Illinois Public Media News

Last year, the department requested and received $7,000 to spend on educational supplies. This year, the agency requested $350,000, according to Lindsey Hess, a spokesperson for IDOC.

If the proposed budget is approved by state lawmakers, IDOC Director John Baldwin said a portion of the funding would be used to purchase books for state prisons.

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed the Illinois River to all traffic due to major flooding, including a major levee breach this past weekend. And, syphilis is on the rise in counties in rural Illinois. We hear more about why this treatable disease is spreading. Plus, many Americans can’t afford a lawyer to help with their civil cases, but the Ask-A-Lawyer desk is here to help. And U of I and Northwestern have teamed up to form Illinois’ first database dedicated to twins and their genetic makeup. Also, people in southern Illinois have adopted a new unofficial mascot, Porkchop the pig.  

In January, Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed several tax increases to help balance Illinois' budget. One of those proposals was a 32-cent hike on a pack of cigarettes, but some of his fellow Democrats want to triple that.

The city of Champaign is getting ready to unveil a community crisis response plan that aims to help people in the days and weeks following an incident of community violence.

Animal waste and nitrogen-based agricultural fertilizers contribute to nitrate runoff, which ends up in creeks, streams, rain and, eventually, water systems. Nitrate, that mix of nitrogen and oxygen, can cause serious health problems if it’s too concentrated.