// a href = ./ //

He may not be coming back, but it is clear Chief Illiniwek still has strong support among University of Illinois students.

Almost 80 percent of the more than 11,500 students who voted in a recent campus referendum said they believed the American Indian mascot should be the symbol of the university's Urbana-Champaign campus.

University officials say that's not going to happen.

The university dropped the Chief mascot in 2007 under pressure from the NCAA.

CHICAGO (AP) — Environmentalists are praising Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan for showing what they call "real leadership" on fracking.

Madigan said today he supports a temporary ban on the drilling practice that critics say causes air and water pollution. Lawmakers are working on a bill to regulate the practice that drillers say is safe.

CASEYVILLE, Ill. (AP) - The police chief in the southern Illinois village of Caseyville has been placed on paid administrative leave because of a grand jury investigation into his use of a truck seized as part of a drug case.

The Belleville News Democrat reported Monday that Police Chief J.D. Roth did not sell the pickup truck at auction, as directed by state law. Village records show that Roth instead drove the 2003 Dodge Ram 65,000 miles for personal use and charged the village more than $6,000 for maintenance.

Roth was placed on leave Monday by Mayor George Chance after St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly asked that Roth not be involved in police investigations or have access to evidence or village computers.

Roth says he can't comment without the village's permission.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The federal government is charging Illinois with securities fraud, claiming it misled investors about the health of its pension system.

Gov. Pat Quinn's office said Monday that the state has agreed to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission case. Assistant budget director Abdon Pallasch (AB'-dun PAL-lish) says the state is promising better financial disclosures but admitted no wrongdoing.

The case revolved around more than $2 billion of municipal bonds sold from 2005 to early 2009 to pay state obligations to public-employee pension programs.

The SEC charged that the state did not adequately inform investors that a 50-year funding plan adopted in 1995 did not adequately cover pension liabilities.

The five pensions systems are now $97 billion in debt and a solution is lawmakers' top priority.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - A southwestern Illinois prosecutor says a sheriff's deputy was justified in fatally shooting an armed man during a confrontation two months ago.

Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons says the deputy's actions involving 51-year-old Barry Cloninger outside the man's rural Edwardsville home in January were reasonable.

Gibbons says neighbors had called authorities to report the odor of lighter fluid in their home and snowy footprints on their roof, which is easily accessible because the home is built into a hillside. The residents have a wood-burning stove and suspected someone poured the flammable liquid down their chimney.

Gibbons says deputies went to question Cloninger, who refused demands that he drop the shotgun he carried. After being shot by the deputy, Cloninger's body was found behind the home.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - The state Department of Employment Security says Illinois unemployment rose to 9 percent in January.

That was up from 8.7 percent in December and back to almost the 9.1 percent rate of January 2012.

Department Director Jay Rowell blamed the uneven recovery the state has experienced since the recession.

The number of unemployed people in the state rose by 4 percent to 594,800. The state added a relatively small 7,100 jobs in January.

The biggest job losses were among companies in the trade, transportation and utilities sector where the state lost a net 5,500 jobs in January. Government agencies also shed a net 1,500 jobs. Educational and health services employers added 5,500 jobs.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 7.9 percent in January. That was slightly higher than December.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Pat Quinn says he's going to issue an executive order later this week to eliminate or consolidate 75 state boards and commissions that are redundant.

He made the announcement Wednesday during his annual budget address. He says the elimination will increase efficiency.

Quinn did not detail which the boards and commissions would be eliminated. His spokeswoman later said the list of the 75 would come when Quinn issues the order.

Quinn delivered a budget address that called on lawmakers to reform the pension system. He says the nearly $100 billion in unfunded liability squeezes out funding in other parts of the budget, like education and that's why he had to propose cuts.

His budget calls for roughly $400 million in cuts to education.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Pat Quinn says even though the proposed budget makes tough cuts to education he's preserving a few areas, like early childhood education and some college scholarships.

The Chicago Democrat delivered a budget address Wednesday that calls for about $400 million in cuts to education.

Quinn says early childhood development is crucial as is the Illinois Monetary Award Program, or MAP grant program.

Quinn says access to higher education is fundamental to a student's earning potential.

Quinn says the cuts to education are because of lawmakers' inaction on the pension crisis. He says trying to catch up on a nearly $100 billion pension hole is crowding out spending on other areas, particularly education.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Pat Quinn is touting a recent contract agreement with Illinois' largest union as one way his administration has saved money, including $900 million in health care costs.

In his Wednesday budget address the Chicago Democrat called it "unprecedented" among his gubernatorial predecessors and a "landmark" agreement.

His administration and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 reached a tentative agreement last week. They reached a three-year contract after negotiating for 15 months.

The proposal requires state workers to pay more toward health care and requires retirees to pay health insurance premiums for the first time. All that will add up to the $900 million savings over three years.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois House committee has approved a measure that would allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The House Human Services Committee voted 11-4 Wednesday to move the proposal to the full House for consideration.

The measure would allow patients over the age of 18 who have been diagnosed with specific terminal illnesses or debilitating medical conditions to obtain marijuana.

Cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV are among the illnesses.

Supporters say marijuana can relieve continual pain without triggering the harmful effects that other prescription drugs may commonly cause.

The measure gives a framework for a four-year pilot program that includes requiring patients and caregivers to submit background checks.

But opponents say the program would encourage the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.