Madison Angell

The Illinois Black Caucus made several “significant, impactful changes” by introducing four omnibus bills to address systemic injustice earlier this year, said state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood. The measures have been called the “Black Agenda,” drafted in part as a response to the ongoing national dialogue around police brutality in the wake of the murder […]

New legislation awaiting the governor’s signature to become law would prohibit law enforcement from using unethical interrogation tactics, such as lying and coercion, on Illinois youth 17 years of age and younger. The initiative was led by the Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) in partnership with several Illinois advocacy and civil rights organizations. “In Illinois there […]

TaRael Kee is Collinsville High School’s assistant principal and president-elect of the Illinois School Counselor Association. During his 10-year career as a school counselor, Kee has watched students struggle with standardized evaluations like the ACT and the Scholastic Assessment (SAT). “We’ve had kids puke during testing and have had to step out because of anxiety,” […]

Mary G. Harris Jones, better known as Mother Jones, is an icon of the U.S. labor movement. Born in Ireland around 1837 – no one seems to know the exact date – Jones was once called “the most dangerous woman in America.” She was an effective agitator and organizer who helped propel union efforts forward. […]

“I used to say that I wanted to be a lawyer so that I could get him out of jail,” Lieutenant LaSheda Brooks said about her father, Antonio House. Brooks, 30, is now a judge advocate for the U.S. Navy. She has spent her adult life fighting for her father’s freedom. House, 47, has a […]

Zach Baliva’s grandmother, who lived to be 102, settled in Springfield after her family immigrated from Italy. She spoke Italian fluently but “didn’t pass on the language to my father,” said Baliva, who was raised in Chatham and now lives in California. Baliva applied for dual citizenship to reconnect with his roots and he has […]

As discussed during a May 4 Illinois Senate hearing, now is a time when anti-Asian sentiment in the U.S. is shamefully rampant. May is national Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In Illinois, some are pushing for legislation to foster improved history lessons about Asian American people. Referred to as the TEAACH Act, the […]

Illinois is seeing rapid changes in weather, which are already starting to impact the state. Long-term effects of climate change in Illinois include increased heat and precipitation. Both have disastrous implications for crops and other ways of life. That’s according to research by dozens of climate experts from various universities across the state who have […]

One year ago, Springfield received support from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to plan a downtown food space focused on local foods. “The goal is to build on the success of the downtown farmers market and locally sourced food movement to develop local entrepreneurial food resources such as a grocery store and a commercial […]