President Trump

One of the leading Bloomington-Normal auto dealers says it's difficult to say how the tariffs will impact vehicle prices. He's already seen some customers move up their purchases in hopes of avoiding sticker shock.

“The bar keeps moving, as far as who’s at risk,” says one staffer at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Illinois State University is among the many higher education institutions affected by Trump administration revocations of international student visas.

In an economic development trip that began Saturday and ended Wednesday, Pritzker and members of the Illinois delegation met with more than 50 major Mexican companies about bringing operations to Illinois.

President Trump signed an order Thursday calling for the Education Department to close and he has slashed staff by half. He’s also targeting DEI in higher education and research funding.

Among the agencies targeted for staff reductions by the Trump Administration are the National Weather Service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford says the cuts will have wide-ranging detrimental effects.

The state ranks fifth in the country for agricultural product exports worth $10.6 billion, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Illinois U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen is pointing to “great danger” tied to the Department of Government Efficiency’s involvement with the Treasury Department, and “red flags” about the Trump Administration’s buyout offer to thousands of federal employees.

Bloomington-Normal nonprofits worry of an uncertain future now that the Trump administration tried to freeze federal grant funds. That order was halted on Tuesday, but remains tied up in the courts.

Illinois is a haven for LGBTQ+ people, ensuring marriage equality and other protections. But some LGBTQ+ families worry about a potential rollback in protections by a new Trump administration and how that could affect them here or in other states.