Each week Dialogue features interviews people across the region along with in-depth stories from the IPM News team about education, health, politics, arts, and more as it relates to local Black communities. Dialogue airs Saturdays at 11 am and Tuesdays at 7 pm on Illinois Soul FM 101.1 and streams live at illinoissoul.org and can be heard Wednesdays at 8 pm on WILL-AM 580.
As the Champaign Unit 4 board is confronting another vacancy, the group is working through lingering tensions. The divisions aren’t fully resolved, but during a meeting Monday night, the members did agree to seek applicants to fill that spot.
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Experience CU kicks off the year promoting non-alcoholic beverages with the Mocktail Trail
Experience CU has launched the CU Mocktail Trail, highlighting businesses with alcohol-free drinks to kick off “Dry January,”
Wildfires latest: Firefighters prepare for dry conditions and strong winds
The National Weather Service issued a rare warning that dry winds combined with severely dry conditions created a “ particularly dangerous situation,” indicating that any new fire could explode in size.
New Deputy Police Chief appointed in Champaign
Gregory Manzana has been appointed as Deputy Chief of Operations. He will oversee the Department’s Uniform Patrol Division and specialized units including the Crisis Intervention Team, SWAT, Field Training, Explosive Ordinance Disposal, and K-9 Units.
Los Angeles wildfire deaths rise to 24 as more fierce winds are forecast
After making some progress battling wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters prepared for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames.
Urbana awarded nearly $10 million for Florida Avenue project
The project will add upgrades from South Wright Street to Hillcrest Avenue, including an off-street shared-use path between Lincoln Avenue and Race Street and ADA accessible sidewalks.
Trump gets no-penalty sentence in his hush money case, while calling it ‘despicable’
Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan could have sentenced the 78-year-old to up to four years in prison. Instead, Merchan chose a sentence that effectively ended the case but assured that Trump will become the first president to take office with a felony conviction on his record.
Why getting rid of NPR or PBS will affect more than the news or ‘Sesame Street’
US Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana and Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry have already introduced bills to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Wildfires latest: At least 10,000 structures have burned in a series of fires around Los Angeles
Gov. Gavin Newsom said California has deployed more than 1,400 firefighting personnel to battle the blazes. Oregon, Washington, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona dispatched teams to assist.
Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to delay sentencing in his New York hush money case
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined with the court’s three liberals in rejecting his emergency motion.
After many accolades and 26 years of service, Champaign Police Deputy Chief plans to retire
The Champaign Police Deputy Chief will be retiring after more than 26 years of service to the city.
New General Assembly sworn in as House, Senate take different tones
A new Illinois General Assembly was sworn in for the next two years on Wednesday, with the House and Senate ceremonies taking two starkly different tones.
Local Muslims and Arabs have anxiety and aspirations for a second Trump term
It is unclear how President-elect Donald Trump will address the war in Israel when he returns to office on January 20, 2025. That has left local Muslims and Palestinians with mixed feelings.
Kennedy Vincent is a host and producer from Las Vegas with West Indian roots. Specializing in news writing, audio, and video production work, she has earned her degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. Now based in Illinois, Vincent is focused on surrounding her work with collective BIPOC stories, universal rights, and community healing. Kennedy seeks to form deeper connections in her community through her work. She continuously pushes boundaries and reshapes how audio is viewed and believes sharing meaningful stories globally is what will unite us intentionally.
Nidhi Shastri is a podcast producer based in Chicago, IL. She is the host of Model Minority: Uniquely American, an award-winning podcast centered on the Asian, African and Middle Eastern American diasporas. She is also a 2021 AIR New Voices scholar, and her pieces have been featured on NPR, WBEZ, MIT, at the University of California – Berkeley. Her work seeks use podcasting as a medium for educating and creating social change. Her most recent podcast production, Track Change, can be heard here.
Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees news reporting, The 21st talk show, IPMnewsroom.org, and occasionally hosts and produces episodes of Dialogue. Reginald came to IPM in 2019 after serving as News Director at WKAR at Michigan State University. Before that, he had a long career as a local newscast producer and manager at the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth, where he earned seven Lone Star Emmy awards and multiple honors from the National Assn. of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald was adopted and grew up on the Eastern plains of Colorado. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado.