Illinois Public Media News

A new report published by a national non-profit finds that Illinois prisons are holding about 17,000 more people than they were designed to house.

On The 21st: Ten states and Washington D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana. Is Illinois next in line? We’ll dive into what’s next if the legislature takes up the issue next year. And after seven years, the publication Rookie Mag has come to an end. How is it being remembered? But first, last month a scientist in China said that he used a gene-editing technique called CRISPR on two babies and that those babies have already been born. We check in with U of I’s Rachel Whitaker on what CRISPR is, and why so many scientists are upset about how it was used.

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong in the Illini men's annual basketball game at the United Center in Chicago.

In a lab at George Washington University, painted lady butterflies flutter in mesh houses. This is where assistant professor Arnault Martin and his research group use the new gene-editing technique CRISPR to unlock secrets about the colors and spots on the butterflies’ wings.

Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker and a new crop of legislators will take office come January. Those crafting state education policies say they will continue one of the biggest fights in recent years, finding more funding for teachers, students and schools.