Eleven municipalities in Illinois and Iowa are the only cities in the U.S. so far to have signed agreements with the U.S. Census Bureau to recount their residents in 2024 and 2025 in a repeat of what happened during the 2020 census.
More than 200 people came to The Virginia Theatre to learn the history and current role of the Black Church in Central Illinois. The event showcased a panel of Black church and community leaders discussing the evolving role of pastors, the diminishing influence of predominantly Black churches, and the overall journey and significance of the Black Church through the years.
After seven years of construction, less than half of the 24-mile Kickapoo Rail Trail in east-central Illinois has been completed. But now, the project could be finished in the next two years, thanks to a state grant. An $11.2 million grant, awarded through the state’s Rebuild Illinois Capital plan will pay for the completion of the walking and bike path.
CHAMPAIGN — The Champaign County Sheriff has selected a new company to offer phone and video calls at the Champaign County Jail. The new company — Consolidated Telecom, Inc. — will offer two free phone calls to each resident per day. The new contract is set to begin on Feb. 15, 2024, according to the Request
Millions of people in the U.S. rely on monthly benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to pay for groceries. Recently, the government increased these benefits by 12.5% for the next year to match inflation. But even with the increase, SNAP benefits are not enough to cover what many families need this time of
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
This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and IPM Newsroom, which provides news about Illinois & in-depth reporting on Agriculture, Education, the Environment, Health, and Politics, powered by Illinois Public
More than 100,000 people died of an opioid overdose nationwide in 2022 and more than two-thirds of those deaths involved synthetic opioids. Synthetic opioids are substances that are synthesized in a laboratory and act on the same targets in the brain as natural opioids to reduce pain. In contrast, natural opioids — including heroin, morphine,
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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.
Governor J-B Pritzker and other state officials visited Champaign’s International Prep Academy Wednesday, part of the governor’s tour of the state to promote education spending in the new state budget.
These are a few of the recommendations in a new report by the state’s Immigrant Impact Task Force, a group created by the General Assembly in 2021 to help immigrant communities.
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