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Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Major Gen. Gordon Granger of the Union Army, informed enslaved people in Texas that they were free. It happened years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The 21st was joined by three guests to talk about Juneteenth celebrations across Illinois.
Illinois lawmakers were scheduled to finish this year’s spring session by the end of May, but they returned to Springfield to finish up some final items. The 21st was joined by two reporters who have been following the developments at the capitol to hear more about the items on the to do list that still remain.
Aisha Praught Leer was raised in Moline, ran track at Illinois State and now runs as part of the Jamaican National Team. She joined The 21st to talk about what training with a group and what that was like during the pandemic as well as running for Jamaica.
The Illinois General Assembly passed a law that made it a crime to not disclose one’s HIV status in certain situations in 1989. The law has disproportiantely affected Black and brown people, and now an overwhelming majority of Illinois lawmakers have voted to repeal that law.
Illinois has the highest rate of rented farmland in the country. This could have environmental and economic consequences for the next generation of prospective farmers. The 21st spoke to an agriculture reporter and a farmland owner about the issue and its implications.
