The challenges Biden faces in his State of the Union address
As President Biden is set to make his first formal State of the Union address Tuesday night, he and the country are facing pressing issues, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to inflation and the continuing pandemic. It also comes at a time when Biden’s political capital is at the lowest point of his presidency with […]
If you’re finding this stage of the pandemic especially confusing, you’re not alone
WASHINGTON — The omicron surge is declining fast in the U.S. One state after another is lifting their mask mandates. But more than 175,000 people are still catching the virus, and more than 2,200 people are still dying from COVID-19, every day. And federal officials say it’s too soon to loosen restrictions. Is your head […]
‘Every day is a complete whirlwind’: the first year of a nurse starting her career during the pandemic
ROCKFORD — Taylor Boelte says it feels like she’s been a nurse for 10 years already. One year ago, Boelte spoke with WNIJ as a fresh nursing school graduate about going into the field in the midst of a pandemic. Now, a year into her career as a nurse during COVID-19, how has it been, […]
How one small Iowa town continues to deal with the effects of a major COVID outbreak
STORM LAKE, Ia. — Emilia Marroquin has experienced firsthand just how much Storm Lake, Iowa, has changed over the past two decades. On a driving tour of the town, she points to a building out the window of her car. “The only Mexican restaurant that was in town was on this corner, [and] there were […]
Meatpacking jobs are attractive to immigrants. COVID made the work even riskier
PERRY, Ia. — Amner Martinez still doesn’t know all the details from when his 74-year-old father Concepcion got dangerously sick with COVID-19 near the beginning of the pandemic. Martinez’s father works at the Tyson Foods plant in Perry, Iowa, the site of an outbreak in spring 2020 that affected 730 workers. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2021/12/se-workers-mixweb.mp3 Listen to this […]
Low vaccinations and high transmission make contact tracing in Vermilion County difficult during the holidays
DANVILLE — When Doug Toole, the director of the Vermilion County Health Department, and the department’s contact tracers get back to their desks in the morning, there are piles of calls to make. Those piles represent positive cases of COVID-19. Contact tracing is an important part of stopping the spread of COVID-19, according to Toole. […]
1 in 5 Illinois students was chronically absent last year. How do you help that many students make up for lost time?
ROCKFORD — When a student is chronically absent, it means they’re missing 10% or more of the school year. That’s missing, at the very least, around 18 days of school. The problem was made significantly worse during the pandemic, but there were high rates of chronic absence before COVID-19. In fact, the pandemic only increased […]
WATCH: Harvard-NPR panel on the fight to tame COVID
WASHINGTON — The world is approaching the second anniversary of a cluster of cases of respiratory illness traced to the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The cause: a virus we now know as SARS-CoV-2. The World Health Organization named the illness caused by the virus COVID-19 in February 2020, as cases […]
One in four students regularly absent last year, Illinois report card shows
CHAMPAIGN — Learning did slow last year during pandemic school – especially for the state’s most vulnerable students. The Illinois State Board of Education dropped this information on Friday morning in its annual report card. “We need to recognize that for our Black and Hispanic children, remote learning was not very effective, particularly for English […]
Hospital Cyberattacks: More Frequent, Severe As Pandemic Continues
INDIANAPOLIS — Ransomware attacks against healthcare facilities are becoming more frequent and severe as the pandemic and workforce shortages stress hospital capabilities. That makes cyberattacks pose potential life-threatening consequences, experts say. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2021/08/ransomwaretwowayweb.mp3 On Aug. 4, Indianapolis-based Eskenazi Health experienced a ransomware attack, halting access to electronic medical records and requiring ambulances to bypass the city’s […]
After Years Of Increased Police Presence, How Has The Pandemic Affected School Discipline?
ROCKFORD — Since the 2014-15 school year, Rockford Public Schools referred students to law enforcement for school discipline matters 2,379 times. The number of police incidents climbed from around 300 per year up to 503 in 2018-19, according to data obtained by WNIJ via a Freedom of Information Act request. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s528/audio/2021/07/0715rpsf.mp3 Listen to this story […]
Illinois Supreme Court To ‘Triage’ Eviction Cases
SPRINGFIELD – With the state-imposed moratorium on residential evictions set to expire Aug. 1, the Illinois Supreme Court announced a plan Thursday that provides an additional one-month “triage” period for tenants and landlords in certain cases to seek rental assistance. Gov. JB Pritzker first issued an executive order prohibiting residential evictions in March 2020 in […]
As Pandemic Weighs On Children’s Mental Health, Some Iowans Struggle To Find Help
DES MOINES, Ia. — Janette Lems said the trouble for her kids really began when they started school last fall. Her 7-year-old daughter struggled with being limited to interacting with just several kids who didn’t include her friends, and her 5-year-old son was displaying a lot of anger and aggression. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2021/05/se-kids-mental-healthweb.mp3 Listen to this story […]
Lawmakers Demand Pritzker Open Unemployment Offices To Public, Want Answers On Fraud Payments
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ Department of Employment Security has received more than 1.3 million fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, the state isn’t making public how much money has actually been paid out to fraudsters. Gov. JB Pritzker this week said an ongoing federal investigation into pandemic-related unemployment fraud […]
Flash Index Shows Record Jump In Illinois Economy
URBANA — For the first time in 13 months, the Illinois economy is expanding, according to the University of Illinois Flash Index. The Flash Index reading for April is 101.5, surging above 100 for the first time since February 2020, when it was at 105.7. The COVID-19 pandemic sent the Flash Index below 100 starting […]