Stories by UIS Public Affairs Reporting

On May 16, Chicago saw its first major dust storm since the Dust Bowl. The storm dropped visibility in the city to near zero as wind gusts blew over 60 mph at times, according to the National Weather Service.

Hippotherapy is a type of physical, occupational and speech therapy where the movement of a horse is used to treat a patient’s specific disability or disorder.

Despite desire from Native Americans in Illinois, the ban on Native imagery for mascots in K-12 schools stalled in the Senate after it made its way out of the House.

The bill mandates that gun owners store their firearms in a secure, locked box in any place where they know or “reasonably should know” that a minor without permission to access a firearm, an at-risk person or someone who is prohibited from obtaining a firearm can access the weapon.

Anna’s Law is named after 22-year-old Illinois resident Anna Williams, who brought the issue of police insensitivity to victims of sexual assault to state lawmakers after her experience with law enforcement officials in 2021.

Illinois lawmakers are seeking to extend lawsuit protections to regular news reports following a recent ruling by the state’s Supreme Court that allowed a defamation suit against the Chicago Sun-Times to progress.

The bill would also allow a spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of any Illinois driver to submit medical information about the driver to the secretary of state if they think the person’s medical condition interferes with their driving abilities.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, is a federal law that requires a museum or institution to publish public notices if any human remains or funerary objects it holds belong to a tribal nation.

In Illinois, DCFS contracts with community-based foster agencies in order to house and provide services for children in state care. The department reported that the state had about 20,000 foster children in 2024, with more than 4,000 of them in the care of community-based foster or group homes.

House Bill 2627, sponsored by state Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee, would regulate the mink industry at the state level, creating mink farm licensing and requirements. But proponents and opponents have two vastly different opinions on what the bill really aims to do.