Illinois Public Media News

A federal prison in Thomson, Illinois, is looking to expand its workforce, but they're facing difficulty enticing workers to settle down locally.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a controversial bill expanding access to reproductive healthcare, including abortions. The move comes as several other states have all but banned the procedure.

Opening statements took an unexpected turn, in the Brent Christensen capital murder trial in Peoria Wednesday. Federal public defender George Taseff said that Christensen is responsible for the death of University of Illinois visiting scholar Yingying Zhang, despite his “not guilty” plea.

Eighteen years ago, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin introduced the DREAM Act. And last week, the Democratically controlled House passed the latest version of that bill. We talk about that and other issues facing Congress. And, Americans older than 65 will become our largest age group within 20 years. Advocates say that means it’s time to rethink the way we design our local communities. Plus, have you heard of the idea of overtourism? That’s when too many people are visiting the same spots. We'll be speaking about what you can do about it.

Sales have sunk, around 100 locations have closed, employee lawsuits have piled up, and some are speculating that a major contraction—or worse—is near.