Illinois Families, Kids With Disabilities Suffer Without Childcare
Michelle McAnarney said she realized her daughter Darby was different than other children soon after she was born. “She was always a little delayed…
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Women’s Suffrage Memorabilia Grows In Popularity – And Price
Just before noon on a recent Saturday, a group of political memorabilia collectors jostled for a spot around an exhibit table, checking their final bids…
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Why Is ICE Arresting Undocumented Immigrants In A Sanctuary City
The answer lies within the Russian nesting doll structure of our government and law enforcement jurisdictions. The City of Urbana sits within Champaign County which sits within the State of Illinois which sits within the United States of America. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal agency that enforces federal immigration laws, and its…
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As Shootings Rise, Local Leaders Grapple With Gun Violence
In a community with as many resources as Champaign-Urbana, why does gun violence persist? That’s the question Donte’ Lotts, a community liaison for CU Fresh Start — an initiative created in 2015 to mitigate gun violence — asked a group of about 50 Champaign-Urbana residents, social service providers, university employees and other community leaders on…
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What Will It Take To Fix Illinois’s Teacher Shortage?
There were more than 2,000 teaching, administrative, support staff and other positions across the state that went unfilled during the 2016-17 school year, according to a report from the Illinois State Board of Education.
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Community Works Towards Solutions For Traumatized Students
How many people would come to discuss the topic of students and trauma? No guests had been confirmed, but social media activity suggested high turnout for Illinois Newsroom’s first event News & Brews: How Schools Can Better Help Kids Cope. Now it was a question of capacity. The tap room in Riggs Beer Company in…
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Shortage Of Rural Veterinarians Puts Farmers, Food Supply At Risk
Thirty-eight calves, between two and four months old, moo and kick at the dirt floor in a steel barn in Brush, Colorado. One by one, a handler leads…
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If It Ain’t Got That Zing: A Weekend At The International Horseradish Festival
Two counties in southwestern Illinois grow the majority of the nation’s — possibly the world’s — horseradish. The city of Collinsville, population 25…
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U Of I Students Design Virtual Reality For Incarcerated People
Simple, everyday tasks – like ordering coffee, crossing the street, or getting gas – can be an obstacle, or an intimidating challenge for people recently released from prison. This is especially true for people who have spent many years behind bars.
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U.S. County Jails Step Up Mental Health Screening To Keep Inmates From Coming Back
DeVonte Jones began to show signs of schizophrenia as a teenager. His first public episode was nine years ago at a ball game at Wavering Park in Quincy,…
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How One Woman Escaped Sex Trafficking And Overcame Her Opioid Addiction
Jenn Glaser lie in bed with a severe pain in her right hip. In the last few days a large abscess had developed under her skin–an infection from injecting drugs. After six years of heroin addiction, Glaser had had many of these but always managed to take care of them on her own. She avoided…
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Trauma Hurts Kids, But Educators Can Help
Children who experience trauma often face behavioral, health and academic challenges, according to decades of research . Kristine Argue, instructional…
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How To Stop Gun Violence? Just Ask
Conversations around gun violence often revolve around long-term solutions, like improving schools or the local economy. But even if those things were easy — and they’re not — it would take a generation to realize the benefits. And for the Illinoisans living and dying in these communities — mostly low-income, black communities — they don’t…
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Police Data Show Gun Violence A Chronic, Growing Problem Across Illinois
His name was Devon McClyde, and he was 16 years old when he was caught in the crossfire of an argument while playing basketball one evening in a local park in Danville on June 8, 2016. He died three days later – the victim of another gun crime in Central Illinois. At least 100 people…
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‘Down The Hill:’ Violence Often Rooted In Inequality
For many families and young adults living in Peoria’s South Side, gun violence is too often a part of life and something they’ve been fighting against — with few resources. Part of the challenge, according to researchers, is getting the broader community to examine a part of itself and confront the barriers that keep families,…
