Read more about the article County set to debate whether posting placards will harm restaurantsDarrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org
Jim Roberts of the Champaign-Urbana Health District holds up a sample placard as county board members discussed whether restaurants in the county should be required to display inspection placards on August 21, 2014.

County set to debate whether posting placards will harm restaurants

By Claire Everett/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- Whether a restaurant in Champaign County should have to tell customers if it failed its health inspection is still up…

Continue ReadingCounty set to debate whether posting placards will harm restaurants
Read more about the article Mold in ice machine, flies in drain among dozens of violations in area restaurantsDarrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org
Perkins resturant inspection cards on Tuesday, August 19, 2014. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Mold in ice machine, flies in drain among dozens of violations in area restaurants

By Claire Everett/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- Meat leaking blood into cases of beer, ice machines with mold and flies in drains  were among the critical violations…

Continue ReadingMold in ice machine, flies in drain among dozens of violations in area restaurants
Read more about the article Safe at Home Part 2: Going it AloneThomas Pompernigg/Flickr Creative Commons
More women are choosing home birth, but in states where home birth midwives operate illegally, some women opt for an unassisted birth at home.

Safe at Home Part 2: Going it Alone

By Christine Herman/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- When Cheryl Gioja went into labor, her husband Joshua got down on his knees to “catch the baby” in the…

Continue ReadingSafe at Home Part 2: Going it Alone
Read more about the article Trial period over – yellow placards could be coming to a restaurant near youContributed/Champaign-Urbana Public Health District
A draft version of a reinspection notice. Public health officials are drafting ordinances that would require food establishments to post a color-coded placard that indicates the results of each health inspection. Yellow means the food establishment failed its health inspection with an adjusted score below 36 and but can remain open pending a reinspection within 30 days.

Trial period over – yellow placards could be coming to a restaurant near you

By Claire Everett/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- Between January and May, 32 restaurants in Champaign-Urbana failed health inspections. Diners still had no easy way of knowing if…

Continue ReadingTrial period over – yellow placards could be coming to a restaurant near you
Read more about the article Safe at Home Part 1: Illinois’s home birth crisisPhoto provided by Emily Fetterer and Kimberlie Kranich
Emily Fetterer and Kimberlie Kranich hold their new daughter, Azmi Ann.

Safe at Home Part 1: Illinois’s home birth crisis

By Christine Herman/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- Home births have increased by more than 50 percent since 2004. But in 22 states, certified professional midwives have to…

Continue ReadingSafe at Home Part 1: Illinois’s home birth crisis
Read more about the article Former Meals on Wheels recipient finds joy in volunteeringJanelle O'Dea/CU-CitizenAccess.org
Meals on Wheels volunteer Jerry Call makes a delivery on the "Pink Route" in Urbana, Ill., on March 18, 2014.

Former Meals on Wheels recipient finds joy in volunteering

By Janelle O’Dea/ CU-CitizenAccess.org - Meals on Wheels in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., provides hot lunches and sack suppers for a small cost to adult recipients…

Continue ReadingFormer Meals on Wheels recipient finds joy in volunteering