217 Today: Transgender teens and their parents speak out after Lurie Children’s pauses surgeries

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A 17-year-old transgender boy from the Chicago suburbs was in the process of scheduling surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital when the hospital paused gender care surgeries after an executive order from the White House, on Feb. 18, 2025.
  • Photo: Manuel Martinez / WBEZ

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

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Today’s headlines:

  • DeShawn Williams is poised to become the next mayor of Urbana. 
  • Urbana voters reelected all their current city council members during yesterday’s Democratic primary election.
  • Urbana-based Carle Health says it’s closing down most of its Health Alliance insurance plans, effective at the end of this year.
  • Officials with Planned Parenthood Illinois say they’re working to reach people in more remote areas of the state.

In today’s deep dive, we’ll learn that transgender teens and their parents speak out after Lurie Children’s paused surgeries.

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Mosqueda. Reporting today contributed by Kaitlyn Devitt, Arjun Thakkar, Jim Meadows, Mae Antar and Kristen Schorsch.

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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.