Thinking About Summer Camp? Here’s Some Advice From An Infectious Disease Expert
URBANA – With summer camps on the horizon, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance and recommendations on April 24 for preventing the spread of COVID-19. Among them: mask-wearing, spacing out three to six feet apart, good ventilation and being outdoors as much as possible. “They also now recommend that all […]
Illinois To Lose Congressional Seat Based On 2020 Census
SPRINGFIELD – The U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday Illinois will lose a seat in Congress based on the results of the 2020 census. Illinois will move from 18 to 17 seats in the U.S. House, an expected result after some advocates had warned that an undercount could lead to the loss of two seats. The […]
What Can Be Done To Keep New Mothers From Dying?
URBANA – The U.S. is the only industrialized nation where the rate of pregnancy-related deaths is on the rise. About 700 U.S. women die each year due to pregnancy or its complications. And Black and Indigenous mothers are two to three times more likely than white mothers to die from pregnancy-related causes, according to the […]
217 Today — March 26, 2021
Friday, March 26, 2021 Today’s headlines: More than two-thirds of staff at Illinois prisons rejected their chance at getting the COVID-19 vaccine. A bill state legislators say would expand voting rights is on its way to the governor after passing the Senate. It would increase vote by mail options and allow curbside voting. Larger cities in Illinois […]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker Tours Champaign Vaccination Site, Praises Local Partnerships
CHAMPAIGN – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker visited the vaccination site located at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign on Wednesday. During a press briefing following a tour led by Champaign-Urbana Public Health administrator Julie Pryde, Pritzker praised Champaign County for leading the way in building local partnerships to get the vaccine out to […]
Illinois’ First-Year Legal Marijuana Sales Boomed, But Challenges Remain
EAST ST. LOUIS – The line outside the Metro East’s first recreational marijuana dispensary was already long hours before it opened for the first time last January. Hundreds of people packed themselves into a tight metal maze that could barely contain the growing crowd at Ascend in Collinsville. The line continued away from the building, snaking along a nearby sidewalk, […]
Tracking COVID-19 Vaccines State By State
This digital embed of a sortable, ranked table shows vaccination rates and statistics for U.S. states and the overall U.S. using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the percent of state population receiving the 1st dose of vaccination. This table will be updated daily.
Only Three New Laws Take Effect This Month
SPRINGFIELD – When a new year begins in Illinois, there typically are dozens if not hundreds of new laws going into effect. Not this year. Like so many other things in 2020, the legislative spring session was stunted by COVID-19. Once the global pandemic reached Illinois in March, the General Assembly would meet for only […]
Census: IL Has 12.5 Million Residents; Suffered Less Than 1% Population Loss
The Northeast and Midwest regions of the U.S. had tiny population declines from 2019 to 2020, while the South and West regions had slight increases with the exception of California.
Central Illinois Hospitals Gearing Up For The Arrival Of The Coronavirus Vaccine
When Gov. JB Pritzker observes COVID-19 vaccines administered at a Peoria hospital on Tuesday morning, he’ll be witnessing among the first COVID-19…
217 Today — Dec. 9, 2020
Wednesday December 9, 2020 Today’s headlines: Republican lawmakers are proposing changes to Illinois’ constitution that would allow for recall elections in Illinois — something currently reserved only for the governor. The state’s Department of Public Health reported more than 7,900 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, which brings the statewide total case count to more than […]
Pritzker’s Daily COVID-19 Briefing Full Transcript And Audio — Dec. 4, 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 […]
217 Today — Dec. 4, 2020
Friday December 4, 2020 Today’s headlines: Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger is blaming Democratic Governor JB Pritzker for not controlling a fatal COVID outbreak at an Illinois veterans’ home. Illinois’ blood supply is again experiencing a critical shortage as the Coronavirus pandemic wears on. State health officials announced nearly 11,000 new COVID-19 cases yesterday and almost 200 additional […]
New Virus Cases Drop For Third Day In Illinois
SPRINGFIELD — New cases of coronavirus illness in Illinois dropped Monday for the third day in a row, but officials fear the fallout from Thanksgiving travel and family gatherings will push the numbers back up. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, said there will be no change in current restrictions on social interaction for several weeks. […]
Pritzker’s Daily COVID-19 Briefing Full Transcript And Audio — Nov. 30, 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 […]