Nursing home industry group at odds with Pritzker administration as reform debate drags on
SPRINGFIELD — Lawmakers on Tuesday will again hear the case for overhauling how nursing homes in Illinois get paid — and the case against Gov. JB Pritzker’s exact plans for how the system should change. The state’s largest nursing home industry group, the Health Care Council of Illinois, agreed to the concept in principle in […]
As Pritzker admin. pushes for nursing home reform, report details weaknesses in oversight
This story has been updated. In the early days, weeks and months of the pandemic, COVID-19 ravaged nursing homes, killing thousands of elderly and frail residents and forcing the isolation of thousands more. Though long-term care facilities statewide locked down, forbidding outside visits from family members, staff from the Illinois Department of Public Health charged […]
Delivery Service Rules, Limits On Governor’s Authority Over Unions Advance
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Senate worked through a long list of bills Thursday as lawmakers prepared to enter the final stretch of the 2021 session. Those bills included new restrictions on third-party delivery services such as DoorDash, limits on the governor’s authority to interfere with collective bargaining agreements and new requirements to collect data on […]
Industry Lobbying Left Nursing Homes Vulnerable In Pandemic
Published in collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Workshop. Even before COVID-19, aides caring for elderly and disabled people in nursing homes often were overworked and underpaid, doing everything from changing linens to helping residents eat to physically rotating them to prevent bedsores. Ashley Ford often was one of four aides for as many as 42 residents […]
News Around Illinois – July 24, 2020
Man Guilty of Repeated Rape of Child Gets 20-Year Sentence URBANA — A central Illinois man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting to repeatedly raping a child a decade ago. In sentencing Gregory Reed of Mahomet on Thursday, Champaign County Judge Tom Difanis called him “sexually dangerous” man who should never […]
News Around Illinois – July 8, 2020
Blackhawks Say Team Name Honors Namesake Who Inspired CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks say they will continue to use their team name because it honors a Native American leader who has been an inspiration to generations. “The Chicago Blackhawks name and logo symbolizes an important and historic person, Black Hawk of Illinois’ Sac & […]
Ask The Newsroom: Playgrounds Reopening, Nursing Home Visits, Weddings In Phase 4
The Illinois Newsroom team is answering questions from listeners to navigate this unprecedented time. Have a question you want answered? Ask here. In today’s edition of “Ask the Newsroom,” we sought answers — regarding the state’s moving into Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan today — from Julie Pryde, administrator of the Champaign-Urbana Public […]
News Around Illinois – May 8, 2020
Total Illinois COVID-19 Fatalities Surpass 3,000 CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported 2,641 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, bringing the total to 70,873 cases. There have been a total of 3,111 deaths in the state. Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the state is building up capacity to process the large number of unemployment […]
News Around Illinois – May 5, 2020
Gov. Pritzker Warns Illinois Cities That Re-Open Could Put Communities At Risk CHICAGO – Illinois reported 2,341 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, bringing the state total to 63,840. 46 additional deaths in the last day brings the total state fatalities to 2,662. Gov. J.B. Pritzker also responded to news that the mayor of East Peoria says […]
News Around Illinois – May 1, 2020
Modified Stay-At-Home Order Will Take Effect May 1 CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reported 2,563 new cases of COVID-19 in the state Thursday. That brings the total to 52,918 cases throughout 97 counties in Illinois. An additional 141 deaths were reported, bringing the total fatalities to 2,355. On Thursday, Gov. J.B. […]
Champaign County Planning To Offer COVID-19 Testing To All Nursing Home Residents
URBANA – All nursing home employees can now get tested for COVID-19, even if they’re not showing symptoms, thanks to the state loosening testing criteria last week to allow all health care and front line workers to qualify. But Champaign-Urbana Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde says she would like to further expand testing to include […]
Illinois Nursing Homes With ‘Serious Quality Issues’ Face Coronavirus Outbreaks
URBANA – Four Illinois nursing homes already identified by federal medical authorities as having a history of serious quality issues have suffered outbreaks of the coronavirus in the past two months. Twenty-four nursing homes are listed under the federal Special Focus Facility program, which is overseen by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Four Illinois nursing […]
News Around Illinois – April 28, 2020
Judge Rules Pritzker’s Stay-At-Home Order An Overreach CHICAGO — A judge in southern Illinois ruled Monday that the Illinois governor’s stay-at-home order to stem the spread of the coronavirus exceeds his emergency authority and violates individual civil rights. Clay County Circuit Judge Michael McHaney sided with Republican Rep. Darren Bailey’s lawsuit seeking to undo Democratic […]
COVID-19 Has Not Affected Nursing Homes In Champaign County, Officials Say
URBANA – Of the 91 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Champaign County as of Thursday, roughly a third are still active cases. Four people have died, six are currently hospitalized and the remaining 56 have recovered. Nursing homes across the nation and in other parts of Illinois have been affected by COVID-19 outbreaks. But so far, […]
News Around Illinois – March 18, 2020
Currently, there are 160 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. Chicago Woman In 60s Is State’s 1st COVID-19 Patient Death CHICAGO — Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the first death in Illinois of a […]