Before me was an invitation that beckoned: “Come. Discover.” I had stepped through this old wooden door before. This time I was on a mission and this was the perfect portal — taking me nowhere in particular or anywhere I wanted to be.

This year’s state budget once again provides only $4.5 million in operational funding for the state’s 97 Soil and Water Conservation Districts – comparable to levels from the 1990s.

The agencies combine on a rental housing study titled Out of Reach, which this year determined a full-time worker in Illinois needs an hourly salary of $29.81 to afford the market price of a two-bedroom apartment.