News Bureau

The University of Illinois Extension just released a 10-year strategic plan that commits to serving the state by focusing on food and agriculture as well as the economic, community, environmental and health sectors through partnerships, discovery, technology and workforce excellence. In an interview with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates, Illinois Extension director Shelly Nickols-Richardson explains how one of the largest Cooperative Extension Systems in the nation tackles so many issues at once.

Outbreaks of foodborne pathogens, such as the E. coli linked to fast-food hamburgers in several states, expose vulnerabilities in the food supply chain but also present opportunities to learn new prevention strategies, said Matt Stasiewicz, a professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Melita Garza is a journalism historian who studies news as an agent of democracy. News Bureau editor Lois Yoksoulian discussed the history and future of presidential endorsements with Garza in light of recent nonendorsement decisions within some news organizations. 

No matter which candidate wins the presidential election, there’s a strong case to keep existing sanctions on Russia in place, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign adjunct law professor Taisa Markus.

Eliminating the U.S. Department of Education might not be cataclysmic, but other changes on the Project 2025 agenda could have profound implications for public schools and their students, said Paul Bruno, a professor of education policy, organization and leadership at the U. of I.

New vaccinations against influenza and the virus that causes COVID-19 are available and arriving at physician offices and pharmacies. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign microbiology professor Chris Brooke, a virologist who studies respiratory viruses, discusses what’s in the new vaccines, the best time to get them and why we need them at all. 

After making landfall, Hurricane Helene moved north and dumped an enormous amount of rainfall onto the mountainous regions of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee, leading to catastrophic flooding hundreds of miles away from the storm's initial landfall location. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Jim Best, an earth science and environmental change expert, discussed the event and future ones like it with Illinois News Bureau editor Lois Yoksoulian.

Artificial intelligence tools can help physicians deliver care and medical researchers make discoveries, but cannot replace the human connection in medicine, says Dr. Mark Cohen, dean of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He discusses the risks and rewards of using AI tools in health care and medical discovery. 

Transitioning to a future of work that accounts for the job-destroying perils of artificial intelligence will require unions to be proactive in their bargaining and policy advocacy around automation, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

Organized labor has fared considerably better during the Biden administration than it did during the Trump years, and would likely be better off under a Kamala Harris presidency, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

Anthropology professor Kendra Calhoun studies the creative language people use on social media platforms to fool algorithms that may incorrectly categorize content as “inappropriate” or “offensive.” Calhoun spoke with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about this phenomenon, which she calls “linguistic self-censorship.”

All nine of the wheelchair racing athletes representing the U.S. at the 2024 Paralympics have a connection to Illinois. U. of I. head coach Adam Bleakney discusses his background, the competition and what he’s looking forward to at the Paris Games.

Heat stroke is a medical emergency, but recognizing the signs leading up to it and knowing how to mitigate exposure and vulnerability factors can improve outcomes, says Dr. Holly Rosencranz, an internal medicine physician and a clinical teaching professor in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

The increasingly militarized enforcement practices at the southern U.S. border have hardened attitudes toward migrants and contributed to violence against them, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Latina/Latino studies and anthropology professor Gilberto Rosas said about the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that targeted Latinos.

J. David Cisneros' research explores political candidates' dichotomous rhetoric about Latinos that alternately courts them for votes while disparaging immigrant communities, and the ways in which U.S. presidents embody ideas about race and national identity.

Deepfakes can help us communicate and explore new creative possibilities, but they can also be used to mislead and spread disinformation, says digital humanities librarian Mary Ton.

Communication professor JungHwan Yang is a member of a research team that is exploring the biases associated with political polls posted on social media, how their results compare with those reported by mainstream media and their potential influence on public discourse.

The Biden administration’s new rule to protect workers from the dangers of extreme heat ultimately may be undermined by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, says Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The new executive order from the Biden administration aimed at protecting the undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens from deportation will benefit upwards of half a million unauthorized immigrants, meaning it’s more focused on family unity than the “mass amnesty” some critics have portrayed it as, says Lauren R. Aronson, a clinical professor and the director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law.

New weight-loss drugs like those sold under the names Ozempic and Wegovy can be life-changing for those with type 2 diabetes or severe obesity, but are not the best choice for those only looking to lose a few pounds, says Patrick Sweeney, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of molecular and integrative physiology. 

Release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid has been fraught with glitches and delays, according to Stacy Bennett, a professor of education policy, organization and leadership, and a senior research associate for the Office of Community College Research and Leadership. 

An extended strike by Chicago public school teachers seems unlikely thanks to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s union credentials, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois and co-author of the 2016 book “A Fight for the Soul of Public Education: The Story of the Chicago Teachers Strike.”

Offering certain baccalaureate degrees through community colleges could be a game-changer for the state's workforce and underserved students, says Lorenzo Baber, director of the Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Sociology professor Stefan Vogler at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a co-author of a new American Civil Liberties Union research report, “Policing Progress: Findings from a National Survey of LGBTQ+ People’s Experiences with Law Enforcement.”

Numerous states have enacted laws that redefine tenure and academic freedom protections at their universities. Carol Symes, a professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, discusses how these laws may fundamentally change teaching and research.

Dr. James Lowe, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes the factors that influence infection with the H5N1 virus in humans and other animals.

The Trump criminal and civil trials are likely to highlight the importance of juries and civic participation by ordinary citizens, says Suja Thomas, the Peer and Sarah Pedersen Professor of Law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and author of the 2016 book “The Missing American Jury: Restoring the Fundamental Constitutional Role of the Criminal, Civil, and Grand Juries.”

