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The Illinois state comptroller is releasing $350 million to public school districts statewide as part of the newly approved education-funding overhaul. 

Peoria Public Schools has purchased stun guns for its security officers, who have been trained and certified to use them.

The board of trustees at Western Illinois University has voted to keep costs for the 2018-2019 school year at current levels.

A Southern Illinois University official says the school is considering having a satellite office for its law school in downtown Springfield or Edwardsville.

A suburban gun range in Illinois that's offering free concealed carry classes for teachers says training slots are filling up quickly.

Eastern Illinois University's president says the campus appears to be headed toward a significant increase in freshman enrollment next fall.

Nearly 1,200 school employees in east and central Illinois have been trained on how to stop life-threatening bleeding since last year.

Illinois school administrators say they cannot afford to pay teachers' pension costs as part of Gov. Bruce Rauner's plan to balance the state budget.

The Illinois attorney general's office has told a federal court it will allow a suburban Chicago school district to administer medical marijuana to an 11-year-old leukemia patient to treat her for seizure disorders. 

A suburban Chicago college student is suing her school for allegedly violating her free-speech rights by prohibiting her from handing out flyers from a socialist group that read, "Shut Down Capitalism." 

Southwestern Illinois College President Georgia Costello is planning to retire next year after a decade of leading the school.

Northern Illinois University trustees have again voted to freeze tuition and lower fees for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year.

Chicago State University officials say students are staying in hotels after a residence hall pipe burst and the building has no heat or hot water.

School officials statewide are reporting that districts are having a hard time filling teaching positions. 

Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan says Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of a school funding bill is choosing "crisis over compromise."

Gov. Bruce Rauner has summoned lawmakers into special session to settle the public education funding issue weeks before the school bell is set to ring.

Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient Tammy Duckworth, Illinois’s junior senator, is making her disapproval known in Washington.  Duckworth is speaking out against President Trump’s executive order on immigration.  She says it amounts to a ban on Muslims and that it actually puts American troops overseas in harm’s way by giving terrorist groups like ISIS a major recruitment tool.

Illinois lawmakers say the state should spend more money to make it safer for children to walk to school.  Springfield Republican Reps. Tim Butler and Sara Wojcicki Jimenez and a dozen advocates walked Wednesday from the Capitol to Cathedral School downtown to publicize their plea.

The District 150 School Board is re-examining its financial policies amid current and looming spending deficits.  The discussion stemmed from one significant purchase:

Dozens of District 150 parents turned out in support of a behavioral program at two schools during last night’s board meeting.  The school board is considering whether to cut the ELITE program:

Chicago Public Schools is suspending its roughly $20 million contract with a suburban company under federal investigation.

 The Peoria Public School Board discussed staff proposals to cut millions of dollars next school year. The district is facing a nearly $13 million deficit in the fall:

Bradley University officially dedicated the Charley Steiner School of Sports Communication Tuesday. The long time sportscaster is entering his 11th season doing play-by-play for the Los Angeles Dodgers and is one of Bradley’s most notable alumni. Steiner says the dedication carries a personal significance:

A measure pending in the Illinois legislature would give parents the right to have their children skip standardized tests associated with the Common Core curriculum. 

State lawmakers are considering an across the board cut that translates into a $1 million loss for Peoria Public Schools this academic year.  The possibility comes as District 150 is currently grappling with a more than $11 million deficit.  School officials says the more than two-percent across-the-board cut would leave virtually no options for to cut expenses as the school year winds down.  The District 150 School Board will hear more financial information at its meeting Monday night

The Peoria Public Schools Foundation needs more school uniforms and winter coats following increased demand and decreased funding sources. The Foundation is having a special fundraiser to purchase additional school uniforms Thursday tonight from five to seven at Tavern on prospect in Junction City. Last year the Foundation supplied more than 500 uniforms to local students. 

Just before leaving office yesterday, now-former Governor Pat Quinn signed a slew of bills. One of those bills spells out when the state can take over a school district. 

A state review board approved an affiliation agreement between Mendota Community Hospital and OSF Healthcare System. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board gave its official nod to the deal Wednesday. Mendota opened a new 25-bed critical access hospital in 2011. The complex includes a medical office building. The hospital has 12 staff physicians and 15 ER contract doctors. By comparison OSF employs more than 670 doctors with various specialties and another 300 advanced practitioners who are part of the OSF Medical Group.   

An internet event next week is aimed at reaching out to parents in the state.  The Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois PTA have teamed up to offer their first Back To School webinar on Tuesday September 9.