The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Tuesday January 12, 2021

Olivia Butts
 
In this Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020 file photo, a Catholic pastor receives the first of the two Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations at a hospital in Chicago.

In this Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020 file photo, a Catholic pastor receives the first of the two Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations at a hospital in Chicago. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

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Tuesday January 12, 2021

Today's headlines:

  • An Illinois House Democrat who stunned her colleagueswhen she said she couldn’t vote for House Speaker Mike Madigan to serve another term as speaker —despite serving on his leadership team —says Madigan’s suspension of his speaker campaign isn’t leadership.

  • Governor JB Pritzker reiterated his plans to loosen covid restrictions in some areas of the state on Friday.

  • An education reform bill would force schools to test children even before they enter kindergarten.

  • Public Health officials reported more than 4,700 new COVID-19 cases in Illinois Monday, along with 53 new deaths. More than 17,600 people in Illinois have died from the virus.

In today's deep dive, supply chain issues --and logistical challenges --are causing the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in Illinois to move slower than expected. Christine Herman discusses the challenges with Sandy Salverson of OSF Healthcare.

217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Hannah Meisel, Mary Hansen, Christine Hatfield, and Christine Herman.