Illinois
New Illinois housing facility helps teen girl human trafficking survivors
![New Illinois housing facility helps teen girl human trafficking survivors](https://cdn.abcotvs.com/dip/images/13624743_080923-wls-minor-human-trafficking-housing-430-vid.jpg?w=1600)
PALATINE, Ill. (WLS) — A new first-of-its-kind facility is coming to Illinois to provide safety and housing for teen girl survivors of human trafficking.
According to the Center for Impact Research, at last study there are 16,000 to 24,000 women and children currently being trafficked in the city of Chicago. The majority of them are teen girls with not many places to go for safety. But finding a safe home can be the difference between life and death.
“I stayed in human trafficking for 25 years. I’ve been shot five times, stabbed over 13 times. So that’s just the surface,” said Brenda Myers Powell, founder of Ernestine’s Daughter.
Powell was just 14 years old when she was taken and trafficked by two men.
“I probably would have died,” she said. “I would have died out there in the street.”
Now a survivor-turned-advocate, Powell said safe housing is what saved her life but it’s not existed in Illinois for teen girls who have been trafficked until now.
“There’s no other services in the state of Illinois that allow for them to have a permanent place, a temporary and permanent place to stay,” said Carina Santa Maria, executive director of Shelter, Inc.
Shelter, Inc. has partnered with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to lead the way in building a $3.5 million, 6,400 square foot housing facility at an undisclosed location for 12 girls who are human trafficking survivors.
“Housing is number one,” Santa Maria said. “They cannot be able to get the help they need or even be on that recovery journey until they have a safe place to be.”
She said there are less than 500 beds across the nation for this specific population, but soon the girls will get access to a new home and resources like employment skills training and legal assistance. Santa Maria hopes it will change the narrative of what trafficking.
“A lot of times we see those movies and we think, you know, it’s that force or fraud that really get somebody involved in a trafficking situation when it’s most likely coercion, and it can be by somebody that we know,” she said. “The number have likely increased. So much of it is now online that it’s easier to coerce them.”
“Places like this give you a little more hope that there will be, there will be a way that I can get out,” said Powell.
Shelter, Inc. said the goal is to have the goal is to have the housing up and running by July 1, 2024.
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Illinois
Doyle, Wires spark Illinois' full-court attack in third straight Muddy River Showcase victory – Muddy River Sports
![Doyle, Wires spark Illinois' full-court attack in third straight Muddy River Showcase victory – Muddy River Sports](https://muddyriversports.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/06/IMG_0342-scaled.jpg)
QUINCY — Dion Doyle decided this was the perfect opportunity to run it back.
The Macomb basketball standout was part of a team that included Quincy High School’s Ralph Wires that won back-to-back Gus Macker 3-on-3 championships when the event was a Memorial Day weekend staple in downtown Quincy.
Saturday, the duo reunited in the third annual Muddy River Showcase, guiding the Illinois all-stars to a 92-70 victory over their Missouri counterparts at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. It was Illinois’ third consecutive victory in the series.
“This was our last-ever high school game,” Doyle said. “It felt good to get out and go, but it was kind of bittersweet since this is the end.”
To finish the way Doyle and his 3-on-3 counterpart did made it memorable.
“We’ve been playing together for seven or eight years,” Wires said of his relationship with Doyle. “Reuniting with him was awesome. I enjoyed playing with all of these guys and battling with them. This was a great group of guys.”
It took some toughness and tenacity to fend off the Show Me State.
Missouri led 32-26 with less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter by capitalizing on Illinois’ woeful start offensively. The Land of Lincolners went 6 of 21 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range in the first quarter.
“We were shooting bad shots,” Wires said. “We certainly weren’t shooting our best. We were missing bunnies and dunks, too. It just wasn’t going our way.”
The Show Me State’s ability to keep Illinois from scoring in transition built confidence.
“I didn’t think they expected us to play as good as we did,” Highland’s Brady Campen said.
Ultimately, the ability to create easy offense with defensive pressure changed the game. Illinois closed the first half on a 16-2 run, scoring eight points off turnovers.
“They’re a great team, but we figured they couldn’t run with us once we got going,” Doyle said. “Once we get going up and down the floor, it’s kind of hard to stop us. We were pushing each other, and this was a great group of guys.”
Sharing the basketball influenced that attack.
The Illinois squad forced 22 turnovers, which led to a 27-7 advantage in points off turnovers, but it also dished out 16 assists, which led to shooting 46 percent from the field in the second half. Quincy High School’s Camden Brown and Tyler Sprick and Pittsfield’s Brennan Tomhave had a team-high three assists apiece.
“At the beginning, we were settling for the first shot too much,” said Zack Evans, the Winchester West Central all-state guard who has signed with John Wood Community College. “We weren’t trusting each other. Once we started trusting each other, knowing we can all score the ball at a high level, we started to calm down and everything went smoothly from there.”
Doyle scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals in earning Illinois MVP honors, while Brown had 14 points and seven rebounds, Evans finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Wires collected 11 points, five steals and two assists.
“Our whole lineup was deep,” Evans said. “It was a super-athletic group, and it was a blast to play with them.”
Illinois’ depth proved key in the second half. Missouri shot 50 percent from the field over the final 20 minutes, but attempted just 30 shots because of lost possessions due to Illinois’ defense.
“It was great to be around great players,” Doyle said.
Campen led Missouri with 11 points and 11 rebounds to grab MVP honors, while Van-Far’s Nikos Connoway and South Shelby’s Chance Rainey scored 13 points apiece. Palmyra’s Carson Hicks had 11 points, while Palmyra teammate Bear Bock finished with six points and 10 rebounds.
“Oh, beyond proud of this effort,” Campen said. “Just being able to play and get out here with these guys was a blast.”
It’s a memory none of them will forget.
“We knew getting to play with this many athletic players was going to be a blast,” Evans said. “Coming out on top feels great.”
Illinois
University of Illinois educators spice up summer with cicada-themed dishes
![University of Illinois educators spice up summer with cicada-themed dishes](https://fox11online.com/resources/media/5a50cb2d-a582-408a-b4dc-6ade3327d301-large16x9_Screenshot20240615at5.34.25PM.png)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WRSP/WCCU) — With millions of cicadas emerging this summer across the state of Illinois and the nation, many are curious to learn more about these critters. Some are even curious enough to eat them.
A pizza topping or tasty treat isn’t what comes to mind for most when it comes to cicadas, but for one group of University of Illinois educators, that is exactly what they thought of.
U of I extension horticulture educators Ken Johnson and Chris Enroth hosted a cicada-themed lunch late last month for their podcast Good Growing. They wanted to highlight every angle of cicadas, from what they do to how they taste.
We blanched some so basically you boil them for a minute or two, and that’s gonna clean them off if there’s any microbes in or around them, it’s gonna kill, basically gonna cook them,” said Johnson. “Eat them blanched, they’re gonna kinda taste like asparagus, and then you roast them and you kinda get the real nutty aroma, kinda nutty flavor to them.”
Johnson said for the lunch, they used cicadas that were freshly hatched in order to avoid wings and legs. He said if you do use older cicadas to clip off their wings and legs before consuming.
But the answer most want to know is did the cicada dishes taste good? Johnson and Enroth say yes, and recommend everyone try something new.
The periodical pesto pizza, the cicada tempura, and then finally it’s the cicada sundae,” said Enroth when describing the dishes they had at the lunch. “I wasn’t really kicking and screaming but I was hesitant to eat that first cicada. I will say it’s a fun experience, do take that opportunity, try something new.
For those who are allergic to shellfish, it is recommended that you do not try cicadas as they are in the same family as shellfish and may cause an allergic reaction.
Johnson and Enroth also advise against harvesting cicadas from areas that have a lot of heavy metals or pesticides in the soil as cicadas can absorb some of it during their many years underground.
Illinois
Illinois teen fatally shot in the head: Police
![Illinois teen fatally shot in the head: Police](https://www.mystateline.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2024/05/gettyimages-1138605879-594x594-1.jpg?w=1280)
CHICAGO (WTVO) — A boy, 13, was fatally shot in the head Friday evening on the West Side of Chicago.
The 13-year-old was standing in the area of South Independence Boulevard and West 13th Street when the incident occurred at about 8:30 p.m., according to WLS.
He was pronounced dead after he was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to authorities.
The male shooter got away, officials said.
Chicago Police are still investigating and there is no further information about the incident
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