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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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,…
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Suicide A Driver Of Gun Deaths In Rural America
The national conversation around gun violence generally centers around mass shootings, school shootings and gang activity. These problems need to be addressed, but may overshadow the largest group affected: suicide victims.
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How Schools Can Help Kids Traumatized By Gun Violence
Last month, about a dozen people gathered in the basement of a church in Champaign, Ill. to learn how traumatic experiences affect the lives of children and young adults, and what they can do to mitigate its effects.
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Listening About Guns
What I heard at both events: safety concerns, frustration with legislators and calls for action around gun laws. Hope for children, love for community and citizens flexing their civic muscles. In my role as Illinois Newsroom Engagement Strategist, I attended two events related to the debate over guns. At March 24th’s “March for Our Lives”…
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Study: In Becoming The Bread Basket, Midwest Contributed To Climate Change. But There’s A Solution
New research suggests that no-till farming could help mitigate climate change. A study from Iowa State University, released Monday, examined Midwest land use between 1850 to 2015. As agriculture and the practice of tilling spread, less carbon was being stored in the ground and more was going into the atmosphere. That added to the carbon…
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Feedback: Noble Charter Schools Story Hit A Nerve
Earlier this month, we posted a story about discipline practices inside Noble Network of Charter Schools , which educates approximately one out of 10…
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The Surgeon General Wants Us All To Carry Narcan, But It Can Be Hard To Get
It was a scheduling mishap that led Kourtnaye Sturgeon to help save someone’s life. About four months ago, Sturgeon drove to downtown Indianapolis for a…
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Illinois Prison System Spent Less Than $300 On Books Last Year
Every Sunday, a group of women meets in the basement of a church in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood to sort and package boxes of books. The boxes are sent to women
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Will Illinois Face Another Budget Impasse?
Passing a state budget is arguably the most important thing the Illinois General Assembly does every year — or at least should do every year. After last year’s drama — when a two-year standoff ended with a Republican revolt against Governor Bruce Rauner — it’s an open question about how things will go this year….
