Tag: Illinois

The region is in the thick of “a synthetic drug crisis”

More than 100,000 people died of an opioid overdose nationwide in 2022 and more than two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioids are substances that are synthesized in a laboratory and act on the same targets in the brain as natural opioids to reduce pain. In contrast, natural opioids — including heroin, morphine,

Danville could soon have an abortion provider, but opponents are pushing back

DANVILLE – Abortion rights opponents are pushing back against a proposed clinic in the Vermilion County city.  It’s been decades since Danville had an abortion provider, Deb Brinegar, a Danville resident, said. She argues that should not changed.  “Abortion disappeared from our community about 30 years ago,” Brinegar said. “So this is really heartbreaking that it’s

The third monkeypox case in Champaign County is at a daycare center

CHAMPAIGN — An adult employee at a daycare facility in Rantoul has come down with monkeypox. The “patient is doing well and the case poses little risk to general public,” the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District announced on Friday. They’re currently investigating the case.  According to The News-Gazette, it’s the state’s first case of monkeypox at

Patients seeking help for long COVID are getting more options for treatment

SPRINGFIELD — While COVID may not be top of mind for people anymore, the pandemic isn’t over. And for some who have had COVID, neither is their illness. Many patients with long COVID experience symptoms for weeks or months after their initial infection has passed. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/07/20220719-secovid2wayweb-edit.mp3 Listen to this story here.  Nationwide, 1 in 5

Economist weighs in on Gov. Pritzker’s plan to address high inflation

On July 1, Governor J.B. Pritzker froze a proposed gas tax hike, while suspending the grocery tax on certain items. These were two of many initiatives meant to quell rising inflation. Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, described inflation as a time when “most prices are rising,” as