Illinois Housing Agency Claims Success In Helping Pandemic-Hit Renters, Homeowners
Illinois housing officials are touting the success of their programs helping families hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, the Illinois Housing…
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Snowplow Crews Labor To Clear Snow From C-U Streets
URBANA – Local governments in the Champaign-Urbana area all have crews out, working to clear streets of the snow that fell on central Illinois Monday and Monday night. Public Works staff with both Champaign and Urbana began work on keeping the roads clear on Sunday night, during the first wave of snowfall. Crews give priority…
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Urbana Seeks Feedback Through ‘Imagine Urbana’ Website
URBANA – A new website is asking you to post your thoughts and suggestions about Urbana, whether you live there, or spend time there. The website is imagineurbana.com. It was launched February 5 to gather public input as the city of Urbana begins work on its new comprehensive plan. Andrea Reudi is overseeing the project…
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Emergency Shelter Program To Be Extended To Urbana School District
URBANA – Township and school officials in Urbana could soon be working together to bring more homeless families into an emergency shelter program. Under an intergovernmental agreement, homeless families with children in the Urbana school district could find short-term shelter through a program launched about six months ago by the Cunningham Township supervisor’s office. Cunningham…
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Urbana City Council To Discuss Pledge To Replace Structural Racism With Racial Equity
URBANA – On Monday night, the Urbana City Council is scheduled to discuss a resolution recognizing the city’s history of structural racism and pledging a commitment to racial equity. The resolution outlines some of the main points of racism’s history in Urbana — from slavery in the early 19th century, to a large Ku Klux…
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Champaign Neighborhood Shaken By Racist Flyers Left In Driveways
CHAMPAIGN – On the morning of January 16, Melanie Keil discovered a rock in the driveway of her home. Attached was a note with several websites under the title “No White Guilt.” Keil, who is white and married to a Black man, believes her mostly-Black Champaign neighborhood was targeted. “I do think this was a…
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‘C-U At Austin’s Place’ Emergency Women’s Shelter Moves To New Permanent Home
CHAMPAIGN – An emergency women’s shelter in Champaign, “C-U at Austin’s Place,” is now operating out of a new permanent location. Starting 13 years ago as a grassroots mission effort by Champaign’s First United Methodist Church, the Austin’s Place women’s shelter has been operating lately out of local churches. In the past year, the shelter…
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Changes Promised After Champaign County Animal Control Mistakenly Euthanizes Dog
URBANA – The mistaken euthanizing of a dog by Champaign County Animal Control over Christmas has raised a storm of controversy. Now, Champaign County officials say they want to make sure it never happens again. After her dog Dada was impounded by Champaign County’s Animal Control Department, owner Monica Lopez was told by a department…
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Danville Officials Hope 2021 Will Be Their Year For A Casino
DANVILLE – Danville officials and casino developers hope that 2021 is the year their long-pursued project gets started. A revamped lineup of investors and developers is awaiting Illinois Gaming Board approval for their new license application, after a 2019 application was deemed incomplete and was withdrawn. Casino resort chain Golden Nugget is loaning money and…
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COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics Set For Champaign County Residents, 75+
UPDATE: All appointments for the January 12-14 COVID-19 vaccination clinics are full. The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District cites an “overwhelming response.” CUPHD says it will announce its next vaccination clinic via their website and social media, once they get an additional supply of vaccines. – JM 1/9/21 11:25 p.m. URBANA – Champaign County health officials…
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Organizer Of Paxton Flag Project Aims For Memorial Day Dedication
PAXTON — The organizer of Paxton’s Grand Old Flag project hopes that 2021 is the year that their flag start flying. Denny Kingren has set the dedication ceremony for this coming Memorial Day. Listen to this story here. The Grand Old Flag’s 150-foot flagpole went up last summer, on the west side of Paxton-Buckley-Loda High…
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Urbana Extension Proposed For Kickapoo Rail Trail
URBANA — Officials in Urbana now have a feasibility study, for a proposed extension of the Kickapoo Rail Trail through the city. But Mayor Diane Marlin says it could be some time before the project becomes a reality. The proposed extension would be different in nature from the Kickapoo Rail Trail, which is a rail-to-trail…
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Parkland College Students Bury 2020 Chaos In Time Capsule
CHAMPAIGN – A rainbow flag, Black Lives Matter pins and a roll of toilet paper are among items Parkland College students recently ‘laid to rest’ in a time capsule featuring the events of 2020. Phi Theta Kappa, the Honors Society chapter at Parkland created the time capsule. The students buried the capsuled during a physically…
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Christmas Comes To Champaign, But Without Annual Community Dinner
The annual Community Christmas Dinner in Champaign will not be held this year. But it wasn’t the coronavirus that canceled it. No doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic would have canceled the event, which served a free Christmas Day dinner to hundreds of guests at Champaign’s First Christian Church. But organizer Lynne Barnes says they had announced…
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United Way: There’s No Shortage Of Ways To Give Back In Champaign County
CHAMPAIGN – The United Way of Champaign County hopes residents who are able to give back to the community will consider doing so this holiday season. The organization has compiled a list of local holiday giving opportunities. They include adopt-a-family programs that pair people with families who have specific needs, as well as collection drives…
