Hospital admissions and positive tests for influenza are soaring in Illinois, prompting warnings and concerns from health officials.

According to an update Monday from the Illinois Department of Public Health, flu activity in the state has climbed to “very high” levels in recent days, the most severe of five categories of respiratory illness activity used by the CDC.

Data available via the IDPH’s Seasonal Respiratory Illness Dashboard shows that more than 19% of emergency room visits in Illinois during the last reporting period were due to acute respiratory illness, with more than 18% of hospital admissions attributed to those illnesses.

Acute respiratory illnesses include the flu as well as COVID-19 and RSV, according to officials.

COVID-19 rates are also on the rise, increasing to “moderate” levels in the state according to the CDC.

The CDC uses wastewater monitoring to help detect viruses infecting people in a community, according to its website.

The bulk of hospital admissions and ER visits associated with respiratory illnesses were made because of flu symptoms, according to officials.

Health officials in Illinois are warning of a new and unexpected mutation that could make for a “more serious flu season.” Natalie Martinez has more.

Data shows that the spike in illnesses is having a serious impact on those residents under the age of 18. Children between the ages of 5 and 17 are most impacted by hospital admissions related to acute respiratory illnesses and the flu, while residents over the age of 65 are most impacted by COVID-19.

In the press release, Illinois also reported its first influenza death in a child this season.

“Illinois is facing a significant winter surge in seasonal respiratory illnesses with flu activity at very high levels,” Dr. Sameer Vohra, IDPH director, said. “Vaccinations remain the most effective tool to prevent severe illness from flu, COVID-19 and RSV.”

That push for vaccinations comes as approximately 22% of state residents have received flu shots, according to Illinois health officials. Even though flu season peaks in January and February, officials caution that it can last into May, making vaccination a smart strategy in containing spread of the illness.

In addition to vaccines, washing hands frequently is critical to preventing spread of the illness, as is covering coughs and sneezes, and wearing a mask when ill.

Antiviral treatments can also minimize symptoms and speed up recovery, but must be sought in the early stages of the illness to be effective, officials warn.

More information can be found on IDPH’s website.

ECU Pirates quarterback Katin Houser has committed to transfer to the Illinois Fighting Illini per On3’s Hayes Fawcett. He previously played for the Michigan State Spartans.

Katin Houser played his high school football at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, California. There, he was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2022. Houser had been the 210th-ranked player nationally and the 13th-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle. He’d initially attend Michigan State, choosing the Spartans over several Power Four options.

In 2022, Houser’s first year with Michigan State, he would appear in two games and utilize his redshirt. That’s before he played in 11 games during the 2023 season, before transferring out alongside a coaching change at Michigan State. In the end, he landed at ECU.

Houser has spent the last two seasons at ECU. While there, he would play in 21 games over two seasons. In both of those years, Houser would help lead the Pirates to bowl wins. It was the first back-to-back bowl wins for the program since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Individually, Houser has found plenty of success too. In 2025 alone, Houser completed 65.9 percent of his passes for 3,300 yards and 19 touchdowns. That was against six interceptions. He also rushed for 181 yards and another nine touchdowns.

For his career, Katin Houser has played in 34 total games. He has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 6,438 yards and 43 touchdowns. That’s against 22 interceptions. He also has 352 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns for his career.

Illinois is coming off two excellent seasons under Bret Bielema, when the Illini were quarterbacked by Luke Altmyer. During that time, Illinois went 19-7 with two bowl wins. For Illinois, it was the program’s first back-to-back bowl wins since 2010 and 2011. 19 wins was also their most wins in program history over a two-season stretch. Now, however, Altmyer is out of eligibility, meaning Bielema needs to find the quarterback of the future.

This offseason will see Illinois overhaul its roster. The Fighting Illini have already had 25 transfers. That includes quarterback Trey Petty. Along with Katin Houser, Illinois has also added transfer quarterback Maurice Smith from the portal. He’s coming from Division II Chowan University. So, it’s safe to say that Illinois isn’t done with its Transfer Portal additions just yet.

