidates on the March 20th primary ballot for the Republican nomination for the House seat in the 101st District.  That seat is one of several in the Illinois House where incumbents have announced their retirements, after a grueling two-year budget impasse.

News Local/State

The 35th annual Insect Fear Film Festival will feature ticks. The festival's founder, May Berenbaum, says even though ticks are arachnids and not insects, they chose to feature them because of their importance as disease vectors.

News Local/State

Nathan Gunn sings the lead role and directs the classic Mozart opera, opening Thursday night at Kranner Center for the Performing Arts.

News Local/State

The herbicide dicamba has been in the news a lot over the past year. One University of Missouri researcher says dicamba has been blamed for more than 3 million acres of damaged soybeans in 2017 alone. 

News Local/State

Five of the Democrats running for Illinois governor met at a debate Wednesday night in Springfield. Among the prime topics was House Speaker Michael Madigan’s handling of harassment in his political organization.

News Local/State

Billy Graham, the most famous minister of his era, died Wednesday at his home in Montreat, N.C., spokesman Todd Shearer tells NPR. In his 99 years, Graham changed the face of evangelical Christianity in America.

News Local/State

As the death toll climbs for opioid-related overdoses in Illinois, state leaders are looking for solutions. Advocates have highlighted a Whiteside County Clinic as a state leader in its outpatient drug rehabilitation program. Jessie Schlacks went to Rock Falls to tour the facility.

News Local/State

Miles Bridges grabbed the Big Ten trophy, lifted it and flashed an ear-to-ear grin. Bridges scored 19 points, leading No. 2 Michigan State to an 81-61 win over Illinois on Tuesday night to seal a share of the Big Ten championship.

News Local/State

Friends of former state representative Tom Berns say his one term in the Illinois House was only a small part of his public service.

Berns, who died Monday at age 72, was elected to the Illinois House 104th District in 2000, succeeding Republican Tim Johnson, who left to serve in the U.S. House. 

News Local/State

A law passed in 2014 was supposed to ensure Illinois families no longer have to give up custody of their children in order to get them necessary mental health treatment. Even so, for years families with no other options have been forced to abandon their children to get them the help they need, and legislators say state agencies are to blame.