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Top news features from WILL:
Revival for an Old Nursing Home
Story air date: Friday, July 11, 2008
It only took a year, but what could have been an empty and decaying complex in Urbana is now a training ground for homeland security teams. A couple of days in advance of the official opening, AM 580’s Tom Rogers got an advance tour of the building that was once the Champaign County Nursing Home with the head of the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, Jim Page (left).
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Story categories: crime • government • Champaign County • Illinois
A Pivotal Former Mayor Leaves Rantoul
Story air date: Friday, July 11, 2008
It’s been 20 years since the federal government announced that Chanute Air Force Base would be closing its doors. That cost over a thousand jobs and decimated Rantoul’s population, but the effort to redevelop the land has produced a number of success stories. Katy Podagrosi served as Rantoul’s mayor through much of that time. This week, the village’s leader for more than 12 years -- and resident for nearly 50 -- is leaving the community. She spoke with AM 580’s Jeff Bossert (click below for the full interview)
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Story categories: community life • government • people • politics
The Next Page for Champaign County's Nursing Home
Story air date: Thursday, July 10, 2008
The head of a St. Louis-based consulting firm hired to manage the Champaign County Nursing Home says there will be no quick turnaround for the facility. But Management Performance Associates President Michael Scavotto also says the home is also getting a bit of a bad rap due to a massive debt… empty beds… and an uneven number of Medicaid and Medicare residents. Scavatto just completed his first visit to the Nursing Home, getting a first-hand look at the facility and meeting with staff. AM 580’s Jeff Bossert spoke with him.
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Story categories: disability • government • Champaign County • health care
A Small Hospital Rebuilds -- but Builds Small
Story air date: Thursday, June 19, 2008
One of Illinois’ smallest hospitals wants to expand and offer new services over the next few years. But the chief executive officer of John and Mary Kirby Hospital in Monticello says to do that, they’ll need a brand new hospital at a brand new location. AM 580’s Tom Rogers talked to him.
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Story categories: business • community life • health care
Shaky Ground for Housing
Story air date: Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Mortgage Bankers Association says of all the homes in the country, nearly 2 1/2 percent of them are in foreclosure. Illinois’s foreclosure rate is even higher --- the 7th highest in the nation. Home foreclosures also appear to be on the rise in the Champaign-Urbana area. But as AM 580's Jim Meadows reports, it may not have reached the crisis level ... yet.
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Story categories: business • economy
Champaign County's Nursing Home Woes
Story air date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
The Champaign County Board is discussing recommendations from a consultant for improving finances at the Champaign County Nursing Home. County officials say they understand that they have to act quickly and decisively to fix the nursing home’s precarious finances. But even with those changes, many are saying that more tax money will be needed to balance the books. AM 580’s Jim Meadows reports.
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Story categories: business • government • Champaign County • health care • politics
Carle Foundation Hospital Expansion
Story air date: Monday, May 19, 2008
This week, the dream of Doug and Linda Mills is being realized. The Carle Foundation Hospital campus is expanding, with a new 50-million dollar building housing both the Mills Breast Cancer Institute and Carle Cancer Center. AM 580's Jeff Bossert went on a tour of the facility that will soon be seeing patients -- and talked with some of those responsible for starting it.
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Story categories: health • health care
Tragedy Halfway Around the World and at Home
Story air date: Thursday, May 15, 2008
The number of casualties keeps rising from the earthquake in China's Sichuan province. The devastation is also felt in Champaign-Urbana. Many Chinese residents here have been checking up on family and friends back home to make sure they're alright. AM 580's Michael Koliska talked with four of them -- and he reports that for at least one, the news has been tragic.
