The General Assembly passed legislation aimed at strengthening hate crime laws after a post-presidental-campaign spike in bias incidents. Gov. Bruce Rauner and Attorney General Lisa Madigan each pushed a separate piece of hate crime legislation. Both sailed through the General Assembly.

As rapid-fire change comes at the federal level, advocates want to keep Illinois' status as one of the leading states in offering protections for LGBT individuals.

There’s still no budget for Illinois, but some big changes to education policy kicked in this year. As the contentious presidential election played out, several national issues affected the lives of citizens here.

Planned Parenthood health centers in Peoria, Pekin and Bloomington added services in August for transgender patients. Members of the transgender community welcome the news, but say there’s still a void in the treatment that’s available.

Today on the 21st: Schools across Illinois are starting to create policies to provide transgender students with access to restrooms that match their gender identity. What do advocates want? Plus, we learned about a herd of bison in Illinois that live in a surprising location.