Ann Crain has volunteered at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield for four years. She greets guests and answers questions about the exhibits– which all focus on the life, and legacy, of President Abraham Lincoln. Every year, the museum brings out its copy of the Gettysburg Address around the anniversary of its…
MORTON — The great pumpkin shortage of 2021 is turning out to be as real as Linus’ Great Pumpkin. Neither ever showed. Instead, despite some national headlines about a pumpkin shortage this year, Midwestern farmers say there’s nothing to worry about. “God granted us quite a bounty this year,” says John Ackerman, who grows pumpkins…
CHAMPAIGN — Keith Thomas wears many hats in the Champaign-Urbana community. He’s a full-time pastor at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church. And he’s also been on the frontlines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, working as a hospital chaplain at OSF HealthCare. Thomas says the hardest situations he’s been in — as a local chaplain — have…
SPRINGFIELD – COVID-19 cases are rising once again in Illinois — and most of the U.S. — with the more contagious delta variant now making up the vast majority of new coronavirus cases, according to federal and state data. In Illinois as of mid-August, the delta variant makes up more than 90% of new COVID-19…
URBANA – Halfway through 2021, Urbana had already surpassed the total number of shootings that took place in 2020. Last month, the Urbana Police Department reported 55 shootings had occurred so far this year — more than the 53 that occurred in all of 2020. This follows a trend of heightened gun violence throughout the…
CHICAGO — When Marlon Chamberlain was asked by his son’s teacher to volunteer as a field trip chaperone, he happily applied. But Chamberlain’s application was denied because of his 25 year-old prison record. “There are hundreds of laws that restrict [formerly incarcerated] people, who are denied opportunities for employment, housing and educational opportunities,” he…
URBANA- Subdivisions and parks throughout Champaign County have been trying to control the goose population for years– using methods ranging from hazing dogs to culling, or killing, geese. Now, a new goose rights organization named Friends of Geese is recommending non-lethal methods for controlling the population. Susan Parenti, a Friends of Geese activist, says the…
CHAMPAIGN – All colleges and universities within Illinois could be required to create a liaison position to support undocumented students if Governor J.B. Pritzker signs a new bill into law. House Bill 3438, which was sent to the governor in June, would require every public university and community college in Illinois to designate an employee…
URBANA – More than 10,000 residents of long-term care facilities in Illinois have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to state data. But in Champaign County, only one long-term care facility is currently mandating that its staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Clark-Lindsey, a long-term care facility and nursing home in Urbana,…
Editor’s Note: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated the percentage of Black and Hispanic residents in Champaign County who are fully vaccinated. The correct values are now reported below. CHAMPAIGN- When Dr. Wanda Ward, a University of Illinois employee with SHIELD CU, first heard that COVID-19 vaccines were being rolled out, she says…
URBANA – With summer camps on the horizon, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance and recommendations on April 24 for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Among them: mask-wearing, spacing out three to six feet apart, good ventilation and being outdoors as much as possible. “They also now recommend that all…
URBANA – The U.S. is the only industrialized nation where the rate of pregnancy-related deaths is on the rise. About 700 U.S. women die each year due to pregnancy or its complications. And Black and Indigenous mothers are two to three times more likely than white mothers to die from pregnancy-related causes, according to the…
Friday, March 26, 2021 Today’s headlines: More than two-thirds of staff at Illinois prisons rejected their chance at getting the COVID-19 vaccine. A bill state legislators say would expand voting rights is on its way to the governor after passing the Senate. It would increase vote by mail options and allow curbside voting. Larger cities in Illinois…
CHAMPAIGN – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker visited the vaccination site located at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign on Wednesday. During a press briefing following a tour led by Champaign-Urbana Public Health administrator Julie Pryde, Pritzker praised Champaign County for leading the way in building local partnerships to get the vaccine out to…
When Gov. JB Pritzker observes COVID-19 vaccines administered at a Peoria hospital on Tuesday morning, he’ll be witnessing among the first COVID-19…