At the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign immediately began to work on a solution to keep the campus open while keeping students safe and healthy. Quickly, a simple saliva COVID-19 test was created that is now not only being used by students on campus, but organizations across the state.

With the spread of COVID-19 being primarily by droplets from the nose and mouth, scientists decided analyzing saliva seemed logical. At the time of the initial creation of the saliva test, many other tests weren’t publishing results for days. However, the U of I saliva test shows results in mere hours because, the contents are subjected to a molecular chain reaction test to show the presence of COVID-19.

Illinois’s commitment to sustainability has been recognized in the rankings from Site Selection Magazine. This year, the state earned the coveted top spot, ranking first in the list of U.S. states.

Site Selection magazine uses their annual ranking to provide a resource for companies when deciding where to expand their business with a focus on sustainable development. The magazine looks into development of green energy, green-certified buildings, incentives for green development, redevelopment of brownfields (locations where former industries have left toxins or other environmental dangers) and how well the states are meeting their own environmental goals.

Illinois has long lead the way in research aimed at improving the quality of life for state residents, as the selection of the Illinois State Cancer Registry to participate in a prestigious national program demonstrates.

The ISCR is a program of the Illinois Department of Public Health that collects and provides data relating to the occurrence of cancer in Illinois. This data allows medical professionals and communities to learn how to better treat cancer in patients and to identify potential causes of cancer cases by mapping where they occur.

Today is National Pet Day, and in a country where more than half of all households have a furry (or scaly, or feathered) friend, too many pets find themselves without owners and in need of help. Fortunately, there are many groups dedicated to rescuing dogs and other pets.

Katrina Markoff, the founder of Vosges Haut-Chocolate, has a remarkable story about faith, love, and chocolate. Her journey across the world led her to establish what is widely considered one of the best chocolate businesses in Chicago. Sadly, in 2019, Katrina’s journey took a wrong turn, when her husband, Jason, lost his limbs to sepsis. Then, in 2020, Katrina’s business was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and she was forced to reevaluate how to interact with customers. However, Katrina has found a way to fight through the adversity.