URBANA — The Urbana Police Department hired a national consulting firm this year to evaluate how the department works, including how — and if — officers should handle certain types of calls for service. The firm, BerryDunn, has worked with police departments throughout the U.S. to evaluate their processes and offer recommendations. One consideration is…
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Chief Boone has been a law enforcement professional for 33 years and retired as Chief of Police in Norfolk, Virginia before finding his way to Urbana.
Canaan Baptist Church in downtown Urbana is now a local Historic Landmark. The city’s Historic Preservation Commission recently granted the designation at the church’s request. Local architect Joseph Royer designed the building, which was built in 1909-1910 as the home of Urbana’s First Christian Church. Canaan Baptist Church moved into the building in 1977. Rev….
CHAMPAIGN — The Undergraduate Library at the University of Illinois’s Urbana campus was closed in May of 2022. The unique building, with its two main floors located underground, was dedicated in 1969 as a hub for undergraduate resources and study spaces. But last year, University officials announced the library would be closed and the building…
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…
Move would likely cause school redistricting for many elementary school students URBANA — At a committee meeting of community members and school administrators, the district superintendent unveiled a possible plan to turn Wiley Elementary school into a sixth grade center. This plan didn’t appeal to many community members. Wiley is closing its doors starting this…
A judge sentenced 57-year-old Daryl Vandyke on Wednesday after the Champaign man admitted that he used an ax or other sharp-edged garden tool to kill Steven Butler III, in July 2021.
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…
URBANA – En una mañana de invierno, entro por la puerta principal en la Panadería San Miguel. Me saludan ocho vitrinas con diferentes tipos de pan dulce, fresco y caliente, a la vista en la panadería Urbana. Los vibrantes colores rosas del pan dulce y los pasteles rellenos de fresa llaman inmediatamente la atención. La…
Updated March 19 URBANA – Police announced over the weekend that they arrested a 14-year-old in connection with the shooting death of a 16-year-old boy in Urbana. Early Wednesday morning, police say the victim was found with a gunshot wound to the head in an apartment unit in the 2400 block of Prairie Green Drive…
URBANA – The Urbana City Council is expected to officially award almost $10 million in federal pandemic relief money on Feb. 27. Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin said the proposed plan includes investing in improvements to community health, access to food and recreation. “These funds were distributed to cities to help cities themselves recover from COVID-19,…
URBANA – The Urbana School District 116 school board received significant backlash at its February 21 board meeting after voting to close Wiley Elementary School this coming summer to fix its asbestos problem. People gathered en masse dressed in red Wiley attire to speak out against this decision. Many spoke during the citizens comments…
A new Mexican bakery, Panaderia San Miguel, opened to the public in Urbana back in December. Their bread sold out within two hours on their opening day.
Demonstrations broke out across the country over the beating death of Tyre Nichols. Some marchers in Urbana are pushing for major changes.