Wednesday, August 11, 2021 Today’s headlines: A Northwestern University expert is working with Illinois teachers to make them clear on core aspects of media literacy. That’s ahead of a new law that takes effect next year. Students and teachers in Illinois are heading back to the classroom beginning this week. A top teachers union has…
Tuesday, August 10, 2021 Today’s headlines: The amount of money Illinois owes for paying state retirees their pensions has ballooned to $144 billion, according to new, official calculations from state pension analysts. Across Illinois this week, schools are kicking off practices for fall sports. The IHSA is recommending member school follow IDPH guidance for masking…
URBANA – Since March 2020, when regular classroom teaching was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have been juggling transitions between remote, hybrid, and in-person learning; changing class schedules; students with a wide variety of technical needs; and their own mental and physical health. Some Champaign-Urbana teachers say trying to help their students through…
Monday, August 9, 2021 Today’s headlines: After canceling the Illinois State Fair last year due to the pandemic, organizers are set to open the 10-day event next week. But the specter of COVID-19 will be present throughout the fairgrounds in Springfield. Carle Health is now requiring unvaccinated employees to wear an N-95 mask, along with…
RANTOUL — An autonomous test track may soon be on its way to the village of Rantoul and the decommissioned Chanute Air Force Base. An intergovernmental agreement, which establishes the lease and purchase of the land, is expected to be reached on Tuesday between the village of Rantoul and the University of Illinois Board of…
Friday, August 6, 2021 Today’s headlines: Educators are reacting to the state’s mask mandate for schools. New bills signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker today will help provide feminine hygiene products to poor women as well as order public colleges and universities to offer the items in campus restrooms in Illinois. Illini football and…
MOUNT PULASKI – Think about your favorite produce stand at the local farmers market, how fresh and delicious those fruits and vegetables taste. Now imagine if that produce was available at, say, your kids’ school or the local grocery store or hospital. A new farmer-led cooperative is hoping to make that a reality by building…
URBANA – University of Illinois football and basketball fans will hear a new fight song joining the traditional music during the upcoming season. The Illini will be marching to a hip-hop beat. The “Illini Anthem” is a song composed by Lamont Holden, University of Illinois instructor of music production, who is also a music producer,…
Thursday, August 5, 2021 Today’s headlines: Masks will be required in all Illinois schools and childcare facilities effective immediately. Gov. JB Pritzker made that announcement Wednesday. Illinois Republicans running for governor were quick to condemn the governor’s masking order. School districts that were planning to allow some people to go without masks inside their buildings…
Wednesday, August 4, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly says he’s hopeful a new law will help slow illegal gun transfers, as universal background checks will be required for all private gun sales. Local health officials are encouraging people who’d previously decided against getting the coronavirus vaccine to reconsider. Bald eagle populations…
Tuesday, August 3, 2021 Today’s headlines: Governor JB Pritzker has signed a new law aimed at actually removing guns from Illinoisans with revoked gun licenses. The new school year approaches, just as the COVID-19 Delta variant is surging. That has led schools to rethink mask-optional policies in place from earlier this summer. The University of…
URBANA – The University of Illinois Flash Index reading of 105.8 in July showed the Illinois economy growing at a slightly slower pace, compared to June’s reading of 106.0. But the economist who compiles the index doesn’t think the state’s economic growth rate is going down. “I think it’s more like, not a real decline,…
Monday, August 2, 2021 Today’s headlines: Senator Dick Durbin hopes to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The number of coronavirus cases is rising once again in much of central and southern Illinois. Local health officials say most cases are occurring among unvaccinated people, following a national…
URBANA – Arraignment is scheduled on Monday for a man accused of killing a teenager. On Friday morning, bicyclists found a body laying in a ditch along East Washington Street in Urbana. The Champaign County Coroner’s office identified the victim as 14-year-old Steven Butler III. His family reported him missing the night before. An autopsy…
URBANA – With COVID-19 cases once again surging — and with the new CDC guidance for mask-wearing announced days ago — how might life change for people in east-central Illinois? The guidance once again calls for universal mask-wearing in indoor public spaces in areas where COVID is surging — defined as having “substantial or high…