Illinois Public Radio

Updated 3:54 p.m. Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Brian Mackey used in this report.

An Illinois state representative from Chicago has introduced legislation in Springfield that would ban businesses from requiring job applicants to divulge their social media passwords.

Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky was used in this story.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will endorse legislation in his State of the State address next week that would raise Illinois' high school dropout age to 18, according to a statement from the Democrat's office.

The proposal would answer a call from fellow Democrat Barack Obama, who in his State of the Union address on Tuesday urged states to keep students in high school long enough for them to get their diploma.

MoDOT Director: Wouldn't take public vote to rebuild I-70 using tolls

Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky used in this report.

Governor Pat Quinn announced this afternoon that he plans to close the Jacksonville Developmental Center and Tinley Park Mental Health Center.

Jacksonville is located about 90 miles north of St. Louis.

Quinn's office is calling the closures a "rebalancing."

The Governor plans to move institutionalized patients with developmental disabilities and mental illness to community-based settings.

Some Republicans at odds with Nixon over state's job-creation tax breaks

Some Republican lawmakers are at odds with members of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's administration over whether Missouri's job-creation tax breaks have been a success or failure. During a House committee hearing Monday, figures showed a wide gap between the number of jobs anticipated and those actually created by businesses approved for aid under the Missouri Quality Jobs program.