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Vidette staff on Feb. 22 brandish many of the 31 awards it won in the Illinois College Press Association contest. The student newspaper at Illinois State University is going online-only and being fully folded into the university's communications curriculum. Photo provided
By CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN For Illinois Press Association
NORMAL – Each week, John Plevka sits down with his blue gel pen and critiques the weekly edition of The Vidette.
It used to be daily. He felt like it found its sweet spot in 2015, when financial realities forced the paper publish only twice weekly, before the screws tightened in August 2019 and it became a weekly. On April 27, 2021, the last physical edition of the 132-year-old Vidette will be printed.
“My blue ink is going to be pretty blurry. There’s going to be a bunch of tears,” said Plevka, a former (Peoria) Journal Star executive editor who has served as general manager of The Vidette since 2012.
Plevka (left) said student managers are forming a plan to print a special commemorative edition in late April or early May. The Vidette will report exclusively on its digital platforms – its website, social media channels, newsletters and app.
Plevka said financial strains were bearing down long before COVID-19 gripped the nation. “I’ve been sounding these sirens for several years,” he said. “We didn’t just find out we had a financial problem.”
The university gave Plevka and Business Manager Madeline Jean-Charles non-renewal notices in June. As of July 1, 2021, the traditional advertising department, run by students and a part-time professional business adviser, will be eliminated. ISU’s NPR affiliate WGLT, led by General Manager R.C. McBride and also part of the communications program, will take over business and administrative oversight.
As of now, all that is etched in stone is that printing operations will cease. Stephen Hunt, executive director of the School of Communications, said an adviser will be retained to oversee The Vidette, and it will be determined in the spring whether that’s Plevka – who’s leaning toward accepting a potential offer to stay on.
“There are going to be some hellish growth pains,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of talented kids coming back. I’d like to kind of hold their hand through that next year.”
A committee made up of Plevka, Hunt, an administrator from the College of Arts and Sciences, McBride, faculty members, journalism professors, and others, formed in August and began laying out the plan for The Vidette’s future.
“They have done an incredible amount of thoughtful work in a short period of time to produce an excellent plan moving forward,” said Diane Zosky (left), interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Vidette was actually folded into the communications department in 2011, but The Vidette still paid its own bills, Plevka said. His chief concern is that as the newsroom is tied more closely to communications curriculum, it’s going to lose access to talent.
Previously, all that was required to work for The Vidette was taking six credits at ISU. While details are being ironed out, students will be required to take communications courses to work for The Vidette.
Plevka is optimistic the university will find workarounds for English majors to work for The Vidette, given how closely the major dovetails with journalism.
He’s more concerned about losing the political science and even the biology majors who have played important roles at the paper previously. Many of them have even shifted gears and carved out careers in journalism, Plevka said.
“With those courses being elective for them, they’ll have to ask themselves the question, can they afford to do that?” he said. “Those kind of folks are probably going to be disappearing. The Vidette has prided itself on being a big tent, and inviting to everyone.”
Hunt (below) addressed those concerns in an email Dec. 8, stating the program can manage enrollment in key production courses by removing course blocks, which would allow English majors, for example, to continue to work for The Vidette.
The university’s student-run news broadcast, TV-10, is entirely run through the School of Communications curriculum, but it has a registered student organization, Student Television Workshop, that is open to all majors across campus.
“We’re thinking of something similar for The Vidette,” Hunt said.
When Plevka transitioned to ISU in 2012, The Vidette’s budget was $1 million. It’s now around $250,000. He’s cut an IT position, reduced Jean-Charles’ hours, and pared down the number of paid student employees. The once-five-day newspaper dropped its Friday edition in 2013, went down to two days in 2015, and became a weekly a year ago.
The last fiscal year The Vidette finished in the black was 2013. It’s projected to finish more than $200,000 in the red when the calendar flips to July next summer.
“Looking back, I do feel we could have been a little more proactive on this, potentially as far back as 4 or 5 years ago,” Plevka said.
The Vidette is hardly on an island, as financial hardships led by advertising decline, exacerbated of course by the pandemic, have resulted in student newspapers throughout the Midwest reining in their print frequency.
