In today's deep dive, across the country, Black people are getting the COVID-19 vaccine at lower rates than the general population. State and county health officials point to hesitancy – a distrust of the medical establishment about getting vaccinated – as a reason for the gap. But as Mary Hansen reports, equity advocates say access plays a role too.

Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents the northwest suburbs of Chicago, joined The 21st to talk about the next round of COVID relief being considered this week in the U.S. House, including $1,400 stimulus checks, an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, and aid for state and local governments; plus increasing attacks on Americans of Asian descent, and problems at the U.S. Postal Service.

In today's deep dive, we take a look at how U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger's time at Illinois State University and serving on the McLean County Board shaped the politician he is today.

The pandemic has halted and changed our many ways of living across our state and the world. Despite these drastic changes to our lifestyles and traveling opportunities, there is one issue that has not gone away during this pandemic – and that is human trafficking. It happens right here in Illinois and to learn more about how the pandemic plays a role in it, The 21st was joined by two experts and a survivor.

Winter in the midwest can be cold, dark and a little depressing — especially during a global pandemic. The 21st spoke to a UK-based author who has written a book on how to embrace “Wintering.” 

In today's deep dive, we learn about the bittersweet feeling many foreign-born doctors in the U.S. got when receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, as family members back home still wait to get vaccinated.

Over the course of the final six months of Donald Trump's presidential term, the administration carried out more than 13 executions.That's more than the federal government executed in the previous half-century combined. Reporter Michael Tarm witnessed 10 of those executions for The Associated Press, and his observations are at odds with what federal officials noted in their reports.

To look back in time and explore what prehistoric Illinois may have looked like, what creatures roamed these lands and why you likely won’t be finding any dinosaur fossils here, The 21st was joined by senior paleontologist at the Illinois State Geological Survey and a vertebrate paleontologist and associate curator of Fossil Reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago.