Thursday, July 22, 2021 Today’s headlines: The University of Illinois will require all faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated by the start of the upcoming fall semester. Congressman Rodney Davis may not be serving on that January 6 Select Committee after all. A new statewide campaign called “Fully Free” aims to change the laws that…
CHICAGO — When Marlon Chamberlain was asked by his son’s teacher to volunteer as a field trip chaperone, he happily applied. But Chamberlain’s application was denied because of his 25 year-old prison record. “There are hundreds of laws that restrict [formerly incarcerated] people, who are denied opportunities for employment, housing and educational opportunities,” he…
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is calling for stricter ethics measures as the Democratic incumbent mounts his re-election campaign. U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth says Congress needs to get the National Guard reimbursed for the half billion dollars it spent responding to the January 6 insurrection on Capitol Hill. The Urbana Park…
URBANA- Subdivisions and parks throughout Champaign County have been trying to control the goose population for years– using methods ranging from hazing dogs to culling, or killing, geese. Now, a new goose rights organization named Friends of Geese is recommending non-lethal methods for controlling the population. Susan Parenti, a Friends of Geese activist, says the…
CHAMPAIGN – American Legion Post 559 in north Champaign was the scene of gun violence in early July. On Monday evening, members of the community gathered at the same Legion post to ask questions and look for solutions. The July 2nd shooting killed 17-year-old Kieshaun Thatch, and wounded four others. It occurred at a funeral…
Tuesday, July 20, 2021 Today’s headlines: Governor J.B. Pritzker has ended speculation about his political future. The governor says he will seek another term. School districts are trying to figure out the best approach to having students and staff back in the classroom this fall. An American Legion post in north Champaign was the scene…
CHAMPAIGN – It can be challenging for parents to bond with their new baby when the child ends up hospitalized following the birth. Champaign resident Paige Raab knows that firsthand. Her two traumatic birth experiences — which both resulted in stays in a hospital neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU — led her to launch…
URBANA – J.B. Pritzker announced Monday he will seek a second term as governor of Illinois. The politician will face a Democratic primary challenger and at least three Republican opponents who have already announced their intentions to run for his seat. Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton will also seek re-election. In 2018, Pritzker defeated incumbent Republican…
The vast majority of police staff members for Champaign and Urbana don’t live in the communities they serve. In Champaign, nearly four out of five police officers live outside the city, despite a one-time $3,000 bonus for living in Champaign. In Urbana, nearly nine out of 10 police officers live outside the city, and there…
Despite pledges over the years to diversify the police department, both the Champaign and Urbana police staff have remained overwhelmingly white. In 2014, the police staff in Champaign was 88% white and Urbana’s police staff was 84% white, CU-CitizenAccess reported at that time. Almost seven years later, those numbers are virtually unchanged. In Champaign, 99 out of…
Monday, July 19, 2021 Today’s headlines: A child poverty report released today shows major improvement in the last decade, but for kids in many rural pockets of the state, progress was less significant. The Red Cross is urging people to donate blood to help with a blood shortage as patients resume elective surgeries and trauma…
MONTICELLO — Theater companies around central Illinois are gearing up for summer shows and new seasons, but some directors say they aren’t sure what they’ll do after their summer shows as Illinois reopens. Paul Strain is president of the board of DLO Musical Theatre in Danville. He says his company is producing their youth and…
Friday, July 16, 2021 Today’s headlines: Illinois will become the first state in the nation to ban police from lying to suspects under 18 during interrogation under a measure signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker Thursday. Researchers at Southern Illinois University are studying the causes of burnout in the nursing profession. Some Illinoisans are…
URBANA – After a year’s delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work has begun on renovating a long-closed downtown Urbana hotel. Plans are to reopen the building as the Hotel Royer, with the promise of city financing if the work is completed. The new name honors the hotel’s architect, Urbana native Joseph Royer, whose other…
URBANA – Authorities have charged an Urbana man with attempted first-degree murder and several other crimes after he allegedly rammed a stolen truck into the Champaign County Satellite Jail Wednesday morning. Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz says it all began when 37-year-old Yevgeniy Nikolaev allegedly stole a white Ford pickup truck from Feldkamp’s Towing…