Illinois Public Media News

President Trump began his press conference Thursday afternoon naming his new nominee for labor secretary, R. Alexander Acosta. He also announced his decision to issue a new executive action while his travel ban is held up in court. Journalists across NPR have annotated his remarks.

A St. Clair County judge has denied state Attorney General Lisa Madigan's motion to halt state employee pay in the absence of a complete state budget.  Madigan said she will appeal the judge's ruling.

On the 21st: We visit a music class at Leal elementary school and learn about a new research study exploring the factors that influence children's pursuit of music lessons. We also discussed how the lack of volunteers enlisting in local fire departments in recent years is affecting communities in Illinois, and checked in with social service agencies following Governor Rauner's budget address.

"The long-standing assumption is that fungicides won't be toxic to insects," says May Berenbaum, an entomologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But Berenbaum and her colleagues found, in a study published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that fungicides can harm bees by making it harder for them to metabolize their food.

In their second debate, the three women seeking the Democratic nomination for Urbana mayor weighed in on downtown and 'family friendly' events, but also had a chance to highlight what set them apart, each answering questions direct specifically about them. An audience of about 100 attended the event at Riggs Brewery, hosted by the Champaign County Young Democrats, Chambana Moms, and Smile Politely.