Tuesday, June 22, 2021 Today’s headlines: The University of Illinois plans a return to mostly normal class schedules in the fall, but vaccinations for COVID-19 will be a requirement for students. One of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s top advisors is leaving his administration. Former Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes has served as Deputy Governor for Budget and…
Monday, June 21, 2021 Today’s headlines: Six months after a state lawmaker went through prostate cancer treatment largely in private, he’s going public to encourage men to get checked. The Illinois General Assembly this spring approved a measure to allow people convicted of engaging in sex work to expunge their criminal records. Following state and…
CHAMPAIGN — Following state and national trends, Champaign County is seeing an uptick in drug overdose deaths and homicides. Over the past five years, the number of people who’ve died from a drug overdose — in both Champaign County and the state of Illinois — has roughly doubled. Last year, 52 Champaign County residents died…
URBANA — The Boneyard Arts Festival came back for an in-person showcase of local artists’ work at more than 50 venues in Champaign-Urbana and the surrounding area this weekend. Before the pandemic, art exhibitions would be displayed in over 100 venues around the county in April, but after a virtual showcase in 2020, organizers decided…
The average age of farmworkers born outside the U.S. steadily increased from 2008 to 2019, while the average age of U.S.-born workers has stayed about the same over the same period. Foreign-born farmworkers are on average 5 years older than their U.S.-born counterparts. An analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Research Service attributes the…
URBANA — Clothing has the power to determine the ways people view others and the way they view themselves. Many people use clothes as a form of self-expression and as a way to show how they want to be perceived by others. For the LGBTQ+ community, access to gender-affirming is crucial says Uniting Pride of…
Below are posts as the Illinois Newsroom followed the developing weather situation early Saturday morning. Updated Saturday at 4:24 a.m. After heavy rain and winds passed through Central Illinois early Saturday morning, but the National Weather Service says more severe storms are in the forecast for the weekend. The main severe weather concerns will be…
URBANA — When people think cannabis, they often think marijuana. But the cannabis plant takes many different forms, from medicinal cannabidiol (CBD) to industrial hemp. A new class at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign aims to break down all the different uses of the crop and provide a foundation for students interested in entering the…
Friday, June 18, 2021 Today’s headlines: State government offices, including driver services facilities, will be closed today to observe Juneteenth, which President Joe Biden signed off on making a federal holiday yesterday. More students will be prepped to enter the cannabis industry thanks to a new class offered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign….
URBANA – The National Weather Service in Lincoln has issued a Heat Advisory tomorrow from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for central and southern Illinois. Heat indices are expected to peak at 104 degrees tomorrow in Champaign. According to the National Weather Service, The heat index, also known as the apparent temperature, is what the temperature…
Thursday, June 17, 2021 Today’s headlines: The Illinois House Wednesday approved sweeping gun legislation expanding mandated background checks to person-to-person gun sales. Illinois’ budget beginning July 1 will include automatic cost of living adjustments for state lawmakers, and a class-action lawsuit filed by a former Republican House member could open the door to the state having to…
CHAMPAIGN – Organizers throughout Champaign County say Juneteenth is about history, but also about bringing attention to systemic issues that the African American community still faces. Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, is also now an official state holiday, after Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation on Wednesday. Rantoul resident Debbra Sweat was having coffee with…
Editor’s Note: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated the percentage of Black and Hispanic residents in Champaign County who are fully vaccinated. The correct values are now reported below. CHAMPAIGN- When Dr. Wanda Ward, a University of Illinois employee with SHIELD CU, first heard that COVID-19 vaccines were being rolled out, she says…
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 Today’s headlines: Lawmakers headed back to Springfield for a couple of days in order to take a vote on massive legislation that would get Illinois on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2050. But a deal on major energy and climate legislation in Springfield appears to have fallen apart — at…
Updated June 11, 2021 at 11:30 PM ET In 2019, the Rockville Centre school district in Long Island, N.Y., was shaken by a string of student deaths, including the suicides of a recent graduate and a current student. “When you get these losses, one after the other, you almost can’t get traction on normalcy,” says…