Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Springfield

News Editor at NPR Illinois

Illinois issues Managing Editor, mom

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Articles

Programs for low income and homeless people are on the federal chopping block

1 week ago | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

A federal budget under consideration by Congress could have serious consequences for the low income and unhoused populations nationally, including Springfield. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the president’s budget would slash Housing and Urban Development’s budget by 44 percent from this year, including a 43 percent cut to HUD’s rental assistance programs. Currently, an estimated 421,000 people in 221 Illinois households use federal rental assistance.
Loving Lincoln author sheds light on the Great Emancipator’s work, relationships with women

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

The following is an edited, excerpted version of Maureen McKinney’s interview with her longtime friend Stacy Lynn, about the Lincoln scholar’s new book, Loving Lincoln: A Personal History of the Women Who Shaped Lincoln's Life and Legacy. You've written books, including the biography of Mary Lincoln, but this book is different. You've taken an entirely new approach, where you're fusing your own life with the Lincolns and your experience with grief. So I'm curious how you came to this format.
Months after a fire, the 400 block of East Adams St. in Springfield reopens to traffic

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Sean Crawford |Maureen Foertsch McKinney

The 400 block of East Adams Street has officially reopened to vehicular traffic in downtown Springfield. The street had been closed off since a fire last June. "This development marks a significant step forward for both downtown residents and local businesses who have eagerly anticipated the return of regular traffic flow. The reopening also paves the way for the Old Capitol Farmers Market to return to its original location," according to announcement from the City of Springfield.
Life experience leads Atlanta man to run Springfield's largest shelter

1 month ago | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

When Robert Gillespie was 19, his father and stepmother learned he is gay and told him he could no longer stay in their home. Gillespie, now 51: “I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks sleeping on a friend’s couch while trying to pretend that I was not a hollowed out shell of my former self. Even to this day, there is still a hollowness inside of me. Losing that connection changed how I think about home—not just as a house, but as a feeling of belonging and safety.
Mom turns loss of son into MADD response

2 months ago | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Sheila Lockwood of McHenry became an ambassador for Mothers Against Drunk Driving after her son Austin was killed in a single-car crash caused by an impaired driver. Lockwood recently spoke with reporter Maureen McKinney about the loss of her son.
Housing experts worry about federal plans to cut homelessness programs

2 months ago | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

As prospects of federal budget cuts loom, housing experts in Illinois worry that more people will go unhoused – and that seniors will bear the brunt of the problem. Recently, President Donald Trump signed into law a resolution that extends the federal budget to September. That includes $13 billion in cuts from the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. While there is $4.5 billion more for Housing and Urban Development programs, specific items under HUD have been cut.
Will the Old Capitol Farmer's Market return to its former site?

Mar 7, 2025 | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Whether the Old Capitol Farmer’s Market returns to the 400 block of Adams Street in the downtown area is dependent on the status of demolition and construction still occurring, the Downtown Springfield, Inc. executive director said. “We're working with all parties involved to do our best to make sure that the market is as close to the original location as possible,’’ said DSI’s Carlos Ortega. The outdoor market operates from May-October.
'It's a really sad moment' says immigration law clinic director

Feb 20, 2025 | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Reporter Maureen McKinney recently interviewed Lauren Aronson, who directs the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She says the president’s series of executive orders on immigration upon taking office, shook her clients’ and students’ lives. Court pushback against the president’s birthright citizenship order is a positive sign to Aronson, who continues to try to stay abreast of evolving news on immigration. This is an edited, excerpted version of that interview.
President's pardons of insurrectionists stoke worries in Springfield's Jewish community

Feb 10, 2025 | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Springfield’s Jewish community has not suffered violence as others in America have, but it is not immune. President Donald Trump’s grant of clemency to the 1,500-some people charged or convicted in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has raised fears among Jewish leaders that the move will embolden violence. Among them is Rabbi Greg Kanter. He leads Temple B’rith Sholom, Springfield’s oldest Jewish congregation, which is housed in a neoclassical columned synagogue south of downtown.
Hundreds in Sangamon County experience being unhoused

Jan 21, 2025 | nprillinois.org | Maureen Foertsch McKinney

An estimated $3 million is what it would take to put Sangamon County’s unhoused population in homes. That’s according to Josh Sabo, executive director of Heartland HOUSED, an agency that oversees county efforts on homelessness. He says state and federal funding falls short. “We as a community just don't have the resources to develop enough of the programs that are necessary.