URBANA – At the University of Illinois Champaign Urbana campus, there’s a bike rack within 150 feet of nearly every campus building. Altogether, these bike racks can accommodate at least 11,635 bicycles, as of October 2019. However, nearly 1,000 bikes that are parked at these campus bike racks this summer haven’t been moved in weeks,…
On Tuesday, the first probable case of monkeypox was reported in Champaign County, according to the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD). The World Health Organization describes monkeypox as a potentially serious viral illness, fatal in 3 to 6 percent of cases. CUPHD administrator Julie Pryde said that monkeypox is spread in numerous ways, though her department…
While a few hours to the north, the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park was marred by tragedy, things were peaceful in Champaign-Urbana. On Monday, Champaign County kicked off its annual Fourth of July parade, featuring a lineup of political candidates; various tractors and firetrucks; activist groups; local businesses and more. Starting at the…
URBANA — Friday’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was met with impassioned backlash in Champaign County. The Party for Socialism and Liberation in Champaign organized a 100 person-plus rally Friday evening in support of abortion-rights. Abortion-rights supporters circled downtown Urbana and the edge of the University of Illinois. They put a halt…
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…