Illinois Public Media News

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton talk with Amanda Vinicky about the prospects for a long-delayed state budget deal.

Governor Bruce Rauner has vetoed legislation to allow an arbitrator to settle state-employee wages and working conditions if union negotiations stall.  In his veto message Monday, the Republican governor called the bill "dangerous," adding it would replace his bargaining power with a union-friendly arbitrator.

Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing says the proposed fiscal 2017 budget released Monday holds the line on the city's property tax rate, and has no new hires.  But she says the $49.5 million spending plan also includes investments like road repairs, including the partially grant-funded MCORE project, reconstructing a section of Green Street. 

On The 21st: Scientists have found eggs in male fish in the Des Plaines river, and researchers suspect the culprit is pharmaceuticals and other chemicals in the water. What does that mean for fish, and for us? Plus, we learn about the migration of monarch butterflies from Mexico to Canda, and get a preview of what we can expect from lawmakers in Springfield this week.

Graduates receiving diplomas at the University of Illinois Urbana campus over the weekend included 119 student-athletes. Two received scholarships from the Big Ten Conference to attend graduate school.