Illinois Public Media News

Deputy Fire Marshal Randy Smith said firefighters will work on rescue techniques and rope assisted searches, which are used during fires in larger commercial spaces.

County clerks maintain records on local taxes and Vital Records including marriage licenses and birth and death certificates. But the job of running local elections is what’s getting the most attention in the Champaign County Clerk election. Republican Matt Grandone is promoting his experience, while Democrat Aaron Ammons says he’ll work for voter rights and access.

On the 21st: Sears, once the largest retailer in the world, which has been headquartered here in Illinois for more than a century, filed for bankruptcy. Plus, as the state celebrates its bicentennial, we check in on the Lincoln museum's latest Top 10 list: scientists. But first, Illinois is home to two of the nation's most competitive Congressional elections. 

Republican Mike Marron is running for State House in the 104th District, which includes portions of Champaign County and Vermilion County. Marron has been serving in that seat since September when he was appointed by Republican Party officials to complete Rep. Chad Hays’ term. Marron faces Democrat Cynthia “Cindy” Cunningham, a resident of Royal, in the Nov. 6 midterm election. 

A climate change symposium at the University of Illinois will honor Theodore "Ted" Brown, the first director of the Beckman Institute when it was founded in 1983. Brown spoke with Illinois Public Media about the challenges of confronting climate change and how society has changed since the 1970s when he wrote his first book on the issue.