Illinois Public Media News

Planting season in Illinois has been massively delayed as we face one of the wettest springs in more than a century. So, how are farmers coping with all of this uncertainty? Plus, African-Americans have been moving out of Chicago for years, not just to suburbs or other parts of Illinois, but also to areas in the South. And, Attorney General Kwame Raoul tells us why he's worried that alternative energy suppliers are preying on consumers and charging high utility bills.

More than 150,000 Americans die from lung cancer each year, and smoking is responsible for up to 90 percent of those deaths. Despite the high stakes, many people keep smoking after getting a cancer diagnosis. But some treatment centers are now doing more to help.

For the second year running, the city of Urbana is identifying spending cuts, as it tries to address a structural deficit in its budget.

State lawmakers have just two weeks to decide how they’ll move forward with several pieces of legislation. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin joins us to share his priorities. Plus, a southern Illinois mother faced thousands of dollars in hospital bills for her newborn because of Medicaid enrollment delays. She’s one of more than 112,000 who are facing problems with the program in Illinois. A new play at Steppenwolf explores the story of Ms. Joan Jett Blakk- a Chicago drag queen who ran for president in 1992.

A lawsuit filed Monday in Champaign County Circuit Court contends that contamination from a natural gas leak north of Mahomet has spread to additional residential water wells.