The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled a voter referendum seeking to change the system Illinois uses to draw political boundaries is unconstitutional, meaning it can't appear on the November ballot. Gov. Bruce Rauner responded Thursday, saying the decision "does nothing to stem the outflow or change people’s views of how the system is rigged and corrupt."
Rauner's first pick for ag director was a farmer. But Philip Nelson, who came to the job after serving as the president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, resigned in late September, less than a year into the job.
A Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting analysis of the USDA data found that Monsanto has been responsible for introducing 37 different genetically engineered seeds approved by the USDA. That number is about one-third of all USDA-approved GMOs. Most of those approved seeds have been for corn, soybean and cotton.
