WASHINGTON – Federal financial aid to people in prison was quietly restored as part of a COVID-19 stimulus bill passed by Congress last month. The U.S. Department of Education has until 2023 to reinstate Pell Grant access to people in prison — which was previously banned under the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement…
Nearly half a million cannabis arrest records were expunged in the first year of recreational cannabis legalization in Illinois. Ten counties, including Peoria and Knox, are years ahead of schedule in automatically expunging all eligible records. But for other communities, that process is still ongoing. Tim Shelley spoke with Teri Ross, executive director of Illinois Legal…
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…
URBANA — Champaign County investigators say they have identified the woman whose remains were found near Thomasboro in 1995, and known only as “Jane Doe” for a quarter of a century. Now, they have identified “Jane Doe” as Keri Lyn Wyant. And they’re asking people who knew her to come forward with any information they…
Twenty-one Champaign Unit 4 students were arrested during the 2013-14 school year — 19 of them were Black — according to documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request. During the 2015-16 school year, 17 students were arrested — of which 15 were Black. But the federal government thinks there were no arrests. That’s…
Brett Hankison, who was terminated in June, has been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment. None of the three men faces state charges directly over Taylor’s death.
URBANA – The Urbana City Council will hear a presentation Tuesday night on a report from an outside firm which concludes the police officers who arrested Aleyah Lewis followed the Urbana Police Department’s use of force policy. But the study by the firm Hillard Heintze suggested possible revisions to the policy and how the department…
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students are calling on the institution to sever ties with the college town’s local police departments and dissolve the university’s own police force. Following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis and the protests that followed, students at both the U of I’s Urbana and Chicago campuses are…
URBANA – Mayor Diane Marlin says she’ll bring more details to the Urbana City Council next week on setting up an advisory committee to study policing in the city. The mayor proposed the committee at Monday night’s city council meeting. It would be made up of community members, and could investigate everything from racial disparities…
URBANA – Illinois Newsroom held a complex and sometimes spirited discussion over the history and future of police and policing in Central Illinois. The following people participated in a 90-minute discussion on Facebook live event on July 23 to discuss their views and visions for the future.: Tatianna Ammons, community activist & Champaign County Board…
CHAMPAIGN – Nearly 350 incarcerated people in the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 200 staff members have also contracted the virus. At least 13 inmates have died from COVID-19. But as of June 23, IDOC had conducted only 958 COVID-19 tests on its prison population,…
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign reported a record 100 incidents of gun violence last year. This year is only half over and the city says there has already been 95 incidents. On Tuesday, city leaders said most of the shootings are between people who know each other. Anthony Cobb is the police chief. “Gun violence does not…
CHAMPAIGN – Champaign Police say they are making changes in response to concerns raised nationwide about police practices and policies. City Council members endorsed those changes, when they were outlined at a council study session Tuesday night. Chief Anthony Cobb says the latest changes in the department’s use-of-force policy are modeled after recommendations from “8…
This embed shows the total number of murders – including non-negligent manslaughter – reported annually by the Chicago police. This chart is current as of July 8, 2020 and will not be updated.
A consulting firm whose founders include former Chicago police chief Terry Hillard is beginning an investigation into the the Urbana police arrest of Aleyah Lewis. Mayor Diane Marlin says she has signed a contract with security risk management firm Hillard Heintze to investigate both the April 10th arrest, and Urbana police operations and policies relevant…