Two years later, COVID breaks death records in Champaign County
As the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic begins, cases plunge after the deadliest month for Champaign County just this year. Nearly 62,000 cases.…
As the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic begins, cases plunge after the deadliest month for Champaign County just this year. Nearly 62,000 cases.…
One area hospital's safety grade has declined since the pandemic began, and another withheld quality of care information from the organization.
In April 2020, the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) began to give out loans via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). By the end of the…
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s proposal for deploying a micro nuclear reactor in west Urbana has sparked concern among local residents, who are…
Like the City of Champaign, Urbana issued no underage drinking citations or made any arrests last year through November 2021, according to police data…
Although Champaign voted in favor of implementing automated license plate readers (ALPRs) for $240,500 last month, Urbana rejected its $54,000 idea about a month…
Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only requires healthcare administrators to report severe infections of COVID-19 among the fully vaccinated, the true number and percentage of vaccine breakthrough cases infections in Champaign County and across the nation is significantly undercounted, public health experts say. Data from the University of Illinois shows that breakthrough cases — severe and mild — are much larger than than the state numbers. Since May, 75.9% of, or more than three out of four, positive tests belonged to fully vaccinated students or staff.
It has been an arduous journey since the early 2000s for the Urbana-Lincoln Hotel. There have been at least 7 different owners, 5 name changes, and millions of dollars in renovations and selling costs. Both city officials and the new owner, Icon Hospitality, LLC, are now confident the hotel will not only successfully open in late 2022 but will bring in significant revenue.
It was late the evening of April 22, 2020 when Martin Burke, a then 44-year-old professor of chemistry, received a phone call from the university provost. The provost, Andreas Cangellaris, requested that Burke develop a COVID-19 testing program for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. Over the next week, Burke gathered eight more team members, forming the founding members of what was known as the SHIELD team. The first SHIELD meeting was held on April 30, 2020, just eight days after the Provost’s call.
Members of the Historic East Urbana neighborhood association said they are suffering through recurrent odors and potential pollution issues because of the emissions from Emulsicoat, a local asphalt plant. The most recent complaint, filed to the IEPA in early May 2021, stated “the stench in the East Urbana neighborhood was overwhelming” and that people noted physical problems tied to it. The investigation by Michael Haggitt and Mark Schleuter from that same month had limitations from the lack of hard evidence linking the odor to the suspected Emulsicoat source and recommended no further action beyond the community meeting they held a month prior to that in April.