Molly Hughes
CorrespondentMolly Hughes is a correspondent at WCBU. She joined the staff in 2026.
Molly is a journalist and media educator based in Central Illinois. She holds an M.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.A. in English with a minor in political science from Worcester State University in Massachusetts.
Her reporting has appeared at CU-CitizenAccess, InvestigateMidwest and the Champaign News-Gazette across print and digital platforms.
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Friday evening, Peorians honored Brooks, a longtime resident who played for the Negro Leagues' Kansas City Monarchs in the early 1960s and went on to coach for decades at Woodruff and Manual High Schools. -
"Our crime statistics for juveniles is significantly worse than East St. Louis," said Tom Marshall, an Elite Community Outreach board member who sits on the county's Juvenile Justice Council, describing the findings of a University of Illinois Chicago study he said was shared with the council. "They're known for being one of the worst areas in the state." -
The Peoria County Board approved an emergency $101,000 contract on Thursday to repair a drainage structure on Radnor Road that failed during June's heavy rains. -
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen criticized a Supreme Court decision that struck down limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with their candidates. -
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen said this year's defense policy bill costs too much — at the same time he hopes the legislation's funding protects military installations in Central Illinois. -
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen brought his affordable housing push to Peoria Tuesday, spotlighting a Neighborhood House effort to renovate vacant homes and sell them to working families. -
An East Peoria woman got a last-minute opportunity to take part in a piece of American history last weekend, running a leg of Relay for America's non-stop flag carry from San Francisco to Washington, D.C. -
Girl Scouts of Central Illinois has landed a competitive three-year, $90,000 grant from Girl Scouts of the USA that will send girls facing financial and social barriers to overnight summer camp — man, if not all, for the first time. -
The Peoria County Board on Thursday unanimously approved $183,590 for homelessness coordination and food insecurity programs through the county health department. -
Superintendent says AI is already ‘part of the ecosystem’ at District 150 — with or without a policyDistrict 150 Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat said artificial intelligence in the classroom is inevitable but Peoria schools don't have a plan for it yet.
