Charles N. Wheeler III
The director of the Public Affairs Reporting (PAR) graduate program is Professor Charles N. Wheeler III, a veteran newsman who came to the University of Illinois at Springfield following a 24-year career at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Wheeler covered state government and politics for the Sun-Times since 1970, when he covered the Sixth Illinois Constitutional Convention. For the last 19 years of his Sun-Times tenure, Wheeler was assigned to the newspaper’s Statehouse bureau. During that time, he was elected to 16 consecutive one-year terms as president of the Illinois Legislative Correspondents Association and served for many years on the PAR program and admissions committees.
Since 1984, he has written a monthly column for Illinois Issues magazine, which has won five Capitolbeat awards for magazine commentary/analysis. In 2006, the Illinois Associated Press Editors Association inducted him into The Lincoln League of Journalists, which honors men and women who have provided exemplary service to other journalists and to daily newspapers published in Illinois. In 2013, he was chosen as the Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Department at Eastern Illinois University. He is also a regular on the panel for State Week, WUIS' weekly political analysis program that airs on public radio stations across Illinois.
Before joining the Sun-Times in 1969, Wheeler served more than three years as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Panama. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s University, Winona, MN, majoring in English, and received a master’s degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Wheeler draws on the talents of many UIS faculty with expertise in such fields as public budgeting, political science, and communication, as well as professional journalists and state officials, to present students with a well-rounded program to bridge the academic and professional areas.
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Democrats in control of state government were racing to approve a budget and public safety legislation, among other items, before their self-imposed adjournment deadline passed. The budget plan included several tax relief proposals, which will be heavily touted during the upcoming campaigns. -
The primary is still half a year away, but the 2022 Illinois governor's contest is starting to heat up. There were reports this week that Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin is considering a bid. The Republican field already has four candidates who have announced, but there is speculation Irvin would gain financial backing from billionaire Ken Griffin.
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Newly drawn political districts approved Thursday have already led one incumbent Republican congressman, Adam Kinzinger, to announce he won't seek another term. We'll also discuss other legislation that made it through the Illinois General Assembly. Host Sean Crawford is joined by Statehouse Editor Hannah Meisel, Professor Emeritus Charlie Wheeler and Chicago Tribune Chief Political Reporter Rick Pearson.
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Democrats are seeking to add to their partisan edge with the proposed district boundaries, which could help determine congressional control.
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The Illinois General Assembly was back in Springfield for a rare late August session to tackle a couple of key issues. Democrats approved a new version of the legislative redistricting map, over objections of Republicans and various interest groups. But an energy package that has been negotiated for months remains elusive.
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Citizens of Illinois, I believe, should measure the product of our efforts by these tests: Is the Constitution of 1970 superior to the Constitution of... -
This week, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced $700 million in cuts to the current fiscal year's state budget; a special investigating committee looking... -
Hospital beds across the state continue to fill with COVID-19 patients, and an investigation has been announced to look into the deadly breakout in the... -
This week, a special Illinois House committee began investigating House Speaker Madigan’s alleged role in a decade-long bribery scheme involving...
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This week, confirmed cases of the new coronavirus have spiked on university campuses throughout the state. Meanwhile, many kids are beginning the new...
