Read more about the article Covid-19 outbreak hits Rantoul meat processing plant
A livestock truck in line at the Rantoul Foods plant in Rantoul, Il on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. photo by Darrell Hoemann/The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

Covid-19 outbreak hits Rantoul meat processing plant

Just days before President Trump ordered meat packing plants to remain open to mitigate food shortages, Rantoul Foods in Central Illinois saw its first case. There are now 21. One of the largest meat processing plants in central Illinois is battling an outbreak of coronavirus in which 21 cases of  Covid-19 have been already been counted, a company official confirmed Monday

Rantoul Foods, which is based in Rantoul and processes between 30 million and 35 million pounds of pork each month, saw its first case on April 25, said Jerry Jacobsen, the company's director of human resources, safety and business administration. Since then 20 more cases have been reported.

Jacobsen said the company is taking safety measures to bring the outbreak under control.

“The first thing is the health of our employees," Jacobsen said, “because without our employees we don’t have a business.” 

The first worker identified with Covid-19 has now recovered and returned to work, he said. 

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Read more about the article Most Illinois county jail facilities lacked isolation cells for disease, documents showDylan Tiger
A summary of IDOC county jail inspection report answers regarding isolation cells. One report marked both 'Yes' and 'No'. Some jails have not been inspected since 2018.

Most Illinois county jail facilities lacked isolation cells for disease, documents show

As the coronavirus outbreak hit Illinois, many county jails lacked a standard cell needed to isolate infected inmates who had a respiratory illness, according to a review by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting of annual jail inspections. The Covid-19 outbreak at the Cook County Jail and other metropolitan jails across the country has received wide attention, but jails in downstate Illinois have come under little scrutiny. In addition, officials at many jails contacted by telephone by the CU-CitizenAccess and the Midwest Center about their efforts to combat the virus did not return calls, abruptly hung up, or told reporters to call later with no additional information given.

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Read more about the article Coronavirus leaves international students scrambling to get home
International travelers needed to wait in long lines for hours at Delhi International Airport on March 20, 2020. "We were made to wait behind glass doors to join the actual line which led to the immigration counters," said Maheshwari.

Coronavirus leaves international students scrambling to get home

Yashovardhan Maheshwari, a freshman at the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus, was aboard one of the last planes allowed to fly to India on…

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Read more about the article First-person account of my travel experience during Coronavirus
The line before the first immigration counter line and after the thermal screening at Delhi International Airport in Delhi on March 20, 2020.

First-person account of my travel experience during Coronavirus

Yashovardhan Maheshwari shares his travel story to India during spring break amidst uncertainty from the University of Illinois and air travel policies.

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Read more about the article Numerous nursing homes cited for problems in infection prevention programsDarrell Hoemann
Champaign-Urbana Nursing and Rehab (302 Burwash Ave, Savoy) on Monday, April 6, 2020. The care facility has been cited for a deficiency in infection prevention and control in 2019. Photo by Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess

Numerous nursing homes cited for problems in infection prevention programs

At a time when nursing homes nationally are facing outbreaks of coronavirus, a review of federal inspection data reveals that more than half of nursing homes in Illinois were cited for deficiencies in infection prevention and control in 2019. The review of the federal data on Illinois nursing homes by CU-CitizenAccess and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting found that 396 of about 720 active nursing homes that are Medicare & Medicaid certified have been cited for deficiencies in infection prevention and control in 2019. The reports showed that nursing homes did not have adequate measures to “provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.” "Infection control practices are vitally important for long-term care facilities at all times, but especially now as we are facing a national emergency fighting COVID-19," said Kelly Richards the Illinois State Long Term Care Ombudsman, "It is imperative that all facilities follow infection control guidance issued by the CDC and the IL Dept. of Public Health." Infection prevention programs at nursing homes have come under scrutiny since the start of the COVID19 outbreak, as residents and staff members from numerous facilities have tested positive and died. According to the Illinois Public Health Department, 213 Illinois long term care facilities have COVID cases, as of April 8. Illinois has 773 cases associated with long-term care facilities (including assisted living), which includes patients and staff, the department said.

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MTD Managing Director salary far exceeds other employees’ pay

In 2017, the MTD awarded Gnadt, who has worked at MTD since 1995 and has been director since July 1, 2014, a five-year contract during which he will be awarded an annual 2.75 percent pay raise. The contract was approved unanimously by the MTD board members and runs until June 30, 2022.

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Twin city employees see big difference in pay

The median total compensation for Urbana employees in Fiscal Year 2018-2019 is $70,739. However, the median total compensation for Champaign city employees in the same year is $114,323. In total, 21 employees in Champaign received total compensations over $200,000, while no employee in Urbana exceeded that amount.

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Public lab testing of coronavirus faced weeks of delays; number of tests conducted locally unknown

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District started preparing for the coronavirus outbreak in January of this year, but no testing for the disease locally began…

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Read more about the article Concerns over COVID-19 lead to cuts in county jail populationDarrell Hoemann/The News-Gazette
One of the pods. Photos at the Champaign County satellite jail jail in east Urbana on Monday, March 11, 2013. File photo.

Concerns over COVID-19 lead to cuts in county jail population

Despite sharp spikes in population, such as a population of 173 on March 24, the number has stayed below the 2019 daily average since safety precautions began earlier this month. As of March 27, the number had fallen back to 157 people — with 11 serving prison sentences, 128 awaiting trial and the rest on Electronic Home Detention. “We have taken steps to encourage officers to not bring in inmates if they don't need to and have also been working with the State's Attorney's office to identify inmates who don't pose a safety risk who can be released from jail,” Sheriff Dustin Heuerman wrote in an email to CU-CitizenAccess.org.

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