Illinois Public Media News

On the next 21st: We heard how Illinois residents are reacting to the shootings that have taken place this week. We also spoke with the author of a new book about the Zika virus.

Days after signing off on a stopgap budget measure, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner says he wanted to provide more funding for higher education, but politics got in the way.

A state labor board has rejected Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's request to bypass an administrative judge's recommendation and expedite proceedings in union negotiations. The decision means the case will continue as it has for months with the judge. Meanwhile, the AFSCME union is laying the groundwork for a strike, just it case it has to.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown says a suspect in the overnight attack that killed five police officers, wounded seven others and wounded two civilians said he was upset over the recent police shootings of black men and wanted to kill white people. The suspect who died in a parking garage has been identified as Micah Xavior Johnson.

Jason Benetti is the new TV play-by-play announcer for the Chicago White Sox's home games. Thursday on 'The 21st', the Homewood native talked about growing up a Sox fan, and working through the challenge of cerebral palsy, something Benetti never saw as a limit on his career. "I was too dumb to think about it," he said.