Jelani Day celebration of life set for Aug. 27 at ISU

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Illinois State University graduate student Jelani Day went missing Aug. 24. His body was discovered Sept. 4 in Peru, Ill.

A memorial service is being planned later this month for late Illinois State University student Jelani Day, one year after his death.

Aug. 24, 2021, marked the last time the graduate student was seen alive at Illinois State University.

Day’s body was recovered in the Illinois River in early September. His car and some clothes had been found a few days earlier in the nearby town of Peru. His iPhone was found on the side of Intestate 55 in Bloomington.

Day’s family says they will hold a celebration of his life at the Bone Student Center at Illinois State on Saturday, Aug. 27.

According to a Facebook post, the family plans to launch a foundation in Jelani’s name soon.

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Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM