Illinois

It's getting harder for health departments to convince people who were in contact with a positive COVID-19 patient to stay at home and self-quarantine.

Two county health departments are trialing a new “tech-based” approach to COVID-19 contact tracing. Meanwhile, Governor J.B. Pritzker Monday defended rules that lay out penalties for businesses disobeying statewide shutdown orders.

Pritzker’s office announced both St. Clair and Lake County’s health departments will use a “state-of-the-art” software platform that is designed to gather data from infected persons and track the virus in real-time. Another 95 counties will join them over the next few weeks.

Peoria hospitals are now offering the experimental drug remdesivir as a treatment option for certain COVID-19 patients.

The novel coronavirus may have lasting effects on consumer habits and employee job expectations even after social distancing guidelines have eased.

Morton Mayor Jeff Kaufman said while he likes both the Restore Heart of Illinois and Tri-County regional reopening plans, there's a major stumbling block that makes him wary of adopting it without the governor's blessing - liability.

This post is for news on the local response to the coronavirus in Springfield and Central Illinois. For last week's updates, go to this post. 

You can send tips, questions or announcements to engage@nprillinois.org.

A health advocacy group said a type of water-borne disease may be spreading at Illinois’ unoccupied workplaces.

Springfield’s emergency winter shelter is closing. The Winter Warming Center - operated by the Salvation Army and funded by the city of Springfield - opened last October to provide shelter for those who don’t have another place to stay during the winter months.

UPDATED 3:05 p.m. | One person was killed while fleeing police and three others were injured in a flurry of gunfire Friday night in central Peoria, authorities said. One suspect remains at large.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the state is expanding testing to all frontline and essential workers, including those in health care and first responders.

That will cover employees at a wide range of jobs including those at grocery stores, prison and restaurants.

Peoria officials said Friday they'll be ready to implement their regional phased reopening plan in the next week or so.

This week on Out and About, Contemproary Art Center of Peoria Exectuive Director, William Butler joins Jenn Gordon to talk about the variety of central Illinois artwork on display at the CIAO member show, as well as the power themes of motherhood and creation explored through the works of Janis Mars Wunderlich. Both shows remain on display at the CAC now through June 26. https://peoriacac.org/current-exhibitions/

Governor J.B. Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan to slowly re-open the state's economy is facing resistance from several quarters.  Meanwhile, the Illinois Legislature is preparing for an abbreviated session in Springfield next week.

Mark Maxwell, Capitol Bureau Chief for WCIA-TV, joins the panel.

Bradley University President Stephen Standifird is appointing a "Return to Campus" team to prepare for probable scenarios in the upcoming school year.

The Peoria County Board approved a 10.5 percent across the board cut to its 2020 budget as COVID-19 takes a bite out of incoming revenues.

Health care providers around the U.S. are noticing a concerning trend: fewer orders for childhood vaccines.

Illinois is a big state with a lot of different viewpoints.  On this episode, we focus on southern Illinois to find out how residents are coping with restrictions and public health recommendations.  

We'll hear a community showed support for a nursing home with dozens of cases of COVID-19 and more than twenty deaths. 

And coaches and athletes prepare all year for a season to begin.  But this spring left them wondering what might have been.

Those stories and more on this week's Statewide.

Illinois is a big state with a lot of different viewpoints.  We focus in on southern Illinois to find out how residents are coping with restrictions and public health recommendations.  

And coaches and athletes prepare all year for a season to begin.  But this spring left them wondering what might have been.

Those stories and more on this week's Statewide.

A group of downstate Illinois lawmakers are calling again for an alternative plan to reopen the state’s economy.

Those lawmakers said since economic and social interaction levels differ in certain areas of the state, Illinois should be divided into 11 regions instead than the four broad regions already laid out by the state’s public health authority. 

Peoria officials declined to take any new questions on the Restore Heart of Illinois phased reopening plan at the regularly scheduled COVID-19 press conference Thursday.

The Tri-County region saw perhaps its largest one-day tally for COVID-19 testing at its community-based collection sites thus far on Wednesday.

Illinois wants hundreds to potentially thousands of contact tracing workers trained and ready to start tracking the spread of the new coronavirus by the end of this month. At the same time, big tech companies are developing technology that could help with tracing efforts.

The Peoria Riverfront Market will open this year as planned, but a phased approach will be needed to meet the ongoing limitations of social events intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

A 22-year-old man is dead after a shooting in Peoria on Wednesday evening.

Dozens of cars snaked around the entrance to The Villas Senior Care Community in Sherman Wednesday. Staff in scrubs and facemasks waved as the cars slowed and honked, while some of their passengers hung out of the windows or sunroofs shouting thanks and encouragement.

Staff and public health officials have been battling since late April to respond to a coronavirus outbreak at the long-term care facility near Springfield.

Demolition of the former Bergner's at Sheridan Village has begun, marking the end of the iconic Central Peoria department store building.

The 11-county "Heart of Illinois" subregion plans to implement its own, speedier reopening plan independently of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan, which lumps Peoria in with the Quad Cities and Rockford in reopening phases.