Illinois Department of Public Health

Understanding McLean County's Low STD Rates

By Mary Cullen • Aug 9, 2019

Medicine on a shelf — Mary Cullen / WGLT

McLean County reports lower sexually transmitted disease rates than its most similar Central Illinois neighbors, but the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health said that could point to a problem.

Bloomington Nursing Home Fined $25k After Losing Resident

By Mary Cullen • Jul 26, 2019

The Illinois Department of Public Health has fined a Bloomington nursing home $25,000 for letting a 49-year-old woman with dementia wander away from the facility in stockinged feet.

Coroner: Fatal Falls Outnumber Opioid-Related Deaths In McLean County

By Mary Cullen • Jun 21, 2019

The McLean County coroner said a nationwide increase in fatal falls isn’t just a sign of old age, it’s a call to take better care of our elders.

Central Illinois Medical Community Fights Skepticism Amid Measles Outbreak

By Eric Stock • May 23, 2019

Vaccination rates remain high in McLean County despite what the medical community says are efforts by skeptics to sow confusion over settled science, and they claim it’s putting our health at greater risk.

Amid U.S. Measles Outbreak, Illinois Announces Push On Vaccinations

By Brian Mackey • Apr 23, 2019

Public health officials say they‘ll work to increase vaccination rates across Illinois.

The announcement comes as the the U.S. is expected to have the worst run of measles cases since the disease was deemed eliminated in the year 2000.

State Grant To Help McLean County Pilot New Approach To Recovery

By Breanna Grow • Mar 25, 2019

Daniel Sokulski with his wife — Courtesy

For years, health care providers have treated alcohol and drug addiction like an acute condition: when someone checks into a treatment center, they’re given psychiatric care under close supervision to help them get clean. After treatment, they’re referred to a recovery community like a 12-step program, to help them stay on the right path, and released back into the community.

Scores Removed From Restaurant Inspections After State Change

By Ryan Denham • Jan 14, 2019

Bread on a floor — McLean County Health Department

The head of McLean County’s restaurant inspection program says the state’s new method of tracking violations could make it harder for the public to quickly understand a business' food safety performance.

State: Salmonella Traces To Pre-Cut Melon From Walmart

By Ryan Denham • Jun 8, 2018

Illinois public health officials warned Friday about an outbreak of salmonella traced to pre-cut melon sold at Walmart.

Top Aide Campaigned During Legionnaires' Crisis

By AP • Mar 27, 2018

Records show that a top aide at the Illinois Department of Public Health took a leave of absence to work on political campaigns in the fall of 2016 while the agency faced the baffling return of deadly Legionnaires' disease at a state-run veterans home.