In-depth reporting from WILL, NPR, the Associated Press, and other sources
Contact WILL News at willnewsroom@illinois.edu
Higher education has been one of the most notable victims of the Illinois budget impasse, which is nearing two years. So, it's unusual to hear Parkland College president Tom Ramage talk about growth amid that backdrop.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that'll help locate Yingying Zhang, a visiting scholar from China who disappeared from the University of Illinois at Urbana. And the university credit union is raising money to help members of her family who are in Champaign-Urbana during the search.
The University of Illinois’ Urbana campus has been taken off an academic censure list. Delegates to the annual meeting in Washington, DC, of the American Association of University Professors voted Saturday to take the campus off the list — recognizing that the school had addressed concerns over the Steven Salaita controversy.
Champaign County Administrator Rick Snider says the county nursing home is cooperating with an investigation into the death of a resident of the home. According to the News-Gazette, the county coroner and Illinois State Police are investigating the death of a 78-year-old woman who was discovered last weekend in the courtyard and may have been outside in high temperatures for as many as three hours.
Earlier this week, a group of Illinois Republicans announced a series of compromise measures they said could lead to a state budget. It includes a revised school funding plan, sponsored by State Senator Jason Barickman, of Bloomington.
Barickman calls his latest plan quote a huge step forward. It omits controversial language about collective bargaining, and on some areas, it duplicates the Democrats' plan, known as Senate Bill 1. But like Gov. Bruce Rauner and his education czar, Beth Purvis, Barickman still isn't happy with that plan.
