WATCH: Illinois governor makes first campaign stop with 2026 running mate

(The Center Square) – Although J.B. Pritzker has chosen another lieutenant governor candidate from Chicago, the governor says he and his new running mate will work on behalf of the entire state of Illinois. Pritzker and Christian Mitchell made their first …

$240 million in Illinois school funding withheld by Trump administration

Illinois school districts are facing uncertainty after the Trump administration abruptly froze more than $6 billion in federal education grants nationwide, including an estimated $240 million intended for Illinois K-12 schools. On Monday, the U.S. …

Illinois adds more ZIP codes for required lead testing

The Illinois Department of Public Health has expanded its list of ZIP codes required to test for lead to include 180 new zip codes representing parts of 47 counties. There are now 1,350 high-risk ZIP codes for lead exposure and by next year, all ZIP codes …

Visit Illinois' Oldest Ice Cream Shop This July

It’s national ice cream month! While finding ice cream isn’t hard in 2025, finding the oldest ice cream establishment in Illinois may be. You could be forgiven for thinking that the oldest ice cream shop in Illinois is in Chicago. There are probably some …

Illinois moves over $300M out of road fund as infrastructure crumbles

Illinois’ latest budget diverts millions in infrastructure funds to cover structural budget deficits despite substandard road conditions. Despite Illinois’ poor road conditions, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 2026 budget will take $308 million from the state’s …

Family of 5 barely survives house explosion in downstate Illinois

CBS News Live CBS News Chicago Live A family in downstate Illinois barely survived their house exploding in the middle of the night with no warning. The Rodriguez family lives in State Park Place, Illinois, just outside St. Louis, Missouri.  Around 1 a.m. …

Illinois treasurer returns lost Purple Heart to WWII veteran's family

DECATUR, Ill (WICS) — In a heartfelt ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Decatur, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned a lost Purple Heart medal to the family of Army Private John L. Moore, a World War II veteran. The medal was presented to …

Eye On Illinois: Please leave pyrotechnics to the professionals (and the Iowans)

Independence Day weekend approaches, meaning I get to revisit one of my most curmudgeonly stances: leave fireworks to the professionals and stop trying to make consumer pyrotechnics legal in Illinois. Taking a similar stance was an uphill battle when …

4th of July events around Central Illinois

Op-Ed: 6,745 reasons to be thankful Illinois state lawmakers fail to do more

If you ever wonder why the Illinois General Assembly never fixes Illinois’ property taxes, pension debt or other big issues – even with supermajorities in both chambers – you need look no farther than this past session and the lawmakers’ stats. They …