The 217 Today Podcast

217 Today: Wednesday Feb. 17, 2021

Brian Moline and Olivia Butts
 
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, is continuing to advocate for progress in Illinois as part of the General Assembly's LGBTQ+ caucus. Two LGBTQ+-affirming bills have been introduced this year, with more on the way.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, is continuing to advocate for progress in Illinois as part of the General Assembly's LGBTQ+ caucus. Two LGBTQ+-affirming bills have been introduced this year, with more on the way. State Rep. Kelly Cassidy's office

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Wednesday Feb. 17, 2021

Today's headlines: 

  • Democrats and Republicans are staking out their usual positions on state spending ahead of Governor JB Pritzker’s Budget Address Wednesday. You can hear the speech at noon Wednesday on WILL-AM 580.

  • Temperatures were below zero across much of Illinois Wednesday morning, including at Willard Airport south of Champaign. Winds are light this morning, but wind chill readings were still at dangerous levels.

  • Illinois has some of the highest potential in the country for reducing its nitrogen pollution. Illinois Newsroom's Dana Cronin has details from a University of Vermont study.

  • The University of Illinois reported 51 new cases of COVID-19 from tests conducted on Monday. The campus’ seven-day positivity rate of 0.46% is down slightly from this time last week.

In today's deep dive, President Joe Biden has rolled back multiple federal policies that negatively affected LGBTQ+ people under former president Donald Trump. But in Illinois, policy advocates say there are still more battles to be fought.

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