One interesting note in the upcoming 2026 schedule. Illinois is set to play at Michigan State, which will act as a kind of homecoming game for Katin Houser. The date and time for that game aren’t set yet.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CNI) – Immigrant rights and artificial intelligence were two of the hot-button issues that influenced public education in 2025. They are also the subject of new education-related laws that will take effect at the start of the new year.

The rights of noncitizen students, including those who are not lawfully present in the U.S., rose to the top of the education agenda as soon as President Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term in January.

The day Trump was inaugurated, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded a Biden administration policy that had limited immigration enforcement actions in or near “sensitive locations” such as schools, playgrounds, child care centers and school bus stops.

Two days later, Illinois Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders issued what he called “non-regulatory guidance” to local school officials, urging them to adopt policies spelling out how and when their staff should cooperate with federal immigration officials carrying out enforcement actions or seeking information from school officials.

At the Statehouse, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly also took action, passing bills intended to extend more legal protections to noncitizens living in Illinois.

School program participation

Among those was House Bill 3247, which passed the General Assembly in the final days of the spring session in May and was signed into law Aug. 15. It prohibits schools from excluding or discouraging students from attending school or taking part in school programs based on their immigration status or that of their parents or guardians.

“In the face of federal threats to our schools and students, our communities came together and organized to demand that our state leaders stand up for education for all Illinois children,” Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said in a statement after the bill’s final approval.

“While the right to safe and free public education remains under attack from Trump and leaders in other states, Illinois has the opportunity to continue to uphold our values.”

The law specifically prohibits schools from requesting or collecting information from a student, their parents or guardians about their citizenship or immigration status unless the information is required by state or federal law.

It also prohibits schools from disclosing information about their immigration or citizenship status to any other person or entity, including immigration and law enforcement agencies, unless required to do so under federal law.

In addition, starting July 1, schools that violate those prohibitions can be sued in civil court for actual damages.

Scholarships and immigration status

Another new law expands the types of publicly funded scholarships students can qualify for regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.

Illinois law already extends eligibility for state-funded student financial aid such as the Monetary Award Program, or MAP grants, to any student who meets Illinois residency requirements. House Bill 460, which was signed into law in August, expands that to include programs administered by local units of government.

Artificial Intelligence in college

The rapid deployment in recent years of new technologies like ChatGPT, Copilot and Gemeni has raised a host of new questions for educators. Should students be allowed to use them in lieu of doing their own reading and writing? And should schools themselves be allowed to use them in lieu of human instructors to lead classes?

Illinois lawmakers addressed some of those questions.

House Bill 1859 requires community colleges to ensure that faculty members who teach courses must be actual people who meet the qualifications to hold their positions. It also provides that colleges may not, in lieu of a faculty member, use AI programs “as the sole source of instruction.” It does, however, allow faculty members to use AI as a teaching tool in their classrooms.

“Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that can enhance both students’ and teachers’ capability to learn and teach, but it cannot replace an instructor,” Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid, D-Bridgeview, the bill’s lead House sponsor, said in a statement. “This legislation clarifies that college courses must be taught by real people, not AI.”

AI at elementary and secondary schools

Lawmakers were less specific about how AI should be handled at the elementary and secondary education levels. Instead, they directed the Illinois State Board of Education to develop broad guidelines.

Senate Bill 1920 directs ISBE to develop statewide guidance for districts and educators on the use of AI in K-12 settings. That includes a basic explanation of what AI is and how it works as well as descriptions of how it can be used in the classroom “to inform teaching and learning practices while preserving the human relationships essential to effective teaching and learning.”

The law also directs ISBE to include guidance on the impact AI systems and applications could have on student data privacy, on best practices for teaching students about responsible and ethical uses of AI, and the dangers of “unintentional and disparate biases against special populations inherent within artificial intelligence products.”

The law directs ISBE to publish those guidelines by July 1.

Other education laws

Also beginning Jan. 1, students in seventh and eighth grade will be able to get an early jump on earning high school credits.

House Bill 3039 authorizes districts to award credits to seventh and eighth graders who enroll in high school classes as long as they pass both the course and the end-of-course examination demonstrating they have achieved high school-level proficiency.

House Bill 1366 requires districts to notify the parents or guardians of students with special needs that they have a right to bring a third-party advocate with them to meetings about their student’s Individual Education Plan, or IEP meetings.

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