U of I funding to help showcase cancer research through theater
The University of Illinois Chancellor’s Research Program will help fund a research project that is examining cancer disparities in underrepresented groups.
Illinois nursing homes seek Medicaid rate hike
Nursing home industry officials are urging Illinois lawmakers to increase the rates they receive from the state’s Medicaid system, arguing the current rates are outdated and are forcing many facilities around the state out of business.
Thousands of deceased donor kidneys are discarded. This organization hopes to revive them
Despite the long waitlists and organ shortages, around 9,000 kidneys from deceased donors last year were discarded due to perceived issues with their viability.
Midwest light pollution kills migrating birds, but scientists know how you can help
An ornithologist spent four decades tracking 40,000 bird deaths at a single building. His records paved the way to better scientific and public understanding.
Government | Health | Politics
Health and Human Services will lay off 10,000 workers and close agencies in a major restructuring
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. criticized the department he oversees as an inefficient “sprawling bureaucracy” in a video announcing the restructuring Thursday.
Tradition and Triumph: Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend celebrates its sixteenth year in April
Tradition and Triumph is the theme for the 2025 Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend.
Government | Health | Politics
Her Case Changed Trans Care in Prison. Now Trump Aims To Reverse Course.
In the run-up to the Nov. 5 election, 55% of voters felt support for trans rights had gone too far, according to VoteCast, a survey by The Associated Press and partners including KFF, the health policy research, polling, and news organization that includes KFF Health News.
Champaign County has been affected by bird flu, even without any farm outbreaks
The disease has infected several wild animals in the county, some of which have been brought to the University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic. Public health officials advise against handling wild birds showing signs of illness.
‘Mission Accomplished’ for Rantoul air force base, yet $76 million of environmental clean-up remains
Most of the Chanute Air Force base transferred to the village of Rantoul in 2023. At the time, the Air Force declared “Mission Accomplished” in a press release — but it acknowledged there’s still at least $76 million more toxic clean-up to do. Today, it is unclear what the plan is for the many abandoned and deteriorating buildings.
Gene Hackman died of heart disease, his wife died of hantavirus about 1 week prior, authorities say
Authorities have revealed that Danville-raised actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease and showed severe signs of Alzheimer’s disease a full week after his wife died of hantavirus in their home. Chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes.
Medicaid’s future is uncertain. C-U’s free & reduced-cost health clinics are bracing for what’s next
Federal funding for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program that covers more than 70 million lower-income Americans, could be on the chopping block. Clinics that provide free or reduced-cost care to residents of east-central Illinois are preparing for the possibility that a need for their services will spike if Medicaid faces cuts.
Former Gov. Jim Edgar battling pancreatic cancer: ‘We do not underestimate this challenge’
Gov. Jim Edgar, who also served as Illinois secretary of state and leads the Edgar Fellows program at the University of Illinois, wrote in an email to the program’s fellows that he and his wife, Brenda, are “facing a new, significant challenge.”
Illinois health officials taking bird flu precautions despite assessing no ‘active risk’ to humans
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk of an outbreak of the bird flu in humans is low, although Illinois’ health department is preparing for the possibility.
Government | Health | Politics
Vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as Trump’s health chief after a close Senate vote
Nearly all Republicans fell in line behind Trump despite hesitancy over Kennedy’s views on vaccines, voting 52-48 to confirm him.
Health care providers in Illinois could lose millions in funding under Trump order
Providers at community health centers throughout Illinois on Tuesday lost immediate access to millions of dollars in federal grant funding and feared other public dollars were at stake.