A panel including experts specializing in history, political science, and geopolitics as well as Iranian-Americans join the discussion on @21st.show

In downtown Chicago, people have been spotting Google’s Waymo automated vehicles testing and mapping the Windy City’s streets. For now, the autonomous vehicles must be driven by a human, as the industry seeks the endorsement of state lawmakers.

Spring gardening can sometimes feel like a battle against the elements. On this episode of "Weather Realness," learn from the experts on how to keep your garden going this spring.

Players and community members were heartbroken following the Fighting Illini men’s basketball team’s 71-62 loss to the UConn Huskies. The bitter defeat leaves Illinois falling short of a National Championship berth after making it to the team’s first Final Four in 21 years.

@21st.show is live now with all you need to know as Illinois appears this weekend in the NCAA Final Four! Tune in to WILL-AM 580 or stream online: will.illinois.edu/21stshow/

“Coach Underwood’s strategy is really smart. It’s capitalizing on a place where there are, where the sport is just unbelievably popular,” Peter Wright, an associate professor in the Slavic Languages and Literature department said. “There’s just a really large pool to draw from.”

“We’re going to be working on limiting vehicle and pedestrian interactions, keeping people where they need to be on the sidewalks, vehicles where they need to be in the roadway and helping managing those interactions,” said UIPD Captain Jason Bradley.

RACES provides free and confidential support for sexual abuse survivors and is one of 22 recipients of the Darkness to Light Advocacy Award. Jaya Kolisetty, RACES executive director, spoke with IPM’s Morning Edition host Kimberly Schofield about the award and the organization’s services.

Before he became a point guard for the Illini, senior Kylan Boswell went to Edison Middle School in Champaign. Marc Changnon was the eighth-grade basketball coach at Edison. He said Boswell stood out in sixth grade for his skills — and for how unselfish and caring he was.

The Supreme Court will weigh and hear arguments today starting at 10 a.m. ET on whether Trump can deny citizenship to children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily. 🎧 Listen through the link below:

In honor of Trans Day of Visibility, we wanted to highlight and reshare the work of one of our Illinois Student Newsroom journalists. This piece highlights the lives of transgender and nonbinary people who have moved to central Illinois in search of a safer, more welcoming place to call home.

The operational impact of U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss' decision was not immediately clear — both because it will likely be appealed and because too much damage to the public-broadcasting system has already been done, both by the president and Congress.

From the Illinois Student Newsroom

Thousands took part in a “No Kings” rally in Urbana on Saturday, March 28, joining demonstrations held across the country. Protesters marched to voice opposition to several policies and actions of President Donald Trump, including the war in Iran and mass deportations.

Photos: Students gathered on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign to celebrate the Illini Men’s Basketball team’s defeat of Iowa. Next stop: the Final Four.

The measures included a ban on junk fees, classification of “child torture” as a Class X felony, a retry at a nonprofit savings bill the governor recently vetoed, and a bill to strip Chicago’s authority to alter the minimum wage for workers who make tips.

A bill that would overhaul the way Illinois funds its public universities advanced out of a House committee Thursday and could face a vote by the full House soon, despite continued opposition from the University of Illinois System, the state’s flagship institution.

Large hail is the primary expected hazard with severe storms locally, but isolated instances of damaging winds and a tornado or two can’t be ruled out. Read more:

@21st.show talks with Cheryl Whitlow Thompson, author of the new book “Forgotten Souls: The Search for the Lost Tuskegee Airmen." Thompson is an award-winning investigative journalist and a reporter and editor at NPR. She's also a native of Chicago and earned two degrees from the U of I.

After opening in 1974, the Homer Lake Interpretive Center has served as a home to many of the district’s educational programs. However, it doesn’t have a classroom to host these events, Executive Director Lorrie Pearson said.

The Tuskegee Airmen have been celebrated for breaking racial barriers in the Army. But 27 of them went missing in action, and most were never recovered. Their stories are the subject of a book, “Forgotten Souls.” We’ll talk with author Cheryl Whitlow Thompson at 11: will.illinois.edu/am/willplayer

After winning the team’s first round of the March Madness Tournament, the Illinois women’s basketball team (19-10, 9-9) was eliminated after losing 75-57 to the No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt (29-4, 13-3).

Six people — including two juveniles — were shot early Sunday morning in a residential neighborhood in Normal just south of the Illinois State University campus, authorities said. It’s one of the few mass shootings in recent Bloomington-Normal history.

