The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Friday November 6, 2020

Olivia Butts
 
The Jupiter String Quartet is (left to right) Daniel McDonough, Liz Freivogel, Nelson Lee, and Meg Freivogel.

The Jupiter String Quartet is (left to right) Daniel McDonough, Liz Freivogel, Nelson Lee, and Meg Freivogel. Sarah Gardner

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Friday November 6, 2020

Today's headlines: 

  • Some high-powered Democrats are calling on House Speaker Michael Madigan to resign as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.

  • llinois passed another grim COVID-19 milestone yesterday. More than 10,000 Illinoisans have now died after testing positive for the virus.

  • Champaign County reported 60 new COVID-19 cases yesterday. The County is now dealing with nearly 600 active cases. The average number of new daily cases in Champaign County has more than doubled in the past three weeks.

  • More than two-thirds of U.S. adults say the 2020 election is a significant source of stress -- up from 2016 when just over half of people said the same.

  • Newly counted mail-in ballots have widened a still-narrow lead for the Democratic challenger for Champaign County Circuit Clerk. Susan McGrath is now 120 votes ahead of Republican incumbent Katie Blakeman, in the county’s closest election contest.

In today's deeper dive, the Jupiter String Quartet has a concert today, a virtual one of course. We talk with the quartet and a University of Illinois environmental sciences professor about a piece that’s a tribute to the “beauty and vitality of the natural world.”

217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Tony Arnold, Mary Hansen, and Christine Herman.