Illinois Public Media News

Indiana has one of the highest smoking rates in the country -- nearly one in five Hoosiers smoke. Now, a new statewide policy makes it easier for smokers to get medication to help them quit. But some people want state leaders to do more. 

Immigrants to Illinois are now able to sue their landlords if they are evicted because of their citizenship status.

Students have been paying more and more for room and board—and that cost often gets left out of conversations about lowering tuition and debt. Plus, what's behind an uptick in Hepatitis A cases in Illinois. We also talk with the lawmaker behind Illinois's new requirement that insurers cover EpiPens, and learn why colleges are turning to alcohol sales as one strategy to boost attendance at sporting events.

Illinois will soon require insurers to cover EpiPens and similar devices for children 18 and under. But questions remain about whether the law will really lower costs for consumers.

In the wake of two high profile mass shootings this month, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office is making gun violence prosecutions a priority. A leader of the Illinois House, meanwhile, said new gun legislation will be on the table during the next legislative session.

Power in Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's office has been too centralized and its environment has fostered an atmosphere that condones bullying, intimidation, hazing and long work hours with inconsistent direction, according to an investigative report released Tuesday.

St. Louis soon will be home to a top-tier professional soccer team. Major League Soccer officially awarded St. Louis an expansion team on Tuesday.

Officials at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced the campus is now 100% smoke- and tobacco-free.

State Representative Brad Halbrook, sponsor of a resolution to divide downstate Illinois and the Chicago area into separate states, says the U-S constitution provides a clear path for such a process.

Many students and teachers are headed back to school this month. Today we’ll ask a couple of educators who have been away from the classroom how they feel about coming back. Plus, about four in five community college students say they want to earn a bachelor’s degree. But the transfer rate has stayed low. We’ll learn why. And, the Pentagon is testing surveillance balloons around the Midwest, including parts of central Illinois. These balloons could be used to stop drug trafficking but they’re also raising concerns about privacy. Also, the story behind the "Scabby the Rat" inflatables.