Abortions reported in Illinois reached a 37-year low in 2010, a drop that abortion opponents attributed to more women shying away from the procedure while abortion-rights supporters pointed to an uptick in use of contraceptives. In 2010, there were 41,859 abortions in Illinois, according to recently published data from the state Department of Public Health . That’s the lowest total since 1973, when Illinois recorded 32,760 abortions. That’s the year the procedure was legalized in the United States in the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

 SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Supreme Court will open up trial courts to cameras, handing news broadcasters a major victory in a 29-year battle to bring high-profile trials to the masses. “The Supreme Court plans an announcement [Tuesday] dealing with cameras in the courtroom on an experimental basis,” said Joseph Tybor, a spokesman for the state’s high court. The matter has been a high priority for Chief Justice Thomas Kilbride, who has pushed the issue during his stint heading the seven-member court.

A former Will County correctional officer's lawsuit claiming she was sexually harassed by male co-workers who bet on who could sleep with her first and kept an offensive "Book of Shame" can move forward, a federal judge has ruled. But the judge, in a 44-page ruling Wednesday, dismissed Marlis O'Leary's claim that sheriff's officials retaliated against her in response to her objections and said there were indications that she welcomed the alleged conduct from at least one of the eight co-workers she sued in 2008.