Illinois Public Media News

In the 1830s, the U.S. government illegally auctioned off more than 1,280 acres of land belonging to Chief Shab-eh-nay in southern DeKalb County. Now, 170 years later, lawmakers are trying to right that wrong. To talk about it, The 21st was joined by Chieg Shab-eh-nay's fourth-generation great-grandson and current chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.

Our guest for the second half of the show has represented workers going up against their employers, argued before the US Supreme Court, and is the author of half a dozen or so books on American politics, law, and labor — including his latest, The History of Democracy Has Yet to be Written: How we Have to Learn to Govern All Over Again. It’s about his long-shot campaign for Congress in the Obama era, and his ideas for fixing what’s wrong with American democracy.

Workers at one of the world’s largest coffee chains are leading an unprecedented effort to unionize their workplace, and one of the most recent to vote to unionize is here in Illinois at the Peoria campustown location. The 21st was joined by two baristas from that location to talk about the unionization efforts, as well as a history professor to give some context about the labor movement at large. 

Illinois Public Media is committed to discussions about decreasing gun violence in Champaign-Urbana.On February 21, 2022, we'll talk with four educators about what students are telling them about the escalating violence and lack of safety.

Gov. JB Pritzker has mostly lifted Illinois' indoor mask mandate, and though Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot won’t commit to eliminating the mask and vaccine mandate for indoor spaces at the end of the month, people all over Illinois are worried about the increased risk to their health, especially who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.