The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021

Brian Moline and Farrah Anderson
 
Two emergency winter shelters serving people experiencing homelessness in Champaign-Urbana that were scheduled to open Monday are delayed.

Two emergency winter shelters serving people experiencing homelessness in Champaign-Urbana that were scheduled to open Monday are delayed. Provided by C-U at Home

Listen (Duration: 9:31)
Download

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021

Today's headlines:

  • Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a state disaster proclamation Monday for 28 Illinois counties hit by Friday’s severe storms. The proclamation gives the state and its emergency management agency the authority to provide resources to help storm victims.

  • Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey is the first in the GOP field to announce a running mate in his bid to unseat Governor J.B. Pritzker next year.

  • The FBI is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information on the final hours of Illinois State University graduate student Jelani Day who disappeared in August and was later found dead in a river.

  • A German Christmas Market in Urbana is running at full capacity for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In today's deep dive, we'll hear a conversation with the new executive director of C-U at Home, which provides services to those living in Champaign-Urbana without a home. C-U at Home has been working to get winter shelters opened in time to keep people safe from the cold weather. They were scheduled to open Monday, but didn’t, due in part to staffing shortages.

217 Today is produced by Farrah Anderson. Reporting today contributed by Jim Meadows, Hannah Meisel, Reginald Hardwick, Haley Bickelhaupt and Dana Cronin.