Illinois Public Media News

Illinois has officially cast its 20 electoral votes for Hillary Clinton. The slate of Democratic Party electors met Monday in the state Capitol building in Springfield.

After extensive discussion the last two weeks, the Urbana City Council has approved a resolution reaffirming its ‘sanctuary city’ status. The 5-to-1 vote was met with sustained applause from roughly 50 people who filled the council chambers Monday night. The measure saw changes from the prior week, including language specifying that no city employee can request information about someone's citizenship unless required by court order.

German police said at least 12 people were killed and at least 48 people were injured after a truck barreled into a packed Christmas market in Berlin. The truck was driven into the crowd on a sidewalk, bringing down Christmas lights and smashing stalls at the festive market near the Gedaechtniskirche, or Memorial Church, in western Berlin. The black truck had Polish license plates. Dozens of ambulances and hundreds of rescue workers were on the scene, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reported.

On this encore edition of The 21st: We spoke with three Illinois religious leaders who are part of an interfaith effort to build a Habitat for Humanity house. Plus, we met the artist behind the LEGO exhibit at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry and learned about the effect toys can have on children's perceptions of their own abilities.

A recent survey from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission shows that colleges and universities are handling the state budget impasse in a confusing variety of ways. The commission is the state agency that administers the Monetary Award Program, known as the MAP grant, designed to help pay tuition for low-income students.