Support for reparations for people of African descent to compensate for slavery and racial oppression is growing because U.S. political and corporate leaders have retreated from a commitment to racial justice, says Sundiata Cha-Jua, an Illinois professor of history and of African American studies.

Scientists across the U.S. and Mexico are engaging in a one-day data-gathering operation to record how the 2024 total solar eclipse affects various aspects of life on Earth. At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, crop sciences and plant biology professor Carl Bernacchi and his colleagues will focus on atmospheric and ecosystem-scale responses to the eclipse. Bernacchi describes what is planned and how it fits into the bigger research effort.

Some political figures seek to remove references to slavery from the study of American history, adding to the vast knowledge gaps that stem from the transatlantic slave trade. To better understand these histories, scholars and individuals are turning to genetic genealogy to discover and retrace descendant-family lineages. In a recent paper published in the journal American Anthropologist, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign anthropology professor LaKisha David described these efforts. She spoke about the work to News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates. 

Diminshed humanitarian and miliary assistance for Ukraine has severe implications and is critical to U.S. national security and its influence within NATO and around the globe, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign sociology professor and demographer Cynthia Buckley.

Leslie Looney is an astronomy professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and director of the Laboratory for Astronomical Imaging. He spoke with News Bureau physical sciences and media editor Lois Yoksoulian about the significance of solar eclipses and what to expect on April 8.

How should voters feel about polls heading into the presidential election? With the small number of swing states in play, national polls will be of limited value, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Brian Gaines.

It’s estimated that $12 billion will be spent on political ads this election cycle – 30% more than in 2020. The sheer volume of ads is remarkable, and there is vast potential to use this political information to contribute to democracy: to reach more potential voters and provide accurate information. There's also more potential than ever for generative artificial intelligence to misrepresent candidates and policies, leading to confusion in the voting booth. News Bureau editor Lois Yoksoulian spoke with advertising professor and department head Michelle Nelson about the topic.

Russian dissident Aleksei Navalny possessed a unique ability to unite activists and set the agenda for the anti-Putin movement. Now that he’s gone, the coalition he built might splinter, says Richard Tempest, a professor of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

State scientists are a critical part of research efforts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – as well as helping to inform state policy, working with industry and educating the public on issues of scientific importance. Praveen Kumar, the executive director of the Prairie Research Institute, discusses the importance of Illinois state scientists and the roles they play as experts for the state with News Bureau staff writer Maeve Reilly.

With the prospects of a more sympathetic U.S. president taking office in 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin almost certainly won’t seek an off-ramp this year from the war in Ukraine, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor and international relations expert Nicholas Grossman.

The Biden administration’s approach to Venezuela has been influenced by the increasing number of Venezuelan migrants coming to the U.S. and the current instability in the Middle East affecting the crude oil market, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Damarys Canache.

According to cicada expert Catherine Dana, 2024 will be an eventful year in Illinois with the emergence of two periodical cicada broods across most parts of the state.

One of the problems with “speech codes” on university campuses is their selective enforcement. Consequently, there have been calls for the reform of speech and harassment policies at universities nationwide to balance students’ right to freedom of expression with the right to learn free from discriminatory harassment, says Lena Shapiro, a clinical assistant professor of law and the inaugural director of the College of Law’s First Amendment Clinic.

On Dec. 5, the Global Carbon Project published the Global Carbon Budget 2023, giving world leaders access to data on atmospheric carbon concentrations, emissions and trends. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign atmospheric scientist Atul Jain is among the many scientists worldwide who contributed data to the report. Jain talked about the current state of the carbon budget and this year’s findings with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian.

A ruling in favor of college athletes in Johnson v. NCAA could potentially herald the most consequential change in college athletics since the NCAA was formed in 1906, says Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The best way to think of the Biden administration’s wide-ranging executive order on artificial intelligence is as a trial balloon to gauge what works, says Robert Brunner, the associate dean for innovation and chief disruption officer at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The American Ornithological Society’s decision to rename birds that were named after people will allow us to consider how we remember historical figures and acknowledge the oppression in our nation’s history, says University of Illinois history professor David Sepkoski, who studies how biological and environmental sciences interact with culture.

In early October, nearly 1,000 birds perished after colliding with the windows of a convention center near Lake Michigan in Chicago, marking the largest mass bird die-off in decades. But bird window-strike fatalities are an ongoing threat. Illinois Natural History Survey wildlife ecologist Thomas J. Benson, an expert in bird population trends in Illinois, spoke to News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about the problem and what new strategies may help.

The unsanctioned police raid on a newspaper in rural Kansas underscores the need to provide journalists with legal protections such as the recently re-introduced bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying Act, says Lena Shapiro, a clinical assistant professor of law and the inaugural director of the College of Law’s First Amendment Clinic.

President Biden has been heralded as the most pro-labor president ever, but the state of U.S. labor and the labor movement in 2023 is “very agitated,” reflecting decades of stagnant wage increases and deteriorating job quality, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit California in 84 years. Atmospheric sciences professor Deanna Hence spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about what made this storm unique and if the Southwest U.S. should expect more like it in the future. 

A new Illinois law that expands the eligibility for law enforcement jobs to non-U.S. citizens such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program participants is mostly aspirational since DACA recipients aren’t legally allowed to possess firearms, says Lauren R. Aronson, a clinical professor and the director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law.

A new law requiring Illinois public schools to teach Native American history will help students learn about the Indigenous people who originally occupied the land, as well as the contemporary Native American community in the state, says Illinois history professor Rosalyn LaPier.