217 Today: Far East Grocery owners share stories of hardship and success while catering to southeast Asian communities
A mural painted on the exterior of Far East Grocery in Champaign. Nidhi Shastri/Illinois Public Media
Friday, May 23, 2025
Today’s headlines:
- A Chicago man is suspected of killing two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. Wednesday night.
- People walking and biking in East Central Illinois could see the remaining portion of the Kickapoo Rail Trail constructed by the end of the year.
- After almost a decade as chancellor of the University of Illinois, Robert Jones believes he has taken more selfies than any previous leader of the Urbana-Champaign school.
- Some Democratic lawmakers in Springfield are pushing for progressive revenue structures.
In today’s deep dive, we take you into an international grocery store in Champaign and explore how the family running the shop journeyed from Vietnam to Central Illinois.
217 Today is produced by Stephanie Mosqueda. Reporting today contributed by Arjun Thakkar, Emily Hayes, Patrick Smith, Mawa Iqbal and Nidhi Shastri.