217 Today: Army Corps plans $1 billion barricade to deter invasive carp at Illinois and Des Plaines

Scott Whitney, of the Army Corps of Engineers, is on the banks of Des Plaines River. This area will be the first stage of construction on the Brandon Road Interbasin Project.

Thursday, January 25, 2025

Today’s headlines:

  • Champaign County is short of skilled nursing home beds, according to the local health district.
  • Domestic violence victims and their advocates are still pleading with Illinois lawmakers to pass Karina’s Bill.
  • Illinois officially adopted a plan to raise its literacy rates.
  • A Chicago-based group collecting data on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities has released a report highlighting health barriers.

In today’s deep dive, we’ll learn about a plan to build a billion-dollar, high-tech barricade on the Des Plaines River to deter invasive carp.

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Mosqueda. Reporting contributed by Farrah Anderson, Alex Degman, Emily Hays, Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco.

Stephanie Mosqueda

Stephanie Mosqueda is a senior majoring in journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with minors in Spanish and public relations. She is the 217 Today producer and a reporter for the Illinois Student Newsroom.