Next ‘News, Brews & Beatz’ discussion to center around lack of affordable housing and its connection to crime

URBANA – According to many financial experts, you should spend no more than 30 percent of your gross monthly income on housing. For renters, that includes utility costs like heat, water, and power. But following that advice is a challenge for many people in Champaign-Urbana. Housing is the subject of a public discussion in downtown Champaign on Monday, December 12, 2022. It will be co-moderated by Tracy Parsons, Community Relations Manager & Compliance Officer with the city of Champaign, and Illinois Public Media News and Public Affairs Director Reginald Hardwick.

News, Brews & Beatz: a look at housing and economics

Monday, December 12 at 6:00 p.m.

Pour Bros. Craft Taproom, 40 E. University, Champaign

The forum is the latest episode of “News, Brews & Beatz.” Illinois Public Media began the series in 2021 to discuss the roots and solutions to ending gun violence. The topics included mental health and the lack of resources for teens, and in September, we held a televised interview with the superintendents of the Champaign, Danville and Urbana school districts.

The next discussion on housing, its connection to violence, and possible solutions will take place at Pour Bros. Craft Taproom at 40 E. University in Champaign. It begins at 6:00 p.m. The panelists for the discussion:

  • Rachel Joy, Equity and Engagement Director, City of Champaign
  • Ruby Mendenhall, Associate Professor in Sociology, African American Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, and Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Associate Dean at Carle Illinois College of Medicine
  • Evelyn Reynolds, Associate Professor of Sociology at Parkland College in Champaign
  • Lily Walton, executive director of the Champaign County Housing Authority

Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on 7 NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsWILL