Illinois Public Media News

Reporters across the state join us to talk about the business landscape as Illinois enters the fourth phase of reopening the state. 

On today's 21st, we talk to to lawyers who secured the release of a potentially innocent man from prison, have a conversation about the Aunt Jemima brand and protecting the monarch butterfly.

Some Illinois farmers are changing their practices in an effort to protect our state insect: the monarch butterfly. The 21st explores the role pollinators play in our food systems and conservation efforts to support pollinator populations. 

Illinois-based Quaker Oats is ending its Aunt Jemima brand, saying it was based on a racial stereotype. Meanwhile, others are working to preserve the legacy of the real-life Chicago woman on whom the character was based.

The Illinois Innocence Project has secured the release of a man who spent 13 years in prison for murdering his own son, a crime he says he did not commit. The 21st speaks to the legal experts who worked on his case.