217 Today: Illinois colleges are reforming developmental education
Tuesday, October 10, 2023 Today’s headlines: Some Illinois state lawmakers are calling for a de-escalation in the war happening in the Middle East. The Urbana school board plans to hire an outside company Tuesday to redistrict its schools. More than a hundred people gathered Monday at the University of Illinois’ Main Quad to show support for […]
217 Today: Champaign Police investigate ‘agency culture’ of not following domestic violence reporting laws
Monday, October 9, 2023 Today’s headlines: House Republicans are threatening to deny further aid to Ukraine, and Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin warns that could put other countries at risk. Illinois Democrats are criticizing the Biden administration for its plans to expand the Southern border wall. Fighting Illini Hall of fame linebacker Dick Butkus was […]
Champaign Police investigate ‘agency culture’ of not following domestic violence reporting laws
This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and IPM Newsroom, which provides news about Illinois & in-depth reporting on Agriculture, Education, the Environment, Health, and Politics, powered by Illinois Public […]
217 Today: The loss of Champaign-Urbana’s last gay bar leaves a gap for the queer community
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 Today’s headlines: The City of Chicago is receiving about $30 million from the Illinois state government to help support asylum seekers. Illinois residents can now register their assault-style weapons as required by law. A new University of Illinois study says women feel like they are on trial when trying to convince […]
217 Today: Champaign Urbana queer community seeks specific spaces
Monday, October 2, 2023 Today’s headlines: Decatur Public Schools is breaking ground on a new school building that’s being named after one of Illinois’ Tuskegee Airmen. Large crowds gathered in downtown Urbana during Champaign-Urbana’s annual pride parade on Saturday. The Champaign County Community Coalition hosted the first Black Mental Health and Wellness Conference at Parkland College on […]
217 Today: U.S. expands Temporary Protected Status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans
Tuesday, September 26, 2023 Today’s headlines: U.S. Senator Dick Durbin joined members of the United Auto Workers on the picket line Monday at the General Motors in Bolingbrook. Rantoul residents picked up clothes, baby food and even a home printer free of charge on Monday. The new COVID-19 booster shot is now available. The shots […]
217 Today: Decatur school closure exposes gaps in state-required inspections
Monday, September 25, 2023 Today’s headlines: The Biden administration’s move to expand work permits for some seeking asylum in the U.S. is welcome news to immigration advocates. But some experts want to see expanded protections to enable all undocumented immigrants to find work. Many hospitals across the Chicago area do not have midwives, despite research showing […]
Activists say Champaign County Jail phone calls cost too much. Here’s what they propose
CHAMPAIGN — Local activists are urging the Champaign County Board to lower the costs of phone calls at the Champaign County Jail. Tamika Davis, who spent six months in the county jail, said the high prices of phone calls made it difficult to communicate with her children and her lawyer. “How am I in […]
217 Today: Illinois no longer has cash bail. Are courts ready?
Tuesday, September 19, 2023 Today’s headlines: Monday was supposed to be Illinois’ first day without cash bail. But judges in some counties were still setting money bonds. Despite the historic changes to cash bail, it was mostly a slow day in Metro East courthouses. Illinois passed a new law that allows Native American ancestral remains to […]
217 Today: Downstate leaders say they will need help handling the historic end to cash bail
Monday, September 18, 2023 Today’s headlines: Advocates for survivors of sex crimes and domestic violence are cheering the end of cash bail in Illinois on Monday. The numbers are out on a COVID-era program aimed at helping preschool through eighth-grade students learn at Decatur Public Schools. Around a hundred people met Saturday at the Urbana Free […]
217 Today: Serving farm fresh food in schools is getting big federal support — but will ‘farm to school’ stick?
Tuesday, September 12, 2023 Today’s headlines: Illinois state representative Maura Hirschauer is enlisting gun control advocates to help revive a bill targeting domestic violence. A bell from the unfinished World War Two battleship, USS Illinois, was used in Champaign, to remember those lost in the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. Five workers are still hospitalized after […]
217 Today: ‘Greener Pastures’ explores farming, climate change and mental health
Monday, September 11, 2023 Today’s headlines: Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth is reintroducing a bill to require seat belts on school buses nationwide. An attorney nationally known for defending men accused of sexual misconduct has been hired by an Illinois State University administrator charged with assaulting a minor. An electric vehicle battery plant is opening in Kankakee […]
217 Today: Corn has deep roots in Mexico. Now efforts to ban GMO corn place culture and trade at odd
Tuesday, September 5, 2023 Today’s headlines: Illinois officials plan to hold a public hearing Tuesday about controversial cuts to state-funded health insurance for low-income immigrants. As the fall semester ramps up, so too, are the cases of COVID-19, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Fighting Illini football team is on the road this week […]
217 Today: Medicare will begin historic negotiations with pharma to reduce drug prices.
Tuesday, August 29, 2023 Today’s headlines: A Lake County, Illinois judge is denying motions to dismiss the criminal case against the father of the alleged gunman in the Highland Park mass shooting. As Illinois Covid cases creep upward, Governor J.B. Pritzker is pushing back against what he calls “Facebook Fakery.” Many respiratory viruses circulate year-round […]
217 Today: Ex-top aide to Michael Madigan found guilty of perjury and attempted obstruction of justi
Monday, August 28, 2023 Today’s headlines: A lot of Illinois employers will have to start posting salary and benefits information in job listings thanks to a newly signed law. More students are visiting the University of Illinois system from Mexico this year. An emergency official in rural Tazewell County says she’s concerned about their ability […]