On campus: DEI office to be renamed
The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion will be renamed the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Access, Civil Rights, and Community, effective Jan. 1, a Thursday Massmail from Chancellor Charles Lee Isbell Jr. announced.
The Massmail also stated that the office will undergo restructuring. Both changes are pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
These structural changes include “clarifying some internal reporting lines,” according to an email statement from OVCDEI’s Interim Vice Chancellor Designate, Gioconda Guerra Pérez. She also wrote that the office’s services and resources will remain the same.
Three other offices will also be reorganized per Thursday’s Massmail: the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administrative Strategy and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.
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Alterations to these three offices are also pending approval by the Board of Trustees but are set to begin Nov. 16.
On campus: UI professor named semifinalist for Canine Health Discovery of the Year
The American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation named University professor Dr. Timothy Fan one of eight semifinalists for the inaugural Canine Health Discovery of the Year Award. Fan was nominated by his colleagues for his research on intratumoral cytokine therapy in dogs, used to help treat canine cancer patients.
Fan currently serves as the Khan Family chair, professor in LAS and associate director for development and translation for the Cancer Center at Illinois. He holds both a doctorate in tumor immunology and a veterinary medical degree.
Dr. Anne Barger, head of the University’s Veterinary Clinical Medicine department, described Fan’s work as “incredible” and noted its impact reaches humans and dogs alike. In an interview with The Daily Illini, Barger said Fan being named a semifinalist helps bring visibility to the University’s veterinary research.
AKC Canine Health Foundation will announce the finalists for the Canine Health Discovery of the Year Award in November.
In C-U: Arrow Ambulance to become Champaign ambulance provider
Arrow Ambulance will become the sole ambulance provider for Champaign after a unanimous Champaign City Council vote Tuesday. The five-year franchise agreement is set to take effect Saturday.
Arrow Ambulance is currently the emergency services provider for Carle Foundation Hospital and the City of Urbana.
In the agreement, Arrow agreed to respond to 911 calls, provide four ambulances to the city, give training to new EMTs and pay for all expenses, including an annual franchise fee of $100,000 to the city of Champaign.
The announcement comes after Advanced Medical Transport, another local emergency services provider, stated in August its plan to terminate its emergency services in Champaign Saturday.
In Illinois: Judge orders improvements to Broadview ICE detention center
A federal judge ordered authorities Wednesday to make improvements to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, following a lawsuit by a group of detainees who claim they were being held in “inhumane conditions.”
The order requires officials to provide detainees at the west-suburban facility with a clean bedding mat and sufficient space to sleep, soap, towels, toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, menstrual products and prescribed medications.
Other requirements include allowing detainees to shower at least once every other day and holding rooms must be cleaned twice a day. The order also states that detainees should have three full meals per day that meet U.S. dietary allowances and bottled water upon request.
“People shouldn’t be sleeping next to overflowing toilets,” said U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman. “They should not be sleeping on top of each other.”
In the US: Supreme Court order blocks SNAP food aid payments
The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration an emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order requiring it to fully fund Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program payments amid the government shutdown.
Within the past month, Democratic leaders and nonprofits sued the Trump administration for its withholding of food aid, resulting in rulings last week that led to the release of billions of dollars towards the program.
The Trump administration demanded Saturday that states that already received funding must “immediately undo” any actions to provide SNAP benefits to low-income families.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that any SNAP payments states issued for November were “unauthorized,” writing that states should report to the appropriate Food and Nutrition Service Regional Office representative to “correct” actions that do not comply with the memorandum.
In the US: Senate votes to end government shutdown
A group of Democratic senators voted with Republicans late Sunday night to end the ongoing government shutdown. The shutdown is currently the longest in American history and has affected funding for SNAP food aid, federal workers and federal education programs, among other areas.
Seven Democrats negotiated a funding deal with Republican colleagues, leading to the Senate’s 60-40 vote to support a House deal to reopen the government. Among the Democratic voters was outgoing Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin.
“This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt,” Durbin said in a statement. “Now that Democrats secured these wins, it’s time for Leader Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the (Affordable Care Act) tax credits in December.”
As part of the deal, Senate Republicans agreed to vote on whether to expand expiring Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies, a key demand for Senate Democrats. Disagreements about the ACA subsidies are what precipitated the shutdown more than a month ago.
The vote marks one of the first concrete steps Congress has taken to end the 40-day shutdown. The spending package still must be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.
In the world: Gaza death toll rises to over 69,000
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported Saturday that 69,169 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. This number includes deaths by strikes Israel says were to target militants.
The ministry does not differentiate between militants or civilians in its count. It said in September that women and children make up around half of the dead. Its figures are seen as a “reliable estimate of wartime deaths by U.N. agencies and many independent experts,” according to PBS. Israel has disputed the numbers without providing its own toll.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 10 and is currently in its first phase, where both groups agreed to the exchange of remains and hostages. For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel returned the remains of 15 Palestinians.
Gaza officials said that, since the ceasefire began nearly a month ago, 241 more people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza.
