Friday October 16, 2020 Today’s headlines: The confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett wrapped up yesterday in the US Senate. We hear from an Illinois Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. A team at Washington University in St. Louis is testing whether lab-made antibodies could be used as a treatment for COVID-19. The C-U…
MAHOMET — The Champaign County ballot includes another tax referendum this November. If voters approve, it will mean more money for the county’s system of forest preserves, just as they are experiencing an increase in visitors. Lake of the Woods is one of those forest preserves. Located on the Sangamon River, the site includes almost…
MONTICELLO — Students and employees of school districts in Piatt County now have access to free, rapid COVID-19 testing through Kirby Medical Center — a rural hospital based in Monticello. Monticello school officials hope access to rapid COVID-19 testing will decrease the number of student and teacher absences in the district. Illinois Department of Public…
Last year, 233 criminal incidents occurred on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus according to the 2019 annual security and fire report, mandated by the federal crime reporting law for colleges known as the Clery Act. But the university’s daily crime log routinely reports many more incidents. For example, there were 764 incidents reported in just…
On the outskirts of Rantoul, in east-central Illinois, about 100 migrant farmworkers are living at an old hotel in a sleepy part of town. Every day at…
CHAMPAIGN – Texas-based company Vistra Energy announced it would close its remaining coal-fired power plants in Illinois within the next decade, taking a step toward clean energy. The plants scheduled to be shut down include Joppa Steam, Kincaid, Baldwin and Newton. The latest closures follow previous coal plant shutdowns in Illinois in recent years—including in…
URBANA — Previously confidential statewide data tracking coronavirus cases across Illinois shows that there have been at least 50 different outbreaks in Champaign County traced to restaurants, stores, churches, nursing homes, hospitals and in a county office. The internal database kept by the Illinois Department of Public Health has tracked case counts for nearly 2,600…
Apple Podcasts Spotify Podcasts Google Podcasts RSS Link Friday, October 9, 2020 Today’s headlines: Governor JB Pritzker is warning of painful budget cuts if the graduated income tax plan fails at the polls next month. In August, a tornado ripped through the Walnut Grove Vocational Farm in Kirkland. We get an update on how the farm is…
CARBONDALE — Drop, Cover and Hold On. Those are the directions for everyone taking part in the annual Great Shakeout Earthquake Drill next Thursday. Harvey Henson is a professor of geology and seismology at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, in a part of the state where three seismic zones overlap — the New Madrid, Wabash…
Vice President Pence and Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris are debating in Salt Lake City. Their only face-off of the 2020 campaign comes with a wave of uncertainty with President Trump undergoing treatment for COVID-19. Follow live updates and fact-checks on the debate. Loading…
CHAMPAIGN – A Navy Sailor from Champaign who died in the USS Cole attack will be remembered in a ceremony next week. Back in 1999, terrorists bombed the ship as it was being refueled in Yemen’s Aden Harbor. Seventeen sailors died, including Engineman Second Class Marc Ian Nieto of Champaign. The ceremony will take place Naval…
URBANA – Most Urbana District 116 students will continue to learn remotely — at least until January when the third quarter of the school year is scheduled to begin. The district initially recommended elementary school students move toward a hybrid schedule, which included in-person instruction in the morning hours four days per week, and remote…
URBANA – Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis and Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan debated for the first time this election cycle on Monday night in Champaign. The candidates spent much of the hour-long debate arguing about healthcare, and other issues, including political donations, the ComEd and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan scandal, the Paycheck Protection…
CHAMPAIGN — Republican Congressman Rodney Davis and his Democratic challenger, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, talked about healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic, racial justice and a lot more, in a one-hour debate broadcast live Monday night at 7 p.m., on WILL Radio and TV, and WCIA’s X -49 channel. The debate can be viewed at illinois newsroom.org and…
At 7 pm on Monday October 5th, the 13th congressional district Democratic challenger Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and Republican incumbent Rodney Davis are joining Illinois Public Meida and WCIA for a live, in-person debate. Londrigan nearly defeated Davis two years ago in a close race. This year, the race is looking even closer. The two will…