Lisa Marlow is worried about her students. Marlow is a school nurse and educator with the Murphysboro Community Unit School District 186. The district serves primarily low-income students in a rural part of southern Illinois. When school is in session, Marlow says having eyes on students, especially those with chronic conditions like Type 1 diabetes…
Champaign Unit 4 Schools Superintendent Susan Zola says the district is on track to meet the digital needs of its families as e-learning continues through the end of the school year. In general, she has a positive outlook on the remainder of the school year, as well as what might be in store for the…
Construction work is considered a critical trade under Governor Pritzker’s Stay-At-Home order, so it’s been continuing while other activities have been curtailed. But preventing the spread of the coronavirus remains important. So in Champaign, city officials are asking construction companies to have COVID-19 safety plans in place. The COVID-19 jobsite safety plans are required for…
Many of the public health labs determining whether people have COVID-19 have become at least overworked or, at worst, overwhelmed. Some of the country’s…
DECATUR – Nine residents at the Fair Havens Senior Living facility in Decatur have died after contracting COVID-19. So far, all COVID-19 related deaths in Macon county have been residents at the long-term care facility. The latest casualties from the virus are a woman in her 90s and another woman in her 70s, according to…
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 1,585 new cases of COVID-19 statewide on Saturday, and an additional 125 deaths. The total number of cases across Illinois stands at 29,160 cases with 1,259 deaths across 93 of the state’s 102 counties. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced during a news conference Saturday that the state has yet…
Champaign Unit 4 Schools Superintendent Susan Zola wrote in a message to families last Friday that the district will continue to ensure students have access to meals and learning materials while at home. The message came shortly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade schools statewide would remain closed through the end…
COVID-19 has touched nearly every part of the country, including Illinois. The maps and charts below show the latest statistics about how COVID-19 is spreading across counties and zip codes in the state. This data automatically updates from the Chicago Reporter, Big Local News, NPR and John Hopkins University.
This is part of Essential Voices, a series of interviews with people confronting COVID-19. Health care workers and first responders face serious risks…
URBANA – Of the 91 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Champaign County as of Thursday, roughly a third are still active cases. Four people have died, six are currently hospitalized and the remaining 56 have recovered. Nursing homes across the nation and in other parts of Illinois have been affected by COVID-19 outbreaks. But so far,…
URBANA – None of Champaign County’s 91 COVID-19 cases reported as of Thursday have involved staff or inmates at the County jail, according to Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman. As part of an effort to reduce the jail population during the COVID-19 pandemic, Heuerman said he’s been coordinating with local police officers to reduce jail…
DECATUR – The number of deaths from COVID-19 has risen to six at the Fair Havens Senior Living long-term care facility in Decatur. The Macon County Health Department announced Thursday morning that a woman in her 90s was the latest Fair Havens resident with COVID-19 to die. “Our team would like to extend our heartfelt…
URBANA – At least six men incarcerated in the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet have died after contracting COVID-19. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, 123 people incarcerated at Stateville have tested positive for the virus along with 65 staff members. Other prisons across the state have also reported cases of the virus among…
Behind a nondescript strip mall in Carmel, Indiana, a short line of cars gathers mid-afternoon next to a large tent. Medical professionals stand out…
Labor unions across the University of Illinois’ Urbana campus are bargaining with administrators on issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A group called the Campus Labor Coalition recently published an open letter to university administrators. The coalition represents graduate workers, faculty and other employees on the U of I campus. The coalition’s requests span issues…