WILL-AM

News Local/State

Illinois voters go to the polls on November 8, but they won't officially cast the votes for the next President. Both state parties have decided the handful of people who will have that privilege.

News Local/State

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk has gained an endorsement in his bid for re-election. It could help him win crucial votes from suburban moderates, but it might also frustrate an important part of the Republican electorate.

News Local/State

Final work is underway to convert a University Avenue site to a medical marijuana dispensary operated by Wheaton-based Nu Med. The CEO of partner group Education to Grow, Ben Rediger, says market demand in the state's pilot program has grown to a point where one dispensary, Phoenix Botantical in Champaign, will not be able to fully handle the flow of new patients in the region.

News Local/State

Legislation curbing the cost of calls made by Illinois prison inmates has been signed into law by Gov. Bruce Rauner. It sets rates for inmates in Illinois correctional facilities at a maximum of 7 cents per minute for domestic calls. Sponsor and State Rep. Carol Ammons (D-Urbana) says that's about half the current rate.  Rauner signed four other related measures at adult transition center in Chicago Monday.

News Local/State

A prison in central Illinois has been placed on lockdown while state officials investigate the assault of six employees by five inmates. The Pontiac Correctional Center is on lockdown following the incident Sunday and will remain on lockdown until the department has finished its investigation.

News Local/State

In 2008, the Great Recession helped to tip Illinois into a fiscal crisis it still hasn't recovered from. A new report from Standard & Poor's found that another even moderate recession would mean big trouble for the state's budget. ​

News Local/State

U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth says the country should lead an international coalition condemning the violence in Syria. She says if the country turns its back on victims like the 5-year old rescued from a partially destroyed apartment building in Aleppo, "we could potentially create a dialogue out there that America does not care about the victims of violence."

News Local/State

State officials have sent help to Louisiana after devastating floods hit Baton Route and other parts of the state. The Department of Central Management Services sent a volunteer this week to deliver 100,000 sandbags and 45 cots to help with the flood-relief efforts.

News Local/State

Earlier this week, when Republicans rallied at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, it was as though they were on that classic game show "Password," where no one was allowed say the name of their party's presidential nominee. Thursday, however, Democrats took the opposite tack, saying the name again and again.

News Local/State

Speculation continues to swirl over who Democrats will put up to challenge Gov. Bruce Rauner in two years.