Friday November 6, 2020
Today’s headlines:
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Some high-powered Democrats are calling on House Speaker Michael Madigan to resign as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
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Illinois passed another grim COVID-19 milestone yesterday. More than 10,000 Illinoisans have now died after testing positive for the virus.
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Champaign County reported 60 new COVID-19 cases yesterday. The County is now dealing with nearly 600 active cases. The average number of new daily cases in Champaign County has more than doubled in the past three weeks.
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More than two-thirds of U.S. adults say the 2020 election is a significant source of stress — up from 2016 when just over half of people said the same.
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Newly counted mail-in ballots have widened a still-narrow lead for the Democratic challenger for Champaign County Circuit Clerk. Susan McGrath is now 120 votes ahead of Republican incumbent Katie Blakeman, in the county’s closest election contest.
In today’s deeper dive, the Jupiter String Quartet has a concert today, a virtual one of course. We talk with the quartet and a University of Illinois environmental sciences professor about a piece that’s a tribute to the “beauty and vitality of the natural world.”
217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Tony Arnold, Mary Hansen, and Christine Herman.
Thursday November 5, 2020
Today’s headlines:
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Governor J.B. Pritzker says Illinois is at a crossroads financially after his plan to change the state’s income structure failed.
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Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan thanked her supporters, volunteers and campaign staff, after losing to Congressman Rodney Davis for a second time. And she urged voters to stay active in the political process.
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State public health officials reported more than 7,500 new COVID-19 cases yesterday. That’s the second-highest level of cases in a single day since the coronavirus pandemic first hit Illinois last February.
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Champaign County reported 171 new COVID-19 cases yesterday. There are more than 600 active cases in the county.
In today’s deeper dive, Republican Rodney Davis won re-election in the 13th Congressional District, which many observers considered a tossup, but his margin of victory was a surprise.
217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts. Reporting today contributed by Sean Crawford, Tim Shelley, Jim Meadows, and Ryan Denham.
Wednesday November 4, 2020
Today’s headlines:
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While Democrats hoped to flip Illinois’ 13th congressional district, Republican incumbent Rodney Davis won a fifth term last night.
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Champaign County’s chief elections officer, County Clerk Aaron Ammons, says the county received more than one thousand mail-in ballots yesterday (11/3).
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With a few thousand mail-in ballots still outstanding, some Champaign County race results are still uncertain.
In today’s deeper dive, there are still votes to be counted, but it looks like governor JB Pritzker’s signature graduated income tax measure could be headed toward defeat.
217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Mary Hansen, Hannah Meisel, Cesar Sanchez, and our entire Illinois Newsroom team of reporters.
Tuesday November 3, 2020
Today’s headlines:
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Governor JB Pritzker is urging Illinoisans to be patient with election results ahead of a highly unusual Election Day in the middle of a pandemic.
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Many local college students voting in their first election say that they have already taken advantage of early voting. Several say issues like human rights, racial justice and climate change are most important to them.
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Illinois’ daily COVID-19 cases continue to climb as the state implements mitigation efforts across several regions. Average daily case numbers have risen by 86% in the last three weeks.
In today’s deeper dive, there’s lots of speculation on whether we’ll have election results on Election Night —or if it will take longer to know who voters have chosen for president. We learn more from Illinois Newsroom’s Jim Meadows.
217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Hannah Meisel, Jim Meadows, and Chris Evans with his team of University of Illinois student journalists.
Monday November 2, 2020
Today’s headlines:
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Illinois is one of 32 states where mailed ballots can be processed in advance of Election Day. But there could still be delays in calling winners for many races.
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The Illinois Department of Public Health reported nearly 15,000 new cases of COVID-19 between Saturday and Sunday.The state also reported 81 additional deaths from the virus.
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With election season coming to a close, many Illinois students are casting their ballots for the first time. That story from Olivia Butts.
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker also announced yesterday that COVID-19 mitigation measures would take effect beginning Wednesday in Region 2, which includes Bloomington, Peoria, and the Quad Cities. Mitigation measures take effect today in Region 6, which includes Champaign County and 20 other counties in east-central Illinois.
In today’s deeper dive, in the dueling campaigns for and against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push for a so-called “Fair Tax,” are the echoes of past attempts at tax reform in Illinois. We get that story from Hannah Meisel.
217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Mary Hansen, Olivia Butts, and Hannah Meisel.