Illinois Public Media News

Carle Hospital is one of a growing list of hospitals requiring visitors to wear personal protective equipment when they visit patients kept in isolation. Area Presence hospitals - Covenant in Urbana and United Samaritans in Danville - already require the protective gear when visiting patients in isolation.

Nearly three dozen Illinois legislators of both political stripes are asking Gov. Bruce Rauner to resume contract negotiations with the state's largest public-employee union. Most were Democrats, but a couple of Republicans joined in.  A state labor board sided with Rauner this month that talks were at "impasse', meaning the governor can impose his terms. He did that a second time Wednesday in announcing an employee drug and alcohol testing plan.

On the 21st: We talked with a Danville resident who has been protesting in North Dakota for several days. Plus, we heard from Dr. Emmet Hirsch about his debut novel about the sink-or-swim world of medical residency.

One of the goals of Governor Bruce Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda is to reduce the number of local units of government --- which Illinois has more of than any other state. 

Voters in the Champaign County town of Rantoul approved the dissolution of one of those local governments in the recent election. Or so they thought.

University of Illinois professor Adrian Burgos, Jr. dubunks a long-standing myth about the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.  NPR's David Greene talks with Burgos about Castro and baseball in Cuba.