The Daily Northwestern at Northwestern University went from printing five days a week to reporting online-only, at least for the time being. The Courier at Western Illinois University has committed to going online-only not just this school year, but for good.
The Vidette has won General Excellence in the Illinois College Press Association competition 2 of the past 3 years.
Plevka said he’s hopeful the university will grandfather in current Vidette staff next fall, for them to not be required to take communications courses. He’s also “pushing hard” for the university to continue paying a staff of at least a half-dozen students. Currently, about a dozen are on the payroll.
“If they’re not going to reward those folks, that’s when the thing will really come unglued,” he said. “I don’t want to be around to see that. Then it becomes a class, and some students will be half-assing it. It’s a shitload of work to be an editor. It’s great experience, and there’s value in doing it. You can’t have a student adviser as editor-in-chief. It takes away from the learning experience.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2026 Media Contact Information: Cartwheel Emily Paisner (888) 500-2067 emily.paisner@cartwheelcare.org
$1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will help Cartwheel scale access to care in rural and underserved communities through 2028
CHICAGO — August 26, 2026 — Cartwheel Care, a telehealth mental health provider for K-12 schools, today announced plans to expand access to care for up to 100,000 students across Illinois, supported by a $1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The additional funding builds on an existing partnership between Cartwheel and BCBSIL, following a year of strong engagement and clinical outcomes. Cartwheel currently serves 40 Illinois school districts, and the grant will help expand services further into rural and underserved communities across the state through 2028. Mental health needs among Illinois students remain high. According to data from Lurie Children’s Hospital, approximately 50% of Illinois youth (ages 2–17) have experienced worsening mental health symptoms in recent years. At the same time, access to care has not kept pace: more than 80 of Illinois’ 102 counties have no practicing child psychiatrist, and the shortage is most acute in rural areas, where families often wait months for an appointment or travel significant distances for care. Cartwheel’s telehealth model is designed to remove the access barriers rural families face, like long waitlists and the need to travel to see a provider. By partnering with schools, Cartwheel provides licensed, Illinois-based clinicians with no waitlist, accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid, and reaches kids and families where they already are, without requiring them to find or travel to an outside provider. “Every student experiences mental health challenges differently, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them,” said Dr. Juliana Chen, chief medical officer at Cartwheel. “Our goal is to meet students and families where they are, with practical support that helps them build skills, strengthen relationships, and feel more confident navigating challenges at school and at home. BCBSIL’s support is what allows us to bring that care to more Illinois communities.” “Supporting the health and well-being of Illinois youth is critical to building stronger communities,” said Brian Snell, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “The results we’ve seen through our partnership with Cartwheel demonstrate the impact that timely, accessible mental health services can have for students and families. This investment will help bring those services to even more communities across our state.” To date, four Illinois districts have received Cartwheel’s services through this grant: Steger SD 194 in Cook County and Will County, Troy CCSD 30-C in Will County, Mattoon CUSD 2 in Coles County, and Wolf Branch SD #113 in St. Clair County. In the first year of the program, more than 200 students were referred for care and completed more than 1,000 telehealth sessions. Appointments were scheduled in the same week with no waitlist. Sixty-eight percent of students served were covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Overall, 73% of students showed meaningful improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms on standard clinical screeners (GAD-7/PHQ-9). Additional districts where Cartwheel services are launching this fall include Litchfield CUSD #12, Panhandle CUSD #2, Leyden High School District #212, and Regional Office of Education #40. With the support of this grant, Cartwheel expects to expand into another 30 to 50 school districts, bringing access to care to a total of 100,000 students across Illinois. “Before this partnership, getting a student connected to care could take months,” said Jeffrey Peterson, director of student services & records at Troy CCSD 30-C. “Now our counselors can refer a student, know they’ll be seen within days, and are seeing real improvements as a result.” Through the grant, Cartwheel provides individual and family therapy, parent guidance, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and specialized care programs for challenges like school avoidance, social media use, and intense emotions and behavior challenges. As reported in Illinois Policy, in 2025 about 25% of Illinois students missed at least 10% of the school year and this was more severe among low-income students, with 35.1% in that group chronically absent. Cartwheel’s