Illinois Public Media News

The Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education clarified how parents can opt their students out of active shooter drills during a meeting held Monday night. 

The Champaign County Circuit Clerk's office is dropping collection and late fees on all criminal and traffic cases, this week only, during the office's third annual Amnesty Week. 

All this week, we're revisiting some of our favorite science and technology conversations. Scientists at Argonne National Labs created a sponge that’s being used to clean up oil spills off on the Pacific coast. Plus, there are millions of rural households still don’t have high-speed internet, which can make life harder for those in the farming business. And, for tens of thousands of Americans, living with sickle-cell disease can be excruciatingly painful and even deadly. But gene therapy advancements have given a handful of patients hope for a symptom-free life — and even a cure. Also, companies have brought virtual translators directly to patients getting medical treatment whose first language isn't English.

The federal Child and Adult Care Food Program reimburses child care providers for serving up nutritious foods to children in their care. It serves more than 4.2 million U.S. children each day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But a new University of Illinois study finds the program may be inequitable for rural child care providers.

Only a few of the more than 40 snake species in Missouri are venomous, including the one Ben Jellen is looking for: the copperhead.