WILL-AM

News Local/State

State senators are meeting in Springfield this week.  But the Illinois House is not scheduled to return to the Capitol until April.  On Tuesday, Gov. Bruce Rauner criticized House Speaker Michael Madigan, saying the Democratic leader would rather 'go on vacation.'

News Local/State

A capacity crowd of about two thousand people heard US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speak at the University of Illinois Krannert Center Monday night in Urbana. 

News Local/State

Smith says he expects the team he’s inherited to compete for a Big Ten Championship. The former Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaners coach said he planned to complete his career at Illinois, after signing a six-year, $21 million contract.  "I don't know what better commitment I can show to everyone that we're going to be here for the long haul," he said.

News Local/State

President Obama has voiced a commercial asking voters to support Juliana Stratton, Rep. Ken Dunkin's opponent for the Democratic nomination for Illinois' 5th House District.  The race is largely seen as a proxy war between House Speaker Michael Madigan, who's supporting Stratton, and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, whose allies are supporting Dunkin.

News Local/State

The University of Illinois says former NFL coach Lovie Smith will be named the next football coach at the University of Illinois.  Athletic Director Josh Whitman will annouce the former Chicago Bears coach as the Illini's 25th head coach at a Monday afternoon news conference.

News Local/State

Malcolm Hill scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to get the Illini men past Penn State, as the Nittany Lions defeated Illinois 86-79 in double-overtime Sunday in Happy Valley.

News Local/State

New University of Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman Saturday fired head football coach Bill Cubit. Cubit served as interim head coach for one season. The decision came on Whitman's first official day on the job.

News Local/State

The Democratic presidential candidate spoke Friday at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where the primarily student audience packed a 4,000-seat campus basketball arena.  Sanders touched on familiar campaign themes, calling for campaign finance reform, marijuana decriminalization and increased corporate taxes.

News Local/State

Illinois' Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council says a reported internal investigation involving Champaign Police Officer Matt Rush, the subject of four excessive force lawsuits, is not related to his actions on duty.  "It is a direct result of the intense negative publicity and inaccurate public statements stemming from his prior case," said General Counsel Tamara Cummings.

News Local/State

The internationally renowned dance company has been a fixture on the Krannert Center calendar for many years, including community workshops with their performances.