SPRINGFIELD – Thousands more families in Illinois will soon be eligible for subsidized child care and child care providers will see a pay raise under a series of initiatives that Gov. JB Pritzker announced Thursday. Starting July 1, the state will invest more than $175 million in additional funding for child care and early childhood…
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker has signed 401 bills sent to him this calendar year, leaving just 10 of those passed by lawmakers this year awaiting his action as of Monday. His most recent crop of signed bills from Friday, June 10, included a measure taking aim at wage theft in the construction industry and…
Dr. Meredith Niess saw her patient was scared. He’d come to the Veterans Affairs clinic in Denver with a painful hernia near his stomach. Niess, a primary care resident at the time, knew he needed surgery right away. But another doctor had ordered a chest X-ray instead. The test results revealed a mass in the…
URBANA – As the temperatures warm and people head out to local waterways, you are warned to avoid algal blooms. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Department of Public Health say you, your family, and your pets should avoid touching, swimming, inhaling, or drinking water that looks like the following: looks like spilled, green…
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available. Contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255 or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. HOUSTON — Jennifer Battle is open to just about anything to find people to answer the phones at her Houston-area crisis line. “It’s…
CHAMPAIGN – As Champaign Cycle slowly returns to its normal inventory, it’s experiencing price increases in bikes and bike parts that are indicative of the ongoing national bicycle shortage, which began after the sudden increase in sales at the beginning of the pandemic. As of May 13, a report from Statista found that Americans spent…
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Nancy’s ex-husband had been sober for almost a decade when the pandemic hit. Not long into lockdown, she said his behavior changed. Nancy quickly tied it to drinking. “He would basically sleep all day and be up all night,” she said. Side Effects Public Media is only using Nancy’s first…
COLUMBIA – Mo. — Offshoots of the omicron coronavirus variant have driven a spike in cases in the U.S. Some scientists believe clues to how these subvariants emerge lie in wastewater, and tracking them down could help prevent the next dangerous strain of the virus. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/05/covidvariants-web-edit.mp3 Listen to this story here. Marc Johnson, a professor…
PORTLAND, Maine — The scene seems straight out of a movie: A young couple stands solemnly before the judge. They’ve been married just a year, and they’re here – for the second time – to ask for a divorce. A month ago, the same judge gave them a hard time, then said no. He still…
On Wednesday night, about 20 local cyclists participated in a silent bike ride to honor those who were killed or injured while biking on public roadways. The Ride of Silence began in 2003 as a tribute to cyclists who were killed by motorists. It aims to raise awareness for bikers’ safety on public roads and…
CHAMPAIGN – While the nationwide shortage of infant formula is less severe in Champaign County than elsewhere, it has hit low-income families hardest – because of state policy. Brandon Meline is the director of maternal and child health at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. He says the relatively high number of grocery stores and pharmacies…
INDIANAPOLIS — If it wasn’t for Crystal Moore’s hoodie and car, people probably wouldn’t be able to tell her life is hanging by a thread. Her black Nissan sedan has signs plastered on the windows that read: “Kidney Donor Needed!” The signs include a picture of Moore and a QR code that leads to her…
This article is the third in a series about the access of pregnancy care for immigrants in Champaign. You can read part one here and part two here. Though a language barrier may be the most obvious barrier to pregnancy care access, experts and advocates say cultural barriers are just as big of an issue…
This article is the second in a series about the access of pregnancy care for immigrants in Champaign. You can read part one here and part three here. Teresa Rodriguez Teresa Rodriguez is another Champaign County resident who has experienced language and cultural barriers. Rodriguez is from Mexico City. She said when she started looking…
Lee esta historia en español This article is the first in a series about the access to pregnancy care for immigrants in Champaign. You can read part two here and part three here. “Why are you having more children?” That’s a question a doctor in Champaign asked Fabiola Silva during a doctor appointment. “He started…