Illinois Public Media News

Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives Thursday passed a plan to send more than $800 million to human services and universities. They call it a “lifeline” for programs facing catastrophe.

Updated 8:37pm: President Trump has launched airstrikes in Syria in response to deadly chemical attacks allegedly ordered by the country's president, Bashar Assad, against his own people.

"Tonight I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched," the president announced from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla, where he is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons."

“I don’t like to sling mud,” a young Urbana city council member named Lloyd Carter, jr. told the Champaign-Urbana Courier in 1971. “I think we could get more done if we work together”.

Carter, one of Champaign-Urbana’s first African-American elected officials, died Wednesday at the age of 86, one year after leaving public office.

Billionaire businessman J.B. Pritzker has made official his bid for Illinois governor. The Chicago Democrat tweeted Thursday that he was readying for "the big announcement" above a picture with his son holding a sign reading "J.B. for Governor." Pritzker's campaign confirmed the tweet ahead of a Thursday afternoon event in Chicago.

On the 21st: We discuss the factors students and parents are weighing as they consider in-state versus out-of-state schools. Plus, what are Illinois lawmakers doing to protect residents' online privacy? And, we learn about a new research study shows that crop insurance may have unintended consequences on water use.