Emily Hays

Reporter

About Emily

             Emily Hays started at WILL in October 2021 after three-plus years in local newsrooms in Virginia and Connecticut. She has won state awards for her housing coverage at Charlottesville Tomorrow and her education reporting at the New Haven Independent. Emily graduated from Yale University where she majored in History and South Asian Studies.

Top Veterans Affairs official says “latest technology” in health care records coming to Danville

July 17, 2026 No Comments

Deputy Secretary Paul R. Lawrence said the Federal Electronic Health Record system will go live in Danville next March.

Republicans call for more transparency, accountability after ‘disgraceful week’ for House Democrats

July 9, 2026 No Comments

After one House Democrat was indicted this week and another resigned amid an ethics investigation last week, House Republicans are calling for transparency and accountability.

New Champaign Unit 4 superintendent brings back some former cabinet members into other leadership roles

July 7, 2026 No Comments

Angela Ward, Mike Lehr and Henry Walker will become an interim high school principal, a secondary director and a principal supervisor.

Sing Ing Carter (second from right) takes the naturalization oath in Urbana on Thursday, July 2, 2026.

As America turned 250 years old, more than 50 people in Urbana became U.S. citizens

July 6, 2026 No Comments

Senator Dick Durbin attended the naturalization ceremony in Urbana on Thursday.

A woman with brown hair stands at a podium with a concerned expression.

Champaign-Urbana immigrant advocates relieved but on guard following U.S. Supreme Court birthright citizenship ruling

June 30, 2026 No Comments

Leaders of the Refugee Center and the New American Welcome Center were relieved but still worried.

Nine Black students smile at the camera from around a table in a library conference room.

This large Chicago high school rarely suspends its students

June 24, 2026 No Comments

Schools in Illinois suspend Black students at much higher rates than white students. Kenwood Academy High School on Chicago’s South Side stands out for bucking that trend.