Lincoln College closing for good in May
Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois, will permanently close this spring.
The Board of Trustees has voted to end all academic programming at the end of spring semester May 13. The school experienced record-breaking student enrollment in the fall of 2019, but was a victim of a cyberattack in December 2021 that adversely affected admissions activities.
Lincoln College was established in 1865.
New liver test developed at U of I
Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a new blood test that can detect early-stage liver cancer.
The test is conducted with a small, portable machine the size of a toaster, and a few drops of a patient’s blood can detect biomarkers that attach to cancer cells. Test results can be delivered within 30 minutes, much faster than a PCR test, the usual method of detecting biomarkers.
Measure requires worker break
Employers may be required to provide more breaks for employees after a bill expanding worker rights passed in the Illinois General Assembly.
The measure would require employers to provide a day of rest in seven days of consecutive work. Additionally, employers would have to provide an extra 20 minutes break for every four and a half hours worked beyond an eight hour work day.
Buckner pleads guilty to DUI
After nearly three years, Chicago Democratic state Rep. Kam Buckner has pleaded guilty to a DUI.
The charge came in March of 2019. Buckner was found by police passed out in his vehicle at a traffic signal blocks from the Illinois State Capitol. He pleaded not guilty a month later.
Earlier this month, he changed his plea and got conditional release. If he violates that, he could serve a month jail time.
WTTW strike continues
A strike pitting members of an electricians union against an Illinois public television station has taken a nasty turn after station officials said they are cutting off the worker’s health insurance.
The members of Local 1220 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said they received notice from WTTW saying their insurance will end April 1. Workers said they went on strike because management wants to transfer their duties to non-union personnel.
Bald eagles poisoned
Bald eagles in central Illinois are dying and wildlife officials believe they know the culprit.
Three bald eagles died at the Illinois Raptor Center in March and lead poisoning is being blamed as the cause. As scavengers, eagles come across ammunition fragments from hunters in the wild. Since 2018, the center has admitted 38 bald eagles, with 19 of them showing high levels of lead poisoning.
