Illinois Public Media News

On The 21st: There’s been growing poverty in American suburbs for years. WBEZ and the Better Government Association have spent months talking to people in one of these communities - Dolton, Illinois. Plus, the next Congress will have seven new members with science backgrounds. We talk with current Representative Bill Foster and Congressman-elect Sean Casten about what this could mean for the next few years. Plus, Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks are expanding by more than 2,600 acres. What could that mean for visitors and for the land itself? And, with e-cigarette sales going up, what do we know about their health effects? 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking comment on a proposal by Dynegy Energy Midwest to install a rock wall to prevent millions of gallons of coal ash from polluting the Middle Fork River in Vermilion County.

Commentary: Trying to impose his will rather than seeking compromise, and calling counterparts corrupt got the one-term politician nowhere.

Breastfeeding provides health benefits to both moms and babies. A public-health initiative in Champaign-Urbana aims to get more local businesses to support the practice. 

College in Illinois is becoming more expensive on average, and fewer students are graduating from the state’s large public universities. That’s according to a decade’s-worth of federal education data.