The state commission that oversees higher education grants for low-income students detailed the diminishing buying power of state financial aid Thursday during a budget request hearing.

Public universities in Illinois began making their case Wednesday for state funding increases larger than those that Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker proposed in his budget address Feb. 19.

The Illinois state health department says it is taking proactive steps against the spread of novel coronavirus as federal authorities warn that a spread of the virus in the U.S. is imminent.