Springfield Man Mourns Mother Lost In Blast

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Published August 17, 2020 at 1:54 PM CDT

The Elhajj family: Nadine, Elie, Nabih and their mother, Zeina.

A Springfield man is mourning after a massive explosion at a port warehouse in Beirut, Lebanon injured thousands and killed about 200 people, including his mother, Zeina. Maureen McKinney talked recently with Nabih Elhajj, executive director of the education nonprofit, I-VenturED. His mother died of her injuries the day following the early August blast. Elhajj is also an adjunct business instructor at University of Illinois Springfield and an NPR Illinois community advisory board member.

Illinois

Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Maureen Foertsch McKinney is news editor and equity and justice beat reporter for NPR Illinois, where she has been on the staff since 2014 after Illinois Issues magazine’s merger with the station. She joined the magazine’s staff in 1998 as projects editor and became managing editor in 2003. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois Springfield, she was an education reporter and copy editor at three local newspapers, including the suburban Chicago Daily Herald, She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern Illinois University and a master’s degree in English from UIS.

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