Illinois Public Media News

Catholics in Quincy will come together Saturday to commemorate the 122nd anniversary of Father Augustine Tolton’s death. He is widely regarded as the nation’s first black priest. 

Governor J.B. Pritzker says the infrastructure legislation he signed into law last month means jobs for Illinois --- both in the short term and in the years to come. Pritzker made two stops in Champaign-Urbana Wednesday to promote the $48 billion, six-year Rebuild Illinois capital development package.

Tracey Meares is a central Illinois native and a Yale law professor who's spent years investigating difficult questions about the interactions between police officers and the public. Plus, the UIC women’s gymnastics team won a conference championship - but their program still got cut. We’ll talk about that and how colleges prioritize certain sports. And caregivers for veterans are often under a lot of stress. A study shows how mindfulness therapy can help.

Illinois’ new infrastructure plan has money set aside to help residents secure affordable housing across the state. This is the first capital plan in 10 years.

We all know that the nutrients we eat affect our physical health, but what about our mental health? We talk about the connection between the gut and the brain. And, fewer students are learning cursive in elementary and middle school. And some educators worry that this could spell trouble for preserving the billions of handwritten documents in our national archives. Plus, we’re wrapping up our series of summer book recommendations with some of our favorites for kids and young adults.