One year into the pandemic, first responders reflect on what they’ve seen

by Cheyanne M. Daniels | Mar 10, 2021 | Coronavirus, Featured

When the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in Illinois a year ago, Gov. J.B. Pritzker instated a mandatory stay-at-home order.  Now the state has more than 800 vaccination sites, and nearly 3 million residents have been vaccinated so far. Even so, life in Illinois isn’t back...

Everything Felt Like a Punishment: First-person accounts of COVID-19 from Stateville Correctional Center

by Cheyanne M. Daniels and Madison Muller | Mar 9, 2021 | Coronavirus, Featured, Social Justice

Robert Cloutier, fifty-seven, has spent more than half of his life at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, Illinois. Incarcerated for nearly forty years, Cloutier has one of the more dangerous prison jobs during the pandemic: disposing of the prison’s biohazard...

Capital Region housing groups cautious as HUD expands COVID-19 relief

by Jay Silver | Feb 25, 2021 | Coronavirus, Economy, Featured, Living

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some housing officials in the Capital Region are telling homeowners who are relieved by the new federal COVID-19 eviction moratorium extension to begin preparing financially for the eventual end of the federal program. The U.S. Department of Housing...

For some of Florida’s international students, remote learning comes with added burdens

by Augusta Saraiva | Feb 17, 2021 | Coronavirus, Education, Featured, Immigration

The day before the University of South Florida’s virtual commencement in December, senior Lucca Salgueiro decided to postpone his graduation. The plan was for the student to attend the online ceremony from his hometown of São Paulo, Brazil, where he had been...

State health leaders tell Congress they need help to speed vaccine distribution

by Nicholas Portuondo | Feb 3, 2021 | Coronavirus, Featured

WASHINGTON – State health officials from across the country urged a congressional committee to increase distribution of COVID-19 vaccine doses at a hearing Tuesday that also had Republicans and Democrats sparring over who was to blame for the slow vaccine rollout. “We...

VIDEO: Biden Meets with 10 Republican Senators

by Julia Benbrook | Feb 3, 2021 | Coronavirus, Featured, Topics

WASHNGTON — President Joe Biden met with a group of Republican Senators Monday to discuss COVID-19 relief options. “The president is to be credited for his response to a counterproposal by nine Republicans and myself,” said Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. In...