Illinois is in Phase 2 of Restore Illinois – the five-step plan Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled this week to reopen schools, colleges, parks and businesses, while addressing the coronavirus pandemic. Some state parks are open. More shops can operate to fill online and pick up orders, and in some places, residents can go to a drive-in movie theater. While the stay-at-home order still applies to the whole state, Pritzker said going forward, that will change as it’s a regional plan.

More than two months after Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared testing would be key to Illinois’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, coronavirus testing is still limited in Sangamon County. Meanwhile, state officials report more than 13,600 tests done in the county. Local officials, however, estimate that with repeat tests and people from outside the county limits screened here, only 5,600 individual Sangamon County residents have been tested. A look at the numbers from one recent week provides a...

Earlier in this pandemic, the shortage of tests for the coronavirus was a major problem in fighting the spread of COVID-19. The shortage was such that many hospitals and clinics would test only someone who had traveled to a country with an outbreak, had a known exposure to a positive case or showed symptoms of the disease. But access to tests has improved significantly, and in some places, people can now get tested without having to show any symptoms at all. So if you can get tested, should...

Widespread protests across the nation have followed several high-profile deaths of African Americans in recent weeks, including George Floyd , Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor , as well as allegations of racial profiling, from the woman calling police on the birdwatcher in Central Park to police in Texas holding a man at gunpoint after they said he ran a stop sign. NPR would like to hear about your reaction to these incidents and your personal experience as a black person in America. Please...