There’s growing concerns in Piatt County about the number of cases of glioblastoma, a rare but deadly brain cancer.
Community members say the Illinois Department of Public Health has been slow to investigate the possible cancer cluster in Monticello. That’s led advocates to begin collecting data on their own — prompting a new response from state officials.
A team of student journalists with CU Citizen Access have been following the public health concerns in Piatt County.
IPM’s Arjun Thakkar spoke with Molly Hughes, Stephanie Orellana and Nazala Salauddin about their reporting.
This interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity.
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THAKKAR: Molly, how did your team first hear about this alleged cancer cluster in Piatt County?
HUGHES: Yeah, so Caitlin McClain is really where this story begins. She’s a resident of Monticello, and in February of 2024, she was able to address the Monticello City Council, where she explained that after her father-in-law died of this rare brain cancer, glioblastoma, In 2022, she began to investigate in her community. So, at the time, she had found around 26 cases of glioblastoma in her community. Currently, her data shows around 30 cases, 14 of which have died in the last five years. You know, after she addressed the city council, McClain said that she contacted federal and state officials, the Illinois Health Department, the Illinois EPA, and their response has just not been timely or appropriate, in her opinion, and we really didn’t receive a substantial response until the publishing of our article in March of 2025.
THAKKAR: And can you tell me a little more about glioblastoma and, you know, why McClain wanted to more urgently have those cases investigated?
HUGHES: Yeah, so glioblastoma is considered a rare type of brain cancer. According to the American Brain Tumor Association, glioblastoma is diagnosed in approximately three cases per 100,000 people per year. The National Institute of Health reports glioblastoma has only about a 6% survival rate, and a survival time after diagnosis of only about 12 to 18 months.
THAKKAR: And tell me more about what McClain was saying, as she was, kind of conveying her her frustration with officials with the City Council.
HUGHES: Yeah, and so really, she was able to explain what it was like to be the family member of a victim of somebody who was diagnosed with this type of cancer. We can hear more about exactly what she said in this clip here.
MCCLAIN: The EPA has bounced me around from one department to another, and I feel like at this point in time as a community, we need to protect ourselves.
HUGHES: Caitlin feels as though the government and health officials she brought her valid concerns to didn’t give her appropriate answers in a timely manner, in a situation where time is really a crucial element, you know, this potential health threat, something that has a lot of emotion attached to it. So, the crux of this issue really is that we know these officials, the Illinois Health Department, the EPA, state and local officials are probably not acting maliciously in their lack of response. You know, perhaps they’re busy or understaffed, underfunded. However, that does not excuse, you know, this lack of response up to our article’s publication.
THAKKAR: So your team with CU Citizen Access put out three stories following the situation. Stephanie, how have those state public health officials reacted to your coverage so far?
ORELLANA: Yeah, after the story was published, Michael Claffey, he’s the communications officer for the Illinois Health Department. He said that because of Caitlin McClain’s concerns, they have added Piatt County to a list of areas the cancer registry reexamines every every year. So we didn’t even know this list existed, and when we asked for the list, we were told that it wasn’t public because of internal planning purposes. So we will file a Freedom of Information Act request to get it. Right now, we are getting the most communication from the health department than we ever have since we started reaching out to them in November of last year, and we hope to continue communicating and updating each other on this story as new information comes out.
THAKKAR: Nazala, you’ve done some digging, as I understand it, into what research is being done on glioblastoma locally and at the U of I. Tell us more about that.
SALAUDDIN: Sure, Arjun. At the Beckman Institute at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Professor Catherine Popescu said research is being done to manage the effects of glioblastoma, yet it is difficult, as the disease can evade radiation therapy. Researchers are working on damaging the repair process of the glioblastoma cells with small radiation doses. Another research they’re working on is treating the tumors so that it stops the cell division of the glioblastoma. This method is available to people, she says, although it doesn’t cure cancer, but it makes their lives more enjoyable. Professor [Popescu] also says that the cancer rates, or the glioblastomas cell rates [in] Monticello are worth investigating, and that she calls it ‘a huge cancer cluster pattern,’ yet she says that whenever they try to talk about it or bring the issue, they are told not to be alarmed. But observing the cancer cluster pattern in Monticello, she says that they’re very alarmed and that it is unacceptable. Gita Kwatra, who is CEO of the nonprofit organization Glioblastoma Inc. also voiced her concern. She said that glioblastoma is the most malignant form of cancer, yet not enough funding is given on researching this cancer.
THAKKAR: Stephanie, how have people in Piatt County reacted to your reporting on this possible cancer cluster?
ORELLANA: People from Piatt County have been responding very positively towards our story. Many have had family members who have died from cancer and are thanking us for bringing light to this issue. We hope to be able to go to Monticello to talk to more people there and let them tell us more about their experiences with family members passing away from cancer and their concerns for the area.