Each year, 700 mothers die from pregnancy related causes in the United States, and the maternal mortality rate is getting worse.  America is the only industrialized nation in the world trending in the wrong direction. We talked wth Illinois experts about what's being done to reverse the trend.

Past redlining policies have segregated communities by race, deeming them as undesirable. Although redlining was banned in 1968 by the Fair Housing Act, its consequences are still present today. 

In 2021, renewable energy like the wind turbines generate about 10 percent of power in Illinois. Environmentalists and some lawmakers want that number to be 100 percent by 2050. We talked with people behind three renewable energy plans and how their plans would affect jobs and consumers.

As COVID-19 restrictions ease, many are both eagerly anticipating and some are dreading a return to pre-pandemic activities. Two psychologists explained how we might cope with that anxiety.

Illinois lawmakers are considering making it easier for residents to sue police officers for violations of statutory or constitutional rights by removing their qualified immunity. The 21st spoke with a lawmaker and a legal advisor and head of an Illinois police organization to hear more about what this could mean for Illinois.

In Alton, Illinois — along the Mississippi River near St. Louis — a homeowner made an unusual discovery — a mysterious tunnel, made of bricks, that experts have dated to the 1840's. We’ll talk with the homeowner and hear some of the hypotheses for why the tunnel was built.

Alana Banks is a Decatur native, and was recently elected to school board in her hometown. She’s getting national recognition for being the first Black trans woman in the country to be elected to the position. 

In Illinois, there’s a lot riding on a car company called Rivian. The first of Rivian’s electric trucks is expected to roll off the lot at a new plant in Normal. Learn what the company's plant means for our state and its connection to Amazon.

Spring is here and can mark an internal shift; we leave our long, reflective winter hibernation and emerge with an opportunity for transformation. The director of the Japan House at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign joined us to talk about zen and the art of transitioning to spring.

To speak more about reducing the amount of waste we produce on a daily basis, The 21st was joined by a waste and sustainability consultant.