Illinois Public Media News

As more people are sitting at home watching films, many have turned to the social media platform Letterboxd to rate and candidly share their opinions about films.

COVID-19 has killed nearly 20,000 Illinoisans. And for the family left behind, rituals of mourning have been curtailed or prevented. We talk about saying goodbye in a pandemic with the Rev. Marshall Hatch, pastor of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago's West Garfield neighborhood; he and his community have been hard-hit by COVID. We also spoke with SIU-Edwardsville Prof. Jocelyn DeGroot, who studies death and grieving, and is the author of The New York Times op-ed, "What Should You Say When Someone is Grieving?" And Kevin Rafferty, president of Rafferty Funeral Home in Moline.

At about 6 p.m. CST Monday, the House will deliver to the Senate an article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump, a move that will trigger preparations for a historic trial.

In a series by Illinois Newsroom Education reporter Lee Gaines, some students and faculty at the University of Illinois want campus police departments abolished, saying they overpolice students, especially Black students and residents. Meanwhile, officers say there are systemic issues that need to be addressed and their presence offers important protection. 

The January 6, 2021 siege on the US Capitol left five people dead and a country reeling in its wake. To talk more about some of the Illinoisans who have been arrested in relation to the Capitol seige, The 21st spoke to a federal courts reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.