The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Monday March 8, 2021

Brian Moline and Olivia Butts
 
Kelly Keogh, a social studies teacher at Normal Community High School in central Illinois, conducts a lesson about polarization in American politics.

Kelly Keogh, a social studies teacher at Normal Community High School in central Illinois, conducts a lesson about polarization in American politics. Lee V. Gaines/Illinois Newsroom

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Today’s headlines:

  • Governor JB Pritzker is extending the state’s moratorium on evictions for another month, but with one key change.

  • Last summer, Illinois resident Mayra Ramirez became the first US coronavirus patient to receive a life-saving double-lung transplant. Today, she is still recovering both physically and mentally.

  • More than 36,000 Champaign County residents have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That’s nearly 21% of the county’s vaccine-eligible population.

  • Officials on the University of Illinois Urbana campus reported four new COVID-19 cases from testing conducted on Saturday – the lowest single-day total since students began returning to campus in January.

In today’s deep dive, a deeply divided country makes it harder for social studies teachers to do their jobs. Illinois Newsroom's education reporter Lee Gaines takes us into the classroom.

217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts. Reporting today contributed by Hannah Meisel, Christine Herman, and Lee Gaines.