University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students are calling on the institution to sever ties with the college town’s local police departments and dissolve the university’s own police force. Following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis and the protests that followed, students at both the U of I’s Urbana and Chicago campuses are…
URBANA – A moratorium on utility shutoffs in Illinois expired last Sunday. But with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing, several utilities have volunteered to extend the moratorium for another month. The Illinois Commerce Commission says utilities that agreed to the extension include Ameren Illinois, Illinois American Water and Aqua Illinois. All of those serve customers in…
Homeland Security Has Seized $200 Million From Travelers At O’Hare Airport Since 2000, Report Finds The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has seized more than $203 million in cash from travelers at O’Hare International Airport since 2000 – more than any other airport in the country, according to a report released Thursday. And more than…
As schools across Illinois finalize their plans to reopen this fall, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is urging students, teachers and school staff members to wear masks at all times and stay at least six feet apart. The C-UPHD recently released guidelines and recommendations for schools and families as they prepare to begin the next…
Senators Seek EPA Help To Fix Metro East Public Health Issue CENTREVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Residents in Illinois’ Metro East region are facing a major public health crisis because of persistent flooding and sewage problems, the state’s two U.S. senators said in a letter sent Wednesday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Democrats Tammy Duckworth…
This summer, there’s been a lot of discussion about racism, anti-black violence and injustice. Now African-Americans on the faculty of the University of Illinois’ College of Fine and Applied Arts are sharing their perspectives in a 5-part online showcase called “We Got Next” that you’re invited to attend virtually. Prof. Taylor talked about “We Got…
URBANA – Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert remembers watching a man dressed up in Native American regalia dance across a football field as “surreal” and “in many ways silly.” It was the fall of 2006, and the University of Illinois’ former mascot, Chief Illiniwek, sported a feather headdress and face paint, as he wove in and out…
CHAMPAIGN – Former University of Illinois men’s basketball coach Lou Henson died on Saturday. He was 88 years old. The U of I announced his death on Wednesday, shortly after a private funeral service. Henson coached at Illinois from 1975-1996, amassing a record of 423-224, the most wins in school history. His 1989 team, known…
Illinois Professors Disagree With School’s Fall Proposals CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ college and university professors are pushing back against their school’s proposals for reopening schools amid the pandemic, prompting officials to adopt new norms to accommodate faculty recommendations. Faculty concerns are becoming more urgent after reports say that students returning to college towns are spreading…
ATLANTA – A walk along the trails at Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta, Georgia can be peaceful. The sweeping views from the top of the mountain can be breathtaking, and a visit to a new dinosaur exhibit there can be educational. But looming over all of this natural beauty is a nearly 100 foot tall…
DANVILLE – The operator for a proposed Danville casino says it is withdrawing the application, it submitted last October, and plans to submit a new one next month. The request from Haven Gaming, LLC, to withdraw is on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of the Illinois Gaming Board. In a statement, the Rochester, NY-based company…
County Board Candidate Drops Out After Controversial Tweet WHEATON, Ill. (AP) — A candidate for the DuPage County board in northern Illinois withdrew from the race after being criticized for a tweet in which she said she laughed while watching a video of a police officer getting hit in the face by a projectile during…
URBANA – Mayor Diane Marlin says she’ll bring more details to the Urbana City Council next week on setting up an advisory committee to study policing in the city. The mayor proposed the committee at Monday night’s city council meeting. It would be made up of community members, and could investigate everything from racial disparities…
KANSAS CITY, MO – Nearly 100 years after J.C. (Jesse Clyde) Nichols built Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza — an outdoor shopping center modeled after Spanish architecture — his name has been stripped from one of its streets and an iconic fountain. The debate to remove his name has long simmered, but the pressure mounted…
Gov. Pritzker Replaces Officials Who Oversaw COVID-19 Response In Nursing Homes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration is replacing two top Illinois Department of Public Health officials in charge of the state’s efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 through nursing homes. Nursing home residents account for more than half of deaths in Illinois tied to…