Tuesday's fatality: a man in his 70s with underlying health conditions ... 7 of 17 new cases in Champaign County in Rantoul ... Ford, Douglas counties each add 1 case; no new cases in Piatt ... Champaign Co. positivity rate up to 1.9%; state's drops to 2.5%.
With the 2020-21 school year just around the bend, 24 area superintendents and principals check in to answer: What’s the one aspect of your reopening plan that’s been the most challenging to figure out?
A daily question for Champaign-Urbana Public Health District's Julie Pryde
Taylorville Republican Rodney Davis represents the 13th Congressional District of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Champaign County's active case total rises by 17, to 134 ... Fisher adds an area-high 4 active cases; Rantoul and Champaign's 61822 ZIP code both up 3 ... Tiny town of Dewey has its first confirmed case of the pandemic ... Ford and Vermilion counties both add 3 cases.
All other employees at the Champaign store have been sent home with pay and all were being tested Monday.
Monday marks three months since Champaign County announced its first coronavirus-related fatality. The three deaths reported Saturday and Sunday are the most in any one weekend since.
The man, in his 90s, had an underlying health condition and hadn’t been in the hospital, public health officials told The News-Gazette on Saturday.
Champaign County's low number led to a steep decline in the 7-day positivity rate: 1.0% (down from 1.5%). Also dropping: active cases in Mahomet (from 27 to 23) ... County: 2 of Ford's 3 new cases 'associated with congregate living facilities' ... 25 Vermilion Co. residents isolating at home.
Work on bridge replacements in northwest Champaign, no fireworks this year at the Champaign Country Club, possibly illegal fireworks sales in Champaign County, the reasons for white tents dotting the University of Illinois campus, UI summer enrollment, traffic congestion in downtown Champaign, cemetery care, Canada geese and more.
Q: How do you deal with weight gain from the coronavirus quarantine?
This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s going from boom to fizzle: An Independence Day like no other we have ever experienced, with no organized snap, crackle or pop.
The nice folks at CU Kiwanis were looking for a fundraising idea, one that wouldn't conflict with state rules on social distancing and crowd size.
15 Champaign County ZIP codes have active cases, 10 of them with more than two. Those include Rantoul’s 61866, which has an area-high 195 cases but just 14 active ... County's 7-day positivity rate up (1.5%), hospitalizations down again (to four) ... Clay County judge: All of Pritzker’s executive orders since April 8 pertaining to the pandemic are void because he exceeded his authority when he used his emergency powers for more than 30 days.
URBANA — As it plans for in-person instruction, the University of Illinois so far hasn’t seen a major drop in enrollment for fall classes, Chancellor Robert Jones told the academic Senate on Wednesday.
For 35 years, Champaign’s Washington Street neighborhood has been a Fourth of July host with the most, friendly residents of all ages joining together for a festive parade and potluck.
'Trust, my teammates and I want to play. But schools around the country are showing blatant disregard for student athletes.'
Mahomet had the most new cases Wednesday (six). ... Of Champaign County's now-890 cases, 761 are recovered and 117 are active. ... Hospitalizations dropped by one, to seven. ... Thirteen new cases have been confirmed this week in Vermilion County, representing close to 20 percent of the 67 total. ... Wednesday's new cases involve a married couple in their 30s and a resident in their 20s.
"Staying safe. Following CDC guidelines," Mike Deterding said in a text to The News-Gazette. "My age puts me at a higher risk of severe illness if I contract Covid 19. Not taking that chance."
Beginning at 9 a.m. today, video-gambling machines at establishments around the state will be turned on for the first time since March 16.
The test-collection assistants will be paid $14.50 per hour and work at check-in tables, give instructions and control lines.
Ty Newell said infections across the nation are already increasing at a rate of more than 40,000 a day and are on track to grow to 400,000 a day by August if there isn’t a noticeable change in social-distancing practices combined with a reduction in disease-transmission efficiency.
If there’s a perk to sinking a hole-in-one during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s the bar tab.
Mahomet had the most new cases (four); Sadorus had its first, the 18th Champaign County town with at least one ... Administrator: New Vermilion cases could be linked to out-of-state travel ... Statewide 7-day positivity rate now at 2.6%, down slightly from Monday ... Piatt County: 1 new case; Douglas and Ford: none.
Starting at Carrie Busey Elementary, firefighters will wind through several neighborhoods on Saturday.
