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News Local/State

Democratic state Sen. Daniel Biss says he's running for Illinois governor in 2018. Biss on Monday became the latest Democrat to announce he's seeking the nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

News Local/State

The NPR Two-Way blog will provide live coverage of the House Intelligence Committee’s public hearing on the investigations into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. The live blog will include streaming video of the proceedings, with posts featuring highlights, context and analysis from NPR reporters and correspondents.

News Local/State

Minor league baseball players are suing Major League Baseball, claiming unfair pay. But a new proposal in Illinois would protect independent leagues from a similar lawsuit. 

News Local/State

Oklahoma State coach Brad Underwood is leaving Stillwater for Illinois after just one season, calling the chance to lead the Fighting Illini a "once in a lifetime opportunity." Underwood spent three successful seasons at Stephen F. Austin before signing on to coach Oklahoma State for 2016-17. "We were looking for a proven winner who would build upon our proud tradition while developing an unmistakable identity for Illinois basketball," Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman said in a statement. "Brad's teams play a fast, aggressive style and show unyielding toughness."

News Local/State

Gov. Bruce Rauner has taken his confrontation with the state's largest public-employee union to the Supreme Court. The Republican announced Friday that his office has asked the high court to uphold a labor board ruling in his favor. That ruling last fall allowed Rauner to impose his preferred contract conditions on 38,000 members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31.

News Local/State

Producer Norman Lear, who rose to prominence with programs like "All in The Family", and "The Jeffersons" has been announced as a guest at the 19th Annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival, scheduled for April 19-23 at Champaign's Virginia Theatre, accompanying the 2016 documentary "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You." Also announced Friday as a guest is actress Isabelle Huppert, accompaying the 2016 thriller "Elle" for which she received an Oscar nomination.

News Local/State

The candidates for Urbana mayor aired their agreements and disagreements at a debate Thursday night at the City Building.

Republican Rex Bradfield and Democrat Diane Marlin agree on some issues, like wanting to hire a city administrator and increase the size of Urbana’s police force.

But they disagree on some others, such as the city’s role in a legal battle over the tax-exempt status of healthcare provider Carle.

News Local/State

Disapporval numbers are high for both Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, in a new poll from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.

News Local/State

An African-American student group is launching a campaign to pressure administrators to take steps to increase black enrollment at the University of Illinois. That included a demonstration in the middle of a U of I Board of Trustees meeting on the Urbana campus Wednesday.

News Local/State

Cronus Chemicals will start losing part of its nearly $40 million in state tax incentives if its proposed $1.9 billion ammonia fertilizer plant in Tuscola, Ill., is not operating by July 2, according to tax credit agreements.