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A judge is encouraging Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration to keep bargaining its contract with AFSCME, the state’s largest government union. Rauner's attorneys have been asking the state’s labor board to declare negotiations at an impasse, which could potentially lead to a strike of state workers.
On the 21st: We discussed the upcoming college football season with reporters Jeremy Werner and Zach Pereles, who cover Illinois and Northwestern. Plus, we talked with Chicago musician Sir the Baptist about his spiritual roots and rising success.
In an era of political gridlock, one of the few topics on which there's been hope of bipartisan cooperation is on the issues of crime and punishment. Politicians have traditionally been averse to doing anything that could get them painted as being "soft on crime." It's an easy attack, and one that's been frequently deployed in the past. But this year, criminal justice reform advocates are fighting back, as in the case of an Illinois Democrat facing scare-mongering ads about criminal justice reform.
Illinois Soccer Coach Janet Rayfield joined Brian Moline, Lisa Bralts, and John Steinbacher in this week's episode of The Bandwagon sports podcast. Rayfield shared her thoughts on the problems with youth sports and player development in the United States.
Miniature horses can weigh from 100 to 200 pounds, making them smaller than ponies. The animals were first bred in Europe, as pets and as work animals in coal mines. But recently, they’ve found a new occupation --- as therapy animals.
