In the News

Still, listening to the unbridled excitement of U-46 board members at a Monday press conference, I couldn't help but connect this May announcement with another one three years ago this month.

A proposal to fund the Cole Hall renovation and construction plan announced by NIU President John Peters Wednesday will be introduced as an emergency issue to the Illinois legislature this month.

The debate in the General Assembly over pay raises for lawmakers got personal Thursday, with a Senate Democrat chastising another for her wealth and blaming state representatives for using the Senate to get their money.

The question of whether to rewrite the state constitution is automatically put to voters every 20 years, and Illinoisans rejected the idea in 1988. But some veteran political observers and activists believe that voters may think differently this year because of the state's contentious political climate.

After three, six-to-nine-hour bargaining sessions over the past week failed to yield an agreement, the district and Maine Teachers Association late Friday opted for mediation.