Illinois Public Media News

State Representative Carol Ammons has announced that she will not run for Congress. The Urbana Democrat announced Monday night on Twitter that after two months of consideration that she will not seek the Democratic nomination for the 13th Congressional District, currently held by Republican Rodney Davis.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has summoned lawmakers into special session to settle the public education funding issue weeks before the school bell is set to ring.

Erik Jones, a former Illinois assistant attorney general, is the latest Democrat to announce his bid for Republican Rodney Davis’ seat in Congress.

Steven Salaita, whose job offer from the University of Illinois was rescinded after he posted controversial tweets about Israel, says he is leaving academia, because he is unable to find work in it. Salaita has worked for the past two years as a visiting professor at the American University of Beirut. But he posted on his Facebook page this past Saturday he has been unable to find further academic work.

On the 21st: Over the past several weeks, parts of northern Illinois have been battered with rain, leading to flooding and damage of thousands of buildings. We also learn how the achievement gap for students often widens during the summertime, and get the latest on the political battle over state funding for K-12 schools.