Stories from surrounding communities, closest first.
The Triibe · Washington, IL
Nearby: Washington, ILStacie Johnson is the first Black woman to serve as Chicago’s First Lady. She’s a devout woman of faith who is deeply protective of her family’s private lives. Who can blame her? Black America prayed as the country’s first Black family left Chicago’s South Side for the White House in 2009. Through those eight years in Washington, D.C., pundits and critics dissected just about everything First Lady Michelle Obama wore and did. The same scrutiny fell onto her daughters, Malia and Sasha, who were 10 and 7, respectively, when they moved into the White House. First Lady Johnson has mostly avoided the spotlight until now. In October, she sat down with The TRiiBE for her first interview since Mayor Brandon Johnson took office in 2023. She chose Green Tomato Cafe in North Lawndale, one of her favorite neighborhoods, as the place to chat. The cafe provides healthy food options to the community, and that’s important to her.
Norly News · Peoria, IL
Nearby: Peoria, ILCivic technology wins in small towns rarely start with software. They start with reuse. An open standard lets a town plug its complaint inbox into apps residents already carry. Code one city published runs in another after a few days of setup. The pattern is on the record. Bloomington, Indiana built an open source service-request system. Per Open311.org, it was redeployed in Columbus, Indiana and Peoria, Illinois. The catch is capacity. A town of a few thousand has no dev shop and no procurement office. Its budget rules out enterprise contracts. That is why workable civic tech for small towns borrows instead of builds, and why the borrowable parts matter more than the demos. The same delivery logic runs through benefits payment modernization in state and federal systems, and this site follows both threads in its civictech coverage. What an Open Standard Buys a Small Town Open311 is a spec, not a product. The GeoReport v2 format is its core. The project finalized it on March 11, 2011.
Quincy Herald Whig · Lincoln, IL
Nearby: Lincoln, ILQUINCY — Quincy University senior Megan Schill has been named a 2026 Student Laureate by The Lincoln Academy of Illinois, an annual statewide honor recognizing academic achievement, leadership, and civic engagement. Schill, a native of Grand Forks, N.D., was formally honored alongside 49 other outstanding graduating seniors from Illinois’ four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities during the academy’s 52nd annual recognition ceremony on Oct. 24 at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield. Each recipient received the Abraham Lincoln Civic Engagement Award, a Lincoln medallion, a challenge coin, and a $1,000 stipend. “We at Quincy University are honored each year to see one of our graduating seniors recognized by the Lincoln Academy for outstanding academic achievement and character,” said Quincy University President Brian McGee. “Megan Schill, an impressive student and scholar, is our Lincoln Academy honoree for this year.
Sullivan Times · Clinton, IL
Nearby: Clinton, ILStudents in Meet Show Real TalentThe Wabash Valley Current Event Bee and Musical contests held at the First M. E. Church in Sullivan Friday night was successful in every particular with Harold Haywood of Clinton school taking first place in the Current Event Bee, Miss Harriet Nell Bicknell of Sullivan High winning first place in the piano test and Miss Mary Edna Wittenberger of Normal High at Terre Haute taking first place in the voice test with Hoagland Shaffer of Sullivan second.Musicians and music lovers were given a rare treat in the voice and piano contests. Nine schools had chosen their outstanding artists and the concert that resulted pleased and delighted the audience. Voices ranged from the lyric soprano to the mezzo contralto and two boys in the contest sang baritone solos that won decided applause. Miss Wittenberger, the winner of the voice contest, had a range that was remarkable and her voice was clear and strong. Hoagland Shaffer’s song was well rendered and beautiful.
