Derek Cantù
Derek Cantù is NPR Illinois' graduate student Public Affairs Reporting intern for the spring 2021 legislative session.
Derek earned a B.S. in History and Secondary Education from Bradley University and an M.S. in Curriculum & Instruction from Kansas State University.
Derek has previous experience
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A proposal in the Illinois Senate would allow noncitizens to vote in local school board elections. But even supporters of the proposal say the legislation is not yet ready for primetime. -
The Illinois General Assembly this spring approved a proposal to allow sex workers’ criminal charges expunged from their records for convictions dating back to when prostitution was classified as a felony in Illinois.
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The Illinois State Board of Education is weighing whether to replace the state’s annual Illinois Assessment of Readiness standardized test for grades 3 through 8 with three separate tests spread out in a school year. But teacher unions and education advocacy groups claim the proposed change would amount to more class time being dedicated to test preparation.
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Illinois lawmakers want to replace a small, weathered statue of Martin Luther King Jr. across the street from the State Capitol building in Springfield and put a new one in a more prominent area.
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In the waning two weeks of the General Assembly’s spring legislative session, Illinois Senate Republicans accused Gov. JB Pritzker of intentionally “hiding” his appointees to the state’s Prisoner Review Board from a formal confirmation by the Senate.
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The Illinois General Assembly on Friday narrowly approved a proposal calling for state sex education curriculum in grades K-12 to be “culturally...
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As lawmakers’ end-of-session budget-making process wraps up, Republican lawmakers assert the state has enough money on hand to achieve a balanced budget...
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Democratic state lawmakers want to adopt state sex education standards that are aligned with a national model. But Republicans say the national...
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Illinois voters next fall will weigh in on whether the state’s constitution should be amended to include a provision that will establish a fundamental...
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Illinois’ Department of Employment Security has received more than 1.3 million fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits since the start of the COVID...
