The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Friday May 7, 2021

Brian Moline
 
A group of University of Illinois students hold signs that say “Stop Asian Hate” at a rally in downtown Champaign in March 2021. Students have been going to the University’s Asian American Cultural Center about Asian racism since long before the pandemic, center director David Chih said.

A group of University of Illinois students hold signs that say “Stop Asian Hate” at a rally in downtown Champaign in March 2021. Students have been going to the University’s Asian American Cultural Center about Asian racism since long before the pandemic, center director David Chih said. Vivian La/Illinois Public Media student newsroom

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Friday May 7, 2021

Today's headlines:

  • Gov. JB Pritzker will expand capacity limits at business and social gatherings beginning next Friday, citing improved COVID metrics and vaccination numbers.

  • Republican state lawmakers are again blasting Democrats who control the General Assembly over the way the majority party is drawing new legislative maps.

  • The University of Illinois Urbana campus is relaxing some of its restrictions on travel for University projects this summer.

  • The Macon County Health Department is hosting a single-dose vaccination clinic on Friday at the the MCHD office in Decatur. Six hundred doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are available.

In today's deep dive, a look at the racism members of the Asian-American Pacific Islander community are facing on a daily basis, right here in Champaign-Urbana.

Reporting today contributed by Hannah Meisel, Jim Meadows, and Vivian La.