217 Today: Tuesday, June 22, 2021

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Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Today’s headlines:

  • The University of Illinois plans a return to mostly normal class schedules in the fall, but vaccinations for COVID-19 will be a requirement for students.

  • One of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s top advisors is leaving his administration. Former Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes has served as Deputy Governor for Budget and Economy for 2 1/2 years.

  • In Rockton, concerned residents packed a local banquet hall Monday night to discuss the ongoing chemical fire at the Chemtool facility.

  • Champaign County officials reported just two new cases of COVID-19 Monday, and the current number of active cases fell again to 56, including six county residents in the hospital with the virus.

In today’s deep dive, we hear from a resident of Rockton, Illinois a week after an explosion and fire at a chemical plant displaced residents of the small Northern Illinois town.

Reporting today contributed by Jim Meadows, Sean Crawford, Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco and The 21st Show.

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Carolina Garibay

Carolina Garibay is a senior journalism student at the University of Illinois. She’s a senior producer for the Illinois Student Newsroom and regularly covers arts and culture, education, and social justice issues affecting local communities. Along with her work for WILL, she was also the buzz Editor at The Daily Illini and hosts an arts and culture radio talkshow on WPGU 107.1 F.M.