A few years ago, traci kato-kiriyama found herself in an exchange with an online seller, trying to recover a trunk that belonged to their family. The trunk was property of kato-kiriyama’s grandfather, a Japanese incarceree of World War II American concentration camps. After a year-and-a-half of back-and-forth, she and the seller came to an agreement…
Nearly 50 students gathered at the Illini Union Tuesday night to watch the Vice Presidential debate between Ohio Senator JD Vance and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. NPR reports the candidates discussed issues including the economy, immigration and health care, keeping a tone that was largely collegial. The event was hosted by the Office of Civic Life at…
The Main Quad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign usually stays sleepy on weekend mornings without the hustle and bustle of students walking to class. Many students are tucked away in their dorms or apartments after participating in late night activities. This year, however, Sunday mornings on the Main Quad look different. At 10…
With the 2024 election approaching, Braver Angels, a non-profit organization, is working to bridge the partisan divide and bring Americans together by teaching them how to listen. Political polarization has always been part of American politics, but not enough effort has been made to ease that tension, says Chuck Stone, a blue-leaning state coordinator for…
The non-profit journalism organization Invisible Institute has launched a new tool that allows people to look up police employment history. The National Police Index, created in partnership with Innocence Project New Orleans and Human Rights Data Analysis Group, compiles data obtained from state police training and certification boards. The tool currently shows data in 17 states, including…
The eleventh annual Immigrant Welcome Awards will be held at the Urbana Free Library this Sunday. Six awards will be presented to honor people and businesses that are working to make Champaign County a welcoming space for immigrants. Ricardo Diaz serves on the board of the CU Immigration Forum, which is the main sponsor of…
URBANA – With students resuming school, coughs and sneezes have become more prevalent across campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And the number of flu cases has been surging ever since, according to Awais Vaid, executive director of McKinley Health Center. In response to the surge, McKinley will be providing free, walk-in flu shots…
DANVILLE — On a recent afternoon in early May, Danville resident Germaine Light leashed up her poodle Pippin to take a walk around Kickapoo State Park, along the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River. Light lives just a few miles from where a coal-fired power plant operated for over five decades until it closed in 2011….
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campuses across the U.S. – including at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — are calling on their schools to divest from companies with ties to Israel. One of the groups — Students for Justice in Palestine UIUC — wants the university to divest from weapon manufacturers and institutions; disclose all financial…
After graduating from high school, Justin Wigg said he craved adventure, which led him to serve in the Marine Corps for five years during the Iraq war. His adjustment to his life back in the United States, he said, was not easy. He was deployed to Iraq twice, and when he returned home, his friends…
The director of the McKinley Student Health Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said the campus is not planning to provide on-campus access to abortion medications, despite overwhelming support from students. Nearly three-quarters of the 6,354 students who participated in the Illinois Student Council election this February voted “Yes” when asked if they…
CHAMPAIGN — Grocery prices across the U.S. have risen more than 25% since 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food prices are currently the third highest consumer expense. USDA data shows the cost of food at home increased by 3.5% in 2020, 3.9% in 2021, 11.4% in 2022, and 5% last year. “While the USDA predicts…
A team of journalists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently traveled to Sierra Leone to report on the global phenomenon of period poverty. Women and girls around the world often lack access to the products or the education they need to manage their periods properly. This can lead to shame surrounding menstruation and…
The national consultant hired by the city of Urbana has released its first report evaluating the police department. In this report, BerryDunn, a national consulting firm, recommends hiring more police officers, which would cost the city millions and involve raising taxes. According to the report, more than 64% of calls for service don’t involve criminal activity. Those…
The town of McLeansboro, Illinois, has a population of less than 3,000 people. But it’s expecting hundreds of visitors for the solar eclipse, as the town is directly in the line of totality. To celebrate this historical event, the McLeansboro Kiwanis Club hosted a two-day festival with live music, food trucks and special guests, including…