Illinois Public Media News

The 15th District Republican Congressman from Collinsville admits this is one area where he differs from President Donald Trump. Shimkus says he's always been for open markets and more trade, but cites the president's rejection of the 12-country Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP.  He says those in organized labor, like steelworkers, look forward to better deals, but things are unclear at the moment. "Where there is uncertainty, there is risk," he said.

On the 21st: We talked with a Chicago-based immigration lawyer about what the halt to President Trump's immigration ban means for people trying to get into Illinois. Plus, we talked with a Stonington resident about getting to meet President Trump in person, get the latest in Illinois politics and spoke with the president of Illinois State University about how they've been faring throughout the budget stalemate.

Any day now, Illinois will be completely surrounded by right-to-work states. The Missouri governor is expected to make his state the sixth one to adopt such a law in the last few years.

Last week the state of Illinois announced a partnership with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications on the University of Illinois Urbana campus. Bill Gropp is NCSA’s acting director.  Illinois Public Media’s Brian Moline spoke with Gropp about this partnership and how it developed.

Illinois legislators are hoping to boost immigrant protections in response to President Donald Trump's executive orders, a move advocates say would essentially give the state "sanctuary" status. One proposal says schools, medical facilities and places of worship could bar access to federal immigration authorities or law enforcement working on their behalf.  A second proposal would limit cooperation between police and immigration authorities.