Snowplow Crews Labor To Clear Snow From C-U Streets
URBANA – Local governments in the Champaign-Urbana area all have crews out, working to clear streets of the snow that fell on central Illinois Monday and Monday night. Public Works staff with both Champaign and Urbana began work on keeping the roads clear on Sunday night, during the first wave of snowfall. Crews give priority […]
Champaign Neighborhood Shaken By Racist Flyers Left In Driveways
CHAMPAIGN – On the morning of January 16, Melanie Keil discovered a rock in the driveway of her home. Attached was a note with several websites under the title “No White Guilt.” Keil, who is white and married to a Black man, believes her mostly-Black Champaign neighborhood was targeted. “I do think this was a […]
Christmas Comes To Champaign, But Without Annual Community Dinner
The annual Community Christmas Dinner in Champaign will not be held this year. But it wasn’t the coronavirus that canceled it. No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic would have canceled the event, which served a free Christmas Day dinner to hundreds of guests at Champaign’s First Christian Church. But organizer Lynne Barnes says they had announced […]
Towns Offer Aid To Businesses For COVID-Related Supplies
CHAMPAIGN – Small businesses have had to deal with an added expense this year, paying for supplies and equipment to prevent the coronavirus from spreading at their stores, offices and factories. Champaign, Urbana and Rantoul are offering state-funded grants to help with those new expenses. The grants can be used by small businesses in the […]
Pritzker’s Daily COVID-19 Briefing Full Transcript And Audio — Nov. 24, 2020
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Dr. Ngozi Ezike are holding daily COVID-19 press briefings as cases and hospitalizations in Illinois reach record highs. Read and listen to the latest update from the governor’s office on new cases, phased re-opening and closings of different regions and the state’s ongoing pandemic response. You can watch the most recent […]
Pritzker’s Daily COVID-19 Briefing Full Transcript And Audio — Nov. 18, 2020
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Dr. Ngozi Ezike are holding daily COVID-19 press briefings as cases and hospitalizations in Illinois reach record highs. Read and listen to the latest update from the governor’s office on new cases, phased re-opening and closings of different regions and the state’s ongoing pandemic response. You can watch the most recent […]
Where Can You Get Tested for COVID-19 In Central Illinois?
For health questions about COVID-19, call the Illinois Department of Public Health hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email dph.sick@illinois.gov. IDPH has also compiled a list of testing sites across the state, including information on testing eligibility and contact information. Public testing sites offer free testing regardless of insurance, with no need for a doctor’s referral. Illinois […]
During Champaign Visit, Pritzker Unveils Plan To Support Manufacturing In Illinois
CHAMPAIGN – During a visit to Champaign on Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the creation of two new manufacturing training academies in downstate Illinois. Community colleges located outside of Cook and the collar counties can apply for millions in grant funds from the state to create the academies that will provide students with 21st-century manufacturing […]
Champaign Sailor To Be Honored At USS Cole Bombing Remembrance
CHAMPAIGN – A Navy Sailor from Champaign who died in the USS Cole attack will be remembered in a ceremony next week. Back in 1999, terrorists bombed the ship as it was being refueled in Yemen’s Aden Harbor. Seventeen sailors died, including Engineman Second Class Marc Ian Nieto of Champaign. The ceremony will take place Naval […]
Champaign, Urbana Order New Restrictions On Restaurants, Bars & Parties
Michigan State, Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill have recently suspended in-person classes due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. New emergency orders affecting bars and restaurants in Champaign-Urbana are meant to prevent that from happening at the University of Illinois. The mayors of both Champaign and Urbana have issued orders requiring […]
Gun Violence In Champaign Could Surpass 2019 Say Leaders
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign reported a record 100 incidents of gun violence last year. This year is only half over and the city says there has already been 95 incidents. On Tuesday, city leaders said most of the shootings are between people who know each other. Anthony Cobb is the police chief. “Gun violence does not […]
UPDATE: Champaign COVID-19 Testing Site To Remain Open With New Contractor
UPDATED June 25, 2020: C-U Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde says the Trump administration’s move to withdraw federal funding from some COVID-19 testing sites will not affect Champaign’s public drive-through testing site at Marketplace Mall. But come July, it will no longer be staffed by the Illinois National Guard. Pryde says she does not expect […]
News Around Illinois – June 24, 2020
Champaign Firefighter Tests Positive For COVID-19 A firefighter for the City of Champaign tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a press release released by the city. The name of the firefighter that tested positive is not being released, however, the city was in contact with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District for protocol instruction. As […]
Urbana Launches ‘Solidarity Gardens’ To Fight Food Insecurity During Pandemic
URBANA – Cunningham Township in Urbana launched a new city-wide gardening initiative last week to help fight food insecurity in the wake of COVID-19 — and as the pandemic may extend into the fall. The grassroots program, called Solidarity Gardens, is inviting individuals and local organizations to adopt a gardening plot to grow their own […]
News Around Illinois – June 8, 2020
Illinois Reports 867 New Coronavirus Cases, 43 New Deaths SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting 867 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 127,757. The department on Sunday reported 43 additional deaths from the disease in the past 24 hours, raising that […]