Illinois Public Media News

There's an active debate inside newsrooms, and particularly within the NPR newsroom, about how to characterize the statements of President Trump when they are at odds with evidence to the contrary.

President Donald Trump is vowing to "send in the Feds'' if Chicago can't reduce its homicide figures. In a tweet Tuesday night, Trump says the city is experiencing "horrible carnage,'' with surge in shootings since New Year's Day. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel acknowledged his own frustration with Chicago's crime rate Monday, but also criticized Trump for worrying about the size of the crowd at his inauguration.

Champaign’s City Council has unanimously signed off on new procedures for citizen review of police complaints, though some members admit the plan isn’t perfect. Tuesday’s vote comes after prior attempts to create a citizen review board in Champaign with greater powers had fallen short.

Sales of existing homes in Illinois were down in December, but up overall in 2016. The trade group Illinois Realtors reports that 162,380 houses and condos were sold in the state last year --- up 3.9% from 2015.  

On the 21st: We continued our week-long series on the impact of a Trump presidency on Illinois' economy with a discussion about manufacturing and jobs. Plus, we talked about Governor Rauner's plan to protect pharmacy customers from risky drug combinations and discussed how is Illinois divided on the soda vs. pop question. We also spoke with the founder of Mark Morris Dance Group, which will be performing in Urbana this weekend.