States Look To University Labs To Help Increase COVID-19 Testing Capacity
As states move toward reopening their economies, officials are emphasizing the need to expand their capacity to test for COVID-19. But many say their…
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Illinois Provides Grants To Homeless Service Providers, Agencies Say More Is Still Needed
Thirty homelessness prevention organizations across Illinois will receive grants totaling a collective $340,000. The money will be distributed by affordable housing advocacy organization Housing Action Illinois, and most of it comes from donations to the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund. Of the total money granted, $50,000 comes from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which received…
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News Around Illinois – May 5, 2020
Gov. Pritzker Warns Illinois Cities That Re-Open Could Put Communities At Risk CHICAGO – Illinois reported 2,341 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the state total to 63,840. 46 additional deaths in the last day brings the total state fatalities to 2,662. Gov. J.B. Pritzker also responded to news that the mayor of East Peoria says…
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Covid-19 Outbreak Hits Rantoul Meat Processing Plant
This story has been updated on Tuesday May 5 at 12:00 p.m. to reflect updated case numbers. One of the largest meat processing plants in central Illinois is battling an outbreak of coronavirus in which 21 cases of Covid-19 have been already been counted, a company official confirmed Monday. By late afternoon, that number stood…
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COVID-19 Leaves Blind Students Even Further Behind
Amber McKeag says her son Darrin received little braille instruction before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Illinois. Now, she says, he doesn’t receive any. McKeag and her family live in a rural part of Mercer County, on the Iowa-Illinois border. Her son, Darrin, who is about to turn 10, suffers from Bardet-Biedl syndrome. As a result,…
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News Around Illinois – May 4, 2020
Illinois Reaches Record High For COVID-19 Tests Performed in 24 Hours CHICAGO – In his daily briefing Sunday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a new record high for COVID-19 tests performed in Illinois in a single day: 19,417. The state is reporting 2,994 new cases, bringing the state total to 61,499. An additional 63 deaths were…
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Most Illinois County Jail Facilities Lacked Isolation Cells For Disease, Documents Show
As the coronavirus outbreak hit Illinois, many county jails lacked a standard cell needed to isolate infected inmates who had a respiratory illness, according to a review by CU-CitizenAccess and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting of annual jail inspections. The inspections, conducted in 2018 and 2019 by a division of the Illinois Department of…
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Flash Index Shows Contraction Of Illinois Economy
The latest readings of the Flash Index show the Illinois economy quickly shifting from growth to contraction during the coronavirus pandemic. The Flash Index has been above 100 for the past eight years, indicating economic growth in Illinois during that period. But University of Illinois economist Fred Giertz says that all changed as coronavirus stay-at-home…
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Illinois Environmental Group Joins Lawsuit Against Trump Administration’s Water Pollution Rollbacks
An Illinois environmental group is joining a coalition in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s rollback of certain water pollution regulations. The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule would loosen protections put in place by the Clean Water Act—threatening water quality in wetlands and ephemeral streams. Champaign-based environmental group Prairie…
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C-U Outdoor Farmers Markets Will Open, But With Changes
This weekend marks the opening of Market at the Square, Urbana’s outdoor farmers market held in the Lincoln Square Mall parking lot. Although it will open as scheduled, there will be social distancing measures in place to protect shoppers and vendors. For one, all shoppers are required to wear masks upon entry and are required…
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U Of I Professor Makes Case For ‘The College Experience’
Editor’s note: At the request of Nikki Usher, we changed the pronouns in this article that pertain to Usher from ‘she’ to ‘they.’ We also changed the photograph at their request. – Reginald Hardwick, News Director, March 26, 2024 College students across the country have tried to adapt to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic,…
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News Around Illinois – May 1, 2020
Modified Stay-At-Home Order Will Take Effect May 1 CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported 2,563 new cases of COVID-19 in the state Thursday. That brings the total to 52,918 cases throughout 97 counties in Illinois. An additional 141 deaths were reported, bringing the total fatalities to 2,355. On Thursday, Gov. J.B….
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Champaign County Planning To Offer COVID-19 Testing To All Nursing Home Residents
URBANA – All nursing home employees can now get tested for COVID-19, even if they’re not showing symptoms, thanks to the state loosening testing criteria last week to allow all health care and front line workers to qualify. But Champaign-Urbana Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde says she would like to further expand testing to include…
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Slowed COVID-19 Spread Leaves 1,000s Of Makeshift Beds Empty
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois has spent tens of millions of dollars building makeshift field hospitals to prepare for an anticipated flood of coronavirus cases. But Gov. J.B. Pritzker contends that prevention strategies such as a statewide stay-at-home order have worked so well that the plan for a small city of beds at McCormick Place in Chicago…
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News Around Illinois – April 30, 2020
Illinois COVD-19 Cases Surpass 50,000 CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced a milestone of surpassing 50,000 COVID-19 cases in the state Wednesday, with a total of 50,355. There were an additional 2,253 cases reported in the last 24 hours. 92 new deaths in the last day brings the total fatalities to…
