WNIJ News

Statewide

Reporting from in and around Illinois.Listen to Statewide on WNIJ Saturdays 6-7 a.m. and Sundays 6-7 p.m.

Statewide: Coronavirus Antibody Testing; Remembering Crosses For Losses Founder

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Sean Crawford

Published May 7, 2020 at 3:08 PM CDT

On this episode of Statewide, we'll hear more about antibody testing, which has become more popular as people try to determine if they've been exposed to the coronavirus. Critics say the tests are unreliable.

We listen back to an interview with the Crosses for Losses founder Greg Zanis, who died this week.

And school nurses raise concerns about the inability to see students and what that could mean for health and safety. That and more on this week's Statewide.

Our lineup:

* Kate McGee with WBEZ tells us about how she and her boyfriend took an antibody test, with surprising results. The tests have come under scrutiny as some believe they are too often inaccurate.

* Illinois Newsroom's Lee Gaines finds out why visually impaired students may be at more of a disadvantage during remote learning.

* Maureen McKinney speaks with David Goldenberg of the Anti-Defamation League about hate groups and others using stay-at-home protests to promote their cause.

* Dana Cronin of Harvest Public Media reports on farmers who use foreign guest workers having to look for help elsewhere.

* Yvonne Boose of WNIJ talks with comedians still making people laugh through the pandemic.

* WNIJ's Peter Medlin examines the challenges facing rural school districts trying to teach ina virtual setting.

* As students are out of the classroom, it's not jurt teachers who aren't having face to face interaction with them. Lee Gaines reports on the concerns of school nurses.

Four women stand outside of a building physically distanced and holding household supplies. — School nurses from St. Charles Community Unit School District 303 deliver food and cleaning supplies to a homeless shelter in St. Charles, Ill. Many school nurses are spending their time volunteering while schools remain closed in Illinois due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

* The founder of Crosses for Losses died this week. Greg Zanis spent years traveling to the locations in the aftermath of mass shooting to place memorials to victims. We listen back to Brian O'Keefe's interview with Zanis from earlier this year.

Statewide for the week of May 8, 2020Listen to Statewide across Illinois in:

Bloomington/Normal – WGLT 89.1 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Carbondale – WSIU 91.9 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Mount Vernon - WVSI 88.9 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Olney - WUSI 90.3 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Rockford/DeKalb – WNIJ 89.5 (Saturdays 6-7 a.m., Sundays 6-7 p.m.)
Springfield/Decatur - WUIS 91.9 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 11 p.m. - Midnight, Saturdays 9-10 a.m.)
Peoria – WCBU 89.9 (Fridays 6-7 p.m., Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Pittsfield - WIPA 89.3 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 11 p.m. - Midnight, Saturdays 9-10 a.m.)
Urbana/Champaign – WILL 580 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 7-8 p.m.)
Quad Cities - WVIK HD 2 (Sundays 11 a.m. - Noon)