Illinois

The COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Sangamon County Department of Public Health has a new process for giving out doses left at the end of each day, department director Gail O’Neill confirmed Monday.

Peoria Public Schools and their food service provider Sodexo are forming a local advisory committee to oversee decisions regarding student meals within the District.

The East Bluff Community Center's new brand isn't just cosmetic. It's the first step in an expanded committment to positively engage with youth in the Peoria neighborhood.

Steve Kouri is dropping out of the race for the District 4 Peoria City Council seat to take an appointment on the Illinois Human Rights Commission.

A Tazewell County man in his 60s became the Tri-County area’s latest death linked to COVID-19, while the region has topped 130,000 total doses of coronavirus vaccines administered since they became available.

It's college application season, and COVID-19 is having an impact for the second year running. Student reporter Olivia Streeter checked into enrollment processes with three local higher learning institutions.

A Peoria man was booked for attempted murder after a man was found shot in his vehicle in a Limestone Township liquor store parking lot.

Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell said deputies found a 26-year-old man with several gunshot wounds in a vehicle in the Laramie Liquors parking lot just before 10:45 p.m. Sunday.

The man was taken to OSF St. Francis Medical Center with serious injuries.

Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder and Teresa Haley, president of the Springfield and Illinois chapters of the NAACP, voiced support for Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory after a video was published of him in a fight.

Sixteen people have been shot in Springfield in the last two months, according to city police. Usual numbers for this time of year are between two and three people per month.

A couple dozen Springfield leaders gathered across the street from the site of a recent deadly shooting Friday to renounce the violence and call for solutions.

The Tri-County area and the state of Illinois continue to surpass milestones with COVID-19 vaccinations, while daily reports of new infections and deaths keep getting smaller.

Some Democratic Illinois lawmakers want to adopt more comprehensive sex education standards for K-12 schools to ensure students have a firm understanding of the importance of consent, the consequences of sharing underage sexually explicit material, and knowing when an action is considered sexual abuse.

On this episode, we discuss Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who becomes the new Illinois Democratic Party Chair, replacing Michael Madigan.  Gov. J.B. Pritzker supported her opponent and some view Kelly's ascension as a defeat for the governor.  

Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger has been outspoken about his own party.  It appears he'll face a primary challenge.  We discuss his political future.  

And Illinois continues to fall behind when it comes to its pension obligations.  We discuss it all on State Week. 

A drive-thru COVID-19 mass vaccination site for the Peoria area isn't outside the realm of possibility.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has a new executive director – Christina Shutt.

The Springfield museum and library’s board of trustees announced Friday the selection of its first Black leader. Shutt comes from Arkansas, where she served as executive director of Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. She holds master’s degrees in both history and library science.

On this week's episode of Out and About, you'll hear from renowned Bass Baritone Ryan Speedo Green and New York Times Magazine writer Daniel Bergner. They talk about Ryan's incredible journey to the Metropolitan Opera as chronicled in Daniel's book, "Sing for Your Life".  Both Ryan and Daniel will be featured guests at the Peoria Symphony Orchestra's virtual Leadership Luncheon on Monday, March 8th at noon.

A Peoria native is chasing after his dreams on this season of NBC's "The Voice."

  Larry talks to Clay Foley, standup comic, host, writer, and producer of Foley Informed, about why he loves sitcom writing and how he doesn't love a certain delicious (and popular) confection. Also, veganism, being a straight edge punk rocker, and you get to experience what it's like "on the road" with two comics in a car. 

It’s March let’s start the madness!

We are thrilled to bring you this very special episode. We invited back three close friends of the podcast, Justin from Disney Dads Podcast, Matthew from Imagineer Podcast and John from BigFatPanda.com. Joined by Brett and Vanessa these five take on narrowing down the best attraction at Walt Disney World. Who will cut down the nets at the end? Will a Cinderella story be in the making? Find out!

Disney Dads Podcast: https://disneydadspodcast.com

The vaccine rollout has been a difficult and confusing experience for many elderly residents.  But a 13-year old from Evanston has found a way to help people learn where to sign up.  He created a website.

Also, while restaurants are reopening, many employees remain unvaccinated and worried. 

Those stories and more on this episode of Statewide. 

The Tazewell County Health Department will begin COVID-19 vaccinations for the 1B+ population starting Friday.

For the next week or so, many student-athletes in central Illinois will take on double duty while coaches work to coordinate schedules so players don’t get spread too thin.

Melodi Green is a Peoria native who worked hard to make her dreams of becoming an attorney come true. She's now the first Black woman to head the Juvenile Division of the Peoria County State's Attorney's Office.