Nearly a mile below the surface of southern Illinois, a vast reserve of oil and natural gas sits locked in thick shale rock. While Illinois has a long history of tapping into its enormous fossil fuel ]]> Untitled Document Ward 6 Ald. Mark Mahoney is calling his proposed trash ordinance nothing short of a “give and take.” The new ordinance, which will come under revi]]> Health care reform could be a big plus for the disabled, says one Springfield disability advocate, but only if the state fundamentally changes how it handles those with special needs.Tyler McHaley, pr]]> In the formerly quiet towns of western North Dakota, there are new strangers arriving every day. New housing is being erected at a breakneck pace, and newfound wealth is flowing quickly into the rolli]]> Illinois environmentalists, public health organizations and child safety advocates are seeking to ban Bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical used in making plastics, from reusable food and beverage]]> Krystal Taylor of Springfield doesn’t worry about not having enough to eat. She knows everything will be OK.Taylor, 35, has received Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits t]]> While the rest of Springfield celebrated America’s 236th birthday, Pinky Noll and her husband, Jon, took history into their home by moving exhibits from the Great Western Depot into a carriage h]]> Jumping several feet into the air, a single silver carp can knock a boat driver unconscious before a passenger even has time to say “Duck!”For that reason, the Illinois Natural History Sur]]> Springfield Park District executive director Mike Stratton has used his taxpayer-funded credit card to purchase nearly $2,000 worth of restaurant food since April of last year, when he laid off about ]]> Two doctors stood on opposing sides as the Illinois Senate was preparing to vote on legalizing medical marijuana.Dr. Dora Dixie, an addiction specialist from Chicago, argues that marijuana is highly a]]> Legislation in the Illinois General Assembly to increase registration time and other requirements for Illinois’ 25,000 sex offenders awaits a House vote in the final days of the session. Opponen]]> Victims of Springfield Ponzi scheme operator James U. Dodge are calling for his son, a lawyer for the Illinois Senate Democrats, to pay back the money gained from the scheme that his father spent on h]]> Illinois is poised to tap into a rich vein of money by allowing an oil and gas drilling method known as “fracking,” but environmental concerns and disagreement over state taxes are keeping]]> Tammy Herstad feels like a failure. A mother of three adopted sons and one biological daughter in the Chicago suburb of Bartlett, Herstad spends much of her time worrying about her adopted son, Adam. ]]> Paula Cook has had it with oil. She and her husband, Jim Cook, live on the 65-acre farm Paula’s ancestors owned 100 years ago. Located outside Edinburg, about 20 miles east of Springfield, the f]]> A leopard leaps on top of a downed impala, one claw going for the throat. Its mouth is wide open, preparing for the kill. The prey can only look up in horror as it lives its final moments.This moment ]]> As Illinois waits for Gov. Pat Quinn’s decision on the medical marijuana bill, many citizens are wondering how they will be affected if he signs it into law. The Illinois Senate last week approv]]> When the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was created in 2006, the state’s youth prisons held 1,500 juvenile offenders. Today, there are fewer than 900 kids behind bars in Illinois juveni]]> Dialysis patients on the waiting list for a kidney transplant at Memorial Medical Center received bad news last week: The hospital will suspend its transplant program for at least three to f]]>