By WJBC Staff CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker received a positive test result during his routine COVID-19 testing regimen after being notified of several close contacts testing positive, according to a news release Tuesday. “The Governor is experiencing mild symptoms and has been prescribed the anti-viral medication, Paxlovid. He will follow CDC guidelines by working…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL – Most unvaccinated students, faculty and staff at Illinois State University will no longer have to test weekly for COVID-19. The university says healthcare workers and K-12 staff who are not fully vaccinated are to participate in the on-campus COVID-19 testing program at least once every seven calendar days until becoming fully vaccinated…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – Once again, schools will be able to take advantage of free covid-19 tests from the University of Illinois’ Shield program. About 258 districts throughout the state plus many private schools worked with Shield Illinois during this most recent academic year, utilizing the speedy saliva tests says the program’s Beth Heller.…… MORE
By IIS Radio and Blake Haas SPRINGFIELD – Masks are no longer required on public transportation in Illinois. In light of Monday’s federal court ruling, Gov. Pritzker is amending a current executive order so that citizens would not have to wear a mask riding public transit, in a transit station or at the airport. On…… MORE
By Neil Doyle NORMAL – Face coverings will be recommended, but not required in most facilities starting March 21 at Illinois State University. In a coronavirus update, the university said its updating the guidelines to reflect the state and CDC face covering guidance. Face coverings will still be required in clinical settings, at university events…… MORE
By IIS Radio CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker celebrated the end of the state’s mask mandate with a stop by Navy Pier in Chicago on Monday. Masks are no longer required in stores, bars, restaurants, daycares and schools. It’s a great feeling says Pritzker. “And it’s all because the people of Illinois did the right…… MORE
By Neil Doyle BLOOMINGTON – The Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal is partnering with the Illinois Department of Public Health to host a free COVID-19 vaccine clinic on Saturday, Feb. 12. Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson adult and child vaccines will all be available, according to a news release. “The safety of our…… MORE
By IIS Radio SPRINGFIELD – Monday marks the two year anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 reported in Illinois. The first case on Jan. 24 of 2020 was a Chicago woman who had recently returned from Wuhan, China. Two years later, the pandemic continues with record setting numbers of new cases and hospitalizations this…… MORE
By HOI ABC NORMAL – All students, faculty, and staff at Illinois State University are receiving KN95 masks at no cost to them, but it’s costing the school $23,000, a university spokesperson said Thursday. ISU is paying that amount for industrial supply company Grainger to quickly deliver 25,000 KN95s, said university spokesperson Eric Jome. He…… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – There’s skepticism over the government’s coronavirus numbers. And the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health says there is something to that. Dr. Ngozi Ezike gives one example: “Because of the ubiquitousness of omicron,” Ezike said during Gov. JB Pritzker’s news conference Wednesday, “there are people who maybe went…… MORE
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…