Wednesday, April 27, 2022 Today’s headlines: A prisoner advocacy group is demanding answers from the Illinois Department of Corrections after legionella bacteria was found in five facilities’ water supplies in March – but the state reported only two of them. The president of the University of Illinois system is working from home after testing positive…
URBANA – The president of the University of Illinois system is working from home after testing positive for COVID-19. In a statement to the university, Tim Killeen says he tested positive for the virus on Saturday. He says his symptoms are ‘relatively’ mild. The 70-year-old says he is fully vaccinated and has had two booster shots….
AURORA — After hearing about the number of veterans who die by suicide, one northern Illinois man decided to do something about it. A total of 167 Illinois veterans took their lives in 2019, according to Illinois Department of Public Affairs. The average number of Illinois veteran suicides from 2015 through 2018 is 159. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s528/audio/2022/04/0421vetf.mp3…
Tuesday, April 26, 2022 Today’s headlines: Five Republicans running for Illinois governor shared a stage downstate last night with one empty chair. A federal jury has convicted an Illinois correctional officer of beating an elderly prisoner to death. Travelers are no longer required to wear masks in airports or train stations in Illinois. A program…
Monday, April 25, 2022 Today’s headlines: The National Science Foundation has given two groups of University of Illinois researchers awards totaling more than $40 million. The Autism Program at the University of Illinois continues to provide an online summer camp for prospective students with autism. Champaign-Urbana residents cheered as artist Langston Allston cut a ceremonial…
Looking for ways to fund lobbying and legal efforts to preserve their way of business, pork producers are turning down guaranteed money that could go to advertising and marketing. Pork producers are feeling threatened by attempts to change the way they raise pigs. So much so that they made the surprising move of reducing the…
CHAMPAIGN – A line of storms crossed Illinois on Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service in Central Illinois placed the area, including Champaign-Urbana, under a Thunderstorm Watch until 7:00 p.m. Forecasters say winds with gusts as high as 70 miles per hour, ping pong size hail and a few tornadoes are possible. Updated at 2:20…
URBANA – The Autism Program at the University of Illinois continues to provide an online summer camp for prospective students on the autism spectrum. The I-Ready Summer Camp is a weeklong online experience that encourages and promotes college readiness for students on the autism spectrum. This is the second year that high school students can…
Before closing out its truncated spring legislative session earlier this month, the General Assembly approved language that will be put to voters in November, asking whether Illinois should amend its constitution to add a so-called “Workers’ Rights Amendment” to guarantee the right to collectively bargain in a state with a long tradition of strong organized…
It’s never been a better time to sell manure. “We have been inundated with calls,” said Andy Scholting, president and co-founder of Nutrient Advisors, a Nebraskan manure broker. “We’ve certainly never seen so much demand for manure fertilizer.” Farmers are blowing up the office’s phones, hoping to find an alternative to expensive synthetic fertilizers. Prices…
DEKALB — Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker just signed a nearly $47 billion budget into law. That includes substantial increases to the need-based student Monetary Award Program — or MAP Grants. WNIJ’s Peter Medlin talked with Partnership for College Completion policy manager Mike Abrahamson about what it means for Illinois college students. Peter Medlin, WNIJ education…
Protestors gathered at Parkland College April 21 to demand the firing of a former Champaign police chief from his teaching position. Former police chief R.T. Finney has been teaching classes about community policing since the fall of last year. Finney was involved in a shooting that led to the 2009 killing by a different officer…
Friday, April 22, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinois has received its second bond rating upgrade in a year. Illinois is uniquely positioned to help mitigate the effects of climate change with carbon sequestration. A University of Illinois graduate is describing what it’s like to cover Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. About 40 protesters held a rally Thursday…
Rivian is turning to someone outside the automotive industry to become its first chief sustainability officer. Anisa Kamadoli Costa officially joined Rivian on Monday. She will be responsible for the electric automaker’s sustainability roadmap for both the business and its products. Costa spent nearly two decades at Tiffany & Co., where she aligned the company’s…
Applications are now open for an annual Illinois poetry contest. Henry Haupt, a spokesperson for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, said those who submit their work to the 18th annual Illinois Emerging Writers Competition Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award should let their true essence shine through. “That comes across, particularly in poetry,” he said. “If…