Topic: Government

Illinois became the first state in the Midwest Tuesday to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the measure at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield. 

Republican and Democratic lawmakers representing Champaign County have put forward a package of five bills in the Illinois General Assembly they say will protect the Mahomet Aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for more than 500,000 people in the state.

On the 21st: Illinois is set to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 throughout the entire state. Plus, as Gov. Pritzker gets ready to deliver his first budget address, we'll talk with the Civic Federation's Laurence Msall about what Illinois needs to get its finances in order. And, the CDC says there have been more than 120 cases of measles in the U.S. since the start of 2019—and in recent days, four have been confirmed in Champaign-Urbana. Finally, we'll hear about a new battery recycling program out of Argonne National Laboratory.

On the 21st: Hundreds of people gathered in Aurora yesterday to remember the five people who died in a mass shooting on Friday. Plus, more of our conversations from the nation's capital. We hear from one neurosurgeon who goes to Washington every month to advocate on behalf of her patients, and hear from U of I students who are there for the semester. And, Lawrence Schiller was behind some of the most iconic photos of President Kennedy’s life. He’s curated a new exhibit, featuring JFK, that you can see now at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

That brings the total number of measles cases reported in Champaign-Urbana to four so far in 2019.

Reaction is coming in from lawmakers representing all corners of the state as it pertains to the vote to avoid another government shutdown as well as President Trump's announcement Friday to declare a national emergency to fund a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

In Illinois, losing a baby before its first birthday happens far more often to black mothers than those of other races. The difference between whites and blacks is nearly three-fold.

President Trump is speaking about border security at the White House. Congress passed a compromise spending measure Thursday to avert a government that includes some funding for the border barrier.

President Trump will support a border security funding compromise passed by Congress, averting a partial government shutdown early Saturday — but he also will declare a national emergency in order to build the wall he has pushed for along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A $15-an-hour minimum wage is headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker after the Illinois House approved the six-year plan. Thursday's 69-47 vote in the House almost guarantees it will become law. The measure passed the Illinois Senate last week, on a vote of 39 to 18.