All articles tagged Beardstown

Almost 16 years ago, three young children died after they were trapped in a car that went into Clinton Lake. Edith Brady-Lunny has been covering the story since that first night. We’ll speak with her about her new book, The Unforgiven. Also, local communities play a big part in the census. But this time, there’s a lot of fear about being counted. Today, we’ll focus on what this looks like in the central Illinois community of Beardstown.

Recent deportation raids targeting undocumented immigrants around the country have raised concerns in the Illinois River community of Beardstown, where a local meatpacking plant has attracted many immigrant workers. University of Illinois planning professor Faranak Miraftab has made a study of Beardstown, and the JBS meatpacking plant there that employs workers from Mexico, West Africa and other places.