Illinois Public Media News

Here's a list of school and other closings, cancellations and decalys, due to cold temperatures & slippery conditions on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016:

Reserve center Maverick Morgan had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and forward Michael Finke added 10 points off the bench as the Illini edged the Cougars 75-73 on Saturday night.

Two new federal grants worth more than $10 million will give researchers in Illinois money to investigate carbon storage in the state.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin visited Richland Community College in Decatur on Friday to announce details about the U.S. Department of Energy grants headed to the Illinois State Geological Survey.

On the 21st: We got tips for giving books as gifts from librarians, and we talked with Chicago jazz singer Lucy Smith about her new Christmas album. Plus, a constitutional law scholar joined us to talk about the electoral college, which will officially elect the next President of the United States on Monday. 

An Urbana woman has started an online petition asking local government officials to reopen the emergency shelter beds at the TIMES Center, citing the tax dollars used to build the center for that purpose. But the executive director of Rosecrance Champaign-Urbana, the non-profit that owns and operates the facility, says that's no longer a possibility.