Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess
Flaws in the Illinois state legislature’s bill to legalize cannabis for recreational use has led to statewide shortages in the product, particularly for the…
Rantoul Foods, which has had at least 87 workers stricken with Covid-19 at its meat processing plant, started hiring again. But the meat processing company said new workers “must take a Covid-19 test and receive negative results prior to starting work,” in an email Monday to the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
Darrell Hoemann
A nursing home resident at Alden Town Manor Rehab & HCC died after tumbling down five concrete stairs onto the pavement, according to state inspections reports. The receptionist said, “no one can really cover for me on the weekends when I step away from the desk,” according to the report by the Illinois Department of Public Health about the 2018 incident.
Darrell Hoemann
Many rural counties in Illinois face the same lack of choice when it comes to high-quality nursing homes. Rural nursing homes are buffeted with a number of issues that often lead to understaffing and low quality of care. In addition, some nursing homes in rural areas are closing because of financial challenges. There are 52 counties in Illinois with a population of under 30,000, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, and 45 of which has three or fewer nursing homes. Pope, Pulaski and Putnam, three counties with over 16,000 people in total, have no nursing homes within the counties.
Pam Dempsey, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Coronavirus testing is once again optional for workers at one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants as the number of confirmed cases hit 83 this week.
Pam Dempsey, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Rantoul Foods, one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants, will partially shut down Monday to undergo additional sanitization following a mass testing event at the plant Friday and Saturday that found 27 more cases of Covid-19 among employees, according to a company release. Though yet to be confirmed by health officials, this pushes the total number of employees who have become sick to 82.
Pam Dempsey, Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Rantoul Foods, one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants, accelerated its mass testing Friday as the number of confirmed cases at the plant rose to 55.
The number of Covid-19 cases at one of Central Illinois’ largest meat processing plants now stands at 52, health officials and plant management said Thursday.
Public health officials said they visited Rantoul Foods - which had 47 confirmed cases of Covid-19 as of May 5 - on April 27th after receiving reports of Covid-19 cases among company employees. “All of this was completely preventable,” Pryde said in an interview Tuesday, noting had the plant taken action earlier.
One of Central Illinois' largest hog processing plants, Rantoul Foods, has a confirmed 32 cases of Covid-19 since April 25, 2020. The company issued this statement.