PHOTOS: June 6 Black Lives Matter March in Champaign
Editor’s Note: the person holding up the LGBTQ sign was misgendered as a woman in the original post. The person identifies as non-binary. We have amended the picture and we regret the error.
Champaign Bail Reform Group Helps Release 16 People Charged In Looting Incidents
CHAMPAIGN – The Champaign County Bailout Coalition paid more than $46,000 to bail 16 people out of the county jail. The 16 were among 27 arrested following looting and property damage reported in and near the Marketplace Mall last Sunday. Peaceful protests and some incidents of civil unrest have erupted across the country in response…
Urbana City Council Hears Criticism Of Police Arrest
At their Monday night Committee of the Whole meeting, Urbana City Council members condemned the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Earlier Monday, several city officials had participated in a demonstration on the streets of downtown Urbana in George Floyd’s memory. But afterwards, the city council members heard criticism of some of their…
Community Organizer: Unrest Over Police Brutality Will Lead To Lasting Change
CHAMPAIGN – The head of a county-wide effort to improve police-community relations says he’s hopeful recent protests in response to the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis will lead to lasting change. “I’m optimistic that here’s another opportunity for us to make substantive change around this issue of policing… in black and brown…
Hundreds Protest Peacefully In Urbana, Champaign In Response To Killing Of George Floyd
URBANA – Hundreds of protesters took over the streets of downtown Urbana Monday to denounce police brutality against people of color — including the recent killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. A diverse crowd — nearly all wearing masks — gathered outside the Champaign County Courthouse. The peaceful demonstration took place a day…
Champaign & Urbana Issue Curfews After Looting
CHAMPAIGN – Citywide curfews were imposed in the central Illinois cities of Champaign, Urbana and Savoy after reports of looting and property damage at the Marketplace Mall in Champaign on Sunday. In Champaign, the curfew started Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The Urbana curfew started at 9:00 p.m. Both expire Monday at 6:00 a.m. Protests and…
Pritzker Responds To Minnesota Protests; Says Trump Is A Racist
CHICAGO – During his daily COVID-19 briefing, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker responded to protests in Minnesota over the killing of a black man by a white police officer. Pritzker also reiterated his belief that President Donald Trump is a racist. Pritzker expressed condolences to all African-Americans and in particular to the family of George Floyd….
Lawsuit: Illinois Prisons Are Failing To Protect Inmates From COVID-19
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:54 p.m. on May 26 to include comments from the Illinois Department of Corrections. An amended lawsuit filed against Rob Jeffreys, director of the Illinois Department of Corrections, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week claims that the state’s prison system has failed to protect medically vulnerable prisoners from…
Educators Donate $50,000 Worth Of Hand Sanitizer, Soap To Illinois Prisons. Inmates Wonder Where It Went.
Joseph Horton is overwhelmed and stressed because he’s struggling to keep himself and his cell clean. Horton is incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center in southern Illinois. He says safety measures have improved in the prisons since the pandemic began, but he says more could be done to protect inmates. “I’m in a cell with another…
Illinois Supreme Court Disbars Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich
CHICAGO — Disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been officially disbarred. The Illinois Supreme Court announced on Monday that it revoked Blagojevich’s law license. The announcement was not a surprise, as Blagojevich didn’t even attend a March hearing in which the matter was discussed and indicated afterward that he had no intention of practicing…
Illinois College-In-Prison Program Creates Guide For People Released From Incarceration During COVID-19
A University of Illinois college-in-prison program created a reentry guide for those released from prison and jail during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every year, the Education Justice Project updates one reentry guide to reflect the latest information about resources available to those released from prison and returning to Illinois communities, as well as another guide for…
Most Illinois County Jail Facilities Lacked Isolation Cells For Disease, Documents Show
As the coronavirus outbreak hit Illinois, many county jails lacked a standard cell needed to isolate infected inmates who had a respiratory illness, according to a review by CU-CitizenAccess and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting of annual jail inspections. The inspections, conducted in 2018 and 2019 by a division of the Illinois Department of…
Champaign County Jail Reduces Population To Decrease Risk Of COVID-19 Spread
URBANA – None of Champaign County’s 91 COVID-19 cases reported as of Thursday have involved staff or inmates at the County jail, according to Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman. As part of an effort to reduce the jail population during the COVID-19 pandemic, Heuerman said he’s been coordinating with local police officers to reduce jail…
‘They Should Be Letting Guys Go’: Six Illinois Prisoners Dead From COVID-19
URBANA – At least six men incarcerated in the Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet have died after contracting COVID-19. According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, 123 people incarcerated at Stateville have tested positive for the virus along with 65 staff members. Other prisons across the state have also reported cases of the virus among…