Health insurance costs are going up for students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Champaign-Urbana undergraduates will pay $30 more a semester, starting in the 2026-2027 school year. Graduate students will pay $37 more.

Get a preview of what the November election will look like in Illinois.

As Gov. JB Pritzker’s hand-picked candidate cruised to a high-profile victory in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Tuesday night, another of his picks held a tight lead in the race for comptroller.

Live at 11 AM CST:

As of 11:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Jett had nearly 60 percent of the vote, according to unofficial county results. Jett was 2,000 votes ahead of her opponent, Sanford Hess, though the Champaign County Clerk’s office told IPM News there are still thousands of mail-in ballots left to be counted.

Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski and Republican Champaign County Board Member Jeff Wilson will face off in November for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District seat, which spans from Champaign County to the Metro East.

Illinois Primary Election Results are coming in. Follow live updates, analysis, and local coverage here:

After the polls close at 7:00 PM CST, Illinois Public Media will be covering the Illinois primary election results throughout the evening! Stay updated here:

@21st.show can help you better understand Illinois' primary election (happening today). Two journalists — Mawa Iqbal, a statehouse reporter for Illinois Public Radio and Mitchell Armentrout, a staff reporter for the @chicago.suntimes.com join host Brian Mackey for this informative deep dive.

Voting locations will be available until 7:00 p.m. today (Tuesday, March 17). Several polling places in Champaign County are unavailable due to a shortage of election judges. Voters can visit any polling location to cast a ballot.

“This is an opportunity to serve members in the community who might want to try counseling, [or] might want access to counseling, but otherwise couldn’t access services, whether financially or for other reasons,” Lydia Khuri said.

Rebekah said local residents are struggling due to rising rent costs, which they attribute in part to the large number of corporate landlords.

This year, the primary election is on March 17 — in the middle of U of I’s spring break — some student groups are working to remind students of the importance of voting.

Major storms that whipped up tornadoes in parts of Illinois and Indiana on Tuesday leveled homes, downed trees and power lines, and overwhelmed a 911 center south of Chicago with emergency calls, according to officials.

Now up on our website: infographics highlighting some of the differences between Democratic U.S. Senate candidates in Illinois, based on our interviews. will.illinois.edu/21stshow/sto...

Library officials say the need for an expansion comes down to one issue: The current building can no longer keep up with demand. Shelves are at capacity and there’s overcrowding in both meeting spaces and the children’s area, according to John Howard, director of Mahomet Public Library.

Mosses and other bryophytes don’t get much attention, even among scientists, so there are a lot of gaps in our understanding of them. It’s a conservation challenge — you can’t protect a species that you don’t know is struggling.

“This is, in fact, not the beginning of a new war,” said Vesal Razavimaleki, a physics graduate student at U of I, one of the organizers of the event. “In fact, the Iranian people have been at war with this regime for decades.”

Public universities across Illinois are adjusting to a mid-semester change in state support after the Pritzker administration announced a two-percent funding withhold.

This year’s primary election for the Champaign County Board has only one contested race. The seat for District 6, a neighborhood in northern Champaign County, has two candidates on the Democratic ballot, both first-time candidates for local government: Chyna Figueroa-Dixon and Ryan Musgrove.

In 2025 alone, the film industry generated $12.3 million in economic activity in the Champaign County region.

“Our calculations have demonstrated that the bill, as it stands, would disfavor us, and it would lead to rises in tuition for Illinois families that we don’t think is the right answer to the kind of problem sets that are being looked at,” Tim Killeen said in an interview with Capitol News Illinois.

“This is about planning for the service people actually need,” said Rick Harnish, executive director of the High Speed Rail Alliance. “If trains only run a few times a day, people don’t have freedom. Frequency is what makes rail usable.”

An extended version of today's show is available to watch now on the @ilpublicmedia.bsky.social YouTube page:

@21st.show has created a one-stop shop for learning about where US Senate candidates stand on the issues. Brian Mackey and The 21st team have sought interviews with all 16 candidates for U.S. senator from Illinois, which you can find easily linked below.

Enjoyed the wide-ranging, LIVE radio conversation this past week with @brianmackey.com for @ilpublicmedia.bsky.social @21st.show. Give it a listen.

The County Board voted unanimously Thursday night to create a data center task force. In parallel, Champaign County is working to implement a 12-month ban on the construction of new large-scale facilities.