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
Ex-speaker Madigan to begin 7.5-year prison sentence Monday
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – One day before the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session is scheduled to begin, one of the...
WATCH: Pritzker continues encouraging ICE protests after Guard blocked
By Greg Bishop | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – With the National Guard’s deployment in Illinois for public safety blocked by a federal judge, Gov. J.B....
Illinois quick hits: Ag incentives announced; Cook County announces increased budget
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square Ag incentives announced The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois Department of Agriculture have announced $67 million in funding to...
Former board member expressed concerns about indicted DeKalb superintendent
By Kim Jarrett | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – A former DeKalb County School Board member told The Center Square in 2023 she had concerns about...
Fiscal Fallout: Illinois has among highest-paid state employees
By Jared Strong | The Center SquareThe Center Square (The Center Square) – The average wages for Illinois state employees are among the highest in the nation and belie the...
Illinois legislator urges school discipline to focus on behavior, not race
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributorThe Center Square (The Center Square) – McLean County Unit 5 submits a new discipline plan under state law after racial disparities are...
WATCH: Trump appeals Guard TRO as DHS looks to ‘double down’ law enforcement in Chicago
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 reviews the latest...
Illinois quick hits: Trump appeals judge’s Guard order; ICE fence ordered down in Broadview
By Jim Talamonti | The Center SquareThe Center Square Trump appeals judge's Guard order The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge’s temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the...
National News
Johnson: Republicans ‘have plans’ to ‘fix’ Obamacare
By Thérèse BoudreauxThe Center Square As the ongoing government shutdown enters its third week, Republican leaders are reminding Democrats that by blocking the House-passed funding bill, they are also delaying...
MIT rejects White House education demands
By Esther WickhamThe Center Square The Massachusetts Institute of Technology refused to sign the White House agreement that would grant federal funds linked to the administration's demands. The Trump administration...
WATCH: Trump touts ‘historic’ ‘Peace Summit’ as world leaders convene in Egypt
By Sarah Roderick-FitchThe Center Square President Donald Trump is celebrating a historic, whirlwind trip to the Middle East that concluded with a “Peace Summit” in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, of over...
U.S. consumers to pay 55% of tariff costs, Goldman Sachs says
By Brett RowlandThe Center Square U.S. consumers will end up paying the bulk of the cost for President Donald Trump's tariffs, according to a report from Goldman Sachs. The report...
JPMorganChase to invest $10B in U.S. firms key to national security
By Brett RowlandThe Center Square JPMorganChase said Monday it would invest $10 billion in industries tied to U.S. national security as part of a decade-long plan to help protect the...
Louisiana: Voting Rights Act ‘balkanizes’ competing racial factions
By Nolan MckendryThe Center Square Louisiana will argue on Wednesday at the U.S. Supreme Court that part of the Voting Rights Act is “is inconsistent with the letter and spirit...
Democrat Mills to challenge Collins with for U.S. Senate
By Chris WadeThe Center Square Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is expected to announce a bid for the U.S. Senate with a challenge to Republican Sen. Susan Collins in next...