Illinois Public Media News

As Juneteenth approaches, the debate continues about whether descendants of enslaved Black Americans should receive reparations. In 2022, the city of Evanston, near Chicago, made history as the first U.S. city to implement a publicly funded reparations program for Black Americans. But should the relief go even further... perhaps, statewide?

High school classes can be hard — and so are the first couple years of college. A group of teenagers in southern Illinois did both at the same time —  and simultaneously earned high school diplomas and associate’s degrees.

The U.S. and Iran say they've reached a deal to end nearly four months of war — a war the president said was meant to end Iran's nuclear program, gut its missiles, cut off its proxies, and topple its government.

"None of those have been achieved,” says Rachel Bronson, who closely follows the region from her base at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

“I think we’re in a much worse situation, and now we’re just trying to figure out how to stanch that bleeding and to figure out what this next stage looks like.”

Ever wondered about Illinois' bat population? Or perhaps you recently dealt with trying to get a bat out of your home?

The 21st Show took the opportunity to catch up on the state of bat populations across the 21st state, and how you can safely get rid of one that might find comfort in your home and when to respond to health-related concerns following exposure to bats. 

For most of American history, when a Justice Department lawyer stood up in court and told a judge something, the judge took it as true. There's even a name for this — it’s called "presumption of regularity," the idea that government officials are doing their jobs honestly and in good faith.

That assumption is now under strain. A growing number of federal judges — appointed by presidents of both parties — have indicated they are no longer willing to give the benefit of the doubt to lawyers from the Trump administration. And one of the clearest examples of this is coming out of Illinois.

It's the case of the so-called “Broadview Six” — immigration protesters arrested outside a suburban Chicago ICE facility last fall. A rare federal felony case against them collapsed this spring after a judge found what she described as serious misconduct in front of a grand jury.

We spoke with Jason Meisner, who covers federal courts for the Chicago Tribune, to walk us through what's happened.