Monday, Sept. 20, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinoisans who use smart devices like Amazon’s Alexa are subject to new data protections under a law signed last month. More than 50 artists and local businesses gathered over the weekend for the Champaign-Urbana Black and African Arts Festival. In today’s deep dive, the University YMCA’s New American Welcome…
CHAMPAIGN – Immigrants make up about 12% of Champaign County’s total population and have contributed to the county’s economic growth in recent years, contributing tens of millions of dollars in state and local taxes and injecting hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy. At the same time, the rapid rise in the immigrant…
URBANA – With a total of 8,303 students enrolled this fall, the freshmen class of 2025 is the largest ever at the University of Illinois Urbana campus. Yet, a recent university report shows a decrease in minority students enrollment. Director of Undergraduate Admissions Andy Borst said there was an increase this fall of students coming…
Friday, Sept. 17, 2021 Today’s headlines: County clerks in Illinois will likely lose somewhere between $5-15 million in bond processing fees whn the state goes to a no-cash bond system in 2023. A massive coal plant in the Metro East will be affected by the new clean energy law. The University YMCA in Champaign will…
Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021 Today’s headlines: Gov. JB Pritzker has signed a massive energy and climate plan to put Illinois on a path to 100 percent clean energy by 2050. Childcare providers and families will soon be eligible for more state aid as the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on. Wednesday was the deadline for University of…
MAHOMET — The Champaign County Forest Preserve District has chosen a new executive director. Lorrie Pearson will begin her new role on September 27th. She comes to the forest preserve district from the City of Urbana, where she most recently served as community development services director. Listen to the full interview here. Pearson replaces Mary…
Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021 Today’s headines: Southern Illinois reached a new record on Tuesday, with zero available ICU beds in Region 5. Gov. JB Pritzker is lobbying for a federal law protecting abortion access after a Texas law banning abortions after six weeks went into effect this month. While the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign welcomed…
CHAMPAIGN – One of two local newspapers in central Illinois’ Ford County will close down this fall. The publisher of the Ford County Record says the weekly paper will cease publication “within the next month or so.” The Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette bought the century-and-a-half-old Paxton Record in 2007, eventually renaming it the Ford County Record. When…
Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 Today’s headlines: The Illinois Senate passed major energy and climate legislation Monday. It now goes to the governor, who says he will sign it. Illinois recently became the first state to require high schools to offer media literacy courses. An Illinois State University professor says President Biden’s vaccine mandate is in…
Some Midwestern farmers are involved in a research project to help determine how good some practices are for the environment, and it may help them take advantage of new attempts to establish a carbon credit trade market. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/kcur2/audio/2021/09/CARBON-FEATURE-WEB.mp3 The project run by Missouri Corn Growers Association and Missouri Soybean Association is looking at quantifying the…
DANVILLE – The VA hospital in Danville, Ill., has begun accepting non-Veteran patients who need inpatient care. The goal is to relieve some of the strain on other hospitals in the state — in particular, those in southern Illinois that have been stretched thin for weeks due to the latest COVID surge. Dr. Staci Williams,…
Monday, Sept. 13, 2021 Today’s headlines: The Illinois Senate returns to Springfield Monday in hopes of wrapping up a last-minute energy deal. People across Central Illinois spent part of the weekend remembering the Sept. 11 attacks 20 years ago. The Run to Remember brought hundreds of runners and walkers to the streets of Champaign-Urbana over…
CHAMPAIGN – Hundreds of runners and walkers turned out for the inaugural Run To Remember on Saturday morning in Champaign-Urbana. The 8K run and walk started off in front of the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium, 20-years after the September 11, 2001 attacks. And while it was not specifically created for that day, the race…
CHAMPAIGN – Hundreds of people joined Champaign Fire Chief Gary Ludwig and many other leaders from Champaign-Urbana in honoring the September 11, 2001 attack victims. The ceremony took part 20 years to the day after the attacks. Hijackers crashed jetliners into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. As…
CHAMPAIGN – Saturday, September 11, 2021 marks 20 years since one of America’s most tragic days. The Champaign Fire Department will hold a 9/11 Memorial Ceremony, Saturday at 8:46 a.m. on the northeast corner of West Side Park in Champaign. Illinois Newsroom’s Reginald Hardwick talked with Champaign fire chief Gary Ludwig about that terrible day, how…