Charlie Schlenker

Illinois

Senior Reporter at WGLT-FM (Normal, IL)

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Articles

Draft environmental report favors Clinton nuclear plant license renewal

3 weeks ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

A supplemental draft environmental impact statement filed this spring by Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will likely advance the operating license renewal request filed by Constellation Energy, owner of the Clinton nuclear power plant.
A new biography explores Abraham Lincoln's favorite judge: David Davis

3 weeks ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

David Davis, the Supreme Court justice, U.S. senator, and campaign manager for Abraham Lincoln, was not a very good lawyer. He was not a legal scholar, barring a couple of solid Supreme Court opinions he crafted. He wasn’t even a notable orator by the standards of the day, which in the 1800s ran to speeches of two-plus hours in length. He was, though, a very good judge, according to author, law school professor, and retired circuit Judge Raymond McKoski.
Sorensen urges more public feedback on proposed Republican-backed budget cuts

3 weeks ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen is urging the public to call Republican lawmakers to protest proposed cuts to food aid and health insurance programs for lower income people. During a stop at the Heartland Head Start early childhood program in Bloomington, Sorensen said GOP lawmakers who voted for the President Trump-endorsed One Big Beautiful Bill Act need to hear about the stakes.
Illinois program to increase faculty diversity in higher education is in doubt

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

The future of a state-funded program to increase the diversity of faculty at colleges and universities in Illinois is in doubt as the Trump administration continues to pressure higher education to abandon DEI values. The effort is called the Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois program, or DFI. Illinois has funded tuition and $10,000 stipends for between 100 and 115 graduate students from nontraditional or underrepresented backgrounds in each of the last four years.
Attorneys general ask educators for courage on DEI policies

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

A group of state attorneys general is asking educators at all levels to have courage in the face of lost funding and lawsuit threats by the federal administration. The administration is attacking Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility policies, or DEI, on a variety of fronts. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is among the collection of 15 top lawyers for states and the District of Columbia who have issued guidance on how to deal with administration demands.
Rep. Sorensen labels proposed Trump cuts to SNAP food aid and LIHEAP programs 'cruel' and un-American

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen calls Trump administration plans to zero out home heating and cooling help for "very low-income" people "cruel."The president’s spending plans recently forwarded to Congress would eliminate the $4 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance program, or LIHEAP. The administration has also laid off all staff that administer LIHEAP. About $378 million remains to be distributed under current congressional authorization.
Those touched by asbestos share a cautionary tale about worker safety - and their fears of backsliding

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

Amid an asbestos industry cover-up of the dangers of the cancer-causing fibers, it took many decades for a ban to happen in this country. That cost more than 130 Bloomington-Normal residents their lives. Neighbors, family members, and employees of the United Asbestos and Rubber Company on the west side of Bloomington were all affected. Panelists said they fear the past is prologue during a recent discussion of asbestos workplace dangers at the McLean County Museum of History.
Advocates hope this is the year for a higher education funding formula

2 months ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

Over the last decade, state funding for Illinois State University has dropped by more than a third after inflation. And it has declined as a share of the total university budget for more than three decades. That could change if the state legislature passes a measure this spring. The last five ISU presidents [at least] have yearned to change the way the state funds higher education to a per student basis instead of a lump sum.
Libraries and museums in Illinois are hit by Trump executive order

2 months ago | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

A Trump administration effort to remove the federal government from wide swaths of American life continue to spread. Libraries and museums in Illinois will also feel the impact. Among the many federal agencies President Trump has ordered to shut down is the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a small department that supplies grant funding and research for cultural institutions in all 50 states.
Illinois Farm Bureau worries about Trump tariffs as planting season approaches

Mar 5, 2025 | nprillinois.org | Charlie Schlenker

The head of the Bloomington-based Illinois Farm Bureau is urging the federal government to walk back tariffs that could damage the agriculture sector. That's a stark departure from the relative optimism many agriculture groups had expressed about the Trump administration in the weeks after the election. In a statement, Farm Bureau President Brian Duncan asked the Trump administration to find other methods to combat illegal drugs and secure the border.