IPR

Christina Harms is telling her story through the Apprentice Ambassador Program, a professional development initiative hosted by the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board’s Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship Committee. The program trains a cohort of people to speak on the apprenticeship model as a college alternative and career development tool.

Illinois House Republican lawmakers introduced a bill for a 6-month gas sales tax pause. This is to give relief to Illinois drivers as the price of gas rises over $4 a gallon because of the war in Iran.

Bishop Louis Tylka of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria said his parishes have seen a significant increase in attendance recently. It comes from a mixture of curiosity and hunger for faith amid many populations, especially youth.

The Illinois House has passed a bill requiring insurance companies get approval for rate increases and give a 60-day notice to customers if they increase rates more than 10%. Insurance companies said this could raise rates in the long term and does not address the real cause of the rate increases.

Illinois businesses advocated for more funding to child care facilities as demand for services remains high. ReadyNation Illinois came out with a report that Illinois is losing $6.2 billion each year because of the child care crisis.

The Department of Justice quietly reassigned its senior attorneys off of the Recognition and Accreditation Program, which provides training and standards for non-attorneys to give legal advice and sometimes litigate issues. The Immigration Project in downstate Illinois has 30 DOJ reps.

Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule was one of eight university leaders who signed a letter in support of a measure that aims to overhaul how public universities in Illinois are funded. The measure that would create an evidence-based funding formula for higher education was approved in a House committee on Thursday.

Democratic state Rep. Sharon Chung has introduced a bill changing the definition of a corporation to take away its legal power to spend money influencing elections.

The Republican House member wouldn't commit to giving the Trump administration an additional $200 billion for the war effort, saying constituents don't want to see "boots on the ground."

Illinois State University's police chief said it took time to verify where the shooting had occurred and to collect other pertinent information. "By the time they sorted it out — the location and what had occurred — that imminency had kind of passed," he said.