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By Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess -- Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has gotten a lot of mileage on the campaign trail by labeling Barack Obama "the food-stamp president."
He repeated that sentiment at Monday's debate in South Carolina, saying, "The fact is that more people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history," which drew cheers from the audience. (Click here to see the former House speaker's complete exchange with Fox News moderator Juan Williams on the website Real Clear Politics.)
In light of these comments, we decided to take a look back at data on how enrollment in the federal...
This week, the News-Gazette reported on the changes in poverty rates among local school districts.
According to the story:
"In many cases, an increase in poverty around the area is caused by a loss of good-paying jobs and the economy as a whole. Students who live in poverty may move around more and in some cases, may live with extended family members, like grandparents or aunts and uncles, district officials said."
With the changes in poverty rates and mobility come increased changes in our neighborhoods.
Brenda Eheart is founder of Generations of Hope in Rantoul. Generations of Hope, or what was originally known as Hope Meadows, is an intergenerational neighborhood that provides support and services to adoptive families.
The neighborhood is reminiscent of ones much more common two or three...
By Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess -- The average income of taxpayers who moved out of Champaign County between 2009 and 2010 was about $4,000 higher than the income of those who moved into Champaign County during the same time, according to recent Internal Revenue Service data.
Each year, the IRS releases figures showing the number of income-tax filers who move into and out of each U.S. county from year to year. The data set includes the number of returns filed -- showing the number of households that relocated -- and the number of personal exemptions -- showing how many people relocated. The figures also include the total adjusted gross income of those who moved, which can be used to calculate the average income of people moving to and from a county.
Overall, 1,143 more people moved away from Champaign County between 2009 and 2010 than moved to it, according to the data.
Cook County was the...
By Michelle Hagopian/For CU-CitizenAccess -- Landing a job might not be the easiest task right now, but the advent of social media makes searching for one much less difficult.
A few CU Facebook and Twitter accounts offer job seekers a chance to broaden their horizons. On Twitter, @ChamBanaWork is the most notable because of its frequent tweets.
The account has 377* followers, but has already tweeted 12,792 times. With several tweets per day, ChamBanaWork keeps users updated on what’s available in the area. A typical tweet might read: “Help Wanted: CERTIFIED NURSE MIDWIFE, Urbana, IL http://bit.ly/uGtWeB #chambanawork.”
Also on Twitter are University of Illinois system career centers. The CU campus has a somewhat active account (@UofICareerCenter), but the University of...
By Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess -- The TIMES Center will see some of its state funding restored thanks to a measure Illinois lawmakers passed in late November during their fall veto session, but officials say it won’t be enough fully restore services at the transitional shelter near downtown Champaign.
In October, we reported that the program, which serves homeless men, is facing an uncertain future due to state funding cuts of about $95,000. Some of that money was part of $4.7 million that was cut statewide from programs that provide emergency and transitional shelter for the homeless.
During the veto session, the General Assembly reversed the $4.7 million cut, which came from the Illinois Department of Human Services budget. As a result, the TIMES Center expects to receive about $25,000 in restored funding, said Shelia Ferguson, CEO of Community...
By Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess -- CU-CitizenAccess.org and Illinois Public Media took a close look at nursing home care across 13 counties in East Central Illinois. Two nursing home administrators - Chuck Schuette of the Champaign County Nursing Home and Chris Kasper of Country Health Care and Rehabilitation in Gifford - weighed in on the issue on an hour-long radio program hosted by David Inge.
Following is their conversation and advice as Tweeted Dec. 6. See full coverage of the issue http://cu-citizenaccess.org/feature/bed-check
By Michelle Hagopian/For CU-CitizenAccess -- Local bars and restaurants embrace social media
If you’re wondering what kind of deal you can get at Radio Maria this week, look no farther than the restaurant’s Twitter.
CU establishments – bars, restaurants, nightclubs – are capitalizing on social media’s ability to reach the masses. Radio Maria, for example, has an active Twitter and Facebook presence.
The restaurant tweets and posts specials to attract more fans. “It's cold outside, so tonight's beer class is sure to warm you up. Stouts. 10pm, $10.” Not a bad start.
Clark Bar has a Facebook profile with 789* friends that is updated every so often. Posts like...
By Michelle Hagopian/For CU-CitizenAccess -- With so many neighborhoods in Champaign County, it can be difficult to track how residents communicate and reach out to others.
What is evident in social media, however, is that quite a few CU neighborhoods use Facebook to get the job done.
While most neighborhoods associations or local groups create Facebook pages, the Wilber Heights neighborhood was trickier to locate because it is an actual profile that users must “friend” in order to gain full access.
With 252 friends*, the profile is popular and has a few Google map photos of the area. There are also dozens of older photos, presumably of residents who live in or are from the Wilber Heights neighborhood.
Taking another direction, “...
By Christen Grumstrup/For CU-CitizenAccess -- Financial aid might be somewhat overwhelming to future college students and parents, but with the new College Illinois! Corps Program, planning and paying for college gets a little bit easier for thousands of students.
Last year alone, the program and its employees interacted with over 35,000 students and 9,776 parents, according to the College Illinois! Corps Overview missions statement.
The College Illinois! Corps Program was created in 2009, and since then has been striving to help high school students figure out their next step.
Sara Henschen, a regional coordinator for the Corps Program, said, “We help high school students figure out what comes after high school, whether it is a four-year university, a community college or some sort of trade school.”
The Corps Program was created by Eduardo Brambila and...
By Michelle Hagopian/For CU-CitizenAccess -- Want to help eliminate food waste? There's an app for that.
Zero Percent, a project started in May by computer science students Adam Carney and Rajesh Karmani, seeks to help businesses achieve zero food waste. What started as a local campaign has expanded nationally, and the mission and its site (zeropercent.us) have produced quite the buzz.
Businesses like Dunkin' Donuts, Papa Del's and Jamba Juice participate in the project.
Redesign Agency worked with Zero Percent to create an app for smartphones. It allows businesses to enter instant deals on their excess food, and the app itself is extremely basic and user-friendly.
Zero Percent has taken to social media to get the word out. Like most CU businesses or projects we've seen, Zero Percent has a larger presence on Facebook than on Twitter. Its 527 followers* on Facebook are notified of...
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