State News

URBANA, Ill. (AP) - A University of Illinois student is pushing for service animals to be allowed into science labs.

CHICAGO (AP) - Authorities say a woman returning from work who called 911 about a deadly apartment fire in Chicago saved lives by knocking on doors to alert others to get out.

CHICAGO - A former mayor of the Chicago suburb of Ford Heights has been placed on electronic monitoring after being arrested on felony theft and misconduct charges.

WAUKEGAN - A child-support check sent to the wrong ex-wife has given the Libertarian candidate for Illinois governor 30 more days to rectify the late payment.

URBANA - A memorial garden is planned for a University of Illinois scholar from China who went missing last year.

CHICAGO - A 31-year-old Chicago man has pleaded guilty to federal gun charges for illegally selling more than a dozen firearms. 

CHICAGO - Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, once an opponent of land-based casinos, now says he favors casino expansion, including one in Chicago.

CHICAGO - Sister Jean is celebrating her 99th birthday months after gaining national attention as chaplain of the Loyola-Chicago basketball team that reached the NCAA Final Four.

CHICAGO - American Airlines is cutting the number of flights from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to Asia this fall.

SPRINGFIELD - A series of festivals, parades and other events will mark the 200th anniversary of Illinois adopting its state constitution.

CHICAGO - Helene Miller Walsh, the wife of a conservative radio host and former Illinois congressman, will replace a former state lawmaker who resigned after being accused of sharing nude photos of an ex-girlfriend online.

CHICAGO - Authorities say a Chicago teenager killed himself after being chased by police, but his family thinks the officers shot him and they're calling for an independent investigation.

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke is calling for a new investigation into sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Church authorities are doing just that, but Burke says the matter cannot be left to the Catholic heirarchy.

Illinois police officers who want to seek mental health care can now do so without jeopardizing their jobs.

This week, political rhetoric at the Illinois State Fair.

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This episode of Statewide includes:

Home construction slowdown, synthetic marijuana, trolls in the woods, and more.

After his State of the University speech, Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas told reporters, "We have made cuts and we will have to continue to make those cuts and we will do the necessary things that we have to do."

Western Illinois University’s president used his State of the University address during Thursday's University Assembly to say this will be a year of change at the institution.

Republicans held their annual rally at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield Wednesday with a message of party unity.  Bruce Rauner still holds the top office in state government. But as he pushes for re-election, he’s trying to appease conservatives who feel betrayed and whose support he needs to win a second term.   

Thousands of Illinois Democrats met Thursday in Springfield for the party’s annual state fair brunch.

Candidates repeated familiar attacks on Republicans. But some say they need to do more.

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (AP) - A Missouri man accused of pointing a rifle at an anti-abortion protester near a southwestern Illinois abortion clinic says it was unloaded and he only lifted it up for the man to see.

CHICAGO - A Chicago activist who helped organize a protest march that briefly shut down Lake Shore Drive this month now wants to disrupt traffic with a Labor Day march on an expressway near O'Hare International Airport. 

SPRINGFIELD - A trip by former Vice President Joe Biden to Springfield, Illinois, has been called off because of illness.

CHICAGO - Illinois' attorney general is suing the operators of Trump International Hotel and Tower for removing water from and releasing water into the Chicago River in violation of federal environmental laws.

CHICAGO - People flying in and out of Chicago's Midway Airport will find a new food hall with expanded retail and local dining options.

BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Firefighters had to rescue a southwestern Illinois man from deep mud after he became stuck while trying to reach his pet parrot.

WICKLIFFE, Ky. - An Ohio River bridge between Kentucky and Illinois has resumed normal traffic flow this week but will have restrictions again starting next week.

CHICAGO  - As an additional 600 police officers patrolled five violent Chicago police districts over the weekend the number of shootings dropped and no one was killed.