Illinois Public Media News

A Republican county board member from Rantoul will be the next Champaign County Auditor. 

It’s a common story: Ambitious kids move from small towns to larger cities, never to look back. When their parents die, the family wealth that’s been built over generations through farming, ranching or agriculture-related businesses often follows the kids, draining the economic lifeblood from those rural communities.

Next year Illinois will have a new way to dispose of dead bodies where no next of kin is found, or families don’t have the means to pay for a burial and it could benefit students. 

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., is the third member of Congress to announce his resignation this week, saying that he had discussed surrogacy with two female subordinates.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, announced Thursday that he will be resigning. Speaking on the Senate floor, Franken said serving in the Senate has been "the great honor of my life" and that nothing he has done as a senator "has brought dishonor" on the institution. But he said, "it's become clear that I can't both pursue the Ethics Committee process and at the same time remain an effective senator" for the people of Minnesota.