News Local/State
A new emergency shelter program for homeless men in Champaign-Urbana opened on January 6th during the recent cold snap. Two local churches are hosting the shelter program, to replaces others that closed down last year.
Meanwhile in Danville, a men’s emergency shelter program has been running for years --- with an emphasis on getting participants into jobs and their own housing.
News Local/State
The NPR Politics team and reporters across the newsroom will be live-annotating a news conference with President-elect Donald Trump, expected at 11 am ET/8am PT on Wednesday. We will be fact-checking and providing background to his remarks in real-time. We will be paying special attention to any comments about conflicts of interest, health care and national security.
News Local/State
The city has been working on tearing down and rebuilding homes in the northeast Champaign neighborhood since outlining its goals in 2007. Unanimously backed by the Champaign City Council Tuesday, the plan initiates an agreement with suburban-Chicago based AHDVS, a minority-owned contractor. But city council members stipulated that hiring local minorities was key to the plan's continued backing.
News Local/State
The 100th Illinois General Assembly is being sworn in on Wednesday, taking over efforts to resolve the state's 18-month-old financial crisis. The key players in the battle over the state's budget stalemate remain the same: the conservative businessman-turned-governor Bruce Rauner and Michael Madigan, the old-school Democratic House speaker whose decades at the helm has made him a Capitol institution.
News Local/State
Champaign County voters will get a chance to say whether they want to raise their property tax rates to help the financially strapped county nursing home, or allow the county board to sell or otherwise dispose of the facility.
Champaign County Board members approved both questions for the April 4 ballot, during a more than four-hour special meeting on Tuesday night.
News Local/State
Champaign's finance director says finances have improved as he prepared to step down from the job he's held for 31 years. Richard Schnuer touts the city's AAA bond rating from two agencies, as well as investments in infrastructure and downtown development the past few years. "We just don't throw money at developers without knowing the outcome," he says.
News Local/State
President Obama reflected on the achievements of his eight years in the White House on Tuesday night, telling supporters in his hometown of Chicago that they were instrumental in helping him boost the nation's economy, create his signature health care reform law and extend equal rights to more Americans.
News Local/State
The NPR Politics team and reporters across the newsroom will be live-annotating President Obama's farewell address in Chicago on Tuesday night, scheduled to begin at 8 pm CT. The team will be adding fact-checks and background to Obama's comments as he gives them. We'll be watching in particular for remarks on his legacy, national security, health care and foreign policy, among other topics.
News Local/State
State Rep. Michael Madigan on Wednesday will seek his 17th term as speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. He's not expected to have any trouble winning. Gov. Bruce Rauner and his fellow Republicans have spent years vilifying Madigan. But lately the party has gone further, trying to sway House Democrats away from re-electing Madigan as their leader.
News Local/State
Three finalists for the job of Champaign Unit Four district superintendent will come to town next week, for interviews
