Illinois

The cancellation of the Illinois State Fair means nonprofits, who count on annual parking revenue during the ten day event, are missing out.

The Springfield Animal Protective League, adjacent to the fairgrounds, estimates a loss of as much as $30-thousand. 

The impact from COVID-19 may lead to a rise in the number of homeless students for the upcoming year in Peoria public schools.

This week saw the virtual Democratic National Convention, the decision to remove some controversial statues from the State Capitol grounds, and the death of former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson.

The Chicago Tribune's Rick Pearson joins the panel this week.

Bradley University will not reduce tuition or fees for students who take some or all of their classes online this year.

Last March Walt Disney World Resort closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Disney fans cancelled their vacations. Now that the gates have reopened, many are unsure of whether to pack their bags or stay home in isolation. Fortunately, Disney experts like Lou Mongello are stepping up to help.

An 18-year-old Peoria man was found guilty Thursday in the 2018 murders of two people at a party near the Bradley University campus.

More schools are planning to start fall classes remotely.  We'll find out what might be different from the spring when there was an abrupt shift to online learning.

The college experience this year won't be what many students expected. We'll talk with some incoming freshmen. 

And we remember former Illinois Governor James R. Thompson. 

That and more on this episode of Statewide.

COVID-19 means the return to the Hilltop will look very different for Bradley University students this year.

The site of a deadly race riot in Springfield has been added to the national African American Civil Rights Network.  Only 30 locations have received recognition. 

Competing online petitions have brought the future of East Peoria Community High School’s “Raiders” mascot into question.

A teenager is dead after a fiery crash near Brimfield Wednesday night.

The Postmaster General Tuesday said the planned changes to postal delivery service that have caused a national outrage won't take effect until next year. Illinois American Postal Union Workers President Bob Gunter said the reversal by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy came from that public outcry.

Joshua Gunn has only been in his new role as Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce president and CEO for seven weeks, relocating from North Carolina with the economy mired in a slump brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and businesses required to enforce a state-ordered mask mandate.

CHAMPAIGN – A saliva-based COVID-19 test created by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA emergency use authorization was granted to the U of I’s test on the basis that it performs at least as well as a recently approved saliva-testing protocol developed at Yale University, setting a precedent that could allow other labs to follow suit. 

At 93 years of age, Hettie Beers is Tazewell County's newest election judge.

Statues of two former Illinois leaders with ties to slavery will be removed from outside the state capitol building in Springfield.

Former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun had the honor of casting Illinois’ votes during the traditional roll call Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, helping nominate Joe Biden for president.   

The East Peoria City Council gave final approval Tuesday for the construction of a 142-apartment mixed-use development along the Illinois River.

Morton District 709 currently reports eight COVID-19 positive students district-wide. Another 96 are currently in quarantine, up from 43 on Friday.

A Canton woman who disappeared on Sunday was found alive in a Fulton County field.

Operational shifts undertaken by the United States Postal Service in recent weeks, including spending cuts and equipment removal, are illegal, Illinois’ top lawyer and 13 other attorneys general argued in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

Peoria resident Shay Weldy was an active 28-year-old working mother and basketball coach in 2008 when she began experiencing excessive fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath and swelling.

Reformers say it’s time for Illinoisans to “advocate for themselves” when lawmakers redraw the state’s political boundaries in a few months.

The state has placed tighter rules on a portion of southwest Illinois after seeing more community spread of the coronavirus disease.  But Gov. J.B. Pritzker admits it might not be enough to slow the spread of COVID-19.  

A Woodford County man suffered life-threatening injuries in a semi rollover near Galesburg.

A Springfield man is mourning after a massive explosion at a port warehouse in Beirut, Lebanon injured thousands and killed about 200 people, including his mother, Zeina. Maureen McKinney talked recently with Nabih Elhajj,  executive director of the education nonprofit, I-VenturED.  His mother  died of her injuries the day following the early August  blast. Elhajj is also an adjunct business instructor at University of Illinois Springfield and an NPR Illinois community advisory board member.