WILL-AM

News Local/State

In the same week that Illinois Republicans split on the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, they united behind the choice of Ryan to succees John Boehner as Speaker of the U.S. House.

News Local/State

Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and the state's Democratic legislative leaders are scheduled to meet on November 18th in an effort to end Illinois' budget impasse.  But when asked about it Friday, Rauner said the open public meeting is more for the media's benefit than real compromise.

News Local/State

Taylorville Republican Rodney Davis has co-sponsored the Employer Participation in Student Loan Assistance Act, a student loan re-payment plan that lets employes offer recent college graduates a tax-free benefit of just over $5-thousand.  The funds can also be used for continuing education with current workers.

News Local/State

Champaign police have apprehended two suspects following an alleged attempted armed carjacking followed by a standoff lasting several hours Friday morning on the city’s northwest side.  The incident ended peacefully, and without injury.

News Local/State

The Urbana Free Library is launching a vinyl record collection, in response to the interest in vinyl recordings that has persists, despite the dominance of digital formats.

News Local/State

Greytak says Illinois ranks fourth in the U.S. on total spending on state Supreme Court elections. 

News Local/State

It’s the time of the year when department stores stock their shelves with different outfits for Halloween, including costumes of other cultures. Sexy Geisha, Hey Amigo Mexican man and replicas of Native American headdresses are some real life examples of cultural costumes and they can be found on various Halloween websites.

Cultural costumes have led to a controversial dilemma over whether or not they are racist, sexist and perpetuate cultural appropriation.

News Local/State

The Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul closes its doors Saturday, two months earlier than originally planned.  The original decision was made last spring for financial reasons, but Curator Mark Hanson says the closure date was moved up since many exhibits are already being moved. 

News Local/State

Exelon is putting off a decision for a year on whether to close a nuclear plant in Clinton. The company has already delayed decisions about the future of reactors in Quad Cities and Byron. It still wants Illinois lawmakers to approve a monthly surcharge on electric bills to reward generators who produce carbon-free power.

News Local/State

The state's inability to cover its expenses has some asking the question: Will Illinois run out of money?