Wednesday June 2, 2021 Today’s headlines After weeks of negotiating with nuclear giant Exelon, there’s a tentative deal for state subsidies to keep power generators online, but another issue threatened to blow up bargaining over the holiday weekend. As of this morning, there’s a new place for medical helicopters to land in Champaign County. It will…
SPRINGFIELD – As racial disparities in maternal and child health outcomes persist in the U.S., a new statewide initiative aims to promote equity in maternal health and improve outcomes for all women and children. The latest report from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) found that about 75 women in Illinois die from pregnancy-related…
Tuesday June 1, 2021 Today’s headlines: Six months ago, Illinois voters rejected Governor Pritzker’s signature graduated income tax plan. Since then, the governor has been warning of difficult budget choices, but that didn’t end up happening. Birthing hospitals in Illinois are invited to participate in a new effort to improve outcomes for moms and babies. Katie…
URBANA – The Champaign County Board voted along party lines Friday evening to override the county executive’s veto of a new district map drawn by Democrats. On a 14-7 vote (with Republican Jodi Wolken absent), the county board overrode County Executive Darlene Kloeppel’s veto of a map Democrats have labeled the Equity Map. Republicans had…
Friday May 28, 2021 Today’s headlines: A State Police investigation continues into the fatal shootings of Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim and a suspect, Darion Lafayette. State police have released security and bodycam video of last week’s pre-dawn shooting, and a state’s attorney’s report says a second officer’s shooting of Lafayette was justified. Democratic U.S….
Editor’s Note: Illinois State Police released videos of the deadly May 19 shootings in Champaign. You can find a synced video of area surveillance cameras and police body cams here. The video is graphic. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. CHAMPAIGN – On the day after Champaign Officer Chris Oberheim’s funeral, Illinois State Police released surveillance…
CHAMPAIGN – After lying dormant for 17 years, billions of Cicadas – big insects with big wings are awakening in far eastern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and other states. Illinois Newsroom’s Reginald Hardwick talked with Katie Dana, the scientific specialist in entomology at the Illinois Natural Science Survey. She says this year’s insect invasion is just a…
Thursday May 27, 2021 Today’s headlines: An estimated 2,000 friends, family, and police officers filled a church in Decatur Wednesday for the funeral of Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim who was killed last week while answering a domestic disturbance call. While the funeral was private, the public was encouraged to come out and view the procession that…
DECATUR – An estimated 2,000 friends, family and police officers filled a church in Decatur Wednesday for the funeral of Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim. He was killed last week while answering a domestic disturbance call. The funeral was closed to the public and the news media. But the public was encouraged to come out…
Wednesday May 26, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinois’ constitution mandates the legislature re-draw their own district boundaries every decade, the year after a Census, but the state’s judicial districts haven’t been touched since the early 1960s. The Illinois Senate Tuesday voted to repeal a 1989 law criminalizing the transmission of HIV. It’s been one year since…
When a woman dies during pregnancy or within a year of childbirth in Illinois, that’s considered a maternal death. Karen Tabb Dina reviews cases like this in the state of Illinois. She’s a maternal health researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who serves on a state-level committee that’s trying to figure out what’s…
CHAMPAIGN – A police officer killed in the line of duty will be laid to rest on Wednesday according to the Champaign Police Department. Officer Chris Oberheim was shot on May 19 during an apartment complex shootout. A second officer, Jeffrey Creel, was wounded by the alleged suspect as the officers responded to a report…
Tuesday May 25, 2021 Today’s headlines: Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim, who was killed last week, will be laid to rest Wednesday. Illinois higher education institutions are getting emergency relief funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. April home sales were up sharply from a year ago in Illinois, while rising more modestly in…
CHAMPAIGN – April home sales were up sharply from a year ago in Illinois, while rising more modestly in Champaign County. The Champaign County Association of Realtors reports 272 homes were sold in the Champaign County area in April, a 3.42% increase over the 263 homes sold in April, 2020. But statewide, home sales increased…
Monday May 21, 2021 Today’s headlines: The fight over how to draw Illinois’ legislative districts for the next ten years is set to reach a fever pitch in Springfield this week. Democrats who control the remap process published their proposed maps Friday night. Fewer rural people are vaccinated than their urban counterparts. That’s according to…