school avoidance program delivers evidence-based care designed specifically for students struggling with school avoidance. In partnership with Cartwheel, Peoria Public Schools saw a 62% reduction in absences per student, along with decreases in suspensions and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Illinois school districts that want to learn more about this opportunity for the upcoming school year should visit: www.cartwheel.org/illinois. About Cartwheel Cartwheel is the nation’s largest and most trusted telehealth provider for K-12 schools, students, and families. Cartwheel partners with 350 school districts across 15 states to deliver comprehensive mental health services to students, families, and school staff. Founded in 2022 by educators and clinicians, Cartwheel combines evidence-based clinical care with technology to ensure every child has access to high-quality mental health support. Cartwheel accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid and provides care at no cost to uninsured families. For more information visit: www.cartwheel.org. About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest health insurer in Illinois, serving nine million members and operating in all 102 Illinois counties. BCBSIL is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Learn more at bcbsil.com and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 24, 2026 Media Contact Information: Mather Institute Cindy Droog, president, Sabo PR (616) 717-8654 cindy@sabo-pr.com
Free online tool by Mather Institute supports local planning, partnership and investments
EVANSTON, Illinois – Chicago has a new tool to help understand where neighborhood conditions support social wellness among older adults – and where thoughtful investment and partnership may expand opportunities. Mather Institute launched a first-of-its-kind free Social Wellness Map, which scores the 77 community areas in Chicago on social wellness – a measure of feeling connected with others and with a community – for adults 55 and better. Previous research shows strong social ties are one of the most important predictors of a happy and long life, and that neighborhoods and communities shape how people interact, support one another and build shared identity. Mather Institute developed the map in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. Designed as a planning and advocacy resource, the interactive map can help policymakers, community organizations, funders, planners and service providers explore local patterns, identify assets and consider where new investments may have the greatest benefit for older adults. “Social wellness is a crucial, yet often overlooked, part of healthy aging,” said Cate O’Brien, MPH, Ph.D., chief transformation officer at Mather Institute. “Because every community contains diverse histories, people and experiences, the map is intended to inform – not replace – local knowledge. The most useful next step is conversation. When organizations bring this data together with resident voices, they can better understand what is already working and what could be most beneficial to older adults and their communities.” The map is based on a new survey of more than 4,000 Chicago residents age 55 and better, combined with public data on community conditions, including walkability, economic factors and access to gathering places such as libraries, churches and community centers. Factors such as crime, lack of local businesses and poverty can hinder social wellness, but don’t tell the whole story. Users can view a side-by-side comparison of communities to explore how social wellness relates to health, happiness, income and other factors. Key findings include:
“Community leaders often have deep local knowledge, but need data to support the case for programs, funding and partnerships,” said Jennifer L. Smith, Ph.D., vice president of Mather Institute. “The Social Wellness Map offers another lens for understanding older adults’ experiences and for turning local insight into action.” High social wellness scores were not confined to one part of Chicago or to its wealthiest areas, suggesting that other factors such as neighborhood identity, belonging and longstanding social ties are also important to connection. Chatham emerged as a notable example, with a social wellness score of 8.14 out of 10, illustrating social wellness reflects aspects of community life beyond economic and safety indicators alone. Beverly received the highest community connectability score: 100 out of 100. Beverly is notable for its low crime rates, a strong family culture and several longstanding community gathering places. Jefferson Park stood out for having community conditions that support connection such as accessible transit, retail activity and established cultural gathering places. The map is free to use and does not require user registration. It can be explored at: https://www.matherinstitute.com/social-wellness-map/
About Mather and Mather Institute
Based in Evanston, Illinois, Mather is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1941 that is dedicated to a vision of changing the way society views aging. Mather creates Ways to Age Well℠ through programs, places and residences for today’s older adults. These include developing and operating communities that support older adults in pursuing wellness and fulfillment; sparking creativity and connections for older adults in Chicagoland and beyond; and through Mather Institute, conducting research and incubating innovation to help all live and age well.
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