CHICAGO — The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of our lives, including our ability to afford food. Rates of food insecurity skyrocketed during the pandemic due to high unemployment numbers and the economic recession. Now, though, with vaccines more widespread and the economy beginning to get back on track, those rates are on…
CHAMPAIGN — Eight years ago, Terry Maher, a professional bassoonist living in Champaign, was unexpectedly charged a hospital “facility fee” for allergy shots that she had received from her local doctors’ group, Carle Health, every three weeks for years. “I freaked out,” Maher recalled. “I had to pay co-payments on these things and they said…
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign community leaders called for an end to gun violence Friday, a day when three more people were injured by gunfire in the city. “The gun violence has to stop,” said Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen at a city hall news conference, where she was joined by Police Chief Anthony Cobb and two other…
CHAMPAIGN — Illini Rowing crew members are used to 4 a.m. alarms, daily practices, extra workouts and weekend races. At first, the team was not sure if they would have a season due to COVID-19, but after gaining clearance from the University, they have been able to continue rowing. Listen to this story here. Six…
Friday May 14, 2021 Today’s headlines: Gov. JB Pritzker’s office is shielding itself from blame in the massive COVID outbreak at a state-run veterans’ home that killed 36 residents last fall. Six Flags Great America is offering 50,000 free tickets for newly vaccinated Illinoisans in an effort to rev up the state’s stalled COVID vaccination…
SAVOY – The University of Illinois’ new solar farm outside of Savoy is entering its final phase of construction. But the facility has already been producing electricity for more than three months. Solar Farm 2.0, located along Curtis Road between First Street and the Canadian National tracks, became operations on January 29. It covers 54…
CHAMPAIGN — For years, “traditional college students” have been considered 18- to 21-year-old recent high school graduates whose main responsibility is homework. But that narrative has been changing. Listen to this story here. More than one in five college students are student parents, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). Nationally, student parents make up 26% of the…
Thursday May 13, 2021 Today’s headlines: One of Illinois’ most influential business associations says the state is facing a severe labor shortage because of enhanced unemployment benefits. Gov. JB Pritzker disagrees. As the state introduces a new tourism campaign, advocacy groups say tourism recovery will help Illinois stay competitive in the national and global economies….
Wednesday May 12, 2021 Today’s headlines: The head of an investigation into a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans’ Home says confusion over pandemic protocols within the facility likely made the crisis worse. Local health departments are gearing up for the extension of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to people as young as twelve. Gov….
URBANA – Gov. JB Pritzker used local road projects in Champaign County as his backdrop Tuesday to announce the latest round of Rebuild Illinois grants. The governor’s actual backdrop was a lineup of heavy equipment at the Champaign County Highway Department building in Urbana. Standing in front of them, Pritzker listed the accomplishments of Rebuild…
Tuesday May 11, 2021 Today’s headlines: With Illinois heading toward a full economic reopening next month, the state’s Department of Public Health is launching a program to vaccinate workers in office buildings around the state. An Illinois Congressman says it’s vital for the United States to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic as it continues to…
DANVILLE – The house on South Buchanan Street had been a familiar site in Danville’s Rabbittown neighborhood for decades. But in recent years, it had been empty, its windows boarded up. Early one morning in April, a city employee operating a Caterpillar excavator knocked it down in a matter of minutes, while a second employee…
SAVOY — Officials at the University of Illinois’ Willard Airport in Savoy held a ceremony Friday to mark the update of an aging runway. The federal government is contributing more than $11 million to the $12.4 million project. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois says the project is important because of the reach of Willard…
Friday, May 7, 2021 https://will.illinois.edu/nfs/217Today5-10-21.mp3 Today’s headlines: Illinois lawmakers are debating whether to permanently allow temporary nursing assistants to take on the duties of a certified nursing assistant in long-term care facilities. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says he hopes negotiations with Republicans on President Biden’s $3 trillion infrastructure bill will produce results “soon.” Champaign County health…
Listen to members of the AAPI community in Champaign-Urbana in their own words URBANA — Aaron Chun, a Korean-American college and career counselor at Centennial High School in Champaign, was walking around the University of Illinois campus at the start of the pandemic last year when a group of men drove up near him. They…