Illinois State Fair begins
The Illinois State Fair is officially underway. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and parade took place Thursday to kick the festivities off.
The annual fair at the state’s capitol runs through Aug. 21 and features various attractions and events. Famous fair food from 155 food vendors including foot-long corn dogs, kettle corn, funnel cakes and lemonade will be available for purchase.
COVID tests available for schools
As students in Illinois get set to return to the classroom, the state’s schools will have ample opportunity to obtain free COVID-19 rapid antigen tests.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced that they are offering 1 million over-the-counter COVID-19 rapid tests to K-12 public school districts outside of Chicago. IDPH said the tests will be available upon request and are supposed to augment the district’s regular supply for the 2022-2023 school year.
Rural health grants announced
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced $2.7 million in grants to improve health-care facilities in rural Illinois towns servicing nearly 88,000 residents.
The investments are designed to help rural hospitals and health-care providers implement telehealth and nutrition assistance programs, increase staffing to administer COVID-19 vaccines and testing, build or renovate facilities, and purchase medical supplies.
First of many trials next week
The first lawsuit out of potentially hundreds against a Willowbrook company is headed to trial next week.
Sterigenics, which sterilizes medical devices, is accused of illegally releasing a cancer-causing waste into the air at its facility in the southwest Chicago suburbs. That allegedly led to a cluster of cancer cases in the area.
The first trial involves a 37-year-old woman who lived near the plant who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
Student driver recovers after being shot
An Illinois high schooler is recovering after being shot in the head while taking a driver’s education course.
On the last day for driver’s ed, the 17-year-old girl was trying to navigate a turn when gunfire broke out in Roseland. A bullet grazed the girl’s head and she was taken to the hospital for treatment. The shooting is under investigation and no one is in custody.
Springfield’s 1908 Race Riot designation possible
A national monument commemorating Black history may be coming to Springfield.
The National Park Service is studying the sites and stories of a race riot from 114 years ago which is credited with leading to the creation of the NAACP. Park Service representatives said with the Lincoln Home National Historic Site just blocks from the race riot site, staff is already in place in Springfield.
If the idea of a race riot monument advances far enough, the secretary of the interior will present it to Congress.
