Medical marijuana took a significant step toward becoming law in Illinois Wednesday. For the first time, it won approval in the House of Representatives.

15 people were hospitalized and dozens of others detained after an envelope containing powder was delivered to a Beloit health clinic.

If you need to reach someone at Northern Public Radio today, email is still the best way to go! Much of Northern Illinois University's phone system has been down since a lightning strike on campus at 8:30 Wednesday morning.

It’s been one year since federal authorities announced the arrest of Rita Crundwell. The former Dixon comptroller is serving out a prison sentence after she admitted to stealing millions of dollars from the city. One year later, this situation is still being discussed by policy leaders in Illinois.

A Dixon city official resigned after reportedly using a city-issued credit card for personal expenses. Mayor Jim Burke says City Engineer Shawn Ortgiesen sent a letter apologizing for breaking the city's trust. Officials say he charged around $13,000 in personal expenses on the card from April 2007 to last month. Included with the letter was a check for the remaining balance on the card, plus interest. He earlier reimbursed the city for about $5,000.

Nearly 100 fire departments across Illinois will get a boost with new equipment, protective gear or other tools. The money comes through small equipment grants and funded through a percentage of fire insurance sold in the state. Those selected to receive funds include fire departments in DeKalb, Kirkland, and Sycamore.

The Fire Marshal’s office received 271 applications requesting a total of $5,581,522 in grant money during this application period. A news release says that's almost three times the amount of grant funding available this year.

Illinois officials and law enforcement agencies are urging organizers to be vigilant as they plan for similar events in the state.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn says he does not think there's been any warning of a similar threat in Illinois or Chicago.

"We have one of the premier marathons in the world. It's in October -- the Chicago Marathon -- so we want to get to the bottom of these terrorist events and protect the people." -Gov. Pat Quinn

Last year's drought continues to weigh on farmers. That's according to Doug Yoder with the Illinois Farm Bureau. He oversees risk management. March 15th was the deadline to buy crop insurance for corn and soybeans. He expects more than 80 percent of Illinois corn will be covered by some type of crop insurance and 79 percent of soybeans. Yoder doesn't expect the extreme conditions like last year:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says a U.S. Supreme Court decision should help settle an aspect of the debate over concealed carry in Illinois. One of the more contentious issues comes down to a choice between two words.                        

Those two words are "may" and "shall."