CHAMPAIGN – Champaign community leaders called for an end to gun violence Friday, a day when three more people were injured by gunfire in the city. “The gun violence has to stop,” said Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen at a city hall news conference, where she was joined by Police Chief Anthony Cobb and two other…
SAVOY – The University of Illinois’ new solar farm outside of Savoy is entering its final phase of construction. But the facility has already been producing electricity for more than three months. Solar Farm 2.0, located along Curtis Road between First Street and the Canadian National tracks, became operations on January 29. It covers 54…
URBANA – Gov. JB Pritzker used local road projects in Champaign County as his backdrop Tuesday to announce the latest round of Rebuild Illinois grants. The governor’s actual backdrop was a lineup of heavy equipment at the Champaign County Highway Department building in Urbana. Standing in front of them, Pritzker listed the accomplishments of Rebuild…
DANVILLE – The house on South Buchanan Street had been a familiar site in Danville’s Rabbittown neighborhood for decades. But in recent years, it had been empty, its windows boarded up. Early one morning in April, a city employee operating a Caterpillar excavator knocked it down in a matter of minutes, while a second employee…
URBANA — For the first time in 13 months, the Illinois economy is expanding, according to the University of Illinois Flash Index. The Flash Index reading for April is 101.5, surging above 100 for the first time since February 2020, when it was at 105.7. The COVID-19 pandemic sent the Flash Index below 100 starting…
CHARLESTON – A committee at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston voted unanimously (6-0) this week to recommend that a building named for Stephen A. Douglas be renamed, because of the 19th century politician’s ties to slavery. EIU’s University Naming Committee surveyed the campus and community about renaming Douglas Hall. The four-story dormitory, and its adjoining…
UPDATE: Gov. JB Pritzker signed SB 2515, creating the Mahomet Aquifer Council, on Friday, August 13. Original article: URBANA – A bill to create a permanent advisory council to study the Mahomet Aquifer is moving through the Illinois General Assembly. The bill (SB2515) passed the Illinois Senate on a vote of 56-0 last week and now…
CHAMPAIGN — The Champaign Unit Four School Board is set to review a new program aimed at narrowing the racial achievement gap at its April 26 meeting. On April 20, the Champaign City Council renewed its support for the program, which is called LIFT Champaign. The city and school district are working together to launch…
URBANA – All around Illinois on Tuesday, local authorities certified results from the April 6 local elections. Provisional and late-arriving mail-in ballots had an impact on some close races, but not others. For instance, no additional ballots were added when the Danville Election Commission finalized the results of the Ward 7 Danville City Council race….
SAVOY – In the Champaign County town of Savoy, the election for a village board seat is still too close to call. Incumbent trustees Jan Carter Niccum and A. J. Ruggieri were tied for the third of three available at-large seats with 380 votes apiece, according to the unofficial count on the night of the…
URBANA – An Illinois House committee is gathering input from different parts of the state, as its members prepare to redraw legislative and congressional districts. On Thursday, the Redistricting Committee heard via Zoom from the Champaign-Urbana area — one of the few parts of Illinois seeing population growth. Gloria Yen with the University YMCA’s New…
URBANA – Tuesday was Election Day in Illinois, consolidating local elections for cities, village, townships and other governing bodies such as park, school and library boards. And on Tuesday evening, county clerks and other election authorities announced results of the voting. But those are unofficial results, and the Champaign County Clerk’s office that it’s more…
URBANA – Illinois Congressman Rodney Davis is appealing to bipartisanship, as he joins fellow Republicans in opposing the White House infrastructure plan. Davis made his comments Monday at Willard Airport, south of Champaign, where he toured runway and taxiway improvements. “Well this is awesome,” said Davis, as he was shown improvements paid for by federal…
URBANA – Champaign County voters can once again use election drop boxes to send in their mail-in ballots for Tuesday’s local elections. The seven drop boxes in Champaign and Urbana were used during the November election. But local election officials say there was no state law authorizing their use in other elections. That changed last…
URBANA – The Flash Index showed a strong improvement in Illinois’ economy over the past month, rising from February’s reading of 96.6 to 97.8 for March. The increase comes after several months of steady but slower improvement, as the Illinois economy recovers from last year’s deep downtown caused by the COVID-19 shutdown. University of Illinois…