The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Thursday January 21, 2021

Olivia Butts
 
University of Illinois professor Jonathan Coppess was tapped by the Biden administration to help transition the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

University of Illinois professor Jonathan Coppess was tapped by the Biden administration to help transition the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Courtesy of Jonathan Coppess

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Today’s headlines:

  • Students at the University of Illinois Urbana campus react to the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

  • No new coronavirus cases have been confirmed among state legislators and their staff, since the Illinois General Assembly left Springfield late last week. That’s after three people associated with the legislature’s lame-duck session reported positive tests after leaving town.

  • Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth is calling for white nationalism and extremism to be rooted out of the U.S. military.

  • Champaign County officials reported 27 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing the number of active cases county-wide to 682, including 30 people hospitalized with the virus. The death toll stands at 102.

In today’s deep dive, a University of Illinois professor helped the U.S. Department of Agriculture transition from the Trump to the new Biden-Harris administration.

217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts. Reporting today contributed by Jose Zepeda, Hannah Meisel and Dana Cronin.