The 21st Show

Measles Risk In Cook County; How 5G Works; Flight 191 Crash 40 Years Later

By Niala Boodhoo, Libby Foster, Robin Linn and Alan Montecillo
 

In this March 27, 2019, file photo, measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are seen in a cooler at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y. Seth Wenig/AP

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Cook County has been named number one on a list of most at risk for the next measles outbreak. What does that mean for the rest of Illinois? Plus, we'll talk about what 5G might do in the ever-changing world of wireless technology. And, we remember the 40th anniversary of the crash of Flight 191. We'll speak with Kim Jockl, who lost her parents in the crash and organized a memorial in their honor.

In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control declared that measles had been eradicated. Yet in 2019, more than 800 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. already and worldwide, cases are up 30 percent.

Measles is an airborne disease and so if not enough people are vaccinated in a community, there’s a real risk of an outbreak. According to a group of researchers, led by Sahotra Sarkar with the University of Texas at Austin, the area most at-risk for the next measles outbreak is Cook County.

Sahotra Sarkar joined us on the line. He’s a professor of integrative biology and a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. We also spoke with Dr. Mark Dworkin, professor of epidemiology at UIC’s School of Public Health, and a former epidemiologist with the state of Illinois.

Also--

When it comes to tech news it can seem like “the next big thing” is always right around the corner. And lately there’s one word that comes up more and more- 5G.

It stands for the so-called “fifth generation” of wireless technology and according to some tech executives, it’ll unlock a new future of connected devices, with download speeds up to 20 times faster.

Suresh Borkar is a senior lecturer of electrical and computer engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Jon Brodkin is a reporter for Ars Technica.

Plus--

If you lived in Illinois in 1979 then you probably remember the tragic news about Flight 191. To this day, it's the largest accidental plane crash in U.S. history. An American Airlines flight crashed just 30 seconds after taking off from O’Hare.

Narrowly avoiding a mobile home park and oil tanks, the jet went down the very busy Touhy Ave on Chicago’s northside before crashing into a field and bursting into flames. There were 256 passengers and 15 crew members aboard. And all of them died. In addition, two more people on the ground were killed.

This all happened 40 years ago on May 25. The Chicago Tribune has ben reporting on this and working with the families who lost loved ones to create an archive. Tribune reporter Kori Rumore joined us on the line from Chicago for more. 

One of those family members, Kim Jockl, also spoke with us. She and her brother and sister lost their parents on Flight 191 and worked to organize a memorial in their honor not far from O’Hare. 

If you're looking for more information on Flight 191, or to get in touch with the Chicago Tribune's Kori Rumore, you can find her information here.

Story source: WILL