Illinois Public Media News

The Urbana City Council voted unanimously Monday night to continue talks towards a possible redevelopment agreement for a 94-year old downtown hotel. The latest revisions to the draft agreement for the Urbana Landmark Hotel include reducing the city’s post-construction bonds to help the project from $9.5 million down to $7 million.

Might pot and ditch weed help ease the state's financial crisis and boost its farm economy? Sponsors of legislation to legalize recreational marijuana and to clear the way for large-scale production of industrial hemp are hoping to convince their colleagues that's the case.

On Tuesday evening, the Champaign County Board starts a discussion of what to do next with the county nursing home, now that voters have rejected a tax hike but approved the possibility of selling it. Meanwhile, the nursing home advisory board will explore another proposal — running the facility as a non-profit institution with help from local healthcare institutions. 

On the 21st: Chicagoland-based Sears Holding Corporation recently announced they lost more than $2 billion dollars in the past year, leading many to doubt about the future of the company. We discuss the rise and fall of the retail giant. Plus, we ask: what role do parents and teachers have to play in preventing bullying and violence in schools? And we get the latest in Illinois politics, with a focus on the governor's race.

Four people were shot Monday in an apparent murder-suicide inside an elementary school classroom in San Bernardino, including a teacher and two students, police and school officials said.