The eleventh annual Immigrant Welcome Awards will be held at the Urbana Free Library this Sunday. Six awards will be presented to honor people and businesses that are working to make Champaign County a welcoming space for immigrants. Ricardo Diaz serves on the board of the CU Immigration Forum, which is the main sponsor of…
URBANA – With students resuming school, coughs and sneezes have become more prevalent across campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And the number of flu cases has been surging ever since, according to Awais Vaid, executive director of McKinley Health Center. In response to the surge, McKinley will be providing free, walk-in flu shots…
DANVILLE — On a recent afternoon in early May, Danville resident Germaine Light leashed up her poodle Pippin to take a walk around Kickapoo State Park, along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River. Light lives just a few miles from where a coal-fired power plant operated for over five decades until it closed in 2011….
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campuses across the U.S. – including at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — are calling on their schools to divest from companies with ties to Israel. One of the groups — Students for Justice in Palestine UIUC — wants the university to divest from weapon manufacturers and institutions; disclose all financial…
After graduating from high school, Justin Wigg said he craved adventure, which led him to serve in the Marine Corps for five years during the Iraq war. His adjustment to his life back in the United States, he said, was not easy. He was deployed to Iraq twice, and when he returned home, his friends…
The director of the McKinley Student Health Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said the campus is not planning to provide on-campus access to abortion medications, despite overwhelming support from students. Nearly three-quarters of the 6,354 students who participated in the Illinois Student Council election this February voted “Yes” when asked if they…
CHAMPAIGN — Grocery prices across the U.S. have risen more than 25% since 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food prices are currently the third highest consumer expense. USDA data shows the cost of food at home increased by 3.5% in 2020, 3.9% in 2021, 11.4% in 2022, and 5% last year. “While the USDA predicts…
A team of journalists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently traveled to Sierra Leone to report on the global phenomenon of period poverty. Women and girls around the world often lack access to the products or the education they need to manage their periods properly. This can lead to shame surrounding menstruation and…
The national consultant hired by the city of Urbana has released its first report evaluating the police department. In this report, BerryDunn, a national consulting firm, recommends hiring more police officers, which would cost the city millions and involve raising taxes. According to the report, more than 64% of calls for service don’t involve criminal activity. Those…
The town of McLeansboro, Illinois, has a population of less than 3,000 people. But it’s expecting hundreds of visitors for the solar eclipse, as the town is directly in the line of totality. To celebrate this historical event, the McLeansboro Kiwanis Club hosted a two-day festival with live music, food trucks and special guests, including…
Society’s beliefs about aging and sex are complex and vary widely, but one common belief is that disinterest in sex is a standard part of aging. A recent study explores how misconceptions like these can complicate the acceptance of older adults’ sexual lives. The study surveyed 270 young adults, ages 18 to 35, about their perceptions of…
It’s not unusual for hairstylists to ask for a deposit before doing a client’s hair, so Youngest Keaton thought nothing of it when she was asked for one to secure her spot with a stylist. She sent the money. Soon after, she was blocked and scammed out of $85. Keaton, who lives in Champaign, isn’t…
CHAMPAIGN — Every year, around 6.3 million pets enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Spending time in a shelter can be stressful for animals, so the Champaign County Humane Society (CCHS) is hoping a new partnership will help them find pets new homes — avoiding shelters entirely. CCHS…
Chemicals and other environmental exposures are affecting the neurodevelopment of babies and children, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign research study IKIDS. IKIDS, which stands for Illinois Kids Development Study, follows pregnant people from their first trimester and measures their health and exposures to chemicals in consumer products. Researchers then study how those exposures…
Crowds gathered on campus and at bars across Campustown in Champaign to watch the University of Illinois Fighting Illini face off with the Morehead State Eagles on Thursday for the NCAA tournament opener. The No. 3 Illini beat the No. 14 Eagles 85-to-69 in the team’s first match-up of the March Madness season. Holly Handschuh,…