Illinois Public Media News

Colleges and universities have faced challenges in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, and some are predicting a permanent change in their fortunes in the years ahead. We talked about that and more with the presidents of Knox College and Wheaton College. 

Often when we think of someone with ADHD, a young white boy comes to mind, but while ADHD is more commonly diagnosed and treated in white boys, the disorder is found across genders and races. 

We were joined by two Illinois rabbis to talk about what Yom Kippur could teach everyone, even those who don't celebrate.

Police departments in Illinois have had to report racial and ethnic information about traffic stops for nearly two decades since a law passed by former State Sen. Barack Obama. But years later, inequities persist. We talked about it with a culture and diversity reporter, an attorney at the ACLU, and the president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

President Joe Biden has imposed a sweeping new vax-or-test mandate that applies to every company with 100 or more workers. We’ll talk about the legal authority behind the move and consider how companies will deal with it from a human resources perspective.

In 2021, many young people have little or no memory of the September 11 attacks. We were joined by educators from around Illinois to talk about how they help students understand a series of events that shaped the world as we know it today. 

September 11, 2021 marks 20 years since the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. Today on The 21st, we talked about 9/11 with an Illinois native who lost his fiance during the attacks. 

Illinois is expected to receive about 500 refugees from Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawl from the country last month. The 21st was joined by an Afghan with experience relocating as a refugee, as well as representatives from refugee aid organizations in central Illinois.

In late August 2021, the last U-S Air Force C-17 took off from the airport in Kabul, ending this phase of America’s decades-long involvement with Afghanistan. We were joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin to talk about the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as the new anti-abortion law in Texas, the COVID-19 surge around the country, and more.

Sidewalks, bike lanes and side paths have long been left off of Illinois’ transportation budget, but a new law is all about to change that.