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Advocates for Kentucky children on Thursday called for state leaders to provide funds and stave off recently announced cuts to program thatprovide assistance for child care costs and to family members who take in young relatives.

A bill authorizing bonding projects for most of Kentucky's public universities appears to have ample support to be approved this week in  the state House.

House Bill 7  authorizes more than $300 million in projects, including renovations for dorm rooms, academic buildings and football stadium renovations at the University of Kentucky.

The Illinois State Board of Education wants lawmakers to increase funding for schools by $874 million next year. The board recommended the 13.4 percent increase at their meeting today. Finance Committee Chairman Jim Baumann says 67 percent of school districts are in deficit spending.

Kentucky is moving steadily toward the top-tier of states in key education measures according to the “Top 20 by 2020” report from the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.

Construction on the Olmsted Lock and Dam Project in Southern Illinois has been ongoing for 20 years, 13 years over schedule. Now a completion date is set for 2026.  Some of the delays are from construction techniques not quite suited for the swift current in that part of the Ohio River.  Project Engineer Richard Schipp says other delays are man-made…

The Kentucky House is expected to vote on an austere state budget by the middle of next week.  Speaker Greg Stumbo says he doesn't expect a lot of changes to Governor Steve Beshear's original budget proposal. The governor's $19.5 billion, two-year budget proposal includes 8.4 percent cuts to most state agencies. The House Appropriations and Revenue Committee vote is expected Tuesday.