The following is an excerpt from a column by the University of Illinois Springfield Associate Dean of the College of Public Affairs and Administration and Director of the Doctor of Public Administration program Travis Bland. This column appeared in The State Journal-Register on July 31, 2021. 

The following is an excerpt from a column by the University of Illinois Springfield Director of Graduate Public Service Internship Program Sherrie Elzinga. This column appeared in The State Journal-Register on June 20, 2021. 

June graduation celebrations always include the opportunity to congratulate recent college graduates on their undergraduate degrees and pose the inevitable questions about future employment. 

The University of Illinois Springfield Innovation Hub, the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership and the Community Health Roundtable will host a free public webinar titled “The Lasting Effects of COVID-19 on Patients, the Health Care System and the World” via Zoom at noon Friday.

The University of Illinois Springfield and the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF) have partnered to create a focused speaker series. The goal is to educate the citizens of Illinois on critical societal issues resulting from social determinant factors impacting historically marginalized populations.

The 2021 Sangamon County Citizens Survey has been sent out.

The survey, which has been conducted every other year for the past 10 years, asks for residents' opinions on important topics related to the community, equality, COVID-19, trust and confidence, economy and employment, and demographics.

The survey is a collaborative effort between the University of Illinois Springfield Center for State Policy and Leadership, Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, and United Way of Central Illinois.

This story aired on WAND TV June 7, 2021.

The 2021 Sangamon County Citizens Survey will start arriving in residents’ mailboxes the week of June 7-11. The survey, which has been conducted every other year for the past 10 years, asks for residents’ opinions on important topics related to the community, equality, COVID-19, trust and confidence, economy and employment and demographics.

The University of Illinois Springfield Innovation Hub, UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership and the Community Health Roundtable will host a public webinar “COVID-19 and Returning to Work: Implications for the Workforce, Women and Work Sectors.”

In the webinar, panelists will discuss how issues like childcare and the lingering fear of COVID-19 infection are affecting the state and local workforces, why women may be more affected than men in returning to work and what re-start challenges businesses are facing.

Gov. JB Pritzker has named John J.