Illinois Public Media News

The Illinois Senate last week approved increased protections for those who use alternative electric and gas suppliers. 

The Commission’s listening session in Urbana is the second of three listening sessions taking place throughout the state. The hearings comes after several months of calls from communities across the state to open the Commission’s process up to the public.

It’s a long road to changing our state’s income tax system, but on Wednesday Governor Pritzker and his supporters took a big step forward and got the plan through the state Senate. And the website TurboTax promised the IRS that lower-income earners could file for free, but the company has kept users away from its free version on purpose. And as hate crimes against Muslims in Illinois and the rest of the country become more visible, a new report out today tracks the millions of dollars and thousands of groups that are fueling anti-Islamic hate in America.

A recent study suggests that low-income students who receive loan-replacement grants are more likely to graduate than those from similar economic backgrounds who don’t receive them.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has made criminal justice reform the centerpiece of her work in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration.  She recently appointed Quinn Rallins to head an effort dubbed the Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative, which aims to centralize the state's criminal justice reform measures. Rallins said the group will unveil their vision for reform sometime later this month.