health care rankings

Obesity hearings set stage for statewide change

Submitted by The News-Gazette on Fri, 2010-02-26 15:52

SPRINGFIELD –Illinois officials are working to control the state’s obesity problem by hosting three public hearings statewide.

Illinois has the highest number of overweight or obese children covered under public insurance plans in the nation – or 56 percent of children receiving state-funded health insurance, according to findings by the Obesity Prevention Initiative Act.

Illinois Department of Public Health

Despite gaps in health ranks, Champaign, Vermilion counties share common ground

Submitted by The News-Gazette on Wed, 2010-02-17 14:25

CHAMPAIGN – How healthy you are has a lot to do with where you live, according to a new report that found a wide disparity in the health of Illinois residents, depending on which of the state's 102 counties they call home.

The report released this morning by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin looked at the overall health and risk factors in more than 3,000 counties in all 50 states.

Pam G. Dempsey/Powdered baby formula is stacked in a corner of an office at empty tomb inc., a Christian research and service organization. Just 30 percent of Champaign County residents have access to healthy foods, according to a report released Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin