State News

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Ill. - Fire has left homeless hundreds of residents of a suburban Chicago condominium complex.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Authorities say a central Illinois man stabbed himself in a courtroom shortly after a jury found him guilty in a sexual assault case.

CHICAGO (AP) - Chance the Rapper says he has purchased the former news website Chicagoist, making the announcement in a new song.

A Chicago police officer charged with murder in the fatal shooting of black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald will stand trial Sept. 5.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have gotten the state out of the controversial Crosscheck voter identification program.

Gov. Bruce Rauner says he was "deeply troubled" by President Donald Trump's seeming support for Russia and President Vladimir Putin in public comments. 

President Donald Trump has been taking heat from both sides of the aisle following his news conference in Helsinki on Monday in which he sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Champaign Police Sgt. Geoff Coon said he’s waiting on roughly $50,000 in federal grant money that’s due to the central Illinois police department. Another agency that uses the funding to pay for programs that focus on recidivism and re-entry and community-based violence intervention programs in the Rockford area also hasn’t received their funding this year.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed into law measures aimed at replacing troublesome housing units at the Quincy veterans' home. 

The University of Illinois is paying an alumnus $7,500 to stop selling T-shirts that say "Make Illinois Great Again" with a drawing of the school's former mascot Chief Illiniwek.

URBANA, Ill. - A University of Illinois student has been charged with disorderly conduct after authorities say he called police to report a man with a gun, then pointed a pellet gun at responding officers before they shot him.

CHICAGO (AP) - Sears has closed its final store in Chicago, ending its retail legacy in the city. Sears Holdings Corp. announced this year that the store in the Portage Park neighborhood on Chicago's northwest side would close. The store that closed Sunday had opened in 1938.

Putting up a mural is often a community event. The art can be a point of pride for residents. But what happens when the paint peels? One city is trying to figure that out.

Former Illinois State Rep. Bob Pritchard joined NIU’s Board of Trustees on Monday.

Pritchard previously served in the state House of Representatives for the 70^th District (which encompasses parts of DeKalb, Kane, and Boone Counties) from December 2003 to July of this year. Pritchard says he’s eager to tackle the challenges facing NIU.

The SIU Board of Trustees met Monday in Edwardsville to vote on a separation agreement with SIU System President Randy Dunn and to appoint an Interim President. 

Western Illinois University has seen a sharp drop in student enrollment in recent years, which means less money coming in through tuition and fees.  That, combined with decreases in state financial support – especially during the two-year state budget impasse – hurt the university's finances, leading to layoffs, furloughs, and an early retirement program.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law allowing courts to take weapons away from people who pose a threat of violence to themselves or others.

Organizations in five communities throughout Illinois will divide $11.5 million to help treat children suffering from mental health problems. 

Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says he has some tough questions for President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. But he also says he hasn’t made up his mind.

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion reopened Saturday after a multi-million-dollar renovation.

Illinois politicians react to President Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gov. Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel get into a Twitter fight over the anti-violence protest that brought the inbound Dan Ryan to a halt.

And J.B. Pritzker's campaign runs an ad with claims widely described as false.

There are Illinois connections in Friday's indictments related to Russian hacking around the 2016 elections.

Dave Plunk has run Music Makers in Galesburg for more than 15 years, occupying two floors of a three-story building on the town’s main street with rows of guitars, amps and other music equipment.

Illinois has traditionally used a competitive grant process to parcel out money for preschools. In the past, that competition was limited to programs that had a history of getting state funds. But this year, after the legislature appropriated an extra $50 million for preschools, the Illinois State Board of Education threw the competition open to all programs.

Once applications were reviewed and ranked, preschools around the state were shocked to learn they wouldn’t be getting the state funding they expected. Some weren’t funded because their grant applications scored below ISBE’s threshold; others weren’t funded simply because the appropriated amount couldn’t cover the demand.

Police say officers shot a University of Illinois student who was spotted near campus with a handgun and refused police to drop the weapon.

A man who can be seen on a video chastising a woman at a Chicago forest preserve for wearing a shirt with the Puerto Rican flag on it has been charged with committing a hate crime.

Health officials in Illinois and Iowa are investigating an increase in people becoming sick from a parasite that causes intestinal illness.

An ex-Lithuanian lawmaker appeared faint and had to be helped to a seat in court as a U.S. judge refused to halt her extradition to her homeland, where she says she exposed a network of influential pedophiles.