Illinois Public Media News

The 21st was joined by a bird expert a conservation educator about America’s most iconic bird. The Bald Eagle population has rebounded in the past two decades and here in Illinois there are now nests in all 102 counties. But there are new threats to America's national bird.

According to the Census Bureau, about 6.5 Americans have fallen behind on their rent payments since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The national moratorium on evictions expired August 1. The 21st spoke to organizations around the state about what help is available for struggling tenants.

The 21st spoke to three Illinois reporters about the updated Centers For Disease Control & Prevention mask guidelines for K-12 schools, vaccinated people, Lollapalooza & vaccine efficacy.

Some school districts across Illinois have decided masks will be optional for students and staff this fall, even though no one under age 12 is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. Two doctors and a teacher took calls from parents about masking in schools.

The 21st spoke to Illinois Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope about why she resigned from her position and called her own position “essentially a paper tiger." 

Chicago seems relatively well positioned: far from the oceans, relatively northern, and built on a massive fresh water source. However, below the surface, the climate crisis is threatening—literally and figuratively—the very foundations that the city was built on.  And it’s a battle being fought between the Great Lake, and the Great City.

The institution of the general-interest newspaper column is changing, and arguably disappearing. The 21st was joined by two former Chicago tribune columnists to hear more about the role journalism plays in communities and the changing news landscape. 

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL16) has been appointed to a select committee to investigate the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Three political reporters talk about Illinois' role in this historic committee.

What would something named a “corpse flower” smell like? It smells like meat, gone bad or, more pointedly, a rotting corpse. The plant species is pretty rare across the globe and one of them is right here in Illinois, at the Nicholas Conservatory and Gardens in Rockford.

A group of Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL15), are calling for legislation that would cut funding to universities that stock abortion medications in campus health centers. The 21st spoke to a women’s health expert to cut through some of the politicized terms in the ongoing abortion debate.