Thursday, August 26, 2021 Today’s headlines: Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to reestablish a statewide mask mandate and announce vaccine mandates for school staff. The head of the Illinois State Police says they’ve made substantial progress in catching up with a backlog of unprocessed DNA evidence. An Illinois state senator discusses the impact of pending…
The Illinois State Police say they’re working to improve diversity at the agency and expand capacity, but this comes after years of criticism over a huge backlog in DNA evidence and the slow processing of firearm licenses. The 21st was joined by Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly to talk about it. GUEST Brendan Kelly Director, Illinois State Police Today, Illinois…
Wednesday, August 25, 2021 Today’s headlines: A longtime fixture in state and national Democratic politics is mounting a challenge to Congressman Rodney Davis in Illinois’ 13th District. Gov. JB Pritzker says he won’t hesitate to implement COVID mitigations again if warranted, but he has declined to say what they might be. An Illinois Congressman who…
URBANA – A revised use of force policy for Urbana Police covers 14 pages, instead of the eight pages covered by the old one. And it puts a new emphasis on de-escalating potentially violent situations. Urbana City Council members heard a presentation on the new policy at their Monday night meeting on August 23….
URBANA – Extensive changes are on the horizon for two University of Illinois Urbana Champaign buildings built more than a century ago. The Rebuild Illinois state fund will help pay for the $192 million replacement of Illini Hall and renovation of Altgeld Hall. The 114-year old Illini Hall will be replaced by a brand new…
URBANA – In some parts of Illinois, the percentage of available intensive care beds has dropped below 20% as the number of COVID hospitalizations has risen over the past month. State data shows the southernmost region of Illinois has only 5% of ICU capacity available. A region in the northwest part of Illinois has about…
Tuesday, August 24, 2021 Today’s headlines: A new use-of-force policy for Urbana Police places an emphasis on deescalating potentially violent situations. Extensive changes are on the horizon for two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign buildings built more than a century ago. More than a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, childcare providers say they’ve…
URBANA – A car crash involving five vehicles on Sunday claimed the life of a lieutenant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Police Department. On Monday, the university confirmed in a press release that Lt. Aaron Landers died from injuries sustained in the crash at Carle Foundation Hospital early Monday. Landers had been on the…
Monday, August 23, 2021 Today’s headlines: The percentage of available intensive care beds has dropped below 20% in Illinois, as the number of COVID hospitalizations continues to rise. A pediatric hospitalist at the Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria says a recent spike in childhood respiratory illnesses has her worried. A shooting in Champaign’s Campustown…
Post updated August 22 at 4:45 p.m. CHAMPAIGN – Police in Champaign are looking for the person who shot a 20-year-old man along busy Green Street late Saturday night. In a press release, Champaign police say they responded to shots fired in the 100 block of East Green Street just before 11:30 p.m. Officers arrived…
Friday, August 20, 2021 Today’s headlines: With a difficult governor’s race next year, Illinois GOP leaders face an uphill battle to unite the party behind one message. Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis says he believes Americans would support maintaining a footprint of a few thousand soldiers in Afghanistan indefinitely to help keep the peace. As Gibson…
GIBSON CITY – As Gibson City cleans up from last week’s flash flood, a special fund has been set up to help people pay for the damage. Businesses, churches and private individuals have set up about two dozen GoFundMe pages seeking donations for people who suffered flood damage during the heavy rains that fell for…
Thursday, August 19, 2021 Today’s headlines: Leaders in charge of the Democratic Party of Illinois are preaching party unity even as former House Speaker Mike Madigan’s absence has left fractures. The University of Illinois has hired its first Associate Vice Chancellor for Native Affairs on the Urbana-Champaign campus. University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen…
URBANA – Urbana’s emergency housing program is about to move from rented hotel rooms to its own apartment buildings. The program gives shelter to homeless families and people with disabilities for just a few weeks, while helping them arrange for more permanent shelter. Cunningham Township, which covers the same territory as Urbana, launched the program…
Wednesday, August 18, 2021 Today’s headlines: At the Illinois State Fairgrounds Wednesday, Democrats will promote party unity at their annual rally day. But just outside, environmental activists will spotlight an issue that’s divided Democrats all summer. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) says the country’s focus in Afghanistan right now should be on evacuations, including America’s…