The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Wednesday December 9, 2020

Olivia Butts
 
Flooding has been a longstanding problem in Grafton, Illinois. In this file photo from 1993, U.S. Vice President Al Gore, center, Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, right, with glasses, and Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, left, of Gore, listen as Grafton Mayor Gerrald Nairn, seated next to Gore, talk about the town’s flooding problems as they ride a boat down Main Street.

Flooding has been a longstanding problem in Grafton, Illinois. In this file photo from 1993, U.S. Vice President Al Gore, center, Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, right, with glasses, and Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, left, of Gore, listen as Grafton Mayor Gerrald Nairn, seated next to Gore, talk about the town’s flooding problems as they ride a boat down Main Street. Seth Perlman/AP

Listen (Duration: 9:18)
Download

Wednesday December 9, 2020

Today’s headlines:

  • Republican lawmakers are proposing changes to Illinois’ constitution that would allow for recall elections in Illinois — something currently reserved only for the governor.

  • The state’s Department of Public Health reported more than 7,900 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, which brings the statewide total case count to more than 800,000.

  • An effort to prevent farmer suicides is likely to reach a vote on the senate floor this week.  

  • The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team knocked off tenth-ranked Duke last night 83-68 in Durham, North Carolina. 

In today’s deep dive, the Mississippi River town of Grafton, Illinois has had issues with flooding over the years,  but we’ll learn from Illinois Newsroom’s Lecia Bushak how those flooding events are happening more frequently and more severely in recent years.

217 Today is produced by Olivia Butts and hosted by Brian Moline. Reporting today contributed by Hannah Meisel, Amy Mayer, and Lecia Bushak.