The 21st Show

Understanding Impeachment; Traumatic Brain Injury Among Veterans; Amtrak Delays in Illinois; Sports Update

By Brian Moline, Libby Foster and Alan Montecillo
 

The Capitol is seen at dawn on the morning after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the House of Representatives will vote on a resolution to affirm the impeachment investigation, in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019. The expected Thursday vote will set rules for public hearings and outline the potential process for writing articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

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Democrats in the U.S. House are laying out next steps for the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. We’ll check in with a constitutional law scholar on what we all need to know about this whole process. Plus, hundreds of thousands of servicemembers suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some experts say this problem has stayed invisible for too long. And, why the Amtrak line between Chicago and Carbondale is one of the worst performing in the whole country. Also, we'll get the latest in Illinois sports from Cheryl Raye Stout. 

Impeachment Questions Answered

Only two American presidents have ever been impeached, Andrew Johnson back in 1868, and Bill Clinton nearly 20 years ago. President Richard Nixon resigned before impeachment could take place.

Now, Donald Trump is on track to become the third. Tomorrow, House Democrats will hold a vote that will move the impeachment inquiry process forward.

And while the spectacle of impeachment, which could include a trial in the Senate, can dominate the headlines, there’s also a lot about this process that can be complicated and confusing for the general public.

Vikram Amar is a constitutional law scholar and the Dean of the University of Illinois’ College of Law. 

Traumatic Brain Injury Among Veterans

The U.S. has been at war for nearly all of this century, with the invasions of both Afghanistan and Iraq. An analysis by the RAND Corporation shows that more than 2.7 million service members have been deployed in these two wars since 2001.

Combat is extremely dangerous. And one of the most common hardships that servicemembers face is Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI.

The Department of Defense says hundreds of thousands of servicemembers have suffered a TBI in Iraq and Afghanistan. But even though so many people have these injuries, there are still significant challenges when it comes to diagnosing and treating TBI.

Jeni Hunniecutt is a visiting research specialist at the University of Illinois’ Chez Veterans Center. She also served in the Virginia Army National Guard from 2008 to 2014. And Aaron Anderson is a postdoctoral fellow with Carle Foundation Hospital and the U of I. 

Amtrak Delays in Illinois

Every year, more than 4 million passengers ride Amtrak trains here in Illinois. Two of the most popular routes are the Illini and Saluki which both run between Chicago and Carbondale with 11 stops along the way,  including Kankakee, Champaign-Urbana and Effingham. 

But, Amtrak’s Illini and Saluki trains have some of the worst on-time performance records in the nation. That’s according to a report from a federal watchdog organization. 

Mary Wisniewski is a transportation reporter for the Chicago Tribune. 

Illinois Sports Update

The World Series is headed to a Game 7 and all the while, the Chicago Cubs have been watching at home. And now, three years after their World Series win, the team has hired David Ross as its general manager.

We also thought we’d check in on football and basketball. The NFL is well under way and NBA season has just gotten started. WBEZ’s Cheryl Raye Stout joined us to talk about all of this and more. We did speak with her before yesterday's Game 6. 

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