SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker has signed the “Jelani Day” bill into law, amending the Missing Persons Identification Act in hopes of preventing a repeat of what the Day family experienced last year. When Jelani Day went missing, his body was not found for nearly two weeks. Once found, Day’s remains went unidentified for three…
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…
For the first time, researchers have assigned a value to the Black-owned farmland lost over the past century. Throughout the 20th century, Black farmers in the U.S. were forced to give up millions of acres of farmland. A new study puts a number to that loss — $326 billion. Discriminatory lending practices at the federal…
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…
PEORIA — Decades after Jubilee College ended operations as a frontier educational institution, it was operated as a federal Indian boarding school. That troubling part of the Peoria County historic landmark’s legacy may soon receive official recognition. A new report commissioned by the U.S. Department of the Interior sheds light on the locations where Indigenous…
Estas son preguntas que en general les hacen a las mujeres que están embarazadas. “¿Por qué quieres tener más hijos?” Esa es una pregunta que un médico de Champaign le hizo a Fabiola Silva durante una cita médica. “Empezó a hacerme muchas preguntas que ni siquiera eran relevantes,” dijo Silva. “En lugar de ayudarme, me…
URBANA – Students learn in both French and English at Yankee Ridge Elementary School on the south side of Urbana. Yankee Ridge hosts Urbana School District 116’s only French dual-language program. “It’s not just beneficial to our students who are learning English,” said Yankee Ridge principal Mykah Jackson. “It’s also important for our students who…
CHAMPAIGN – Students at Kenwood Elementary had a special visitor on Tuesday. Newbery-winning author Erin Entrada Kelly — a Filipina-American children’s book author — conducted a brainstorming session via Zoom with the students. She then spun a story out of the class’ brainstorm. Trevor Nadrozny is the principal at Kenwood Elementary School in Champaign. He…
URBANA – A recent University of Illinois study that asks what positive aging means to Latino elders has opened a discussion on how to cater to their needs. Positive aging consists of having a healthy lifestyle going into older age, according to U of I Social Work Professor Lissette Piedra. More than 100 Latino residents,…
CHAMPAIGN – A fourth grader takes the microphone at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy in Champaign, to cheers from his classmates. Professional hip hop artists – who go by the stage names Klevah and TRUTH – have set clear rules for the freestyling circle, or cypher, over the course of a week with the students….
LaChelle Hope’s parents did not know they both carried a genetic mutation that, if inherited, could cause their baby to be born with a serious condition called sickle cell disease. It was only after they had their first-born child — Hope’s older sister — that they found they both carry the trait. Her sister was…
CHAMPAIGN — Champaign-Urbana nonprofits are using COVID-19 relief to help victims of labor and sex trafficking free themselves. To become free and independent, victims need a legal status via a trafficking – or “T” — visa. Lisa Wilson is the executive director of The Refugee Center in Champaign. She says T visa applicants need a…
CHAMPAIGN – Instead of practicing their swings, the baseball players were designing a remote-control car. The First String Little League coaches had decided to give the players a break that rainy afternoon. A handful still showed up to the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club in Champaign to build a small, Jackie Robinson-themed car. “They’re…