CHAMPAIGN — When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, Kit Santa Ana, an organizer in Champaign-Urbana, said she was inspired to do something. That started, she said, with making sure local pregnancy centers were being honest with their clients. Pregnancy resource centers offer resources and options to people who are pregnant. But local
Local organizations that help provide housing for new immigrant families in Champaign-Urbana are seeing an increase in need. The C-U Immigration Forum is a local group that discusses the concerns of immigrants in Champaign County. The group hosted an online forum this week, inviting different organizations for a conversation on the housing shortage in Champaign-Urbana,
FARMER CITY – Laura Enger has lived in Farmer City for most of her life. When the only grocery store in town closed over seven years ago, Enger said the community lost easy access to fresh food and produce. “Once a town loses its grocery store, the heart of it sort of dies,” Enger said.
CHAMPAIGN — Research and social justice are often separate issues — but one local organization is using its connections to figure out how to combat violence before it starts. First Followers helps formerly incarcerated people re-enter the Champaign-Urbana community. The group released the results of their survey of people in Champaign-Urbana on the leading causes
Azark David Cobbs is making his second run for mayor of Champaign, running against incumbent mayor Deborah Frank Feinen and former mayor Don Gerard.
The report — released this month — credits an increase in community engagement as the cause.
CHAMPAIGN – Lined up shoulder to shoulder on an early November morning, volunteers prepared to hand out free mid-morning meals at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen in Champaign. Outside of the building stood a few guests waiting to pick up hot meals. These guests were people from around the community who struggle with food insecurity
Fire destroyed one home and heavily damaged a second near 2nd and Hill Streets in Champaign tonight. No word yet on if there were any injuries. pic.twitter.com/nlKDdDZW2M — Reg News (@RNewsIPM) December 4, 2022 CHAMPAIGN – A fire heavily damaged a home and detached garage in Champaign late Saturday night. Fire Department Public Information Officer
CHAMPAIGN — Parkland Executive Vice President Pamela Lau will become the president of the Champaign community college in January. The succession has been planned since 2019, when current president Tom Ramage first announced his retirement. Ramage started his presidency fifteen years ago and will retire at the end of this year. Lau began her career
CHAMPAIGN – Polling places in Champaign County saw varied turnout early on Election Day. Locations including Church of the Living God and the Douglass Center Annex in north Champaign were off to a slow start around 9:30 a.m., with only a few voters at each site. However, around an hour later, the Good Shepherd Lutheran
After severe droughts in July and August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated Champaign and Vermilion counties as primary natural disaster areas. With that announcement, farmers with 30% crop loss, can apply for low-interest, emergency loans. This can help replace equipment or refinance certain debts. John Gehrke heads the loan program at the USDA Illinois
A Champaign-based leasing company, Fairlawn Real Estate, is revitalizing their apartments with a new arts initiative. The initiative is called Fairlawn for the Arts, according to project manager for Fairlawn Real Estate Tom Hagensick. He says the initiative both supports the arts and brings a fresh look to apartments in the Champaign-Urbana area. “I think
CHAMPAIGN – In response to bans in neighboring states, the Planned Parenthood clinic located in Champaign is now providing in-patient, surgical abortions. Clinic staff expect to see more anti-abortion rights protesters with the expanded service. “Here in Champaign, the protester activity has always been pretty mild,” says Champaign Planned Parenthood manager Jennifer Fetters. “However, now
CHAMPAIGN — Cities across the United States saw a spike in violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biden administration encouraged cities to turn to one-time, relief dollars for help. While Champaign signed contracts with grassroots, violence prevention groups, many places instead invested in traditional policing – even when they reported spending the money on alternatives.
CHAMPAIGN – Ri’Chard Frazier took his role as a big brother seriously from a young age. By middle school, being the “tough” one started to get him in trouble. He bounced between public and alternative schools. The first time he felt cared for was at FirstFollowers, a nonprofit Champaign recently entrusted with half a million