•February 15, 2023•
February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month, and Illinois community colleges across the state are celebrating their valuable role in preparing the workforce for in-demand jobs. CTE programs offered at community colleges provide students with hands-on training and real-world experience in a variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, and technology.
Lake Land College offers more than 100 career and technical majors in high demand fields. Students who graduate from these short-term and degree programs launch start their careers with little to no debt with life-sustaining wages.
In addition, Lake Land is proud to be working with many industry partners to grow highly skilled employees from within the community. The college has 12 registered apprenticeships this spring and in the past year the Center for Business and Industry served 1,840 students and 23 companies with customized training programs. Read More

•February 15, 2023•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

Do you speak Illinoisan?
More to the point, do you speak Chicagoan?
Heck, I could just as easily ask whether you speak North Sidese or South Sidese.
Perhaps it’s the 59 years I’ve spent listening to and speaking to Illinoisans, but during a brief conversation I can safely guess whether you spent much of your life north or south of the Loop. I can even tell most Minnesotans from North Dakotans, which is a rare skill.
So I am of a mind that there is no such thing as an Illinois dialect. It’s too broad. I know people from northern, central and southern Illinois, and we barely sound like we’re from the same country.
I grew up in Arlington Heights, but this column’s editor, Michelle Holdway, hails from downstate Herrin. And she has kept her southern twang for decades since moving to the Chicago area. Read More