Illinois Public Media News

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is continuing her investigation of the state’s six Roman Catholic dioceses, and now says criminal prosecution is a possibility.

Next year, the Common Application used by hundreds of colleges and universities will stop asking potential students about their criminal histories. Despite legislative efforts in Illinois, most campuses in the state continue to ask the question.

The devastating Camp Fire in the national forests in California has brought new attention to climate change and the management of national forests. Midwest forest managers say they have been able to keep fires under control, and will continue to do so even as the region gets warmer.

On The 21st: The Farm Bill affects food, agriculture and rural America. It’s a gigantic law that will cost $867 billion. Plus, a new report says that some Department of Corrections officers are abusive with mentally ill inmates. Also, we catch up with the students working on the CubeSail satellite. And, this year Amazon is delivering real Christmas trees right to your door. Are more traditional tree retailers worried about this?

The satellite known as CubeSail is actually two cube-shaped satellites, each weighing less than a five-pound bag of sugar and not much larger in size. It's expected to launch from a rocket at a site in New Zealand Wednesday night.