Matt Roeschley, Champaign’s deputy liquor commissioner, said he’ll know more Thursday about what possible steps could be taken.
So far, there have been 16 known cases linked to people who were either at the prom event or were in contact with someone who was, said health district Administrator Julie Pryde.
Champaign County: 742 recovered cases, 100 active, 12 hospitalized ... Among county ZIP codes, only Champaign’s 61820 had multiple new cases (3) ... Vermilion's 8 new cases a single-day high. Ford County adds 2, Douglas 1, Piatt 0.
Only St. Joseph had multiple new cases (2) ... 739 recovered, 94 active, 11 hospitalized, 0.8% daily positivity rate ... Douglas County also added 2 — men in 50s and 60s ... Statewide recovery rate: 94%.
How has the coronavirus affected service through Champaign?
Meet the couple whose gift has given Allerton Park a new and vibrant look.
Champaign’s 61821 was the only county ZIP code with multiple new cases, adding five for the second straight day ... Of the county’s now-839 confirmed cases, 729 are considered recovered and 98 are active ... The number of hospitalized residents remains 11.
How much value is there in wearing masks? Is an individual who has the virus but is asymptomatic contagious? Was Gov. J.B. Pritzker's lockdown really worth the devastating economic costs that have been and will be paid? There are lots of opinions, but no undisputed answers for the time being.
Prosecutor Elly Peirson, who is based in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Urbana, said the number of tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which acts as a starting point for many investigations, was three times as high in April 2020 compared with the same month last year.
American Airlines expects to increase its schedule from a pandemic-low three inbound and outbound flights a day — one each to Chicago O’Hare, Charlotte, N.C., and Dallas/Fort Worth — back to eight in the second week of July.
Mahomet, with 22 cases a week ago, now has 43, with 5 added Friday ... Philo, the last county town with 1,000 residents and no confirmed cases, adds its first ... Also up: Vermilion (4 new cases), Ford (3), Douglas (2).
Queries about a broad roadway in northern Champaign County, birdhouses in Meadowbrook Park, graffiti in Champaign, a permanently closed restaurant, lower gas prices, an overabundance of bunnies, possibly offensive street names and the possibility of Cubs game on TV.
Phase 4, which permits the reopening of outdoor recreation, is as far as reopening is going to go for a while.
Tim Sinclair is going to Disney World — for a very long time.
Champaign County: 791 new tests, 9 cases, 1.1% positivity rate ... Along with playgrounds, reopening during Friday's Phase 4 kickoff: baseball/softball fields, basketball/volleyball courts, football/soccer fields and picnic shelters.
The popular event was scheduled to take place downtown Aug. 28-29.
Joel Quintas, a deacon at Iglesias El Shaddai, a Christian Pentecostal church in Champaign, died Saturday at age 38 after struggling for more than a month with the disease.
In addition to having its cafeteria turned into the county's trial venue next month, the school will also offer jury quarters, a defense counsel room, prosecution quarters and witness rooms.
Among them: Dorms will have more residents living in single rooms, students will be given two masks and dining halls will mostly serve takeout.
Being permitted to restart indoor service Friday doesn’t mean all restaurants and bars will do so, and not necessarily at the full capacity they’ll be allowed.
The combination of fewer tests (148) and 10 new cases led to a 6.8% positivity rate in Champaign County ... Mahomet (34 cases, up 12 since the weekend) and Seymour (went from 0 to 3 cases) the biggest climbers after 'unofficial prom' at a private home led to 10 cases ... Douglas County adds 4 cases, giving it 1 fewer overall than Vermilion, which held at 49.
For the first time since March 17, the doors of Central Tavern will swing open at 11 a.m. Friday.
The governor's efforts to ease the state's problems have considerably complicated circumstances in county jails, where the number of inmates awaiting transfer to prison grows each day.
Nikia McGlory’s incoming cheerleading team at Danville Area Community College met for the first time not in a gym but at a church.
With the rules about be relaxed as the state advances to Phase 4 on Friday, we asked area small-town mayors and village presidents: On a 1-to-10 scale, how severe a toll have the pandemic and executive orders had on your local economy?
“One of my highest priorities is the safety and health of all Fire Department employees,” said Fire Chief Gary Ludwig.
There have been 10 confirmed cases of the disease linked to the party, according to Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator Julie Pryde.