Illinois

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood is among the 106 House Republicans who signed an amicus brief in support of the Texas attorney general's lawsuit seeking to overturn the election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The first wave of COVID-19 vaccines could be available to some frontline health care workers and nursing home residents in central Illinois in just a matter of days or weeks.

It was a foggy, rainy night December 13, 1977. The University of Evansville's men's basketball team boarded a planed, heading for an away game.  But soon after takeoff, the plane crashed killing all 29 people aboard.  We'll hear from those on the scene and a documentary about that tragic event. 

We'll also listen to a nurse, who explains the difficulty of doing her job in a pandemic. 

And Amanda Knox, who was exonerated after her wrongful conviction in a high profile murder case, talks with us about her experience and concerns about prosecutors, the court system and the media.    

Those stories and more on this week's Statewide.  

In late July 2019, a group of migrant farmworkers from south Texas was working in a cornfield in DeWitt County, Ill., when suddenly a crop duster flew overhead, spraying them with pesticides. Panicked, the crew, which included teenagers and a pregnant woman, ran off the field with clothes doused in pesticides. Their eyes and throats burned and some had trouble breathing.

It happened again two weeks later, this time twice within 30 minutes.

A Peoria County man in his 20s is the Tri-County area's youngest resident to succumb to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, as health officials reported five new fatalities Thursday.

Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said he's considering mobile refrigerated trailers to hold more bodies as morgues fill to capacity.

The city of Peoria and U.S. EPA have finally reached a tentative agreement to settle federal allegations that the city's combined sewer overflow violates the federal Clean Water Act.

Illinois National Guard medical staff have been sent to the LaSalle Veterans’ Homes to assist with COVID-19 testing and screening at the facility, and next week will arrive at the state-run veterans' homes in Manteno and Quincy.

After nearly 12 years on the Peoria City Council, Jim Montelongo believes he is the best choice to follow Jim Ardis as the city's mayor.

Four GOP state House lawmakers on Wednesday voiced complaints from their central and southern Illinois constituents who say they have waited months after applying for new or renewed gun ownership licenses without an update from the Illinois State Police amid an unprecedented volume of applications this year.

Excess food and items left by generous individuals for Peoria's population experiencing homelessness at sites where they gather is actually creating a new issue--things are going to waste.

Delta will not be offering any more flights out of Peoria International Airport, at least for a while.

For the first time in more than three weeks, the Tri-County area added fewer than 300 new COVID-19 cases in one day.

Republican Congressman Darin LaHood and Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin seem to agree on at least one issue: another coronavirus relief package needs to be passed before the holidays.

A 23-year-old Peoria man faces several felony charges after an armed robbery at a West Peoria gas station on Wednesday morning.

The Illinois Innocence Project will host Amanda Knox at a virtual fundraiser for the organization on Thursday evening in an event billed as “Guilty Until Proven Innocent.” Registration for the event closes at midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Find more information about the event at illinoisinnocenceproject.org.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood said he's not yet ready to acknowledge Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

A pair of Republican lawmakers are proposing changes to Illinois’ constitution that would expand voters’ ability to recall elections in Illinois — something currently reserved only for the governor.

The Peoria City Council is implementing a fee cap on third-party food delivery services like GrubHub and DoorDash during the ongoing COVID-19 mitigations that are shuttering indoor dining.

The list of names on the ballot for Peoria mayor is down to five after challenges to the nominating petitions for Couri Thomas and Rev. Chuck Brown were upheld in a Tuesday hearing.

As the state government attempts to close a multi-billion-dollar budget hole, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan has said he is prepared to vote for an increase to the state’s flat income tax rate should the governor request it — a proposal met with pushback from his Republican counterpart, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin.

Bradley University students won't have a pass/fail grading option available this semester.

Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford counties on Tuesday reported 309 new COVID-19 cases and four additional deaths.

Bradley University's fall semester during the COVID-19 pandemic was unlike any other in the school's recent history.

Paul Leamon feels he’s up to the challenge of getting Distillery Labs, the technology and innovation center coming to downtown Peoria next year, off the ground.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on Monday fired the administrator of the LaSalle Veterans’ Home, where 32 residents have been reported dead in the last month after a widespread COVID-19 outbreak at the facility in November.

Peoria Housing Authority residents will have a chance to work on the upcoming Taft Homes redevelopment project, and gain new job skills at the same time.