State News

Statewide: The FAFSA failure

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Sean Crawford

Published May 9, 2024 at 8:48 PM CDT

This is usually an exciting time for students looking ahead to college. But trouble with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid means the dream of higher education could be in jeopardy for some students in need. We take a look at the impact its having.

Also:

* The Pritzker Administration is wanting to eliminate the grocery tax. But an analysis shows it would have only a modest benefit to consumers while cutting a big source of revenue for local governments.

* Mawa Iqbal explains the idea of ranked choice voting, which advocates say could improve the election process.

* Lisa Kurian Philip and Peter Medlin report on delays and other problems with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form and what it means for students looking to pay for college.

* Sean Crawford speaks with Chris Altruda, a senior analyst for Better Collective, about the landscape for sports betting in Illinois. The governor wants to more than double the tax on the industry.

* Joe Deacon reports on the rise of gambling addictions.

* Rachel Cramer of Harvest Public Media checks in with sheep farmers about how they are dealing with big drops in the price of wool.

* Rich Egger talks with a research about the spread of ticks which are now active more months of the year.

* JuanPablo Ramirez Franco reports on Illinois' slow ramp up to clean coal ash pollution.