Not only is Allerton Park the self-proclaimed best-kept secret of Illinois, but its founders carried a secret of their own as well. University of Kansas professor Nicholas Syrett’s latest book details the relationship between the park’s namesakes, Robert and John Gregg Allerton – a gay couple who claimed to be a father-son duo in public. The…
CHAMPAIGN — There have been more than 260 mass shootings in the US so far in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Two Champaign community leaders are offering more than thoughts and prayers. Rev. Terrance L. Thomas is a pastor at Bethel AME Church in Champaign. He rejects blaming the current gun violence crisis…
Since 1985, the Greater Community AIDS Project – known as GCAP – has been a fixture in east-central Illinois thanks to its HIV education and support services geared toward people living with HIV in east-central Illinois. Now, GCAP is actively searching for an executive director, and three candidates are in the running. At the end…
On June 1, the Champaign Public Library will welcome its new director – its former deputy director who has more than 17 years of experience working in libraries. Brittany Millington takes over for retiring director Donna Pittman, who has been the director since 2016. Millington has served as the library’s deputy director since 2017 and…
CHAMPAIGN – Over the weekend, the Champaign County History Museum celebrated its 50th anniversary with several activities designed to engage and educate the community. The events ranged from an open house to lemonade shakeups to an appearance by the museum’s historic popcorn truck. The museum also debuted two history walks: one through the downtown Champaign…
URBANA — Construction on the next phase of the Kickapoo Rail will begin this month in the eastern Champaign County village of Ogden, the Champaign County Forest Preserve District announced Monday. The 1.5-mile stretch of trail for walking, running and bicycling will go from just west of the Ogden village limits to the Champaign-Vermilion County…
PEORIA — Decades after Jubilee College ended operations as a frontier educational institution, it was operated as a federal Indian boarding school. That troubling part of the Peoria County historic landmark’s legacy may soon receive official recognition. A new report commissioned by the U.S. Department of the Interior sheds light on the locations where Indigenous…
Yvonne Miller likes driving her white Volvo because it reminds her of driving with her son. On her license plate is the word “STUFF.” The bold, black letters stand out against the light blue color of her “Prevent Violence” license plate. “Stuff” is a tribute to Miller’s 23-year-old son, Christopher Kelly. It was a nickname…
VILLA GROVE, Ill. – Paper calendars line a wall inside a house in Villa Grove, a small town south of Champaign-Urbana. The calendars help Meagan Quigley keep track of who will be watching her son each day. Her son Morgan has both autism and epilepsy – meaning he needs almost constant care. Almost every day…
MARSEILLES, Ill. — There was music, but it wasn’t a celebration. It was a commemoration of those lost in the fight for fair pay and safe conditions. That fight turned bloody 90 years ago in Marseilles. During the throes of the Depression, local laborers protested a company bringing in out-of-state, underpaid workers to build a…
AURORA — After hearing about the number of veterans who die by suicide, one northern Illinois man decided to do something about it. A total of 167 Illinois veterans took their lives in 2019, according to Illinois Department of Public Affairs. The average number of Illinois veteran suicides from 2015 through 2018 is 159. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s528/audio/2022/04/0421vetf.mp3…
Protestors gathered at Parkland College April 21 to demand the firing of a former Champaign police chief from his teaching position. Former police chief R.T. Finney has been teaching classes about community policing since the fall of last year. Finney was involved in a shooting that led to the 2009 killing by a different officer…
URBANA — The University of Illinois’s Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is showing “The Neverland” through Saturday. It’s an adaptation of the original “Peter Pan” play that’s more inclusive to minority groups. Although there are some changes from the original version of “Peter Pan,” “The Neverland” includes some of the original characters, such as…
URBANA – Longtime Illini sportscaster Jim Turpin died Sunday. The News-Gazette said the 90-year-old Turpin had recently suffered a fall and died with family members at his side. Jim Turpin first broadcast Illinois football, basketball and baseball games on WILL Radio in the late 1950s, while he was a University of Illinois student. After a…
CHAMPAIGN — Michael Davis describes an ideal client for his new project. An elderly couple is trying to make ends meet with their retirement income. They can’t afford to fix their leaky roof. By the time they pass their house onto their children, the house has mold and is too far gone for repairs. This…