News Around Illinois – June 26, 2020
Pritzker Touts Illinois Reopening As Other States Backtrack Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday that the state is progressing much more quickly than expected into the fourth phase of his five-part Restore Illinois program in response to the coronavirus, a vaccination for which is still at least several months away. Pritzker and his state public health […]
News Around Illinois – June 23, 2020
Chicago To Join State In Reopening Museums, Zoos On Friday CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago will join the rest of Illinois in the next reopening phase starting Friday, allowing museums, gyms and zoos to open for business with restrictions in place. Public health officials said Monday that COVID-19 metrics required for reopening under state and city […]
News Around Illinois – June 12, 2020
NTSB: Plane Spiraled Before Fatal Crash In Illinois Field CARLINVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A small plane that crashed last month while heading from Missouri to Michigan, killing four men aboard, entered into a “right descending spiral” before it went down in a southwestern Illinois farm field, authorities said. Investigators will examine the wreckage to determine […]
Lawsuit: Illinois Prisons Are Failing To Protect Inmates From COVID-19
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:54 p.m. on May 26 to include comments from the Illinois Department of Corrections. An amended lawsuit filed against Rob Jeffreys, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week claims that the state’s prison system has failed to protect medically vulnerable prisoners from […]
Gov. Pritzker Announces Modified Stay-At-Home Order: What Is Essential/Prohibited?
CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has extended the state’s stay-at-home order through the month of May. The order includes modifications, however, and includes some phased re-opening of state parks and non-essential businesses with social distancing guidelines. The governor also announced that people will be required to wear face masks in public places where they […]
Pritzker Concerned About Increasing COVID-19 Cases In Rural Illinois
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 1,585 new cases of COVID-19 statewide on Saturday, and an additional 125 deaths. The total number of cases across Illinois stands at 29,160 cases with 1,259 deaths across 93 of the state’s 102 counties. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced during a news conference Saturday that the state has yet […]
Champaign Unit 4 Offers WiFi Hotspots, Chromebooks As District Continues Remote Learning
Champaign Unit 4 Schools Superintendent Susan Zola wrote in a message to families last Friday that the district will continue to ensure students have access to meals and learning materials while at home. The message came shortly after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade schools statewide would remain closed through the end […]
‘They Should Be Letting Guys Go’: Six Illinois Prisoners Dead From COVID-19
URBANA – At least six men incarcerated in the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet have died after contracting COVID-19. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, 123 people incarcerated at Stateville have tested positive for the virus along with 65 staff members. Other prisons across the state have also reported cases of the virus among […]
Pritzker Hints At COVID-19 Peak, But Says It’s Too Soon To Know For Sure
On Sunday, Illinois surpassed the 20,000 mark in total COVID-19 cases. The death toll from the virus now stands at 720 since the pandemic began. While those numbers are grim, there might be a silver lining. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Sunday’s death count of 43 is the lowest in six days. While tests administered have […]
‘A Lot Of These Older Guys Are Gonna Die’: COVID-19 Hits Illinois Prisons
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced this week that Illinois prisons would be closed to new inmates in response to growing concern about the COVID-19 pandemic spreading within Illinois’ correctional facilities. As of Sunday, at least eight incarcerated men at Stateville Correctional Center have tested positive for the virus, along with multiple staff members at the prison. […]
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 […]
Advocates Demand Illinois Release Youth From Juvenile Detention Centers Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Advocates and correctional officials are calling on Illinois and other states across the country to release youth from juvenile detention facilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There are currently about 200 youth incarcerated in Illinois’ juvenile detention facilities. A recent report from the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University found that more than 90% […]
News Around Illinois – March 23, 2020
Illinois COVID-19 Cases Top 1,000 URBANA – The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 296 new cases of coronavirus disease in Illinois. The number of cases now stands at 1,049 in 30 counties. There are also three new deaths: a Cook County man in his 80s, a Chicago man in his 80s and a woman […]
News Around Illinois – March 17, 2020
Currently, there are 105 individuals in 15 Illinois counties who have tested positive for COVID-19. Click here for a map of the affected counties and other resources from WILL’s Coronavirus Information Center. Illinois Governor: Election Still On, Despite Virus Concerns SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the primary election in Illinois will proceed despite a […]
Illinois Prisons Ban Visits Amid Coronavirus Fears, Inmates Not Being Tested For Virus
The Illinois Department of Corrections announced Friday that visitors will be temporarily barred from the state’s correctional facilities in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Prison officials say they haven’t identified any positive cases of coronavirus among staff or incarcerated people. IDOC Spokesperson Lindsey Hess says there are more than 50 men […]