Illinois Public Media News

The Illini men's basketball team survived an opening round tilt against Northwestern, beating the Wildcats 74-69 in overtime Wednesday night at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.

A statewide study from regional school superintendents found that Illinois’ serious teacher shortage continues to worsen, especially in school districts in central and southern Illinois.

On The 21st: The recycling market has changed in a big way ever since China stopped importing recycled plastic from the US. In Northern Illinois, one recycling group has several tons piled up because there’s no good place for it to go. Plus, it can be hard to have an abortion in the Midwest but Illinois stands out as the state with the fewest barriers in the region. And now, some House Democrats say it’s time to continue expanding access through new legislation. And, we don’t have a national park here in Illinois. But, our neighbors to the east now officially do as of last month. Also, Amanda Vinicky joins us to share her favorite Springfield culinary classics. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants to create a host of new taxes to help balance Illinois’ budget — on everything from e-cigarettes to medical insurance companies. Today we’re looking at a potential tax on shopping bags.

​Residents of Champaign’s Garden Hills neighborhood have to deal with a list of problems, including inordinate levels of poverty, gun violence and vacant houses. The neighborhood on the city’s northwest side has another problem: a lack of infrastructure, like storm sewers and streetlights. The Champaign City Council is taking a first step towards a remedy for Garden Hills. But it could be a long wait to the second step.