U of I increases tuition
The University of Illinois Board of Trustees has approved a tuition increase for in-state freshmen who will begin school next fall at the Champaign-Urbana and Chicago campuses.
Incoming freshmen from Illinois will see a 1.9% increase in their tuition. With the increase, the base in-state tuition for undergraduates at the Champaign-Urbana campus will be $12,712 a year, which is an increase of $238. Tuition at the U of I-Springfield will remain the same.
Company reportedly won’t insure some cars
Bloomington-based insurer State Farm reportedly is refusing to issue new auto policies on some Kias and Hyundais in the St. Louis region as theft rates of the vehicles remain high.
The report comes after news of a surge in thefts of older Kia and Hyundai cars around the country. The vehicles lack an immobilizer, a common part that prevents car thieves from bypassing the ignition system. The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports Progressive Insurance also has suspended policies for the vehicles.
High rise fire caused by smoking materials
The careless use of smoking materials is being blamed for the cause of a deadly fire that consumed several floors of a Chicago apartment building.
Chicago Fire Department officials said the blaze, which killed one person and injured nine others, began on the 15th floor and spread upwards. They said battling the fire was a challenge because the elevator stopped working, so crews had to walk up to the upper floors with heavy 200-foot hoses.