217 Today: UIUC graduate employees secure historic wage increase

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Members of the GEO pose during a caucus at the 26th and final bargaining session on Friday, March 24. Shortly after, the administration accepted their contract proposal.
  • Photo: Photo via GEO Instagram

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Today’s headlines:

  • Pending regulatory approval, OSF Healthcare will reopen the birthing center at its Danville hospital — while its facility in Urbana will close.
  • Advocates are urging Illinois lawmakers to expand a public health insurance program for low-income immigrants, before the spring legislative session is scheduled to end this week.
  • The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in the state’s appeal of a downstate judge’s ruling against the assault-style weapons ban that took effect this year.
  • Unusually dry conditions were partly to blame for a dust storm that led to a traffic pile-up on I-55 in early May.

In today’s deep dive, we hear about how graduate employees at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign got a historic increase in wages during contract negotiations.

Reporting today contributed by Jim Meadows, Kristen Schorsch, Mawa Iqbal, Sarah Nardi and Julia Youman.

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Owen Henderson

Owen Henderson covers arts and culture, as well as LGBTQ issues for Illinois Public Media News. He studied journalism, Spanish and theater at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has worked with Illinois Public Media in various capacities since 2021.