Illinois Public Media News

Earlier this week, when Republicans rallied at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, it was as though they were on that classic game show "Password," where no one was allowed say the name of their party's presidential nominee. Thursday, however, Democrats took the opposite tack, saying the name again and again.

On the 21st: We talked with 9-1-1 officials about a new emergency dispatch system designed to take texts in addition to calls. Plus, we found out what advertisers have been doing to catch our eye this Olympic season and heard from Champaign band Euriah about their latest album.

Speculation continues to swirl over who Democrats will put up to challenge Gov. Bruce Rauner in two years.

After hearing a number of comments from the 'Build Programs Not Jails' movement, on a vote of 15-2, the Champaign County Board Thursday approved placing a quarter-cent sales tax on the November ballot.

Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation Thursday requiring all Illinois hospitals to have protocols in place for diagnosing and treating sepsis, which occurs when infection causes the body's immune system to attack tissue and organs. The legislation was nicknamed "Gabby's Law", after a 5-year-old Monticello girl, who died of sepsis after hospital doctors did not check for the condition.