Illinois Public Media News

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. 

Illinois is seeing another surge in cases of COVID-19. It’s forced some schools to go back to remote learning, and hospitals are running out of space in critical care wards. We talked to reporters from around the state about how school districts across Illinois are responding. 

People of a certain age got used to thinking of the US Supreme Court as a protector of civil rights — from desegregation in Brown v. Board, to the case that gave police Miranda warnings their name. But a new book argues most of the court’s record on race is more “distressing” and “disgraceful.” The 21st was joined by the book's co-authors to talk about the court's history with race. 

This week in Decatur, farmers and those in the agriculture industry from Illinois and the Midwest are gathering together at the Farm Progress Show. We talked about the past, present, and future of automation. 

Earlier this year, a federal court in Illinois ruled a state panhandling law unconstitutional, saying that it violates the First Amendment: freedom of free speech. That means panhandlers in Illinois can no longer be ticketed.