For this week's Friday Reporter Roundtable, we're focusing on the Metro East, from the fate of Granite City Works to flooding.

We check in on the latest news out of the Peoria region in our Friday reporter roundup.

On Today's 21st: The 13th Congressional District Race in Illinois is drawing national attention and money. We talked to someone who wrote the book on money in politics in Illinois.  

Illinois colleges and universities have been under pressure for years from smaller graduating classes, out-of-state competition and changing demographics. Private higher education institutions in the state face the same challenges public schools do, and a couple extra.

A college professor who performed his own audit of how local governments in Illinois handle Freedom of Information requests says the results were better than expected.  Still, there is plenty of room for improvement.