The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Thursday Feb. 18, 2021

Brian Moline and Olivia Butts
 
Gov. JB Pritzker delivers his combined State of the State and budget address from the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

Gov. JB Pritzker delivers his combined State of the State and budget address from the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. Screenshot/Illinois.gov

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Thursday Feb. 18, 2021

Today's headlines: 

  • A University of Illinois graduate student was kicked out of the U of I for one year for failing to get tested regularly for COVID-19. Illinois Newsroom's Lee Gaines reports on the university reversing its decision.

  • Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says his proposed budget for the next fiscal year protects school districts from funding cuts.

  • The Illinois State Board of Education wants new teacher candidates to recognize perceived biases they possess before entering the classroom.  

  • Severe winter weather across much of the country have delayed the state’s vaccine shipments, according to IDPH. State health officials say they were supposed to receive 365,000 doses this week, but have only gotten about 55,000 so far.

  • Nearly a quarter of Champaign County’s vaccine-eligible residents have received one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. About 7% are fully vaccinated.  

In today's deep dive, Illinois governor JB Pritzker gave a combined State of the State and budget address yesterday. It was missing some of the dire predictions that had been made about budget cuts and higher taxes.

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