217 Today: Champaign teen founds non-profit offering free classes to local kids

217 Today: Champaign teen founds non-profit offering free classes to local kids

Thursday, February 9, 2023 Today’s headlines:  A measure at the Illinois Statehouse would require kids under DCFS’s care to have a lawyer representing what the children want during abuse and neglect proceedings. The Champaign County Association of Realtors hosted a forum this week to inform landlords about the state’s new Source of Income Law which works…

217 Today: Recess law boosts elementary students’ social-emotional learning

217 Today: Recess law boosts elementary students’ social-emotional learning

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 Today’s headlines: Four defendants in an upcoming federal corruption trial want to limit evidence against them. Tuesday was National Black HIV-AIDS Awareness Day, and a coalition of Black health equity advocates is calling on the Illinois Department of Public Health to do more. Republican Illinois congresswoman Mary Miller wants to stop…

217 Today: Increasing evictions in Midwest threaten public health

217 Today: Increasing evictions in Midwest threaten public health

Tuesday, February 7, 2023 Today’s headlines: The Illinois National Guard has a new major general…and one of his priorities is to foster diversity. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is worried that education policies he opposes are trying to take root here. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is designing a social media platform to connect high…

217 Today: New Philadelphia designated as national park for being first town legally founded by an African American

217 Today: New Philadelphia designated as national park for being first town legally founded by an African American

Monday, February 6, 2023 Today’s headlines: With Medicaid pandemic protections ending March 31, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services predicts more than 300,000 residents could lose health insurance. Last year, a letter co-authored by a University of Illinois law professor was cited on the U.S. Senate floor during its debate on the Respect for…

217 Today: Enter a classroom using virtual reality in higher education

217 Today: Enter a classroom using virtual reality in higher education

Friday, February 2, 2023 Today’s headlines:  The Illinois Attorney General’s office has filed a lawsuit against companies that make PFAS – a highly toxic group of chemicals. The Illinois Mental Health Task Force launched its action plan Thursday to help the large percentage of people in the court system who struggle with mental health. The Piatt County…

217 Today: Gas stoves are feeling the heat after study shows link to asthma

217 Today: Gas stoves are feeling the heat after study shows link to asthma

Thursday, February 2, 2023 Today’s headlines:  Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is seeking more information about revisions to a national high school course on African American History that were released yesterday.  Governor Pritzker signed legislation last week setting new standards for wind and solar farms that county boards must follow. The University of Illinois opened a…

217 Today: New reproductive health clinic to open in Champaign

217 Today: New reproductive health clinic to open in Champaign

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Today’s headlines: An Illinois Appellate Court has narrowly upheld a decision that prevents the state’s assault weapons ban from taking effect in some places. The Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield is receiving a $15 million preservation investment. On Tuesday, the Illinois State Board of Education named Tony Sanders as its…

217 Today: Supreme Court ruling could reduce wetland protections

217 Today: Supreme Court ruling could reduce wetland protections

Tuesday, January 31, 2023 Today’s headlines: A survey of public schools across Illinois found nearly 4 out of 5 districts reported a shortage of teachers this year. A group of Illinois lawmakers and representatives from business and local government will study warehouse safety over the next two years. This is the first year elementary and…

217 Today: New Urbana bakery celebrates Mexican, Latin-American culture

217 Today: New Urbana bakery celebrates Mexican, Latin-American culture

Monday, January 30, 2023 Today’s headlines: Demonstrations broke out across the country over the beating death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, including in Urbana. A bill sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker would lift restrictions on Illinois residents who can’t change their names because of past crimes. The University of Illinois Police Department has reported several…

217 Today: A preview of Sinfonia da Camera’s Saturday night concert

217 Today: A preview of Sinfonia da Camera’s Saturday night concert

Friday, January 27, 2023 Today’s headlines:  A state government task force is recommending Illinois lawmakers create ways for people serving long prison terms to get resentenced. The Natural Land Institute is filing another federal lawsuit against Chicago Rockford International Airport because their planned expansion includes building a road through a prairie that’s home to an…

217 Today: Illinois assault weapons ban faces legal challenges

217 Today: Illinois assault weapons ban faces legal challenges

Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023 Today’s headlines:  The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for much of east central Illinois on Tuesday but canceled it by Wednesday afternoon.  Thirty-two-year-old Tyler Wayne Massengill of Chillicothe faces a federal arson charge in connection with the firebombing of the Peoria Planned Parenthood clinic earlier this month. The Illinois…

217 Today: New sensors to track workplace injuries raise privacy concerns

217 Today: New sensors to track workplace injuries raise privacy concerns

Wednesday, January 25, 2023 Today’s headlines: We remain under a winter storm warning from the National Weather Service until 6:00 p.m. Wednesday in much of east central Illinois. Gun rights advocates have now filed four lawsuits over Illinois’ new law banning assault weapons Plans to construct a CO2 pipeline through 13 Illinois counties have been…

217 Today January 24, 2023

217 Today: Reproductive rights 50 years after Roe v. Wade

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 Today’s headlines: After months of pushback, the Champaign Unit 4 school board has scaled back changes to its school choice system.  A new bill in Springfield would improve pay and training for an estimated 650,000 temporary workers who get their jobs through staffing agencies. A central Illinois lawmaker plans to sue…

217 Today: Does public school desegregation help close achievement gaps?

217 Today: Does public school desegregation help close achievement gaps?

Monday, January 23, 2023 Today’s headlines:  A judge in Effingham County has granted a pause on a new law that bans assault weapons in Illinois. Three candidates are on the April Fourth ballot for mayor of Champaign, including the current mayor, Deb Feinen. A new report from the Champaign Police Department says shooting incidents in…

217 Today: Why violence is increasing in Illinois’ K-12 schools

217 Today: Why violence is increasing in Illinois’ K-12 schools

Friday, January 20, 2023 Today’s headlines: The Illinois State Board of Education unanimously approved a budget advanced by outgoing state superintendent Carmen Ayala Wednesday. The family of a Springfield man who suffocated after being strapped face down to a stretcher has filed a civil lawsuit against the ambulance company and two EMT’s. The William M….