The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Wed. March 17, 2021

Brian Moline and Olivia Butts
 
Karla Grathler, standing second from the right, leads the Farmworker Health Program at Shawnee Health Service. She poses alongside a group of migrant farmworkers from Oaxaca, Mexico, moments after getting they received the first dose of the vaccine on Feb. 27.

Karla Grathler, standing second from the right, leads the Farmworker Health Program at Shawnee Health Service. She poses alongside a group of migrant farmworkers from Oaxaca, Mexico, moments after getting they received the first dose of the vaccine on Feb. 27. Christine Herman/Illinois Newsroom

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Wednesday March 17, 2021

Today’s headlines:

  • Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau is warning states that final Census data may not be ready to go until September. But state lawmakers this week will kick off two dozen hearings on redistricting this spring for legislative and congressional maps that will be in use for a decade beginning in 2022.

  • Fewer Illinois families have applied for college financial aid this year, using the FAFSA --- the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

  • The University of Illinois will have increased in-person instruction on its three campuses this fall.

  • Public health officials report more than 900 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on Monday in Champaign County. 

In today’s deep dive, farm workers from Mexico are starting to make their way into fields across the country – and for some, the first stop, is getting a vaccine. We get that story from Illinois Newsroom's Dana Cronin.

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