The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Monday January 11, 2021

 
Morris Elementary School Dave Raffel gives his morning announcement to students.

Morris Elementary School Dave Raffel gives his morning announcement to students. Provided by Dave Raffel

Monday January 11, 2021

Today’s headlines:

  • llinois Democrats are trying to decide who the next speaker of the House of Representatives will be. For the first time in decades - it’s not clear Michael Madigan will retain his title.

  • State Representative Darren Bailey says he expects to return to work soon after fainting in front of fellow lawmakers. The Republican from Zenia collapsed during a session of the General Assembly yesterday afternoon.

  • Danville officials hope this is the year their long-sought casino project gets started. A revamped lineup of investors and developers is awaiting Illinois Gaming Board approval for their new license application, after a 2019 application was deemed incomplete.

  • The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 11,428 new cases of COVID-19 this past weekend, and 182 deaths from the virus statewide. 

  • Champaign County health officials have administered more than 6,500 initial doses of COVID-19 vaccines, as of yesterday.

In today’s deep dive, on January 6, a mob of pro-Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol Building. Teachers watched the insurrection unfold and wondered, “How am I supposed to explain this tomorrow in class?” We’ll find out how some teachers are discussing last week’s insurrection at the U-S Capitol with their students.

217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Tony Arnold, Reginald Hardwick, Jim Meadows, and Peter Medlin.

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