Illinois Public Media News

The COVID-19 pandemic has hurt many small businesses in Illinois. We speak with state Treasurer Mike Frerichs about a loan program that could offer some relief.

Today on The 21st: Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs on what his office is doing to try to help small businesses affected by the COVID-19 shutdowns, plus a conversation with Colin Asher, author of the Nelson Algren biography Never a Lovely So Real.

Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me joins us to talk about doing a comedy show without his usual Chicago audience, the importance of humor during a crisis, and whether he was wearing pants during our interview.

We talk to a virologist about the merits and limits of antibody testing, and hear from an Illinois coroner who believes COVID-19 was infecting and killing people in his community long before the disease had been classified as a global pendemic.

A New York Times analysis found that one in three jobs held by women has been designated as “essential,” and women of color are more likely to be doing essential jobs than anyone else.