state government – The Columbia Chronicle

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is giving a speech about transparency in the budget at Maggiano's Banquets, 111 W. Grand Avenue.

More with less: Comptroller Mendoza’s approach to office

September 10, 2018

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, sometimes cited as a potential mayoral candidate, told the City Club of Chicago last week that she is not a candidate."Look, I'm fully focused on the next 62 days." she ...

Chicago’s Labor Day Legacy

September 5, 2018

The Chronicle takes to the streets to test Chicagoans' knowledge of their city's history with labor day. While reporting information regarding strikes on the South Side in 1893 helped create the insti...

Gubernatorial endorsement: Daniel Biss is the governor Illinois needs

March 12, 2018

With the March 20 gubernatorial primary elections nearing, The Chronicle is proud to endorse Democratic candidate Daniel Biss for Illinois governor. Biss received approximately 87 percent of the staff...

All Seasons Orchard made a nostalgic “Super Mario” maze for this fall season. Some of the orchard’s previous designs include “Minions” and “Scooby-Doo.”

Chicagoland farms tap pop culture for corn maze designs

October 16, 2017

Vying for consumer attention, Chicagoland farms and orchards are getting more elaborate in their corn maze designs, drawing on pop culture with sports, film and even video game references to draw in t...

Student forum discusses possible program merger

September 25, 2017

Students and faculty were able to comment on a possible merger between the advertising and advertising art direction majors under the Communication Department during a Sept. 18 open forum held for Columbia students to receive information. Invitations were sent out via email to st...

Students will receive MAP grant funding for the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 academic years.

Columbia receives MAP grant funding after state budget approval

July 25, 2017

Students who have been in financial abyss because of Monetary Award Program grant shortfalls can rest easy thanks to action in Springfield. After more than two years, Illinois has a budget for the full fiscal year after the state legislature overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget ...

Gov. Bruce Rauner accused the Democratic lawmakers of toying with children's education to achieve their political agenda at a July 24 press conference.

CTU President: Stop pitting Chicago against the suburbs

July 25, 2017

Public schools may still not open on time, even though the Illinois legislature passed its first budget in more than two years.The Illinois House overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget package veto July...

Educational institutions should be safe havens

December 5, 2016

Many times along the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump emphasized his strong stance on ending illegal immigration, which included a plan to stop federal funding to “sanctuary cities.” There is no legal definition of sanctuary cities, nor do they have an official status or affiliation. Cities fall under this umbrella if they have policies that protect illegal or undocumented immigrants from having their citizen...

What is a student center without students?

April 11, 2016

While the state continues to function without a budget, Illinois colleges must choose whether or not to fund students’ Monetary Award Program grants for a second academic year. These state-funded grants for low-income students can make or break their ability to attend college at all.Some schools, such as the Illinois Institute of Technology, are seeking repayment of funds advanced in Fall 2015, while wealthier schools, su...

New CPD training might be too little too late

February 8, 2016

Throughout the last few months, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Police Department have faced great scrutiny, including an investigation of CPD by the U.S. Justice Department for the shootings of civilians by police officers and the system that allows these tragedies to be repeated.Emanuel announced Jan. 28 that 12,000 Chicago police officers and 911 dispatchers will undergo eight hours of training on responding appropria...

Eight-bit Windy City

By Luke Wilusz

December 6, 2010

With their Game Boys, Nintendo Entertainment Systems, synthesizers and computers at the ready, a group of local artists are gearing up to kick start a musical movement in Chicago. Their genre of choice is chiptune—also called chip music or just chip—a style of electronic music created by hacking old electronic devices such as Game Boys, Nintendo Entertainment Systems, Commodore 64s, etc. to manipulate their sound cards...

Illinois sixth-worst state for power plant pollution

By Patrick Smith

November 30, 2009

Illinois has the sixth-most pollution from power plants in the country, according to a new study released last week by Environment Illinois.The high ranking is yet another piece of bad news for the area’s environment.Earlier this month, Forbes ranked Chicago the third-most toxic metropolitan area in the nation, and the Chicago Tribune revealed in September that the Environmental Protection Agency ranks Cook County as fir...