217 Today: An allergy to red meat spread by tick bites affects nearly half a million Americans.

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Today’s headlines: 

• A Democrat running for Illinois’ open U.S. Senate seat says she’ll work for responsible policies on Artificial Intelligence.
• An Instagram post by the Illini Republicans supporting ICE received major criticism last week.
• Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has announced a partnership between the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Amazon company Ring.
• Governor J-B Pritzker has pumped 5 million dollars into a super PAC supporting Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton’s bid for U-S Senate. 

In today’s deep dive, an allergy to red meat spread by tick bites affects nearly half a million Americans.

217 Today is produced by Giuliana Means. Reporting today contributed by Christine Herman, Rebecca Smith, Illinois Public Radio, Mawa Iqbal, Adelyn Mui, and Giuliana Means.