URBANA — The Urbana Police Department hired a national consulting firm this year to evaluate how the department works, including how — and if — officers should handle certain types of calls for service. The firm, BerryDunn, has worked with police departments throughout the U.S. to evaluate their processes and offer recommendations. One consideration is…
This is the time of year that many college students in Champaign-Urbana scramble to sign off-campus leases for the next academic year. The process can be very complicated, and the race to quickly sign a lease can lead students to make uninformed decisions about their living situation, according to Dana DeCair, director of Off-Campus Community…
CHAMPAIGN — Harrison Price remembers when he first started feeling unwelcome in the Catholic church. It was 2015 when the Supreme Court was considering Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that guaranteed the right marriage for LGBTQ+ couples. “In the bulletin, there was a big note that had an image, like, you know, bathroom-sign-type image of…
November 11 is Veterans Day, when Americans honor the people who put their lives on the line. Cheryl Walker of Urbana is Commander of the American Legion District 19. In 2004, Cheryl was a member of the Illinois Army National Guard and deployed to Iraq when she was seriously injured in a mortar attack. Her…
This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and IPM Newsroom, which provides news about Illinois & in-depth reporting on Agriculture, Education, the Environment, Health, and Politics, powered by Illinois Public…
The Champaign County Environmental Stewards turned post-Halloween cleanup into a community event on Saturday with their second annual Pumpkin Smash. Residents tossed their pumpkins against a cement wall at the Landscape Recycling Center in Urbana, turning potential landfill waste into compost that will later be sold at the center. “It’s important to divert some of…
Most U.S. cities have maintained the right-on-red rule since a 1970s mandate from the federal government aimed at conserving energy by preventing cars from idling at stop lights.
From 1917 to its closure 30 years ago, the base hosted military aircraft from World War One to the Vietnam War, and training programs for more than one million airmen, including the Tuskegee Airmen, the nation’s first African American Air Force pilots.
URBANA — The ninth CU Jazz Festival takes place this weekend with a variety of shows and events around Champaign-Urbana. One of those performances will celebrate the memory of a local jazz legend this weekend. Morgan Powell, a former professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Music, was revered as a trombonist in the…
The Piatt County Board voted 4-2 on Friday to approve a special use permit for a wind farm in the county. But several members made it clear they were approving the Prosperity Wind project reluctantly, as a new Illinois law gave them no real choice in the matter.
This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and IPM Newsroom, which provides news about Illinois & in-depth reporting on Agriculture, Education, the Environment, Health, and Politics, powered by Illinois Public…
The 2003 festival takes place at Krannert Center for Performing Arts, the Channing-Murray Foundation, the Rose Bowl Tavern, and the Urbana Free Library.
The Champaign City Council approved the next phase of a $36 million construction project to both reduce flooding and provide recreation in Garden Hills. The construction will involve building a stormwater detention basin with an ornamental wall, along with park-like amenities, including a pedestrian walkway, ornamental bridges and lighting. The new Hedge Park will…
Fire crews were expected to remain at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium Tuesday night, after extinguishing a fire at the stadium in Champaign.
On Saturday, Sept. 30, large crowds of people gathered along Race St. and Springfield Ave. in Urbana dressed in rainbow colors to celebrate C-U’s annual Pride Fest. The Fest, which featured more than 140 local vendors and a parade, was one of many events hosted last week by Uniting Pride of Champaign County. Valena Hedin,…