Police report: Champaign shootings dropped by half in 2022
The report — released this month — credits an increase in community engagement as the cause.
217 Today: Why violence is increasing in Illinois’ K-12 schools
Friday, January 20, 2023 Today’s headlines: The Illinois State Board of Education unanimously approved a budget advanced by outgoing state superintendent Carmen Ayala Wednesday. The family of a Springfield man who suffocated after being strapped face down to a stretcher has filed a civil lawsuit against the ambulance company and two EMT’s. The William M….
217 Today: Why are University of Illinois Chicago faculty on strike?
Thursday, January 19, 2023 Today’s headlines: A judge in downstate Effingham County heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging Illinois’ new assault weapons ban. The Illinois State Water Plan has been updated for the first time since 1984. Plans for a third cannabis dispensary in Danville have been scrapped after the Danville City Council on Tuesday…
217 Today: infectious disease experts keep a close eye on pediatric cases of monkeypox
Monday, Aug. 15, 2022 Today’s headlines: The Department of Children and Family Services and the Residential Simulation Lab at the University of Illinois’ Springfield campus are at odds over why a contract that helped the lab train new investigators has ended. Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi recently returned from a trip to Taiwan where he talked about…
217 Today: One school district is training current educators to fill special education openings
Monday, August 8, 2022 Today’s headlines: Most abortions are now banned in the state of Indiana. Only 22% of registered voters cast ballots in the June primary election, according to an Illinois State Board of Elections official. A new study says even with less fertilizer, farmers can still maintain high crop yields. The City of Danville…
217 Today: Indiana House to debate a bill that would heavily restrict abortions
Monday, August 1, 2022 Today’s headlines: An unusually tense process to select the next Democratic Party of Illinois chair ended Friday when its current chair withdrew her name from consideration. The Democratic Party of Illinois has a new leader after an internal power battle settled this weekend. Illinois’ share of a national opioid settlement with…
217 Today: Bus driver shortage leaves parents worried for upcoming school year
Monday, July 25, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is calling on the federal government to provide more vaccines for the monkeypox virus. The World Health Organization — on Saturday — declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern. Congressman Rodney Davis has championed the Social Security Fairness Act since 2013. The bill…
217 Today: Agriculture companies are paying farmers to capture carbon. Is it enough to fight climate change?
Monday, July 18, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger is previewing another public January 6th committee hearing for this week. Season allergies have been getting worse. Jumping worms have made their way to pretty much every state in the Midwest in the last ten years, including Illinois. An argument between two men from Urbana turned…
217 Today: When children with sickle cell disease grow up, they face a system not designed for them
Monday, July 11, 2022 Today’s headlines: An Illinois lawmaker wants to prevent minors who have hurt themselves or others — or tried to — from legally buying guns. Illinois is receiving nearly five thousand doses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine from the national stockpile. A new coal mine planned for southeast Champaign County is no…
217 Today: The effects of bird flu were felt nationally. For one Iowa county, it was devastating
Monday, June 27, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinois congresswoman Mary Miller is under fire for a racist comment her campaign says wasn’t intended. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Darren Bailey in Illinois’ GOP gubernatorial primary. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is calling for a special legislative session to further protect abortion rights. The Party for Socialism and…
217 Today: Some states aren’t ready for the rollout of a national mental health crisis line
Monday, June 20, 2022 Today’s headlines: The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has counted fifteen cases of monkeypox in Illinois this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the weekend finally recommended that children from six months up to five years old get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders came…
217 Today: After implementing a new learning model, one Illinois middle school isn’t turning back
Monday, June 13, 2022 Today’s headlines: Republican candidate for Governor Richard Irvin says he’s reassessing his campaign messaging less than three weeks before the primary election. Two political action committees have a heavy hand in the 15th Congressional District Republican Primary between long-time incumbent Rodney Davis and first-time incumbent Mary Miller. Tune in to hear…
217 Today: Health problems from alcohol use soared in the Midwest during the pandemic
Monday, June 6, 2022 Today’s headlines: A coal plant in the Chicago suburb of Waukegan is slated to close this month after operating for almost a century. But local activists and officials say the plant will stay with Waukegan residents until its owner removes two “ponds” of coal ash from the shores of Lake Michigan….
217 Today: Scientists use wastewater to track the spread of COVID-19 and its variants
Friday, May 27, 2022 Today’s headlines: Democratic candidates for Illinois’ 13th district David Palmer and Nikki Budzinski met Thursday night for a debate ahead of the June 28th primary. Illinois U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth isn’t optimistic that any gun control legislation will pass the Senate this year, even after the school shooting in Texas this…
217 Today: U.S. Representative discusses proposals that address gun violence after Texas mass shooting
Thursday, May 26, 2022 Today’s headlines: After the school shooting in Texas, Democrats in Congress are once again calling on Republicans to help tighten gun control laws. Illinois Republican lawmakers in Washington have condemned the mass shooting in Texas, but they’re defending gun rights. While most students in Champaign Unit 4 schools are home for…