Editor’s Note: A prior version of this story, Jones was identified using the incorrect pronouns. The story has been updated to reflect their gender identity. We regret the error. URBANA — This summer, Champaign-Urbana teens who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are getting free weekly training in all aspects of theater…
Despite pledges over the years to diversify the police department, both the Champaign and Urbana police staff have remained overwhelmingly white. In 2014, the police staff in Champaign was 88% white and Urbana’s police staff was 84% white, CU-CitizenAccess reported at that time. Almost seven years later, those numbers are virtually unchanged. In Champaign, 99 out of…
SPRINGFIELD — A 2019 study found that about 30% of youth living in foster care identify as LGBTQ+ compared to about 11% not in foster care. LGBTQ+ youth in care are also at higher risk for abuse and harassment. To address this issue, the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services is enhancing training and…
CHAMPAIGN – June 30 marks the end of Pride Month, but that doesn’t mean that activists and LGBTQ+ allies are done celebrating the LGBTQ+ community or reflecting on change that still needs to happen. Illinois Newsroom student journalist Carolina Garibay spoke with Nicole Frydman of Champaign, one of these activists. This month, she attended several…
The average age of farmworkers born outside the U.S. steadily increased from 2008 to 2019, while the average age of U.S.-born workers has stayed about the same over the same period. Foreign-born farmworkers are on average 5 years older than their U.S.-born counterparts. An analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Environmental Research Service attributes the…
URBANA — Clothing has the power to determine the ways people view others and the way they view themselves. Many people use clothes as a form of self-expression and as a way to show how they want to be perceived by others. For the LGBTQ+ community, access to gender-affirming is crucial says Uniting Pride of…
CHAMPAIGN – Organizers throughout Champaign County say Juneteenth is about history, but also about bringing attention to systemic issues that the African American community still faces. Juneteenth, which falls on June 19, is also now an official state holiday, after Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation on Wednesday. Rantoul resident Debbra Sweat was having coffee with…
CHAMPAIGN — June is Pride Month, and LGBTQ+ folks and allies in Champaign are ready to kick off the month with a Drag Picnic taking place at West Side Park this Saturday. CJ Brown is the host and organizer of the picnic, as well as one of the drag performers taking the stage this weekend….
Listen to members of the AAPI community in Champaign-Urbana in their own words URBANA — Aaron Chun, a Korean-American college and career counselor at Centennial High School in Champaign, was walking around the University of Illinois campus at the start of the pandemic last year when a group of men drove up near him. They…
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. have reported an increase in their experiences of racism, hostility and outright violence. A recent study from California State University found anti-Asian hate crimes reported to police in major U.S. cities rose 150% last year — even as overall hate crimes dropped 7%. And…
CHARLESTON – A committee at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston voted unanimously (6-0) this week to recommend that a building named for Stephen A. Douglas be renamed, because of the 19th century politician’s ties to slavery. EIU’s University Naming Committee surveyed the campus and community about renaming Douglas Hall. The four-story dormitory, and its adjoining…
URBANA — A new study upholds what many already thought to be true: communities of color breathe dirtier air than white communities, and the issue is systemic. An already-existing mountain of evidence shows that people of color are disproportionately exposed to air pollution. A team of researchers from across the country, led by University of…
Editor’s note: This story was reported by University of Illinois journalism student Farrah Anderson, with coverage coordinated by College Of Media journalism professor Chris Evans and professional journalists at Illinois Public Media. CHAMPAIGN – Between chants of “say their names,” protestors holding cardboard signs wound through the streets of Champaign Saturday. In response, the names…
DANVILLE – Brennon Hightower says Black history is lacking in the education her two sons receive at their public school in Danville, a city in east-central Illinois. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hightower decided to homeschool her sons — aged 10 and 15 — using curricula she found and liked. But even that material included very…
Editor’s note: This story was reported by University of Illinois journalism student Gwyn Skiles, with coverage coordinated by College Of Media journalism professor Chris Evans and professional journalists at Illinois Public Media. URBANA – University of Illinois community members gathered outside of the Beckman Institute for a vigil honoring the victims of the Atlanta Spa…