Illinois Public Media News

Colleen Shogan was the 11th Archivist of the United States — the head of the National Archives and Records Administration. The agency is responsible for safeguarding America's founding documents, other important government records, and running many of the presidential libraries across the country.

Shogan was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate. But while the job is traditionally seen as non-partisan and previous archivists have spanned administrations, President Donald Trump fired Shogan soon after taking office. We'll talk about that and more.

The sights and sounds of traditional Mexican folk dancing. We’ll talk with members of Quad Cities Ballet Folklorico, which has been teaching young people this cultural dance for more than 40 years.

State lawmakers are back in Springfield for the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session. Some Democrats are exploring their options for putting guardrails on what ICE can do. Also potentially on the agenda is funding for mass transit, home insurance rates, and soaring energy bills.
 

The Trump administration has expanded the scope of ICE operations in Chicago and its suburbs, but state and local officials — as well as everyday citizens — are pushing back.

A new book and exhibit at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum aims to tell the story of our 16th president through objects and documents from his life. Co-written by the ALPLM's chief of acquisitions Ian Hunt and museum director Christina Shutt, the book is called Lincoln: A Life and Legacy that Defined a Nation in 100 Objects (Rizzoli, $50).

The related exhibition of some of the objects from the book also marks both the museum's 20th anniversary and the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It's called Lincoln: A Life and Legacy that Defined a Nation and it's open through April 26, 2026.