Illinois State grad student Jelani Day celebrated at hometown service
DANVILLE – Hundreds filled Danville High School’s auditorium on Saturday, October 9, to celebrate the life of Jelani Day. The 25-year-old was reported missing in late August. At the time, he was pursuing a graduate degree in speech pathology at Illinois State University. Speakers celebrated Day’s dream of becoming a doctor. And how he pursued […]
Illinois Police Seeking Tips On Missing ISU Graduate Student
BLOOMINGTON — Police investigating the disappearance of an Illinois State University graduate student are asking the public for tips as the search for the young man continues nearly a month after he vanished. Twenty-five-year-old Jelani Day was last seen Aug. 24. His family from Danville and a faculty member reported him missing after he did […]
Danville VA Accepting Non-Veterans To Help Relieve Strain On Nearby Hospitals
DANVILLE – The VA hospital in Danville, Ill., has begun accepting non-Veteran patients who need inpatient care. The goal is to relieve some of the strain on other hospitals in the state — in particular, those in southern Illinois that have been stretched thin for weeks due to the latest COVID surge. Dr. Staci Williams, […]
Danville V.A. Fights To Fill 200 Jobs Amid National Staffing Shortage
DANVILLE – More than 200 jobs sit vacant at the Danville Veterans Affairs facility, mirroring a major staffing shortage at veterans facilities across the nation. Despite recent recruitment efforts at the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System in Danville, vacancy numbers have remained the same for years. Tom Hossfeld, the head of human relations, says […]
Danville Tears Down Buildings In Hopes Of One Day Building Anew
DANVILLE – The house on South Buchanan Street had been a familiar site in Danville’s Rabbittown neighborhood for decades. But in recent years, it had been empty, its windows boarded up. Early one morning in April, a city employee operating a Caterpillar excavator knocked it down in a matter of minutes, while a second employee […]
Final Election Tallies Include Some Close Votes
URBANA – All around Illinois on Tuesday, local authorities certified results from the April 6 local elections. Provisional and late-arriving mail-in ballots had an impact on some close races, but not others. For instance, no additional ballots were added when the Danville Election Commission finalized the results of the Ward 7 Danville City Council race. […]
Kennedy Center To Honor Danville’s Dick Van Dyke
CHAMPAIGN — The Kennedy Center announced it will honor Dick Van Dyke, an actor and comedian who grew up in Danville. Van Dyke is known for goofy facial expressions and other physical humor. He starred in his own TV show in the 1960’s and danced on rooftops in the movie Mary Poppins. The 95-year-old has […]
Voices From Illinois’ 15th Congressional District
Illinois’ 15th congressional district is one of two in the state where no incumbent is running. But this article is about the district itself, not candidates. All congressional districts are required to have roughly the same population, but there are no limits on territory. Illinois’ 15th District covers 14,696 square miles, or more land than […]
Central Illinois Schools Adopt Different Reopening Plans Amid Ongoing Pandemic
The Illinois State Board of Education is leaving it up to districts to decide how to reopen schools this fall. Some have chosen to continue remote learning, while others are bringing students back into classrooms amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. ISBE has strongly recommended that schools provide as much in-person instruction as possible. But state […]
Danville Casino Operator To Withdraw Application, Submit New One
DANVILLE – The operator for a proposed Danville casino says it is withdrawing the application, it submitted last October, and plans to submit a new one next month. The request from Haven Gaming, LLC, to withdraw is on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of the Illinois Gaming Board. In a statement, the Rochester, NY-based company […]
Danville Juneteenth Celebration Promises History Lesson And A Party
There will be food, music, dancing and a serving of history, Danville’s Juneteenth Celebration, which runs from 5 to 8 PM on Friday, June 19, at Lincoln Park (1000 N. Logan Ave.). A Facebook page for the event is linked here. Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when word of the Emancipation Proclamation formally came to […]
Cities Issue Outdoor Seating Guidelines For Restaurants As Illinois Enters ‘Phase Three’
As the state of Illinois begins allowing outdoor dining at restaurants Friday, cities are issuing guidance on how restaurants can expand their available outdoor seating. Rob Kowalski, Assistant Planning and Development Director for the City of Champaign, says officials had just a few days to write their guidelines, after Governor J.B. Pritzker announced late last […]
What’s Closed In Illinois Due To The Virus
STATEWIDE Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ordered the state’s residents to remain in their homes except for essential needs, March 21 at 5:00 p.m.-May 31. Starting May 1, there will be major modifications to the plan, click here to read about them. All schools — Gov. JB Pritkzer’s order closing all schools in the state has […]
Schools Closed Because Of Virus; Here’s How They’re Feeding Students
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ordered the closing of every school in the state until March 30 amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus. Statewide, nearly 2 million students will not be returning to the classroom for two weeks. Here is an updated blog on what Illinois districts are doing to keep education and school […]
News Around Illinois – March 26, 2020
Illinois Delays Income Tax Deadline As Virus Cases Climb CHICAGO — Illinois taxpayers will have until July 15 to file and pay their state income taxes because of the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the three-month delay Wednesday as officials reported an elderly resident has died at a suburban Chicago nursing home where dozens […]