Photo Gallery: Procession For Champaign Officer Chris Oberheim

Procession for fallen Champaign officer Chris Oberheim passes in front of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign north campus and OSF HealthCare in Urbana around 1:52 pm, headed to downtown Champaign.

URBANA – Many people lined up to honor a fallen Champaign police officer during a procession from Urbana to Decatur. Authorities say a gunman killed 44-year-old Officer Chris Oberheim during a shootout at an apartment complex early Wednesday. Here are pictures and video images from the procession to honor Oberheim on Thursday.

The hearse carrying the body of fallen officer Chris Oberheim is saluted by Champaign police officers as it passes by Champaign Police headquarters.

The scene at University and First. Officers lining up in preparation for the processional outside Champaign Police Headquarters, under a large US flag suspended between two Champaign Fire Department ladder trucks.
Marilyn Payton Wright of the OSF HealthCare Hospital’s environmental services watched solemnly.

Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on 7 NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsWILL