Illinois Public Media News

The Kenyan Ambassador to the United States hopes an exhibit at the University of Illinois' Krannert Art Museum draws people from both countries together. 

 A wide-reaching overhaul of the way Illinois funds schools has been signed into law.  Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the measure, SB1947, Thursday at a Chicago school. 

The people who run LIHEAP for Champaign County plan to come to work early on the morning of Friday, September 1st, to greet first-day applicants for the program that helps low-income households with their home heating bills. But all they can tell applicants is: come back in thirty days.

On the 21st: We discussed Illinois' school funding bill with two of its chief sponsors: Republican State Sen. Jason Barickman and Democratic State Sen. Kimberly Lightford. Plus, we spoke to the editor-in-chief of the online literary journal Jaggery and talked to two University of Illinois researchers about what their work studying baby pigs means for our understanding of the human microbiome.

The Arkema plant in Crosby, Texas, was the site of a fire and chemical releases Thursday, confirming worries about volatile organic peroxides that had forced the evacuation of the surrounding community over fears that they could explode.

A Northern Illinois University student created a website that maps out Illinois health care providers for immigrants, regardless of their status. Yosue Perez, an accounting major from Hanover Park, completed the project through the school's Summer Research Opportunities Program.

Illinois's fight for a $15 an hour minimum wage hit a roadblock last Friday after Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed the bill that would make it happen.

U of I football head coach Lovie Smith is concerned for his family as Hurricane Harvey devastates Texas.

Superintendents say the bill isn't perfect, but they are happy schools will stay open this year.

Gov. Bruce Rauner took,a sort of victory lap Wednesday, visiting a Catholic school, a traditional public school and a charter school to celebrate the Illinois General Assembly's approval of a historic school funding overhaul.