Read more about the article Accidents and emergency calls mount at Archer Daniels Midland plants in Decatur in past year; Employee dies in rail accident, multiple employees injured in explosionsADM
Archer Daniels Midland headquarters in Decatur, Illinois. Photo from ADM's website.

Accidents and emergency calls mount at Archer Daniels Midland plants in Decatur in past year; Employee dies in rail accident, multiple employees injured in explosions

Listen to WILL's coverage for interview audio and hear from the reporters on The 21st Show. Just months before he planned to retire, 66-year-old…

Continue ReadingAccidents and emergency calls mount at Archer Daniels Midland plants in Decatur in past year; Employee dies in rail accident, multiple employees injured in explosions
Read more about the article One year, four accidents at Archer Daniels Midland’s Decatur, Ill. headquarters; company fined over $400,000 in past 10 yearsADM
Archer Daniels Midland headquarters in Decatur, Illinois. Photo from ADM's website.

One year, four accidents at Archer Daniels Midland’s Decatur, Ill. headquarters; company fined over $400,000 in past 10 years

An explosion in September at the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) plant in Decatur, Illinois injured eight workers, but federal work safety data shows it…

Continue ReadingOne year, four accidents at Archer Daniels Midland’s Decatur, Ill. headquarters; company fined over $400,000 in past 10 years
Read more about the article University of Illinois dorm maintenance relies on facility staff responses to thousands of requests, lack annual inspectionsDarrell Hoemann
Illinois Street Residence (ISR) Halls, exterior (1010 W Illinois St, Urbana, IL 61801) on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

University of Illinois dorm maintenance relies on facility staff responses to thousands of requests, lack annual inspections

The university has a total of 37 student housing options: 24 regular dorms and 13 Private Certified Housing options. “A search for one month produced more than 800 Maintenance Inspector Weekend Logs, 2,400 Maintenance Request Database entries, and 3,000 work orders in the database,” University of Illinois Chief Records Officer Kristen Ruby stated in an email.

Continue ReadingUniversity of Illinois dorm maintenance relies on facility staff responses to thousands of requests, lack annual inspections
Read more about the article University Tenant Union Housing Portal taken down for violating ad policies, but decision eliminates student complaints against landlordsHousing Explorer web page
The Housing Explorer was among one of the cuts to student and community resources made by the University of Illinois's Off-Campus Community Living Office.

University Tenant Union Housing Portal taken down for violating ad policies, but decision eliminates student complaints against landlords

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign quietly removed an online portal last year that, compiled a database of student complaints against area landlords and landlord responses to those complaints. A university official said this month that the site was taken down because it violated campus website advertising rules and that it was too much work to maintain the complaints section. The University of Illinois Off-Campus Community Living suggests that students use sites like Google Reviews, Yelp, the U of I Reddit Page, or the Better Business Bureau to draw their own conclusions about leasing companies on campus. 

Continue ReadingUniversity Tenant Union Housing Portal taken down for violating ad policies, but decision eliminates student complaints against landlords
Read more about the article Records show public housing often filled with violationsRobert Holly
Lavell Blissit stands outside Steer Place in Urbana on April 15, 2015. He has been a resident there for the past four years, he said.

Records show public housing often filled with violations

Cockroaches, mice feces, broken appliances and mold were among the most severe violations found during standard public housing inspections this past year in Champaign County.

Continue ReadingRecords show public housing often filled with violations
Read more about the article Inspectors find negligence, abuse in central Illinois nursing homesDarrell Hoemann
A review of Illinois Department of Public Health documents found that one of the residents at Champaign Urbana Nursing and Rehab left the facility alone and traveled nearly 40 miles away.

Inspectors find negligence, abuse in central Illinois nursing homes

State officials have conducted hundreds of complaint-based nursing home inspections across central Illinois since 2011. In the seven Medicare-certified nursing homes in Champaign County alone, inspectors from the Illinois Department of Public Health conducted at least 114 complaint-based inspections.

Continue ReadingInspectors find negligence, abuse in central Illinois nursing homes
Read more about the article Inspections find peril in central Illinois nursing homesDarrell Hoemann
The knitting group at Clark-Lindsey Retirement Village, Urbana, on Friday, Nov. 7, 2014.

Inspections find peril in central Illinois nursing homes

After months of interviews and reviewing Medicare data, Illinois Department of Public Health reports, court records and other documents, CU-CitizenAccess.org found that central Illinois…

Continue ReadingInspections find peril in central Illinois nursing homes
Read more about the article Husband’s treatment prompts wrongful death lawsuitNews-Gazette contributed photo.
Gerald Warmbier, 71, died Aug. 14, 2013 at Carle Foundation Hospital. His wife, Judy, filed a lawsuit against Heartland of Champaign this year.

Husband’s treatment prompts wrongful death lawsuit

After being admitted to the nursing home Heartland of Champaign to recover from a hospital stay for chest pain last year, Gerald Warmbier’s health…

Continue ReadingHusband’s treatment prompts wrongful death lawsuit
Read more about the article Tips for finding a good nursing homeDarrell Hoemann
Clark-Lindsey Retirement Village residents gather for a “kitchen band” activity session on Nov. 7, 2014.

Tips for finding a good nursing home

In one central Illinois nursing home, staff allowed a man labeled as an “elopement risk” to leave and wander 38 miles away. In another facility, two employees were caught whispering that one of the employees was having an affair with a female resident’s husband until the resident started crying.

Continue ReadingTips for finding a good nursing home
Read more about the article Central Illinois nursing homes plagued by violationsDarrell Hoemann
A resident participates in a knitting group at Clark-Lindsey Retirement Village on Nov. 7, 2014. Clark-Lindsey in Urbana is one of two federally rated five-star facilities in Champaign County.

Central Illinois nursing homes plagued by violations

Gerald Warmbier began a medical journey last year that took him to the nursing home Heartland of Champaign. But instead of helping him recover after medical treatment at Carle Foundation Hospital, the nursing home delivered such poor care that it led to his death, according to a lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Champaign County by his wife.

Continue ReadingCentral Illinois nursing homes plagued by violations