Ruben loved music, writing songs and dressing in dresses.  He died of AIDS in 1990. He is remembered by friends in Champaign, Illinois who made his quilt panel.

The Trump administration has increased access to ‘bare bones’ health plans that don’t cover things like mental health care. We speak with an Illinois resident who’s on one of these plans and is now faced with a medical bill for $21,000. Plus, temperatures in central and northern Illinois are dropping below freezing this week. That’s led some homeless shelters to extend their hours and even open up warming centers early. And, a group of faith leaders in central Illinois are organizing a series of events called 'Cultivating Hope In Anxious Times.'

Roughly 300 people will spend Friday night out on the street in cardboard boxes, to raise awareness and money to help the homeless during the annual "One Winter Night" in downtown Champaign.

With subzero temperatures in the weather forecast, an agency serving the homeless in Champaign-Urbana is gearing up to offer daytime shelter from the cold. The Phoenix Drop-In Center in Champaign is expanding its hours this week to provide a place for people who are homeless to get warm. 

The nighttime sub-zero temperatures that central Illinois is currently experiencing is particularly bad news for the area’s homeless population. Rob Dalhaus says he’s seeing an increase in people coming to the Phoenix Daytime Drop-In Center in Champaign during the day.