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U of I Professor Chris Benson delivered the keynote address at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Awards event Friday at Parkland College.
Jeff Bossert/Illinois Public Media

News Local/State

U Of I Prof. Benson At King Celebration: ‘Find Your Super Power’

More than 50 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, University of Illinois associate professor Chris Benson says the US is again facing the “mountain of despair” the civil rights leader once spoke of. The professor of Journalism and African-American Studies delivered the keynote address Friday at the Champaign Countywide King Celebration and Awards event at Parkland College, encouraging the audience of more than 150 to ''find their super power." 

Illinois' forward Leron Black tries to bat away a rebound by Maryland's guard Melo Trimble.
Robin Scholz / AP

News Local/State

Maryland Outlasts Illini Men 62-56

Maryland coach Mark Turgeon didn't let history repeat itself when his team defeated Illinois 62-56 on Saturday. The Terrapins were No. 11 when they came to Champaign two years ago and were upset 64-57 by an Illinois team that did not make the NCAA Tournament.

Signage is displayed outside a Planned Parenthood office in Peoria, Ill. Donald Trump's political inner circle is very much in favor of defunding the organization.
Daniel Acker / Bloomberg via Getty Images

News Local/State

What You Need To Know About The Coming Fight Over Planned Parenthood Funding

House Speaker Paul Ryan announced Thursday that Republicans will — once again — vote to cut off federal tax dollars for Planned Parenthood. They are planning to include the measure as part of a bigger upcoming bill to repeal pillars of Obamacare. This isn't the first time that they have tried to pass this type of legislation — President Obama vetoed a similar bill last January.

President-elect Donald Trump listens to a reporters question at Trump Tower in New York, Monday, Jan. 9, 2017.
Evan Vucci / AP

News Local/State

A Taxonomy Of Trump Tweets

As we all know, Donald Trump's tweets have become a potent force in our new era. On the one hand, a single tweet can cripple opponents, activate supporters, move markets, and subsume the news cycle. On the other, they're a window into Trump's wee-hours, unfiltered id.

A police line erected in Chicago.
Sarah / Flickr

News Local/State

Shots In The Back, Children Tasered: DOJ Details Excessive Force By Chicago Police

Fleeing, unarmed people shot in the back. Mentally ill men and women, not suspected of any crime, stunned by a Taser while they lay on the ground. People already detained or incapacitated who were beaten, with police accounts falsely describing the force as necessary. A 161-page report from the Justice Department details harrowing accounts of excessive force by the Chicago Police Department and highlights systemic failures that allow the violence to continue even as members of the public attempt to protest or report the brutality.