A lawsuit filed last summer against DeKalb County is still alive. But most of the action is happening behind closed doors.

In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that,  if they couldn’t agree on a deficit reduction plan, then automatic across-the-board budget cuts would take effect. That deadline came and went.
 

For the third time in two years, the Illinois Senate has approved a measure that would allow five new casinos, including one in Rockford.

The difference this time is that Governor Pat Quinn might finally be willing to support the proposal.

The sponsor,Terry Link, D-Waukegan, says he's tried to meet the governor's demands, such as banning campaign donations by gambling license holders. Link also removed a provision that would have allowed online gambling.

UPDATE: The Illinois House is poised to vote Thursday on an overhaul of the state's pension systems. It would reduce state workers', teachers', and university employees' future retirement benefits. The plan easily advanced out of a House committee Wednesday morning.

Lee County prosecutors have dismissed state charges against Rita Crundwell, the former Dixon comptroller who is serving a federal prison sentence for stealing more than $50-million dollars from the city. The decision regarding the state's case was approved by a judge during a brief hearing Tuesday.

Legislation inspired by the Rita Crundwell scandal could soon see activity in the Illinois Senate. Crundwell is the former Dixon comptroller who is serving a federal prison sentence for stealing millions of dollars from the city.

An organization that oversees job training and workforce development programs in Boone and Winnebago Counties is expanding to include Stephenson County.

John Strandin is a spokesman for the Boone and Winnebago Counties Workforce Investment Board.

Strandin says the Board had worked closely with Stephenson County on workforce issues before, so the two are familiar with each other.  Strandin says, for a number of reasons, this merger makes sense.

Yesterday on Morning Edition, we updated you on the contaminated water situation in the small LaSalle County town of Wedron. Today, we check in on another on-going environmental issue in the county: sand mining. 

For several weeks, WNIJ has been following the probe into groundwater contamination in the small town of Wedron. In our latest report, we learn about the long road ahead for this LaSalle County community as it tries to eliminate a problem that has consumed the area in many ways.