Illinois Public Media News

 An updated proposal for county jail consolidation was brought before the full Champaign County Board for the first time Thursday night. Now county board members must decide how to deal with both a pressing need --- and a daunting price tag.

You’ll have several more chances to see Dom Flemons this weekend as part of the Champaign-Urbana Folk and Roots Festival, which runs through Saturday night at several venues in Urbana.

Nationwide, the abortion rate has been declining since the 1980s, but Illinois has recorded a smaller drop than our neighboring states.

Boeing is still dealing with the fallout from the 737 Max 8, which crashed twice before being grounded earlier this year. We talk about what’s next for the Chicago-based company. Plus, speech language pathologists in Central Illinois are helping transgender clients by providing techniques that focus on the resonance, tone and projection of their voices. Also, we talk about the new project GovBook that's meant to help people get in contact with local officials from around the state. And, what’s happening in the north central Illinois town of Mendota, where teachers have been on strike for the past week.

A new exhibit at the University Y in Champaign takes an up-close look at what it’s like to serve an extensive prison sentence. The exhibit is called “Free Again.” It’s a partnership with the University of Illinois’ college-in-prison program, Education Justice Project.