Events Calendar
Education
Meeting Summary and Briefs: Mokena School District 159 Board of Education for October 15, 2025
Mokena School District 159 Board of Education Meeting | October 15, 2025 The Mokena School District 159 Board of Education's October 15, 2025, meeting was marked by several contentious votes...
Lincoln-Way to Purchase New Buses, Add Smaller Vehicles to Address Driver Shortage
LW210 Board of Education Meeting | October 16, 2025 Article Summary: Lincoln-Way District 210 plans to update its transportation fleet by purchasing 28 new gasoline-powered school buses, three activity buses,...
Mokena 159 Board Adopts New Policies on AI, Student Support Despite Dissent
Mokena School District 159 Board of Education Meeting | October 15, 2025 Article Summary: The Mokena School District 159 Board of Education adopted a series of policy updates addressing topics from...
Lincoln-Way Board Honors Students with Perfect ACT Scores, Music Educator of the Year
LW210 Board of Education Meeting | October 16, 2025 Article Summary: Lincoln-Way District 210 celebrated exceptional academic and faculty achievement by formally recognizing nine students who earned a perfect composite...
Mokena 159 Receives Clean Audit Report, Earns State’s Highest Financial Recognition
Mokena School District 159 Board of Education Meeting | October 15, 2025 Article Summary: Mokena School District 159 has received the State of Illinois' highest financial rating after an independent audit...
Lincoln-Way Support Staff Union Rejects Tentative Contract Agreement
LW210 Board of Education Meeting | October 16, 2025 Article Summary: Members of the Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 support staff union have voted down a tentative five-year contract...
Mokena School Board Approves Pacts with Unions to Address Bus Driver Shortage
Mokena School District 159 Board of Education Meeting | October 15, 2025 Article Summary: Mokena School District 159 will offer paid CDL training and stipends to teachers and staff who volunteer...
Mokena 159 Board Approves Increased Cost for Junior High Storage Shed Amid Budget Debate
Mokena School District 159 Board of Education Meeting | October 15, 2025 Article Summary: The Mokena School District 159 Board of Education approved a cost increase for a new storage shed...
Lincoln-Way Board Approves Special Education Co-op Budget Amid Concerns Over Rising Costs
Article Summary: The Lincoln-Way District 210 Board of Education approved the Fiscal Year 2026 budget for the Lincoln-Way Special Education District 843 cooperative, while officials expressed concern over significant cost...
Will County Board Meetings
Crete Township ‘Tiny Home’ Owner Appeals Permit Denial
Will County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting | October 21, 2025 Article Summary: A Crete Township property owner has appealed to the Will County Planning and Zoning Commission after being...
Senior Shared Housing Facility Recommended for Approval in Crete Township
Will County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting | October 21, 2025 Article Summary: The Will County Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended approval for a special use permit that would...
Will County Health Department Pleads for $1 Million to Avert ‘Weakened Public Health System’
Will County Board Finance Committee Meeting | October 21, 2025 Article Summary: Leaders and board members from the Will County Health Department made an impassioned plea for $1 million in county...
Frankfort Township Board Objects, but County Commission Recommends Bar with Video Gaming
Will County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting | October 21, 2025 Article Summary: Despite a formal objection from the Frankfort Township Board, the Will County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended...
Will County Committee Grapples with $8.9 Million Budget Gap After Contentious 0% Tax Levy Vote
Will County Board Finance Committee Meeting | October 21, 2025 Article Summary: The Will County Board Finance Committee held a contentious debate over how to close an $8.9 million budget shortfall...
Will County Committee Grapples with $8.9 Million Budget Gap After Contentious 0% Tax Levy Vote
Will County Board Finance Committee Meeting | October 21, 2025 Article Summary: The Will County Board Finance Committee held a contentious debate over how to close an $8.9 million budget shortfall...
New Lenox Solar Farm Proposal Advances with Conditions, Following Village and Forest Preserve Input
Will County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting | October 21, 2025 Article Summary: The Will County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval for a 62.7-acre commercial solar energy facility in...
Illinois News
Pritzker: Fair maps in Illinois would be ‘disarming’ to Democrats
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says Democrats would be “disarming” if they agreed to fair maps state by...
Illinois quick hits: COVID fraud indictments issued; man sentenced for mailing fentanyl
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square COVID fraud indictments issued A federal grand jury has indicted four Chicago-area individuals accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars in...
WATCH: Illinois In Focus Daily | Thursday Aug. 21st, 2025
By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – In today's edition of Illinois in Focus Daily, The Center Square Editor Greg Bishop shares comments from...
Illinois trucker warns foreign firms faking logs, dodging rules, risking safety
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – After a recent deadly crash in Florida and a crash in Illinois involving semi-trucks, an Illinois...
Illinois law mandates pharmacies to sell needles, sparking safety debate
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – The Illinois Governor has signed House Bill 2589, which requires pharmacists to sell sterile hypodermic needles...
Illinois quick hits: Governor bans school fines; Target fires hundreds over fraud
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square Governor bans school fines Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation that bans schools from issuing fines or citations to students for...
Industry advocates: More state regulation will drive insurance rates higher
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – Insurance industry leaders are advising Illinois lawmakers that state regulation of rates will lead to higher costs...
Public education budgets balloon while enrollment, proficiency, standards drop
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – In return for soaring state spending on education, Illinois taxpayers are getting chronic absenteeism, poor academic proficiency...
Illinois news in brief: Cook County evaluates storm, flood damage; Giannoulias pushes for state regulation of auto insurance; State seeks seasonal snow plow drivers
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square Cook County evaluates storm, flood damage The Cook County Department of Emergency Management and Regional Security is reviewing damage from the...
National News
Lawmakers introduce bills to slash their own pay during government shutdowns
By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square With the ongoing government shutdown dragging on for a record-breaking period of time, U.S. lawmakers are introducing bills to make shutdowns as painful for Congress...
94% of sanctioned scholars suffered from free speech attacks
By Tate MillerThe Center Square A Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression survey shows that 94% of sanctioned university scholars have experienced a negative impact following the attacks on their...
Illinois soybean farmers face uncertainty amid MAHA push against seed oils
By Catrina BarkerThe Center Square Illinois soybean farmers face a potential market shakeup if public sentiment, and eventually policy, turns against seed oils, experts warn. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now...
Family-based visa quotas cause system backlogs
By Andrew RiceThe Center Square One of the most prevalent ways for immigrants to gain legal status in the United States is through family-based visas. However, backlogs in the system...
Association says housing aid to continue through December
By Madeline ShannonThe Center Square Federally-funded housing assistance will continue to be paid through December, a national housing association director told The Center Square Friday afternoon. Previously, those who rent...
WATCH: Father of Housing First points to success; We Heart Seattle highlights failures
By Carleen JohnsonThe Center Square On an overcast mid-October day, just inside the Third Avenue offices of We Heart Seattle, Executive Director Andrea Suarez and two of her staff members...
Death threats against ICE officers up by 8,000%, DHS says
By Bethany BlankleyThe Center Square Death threats against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are up by 8,000% compared to the same timeframe last year, the Department of Homeland Security...
