LAKE COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) — Illinois has reported its first West Nile Virus death of 2024.

The person was in their 80s and lived in Lake County, Illinois.

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They developed symptoms in the middle of this month and died soon after.

The Illinois Health Department says nine people across the state have come down with the virus so far this year.

West Nile Virus is typically spread through mosquito bites.

People older than 50 and immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk for severe illness from West Nile Virus.

SEE ALSO | Dr. Anthony Fauci was hospitalized with West Nile virus and is now recovering at home

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Ill. (KFVS) – Imagine not having enough food to feed your family–it’s a reality for folks in every community across the United States, including here in the Heartland.

A summit held Tuesday at John A. Logan College is working to end food insecurity in the area.

Numbers from Feeding America show food insecurity affects approximately 13,000 children across southern Illinois.

Jennifer Paulson is working to change that by supplying food and teaching sustainable farming methods through the non-profit Food Works.

”That can look like a lot of things: workshops for farmers, farmers markets, food hubs, and then the snap and link program at farmers markets across southern Illinois,” Paulson said.

She told us the fourth annual Southern Illinois Food Security Summit helps bring organizations and non-profits together to network and ensure crucial needs are met as the hunger fight continues.

”It really takes all these groups working together and coming at it from different angles,” she said.

Food Works recently launched a new mobile farmers market to help families in southern Illinois communities that don’t have easy access to a grocery store.

”It essentially is a farmers market on wheels. So all the food groups you expect to see at a farmers market–fresh produce, local meat, dairy, baked goods, all those things,” Paulson said. “And this vehicle lets us take that market on the road to the communities that need it.”

Elizabeth Deruntz, the deputy director of Food Works, said this is a great way to come up with new ideas to fight hunger in the heartland.

”It’s wonderful to meet with people who are like-minded about sourcing food and getting food to more food to people in our region. It is a regional struggle and we need to find new and interesting ways to work together,” she said.

For more information on how you can help fight hunger in southern Illinois, visit https://www.feedsi.org/.

Copyright 2024 KFVS. All rights reserved.

We are so close to a real, live, regular season football game.

Finally, instead of previewing the Illini from countless different angles and trying to decipher all the training camp buzz, we have an opponent to dive into.

The opponent — the Eastern Illinois Panthers, an in-state FCS foe coming off a strong 8-3 season in 2023 that left them just outside the FCS playoffs. It was the program’s best mark since Jimmy Garappolo was under center in 2013.

The Panthers sit just outside the AFCA preseason FCS Top 25 coaches poll, receiving the third most votes among non-ranked teams. While Illinois is currently a 27.5-point favorite on Thursday night, Eastern Illinois has proven itself as a quality team for its level.

Today, let’s start by taking a look at the Panthers’ offense:

Eastern Illinois returns nine starters from an inconsistent 2023 offense that saw some ups and downs. Overall, the Panthers ranked 76th in FCS in points per game and 46th in total offense.

It is, however, a talented unit of returnees. Quarterback Pierce Holley is back and was named the preseason Big South-OVC Player of the Year after throwing for 2,723 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2023. Alongside him return leading rusher MJ Flowers (852 yards, 8 TD) and leading receiver Eli Mirza (680 yards, 3 TD).

Holley, a transfer from Georgetown in 2022, isn’t the most athletic, strongest-armed quarterback but is a veteran who’s been a consistent presence throughout his career. He’s unlikely to fire off a bunch of explosive downfield throws, but he’s equally as unlikely to play the Panthers out of the game with turnovers and poor decision-making.

Keeping Holley clean was the biggest point of struggle for the EIU offense in 2023. The Panthers allowed 35 sacks, a bottom-15 mark in all of FCS. When facing pressure, Holley struggled mightily, completing just 35.4% of his passes and turning many pressures into sacks. The Illinois defensive front will have an opportunity to impose its will up front and keep the veteran quarterback from getting comfortable.

If Eastern Illinois wants to give Illinois a scare, it’ll have to find success in the run game.

The Panthers will likely look to run the ball early and often with Flowers, an FCS Freshman All-American in 2023. He’ll be running behind an offensive line that made up for its pass blocking struggles with plenty of push on the ground and has FBS size throughout, led by All-Conference guard Sebastian Pares and center Drew Wilder. Testing a questionable Illini rush defense is certain to be a focal point for Panthers offensive coordinator Kyle Derickson.

For Illinois, the size, talent, physicality, and athleticism advantage need to show up defensively to make life difficult for the Panther offense. Dominating the trenches and overpowering Eastern Illinois physically is necessary and attainable to take care of a respectable FCS opponent in Week 1.

Three Keys for the Illini defense vs EIU:

1. Get consistent pressure on QB Pierce Holley — Seth Coleman and Gabe Jacas will be key here. They’re expected to be the leaders of the Illini defense, and they need to dominate an FCS offensive line who struggled mightily at pass blocking a season ago. An uncomfortable quarterback and a handful of drive-killing sacks are what the Illini will need to impose their will early and cruise to victory.
2. Contain the EIU run game — Run defense is a major question mark for Illinois after losing all three starting defensive linemen, but that shouldn’t be exploited by an FCS opponent. The Panthers will try to run the ball often, but the Illini front needs to contain it and allow its pass rushers to turn up the pressure on third and longs. Illinois has a large talent advantage in the trenches and that needs to show itself from kickoff.
3. Be strong tacklers — When FCS teams spring upsets on FBS opponents, the cause usually comes down to sloppy play and a lot of mistakes. We know what that looks like offensively, but on defense Illinois needs to be strong in the tackling department. EIU’s gameplan will likely be heavily simplified and involve a lot of running and quick hitters in the passing game, and Illinois needs to avoid the missed tackles or missed assignments that could lead to explosive plays and yards after catch opportunities.

Check back tomorrow for a look at the Eastern Illinois defense.