• Reduced weight limits still allow two Mahomet-Seymour School District buses to cross the reduced one lane bridge in Mahomet, but buses will be re-routed during upcoming repairs.

    Long delays for funding plague bridge repairs
    June 5, 2013

    Illinois state inspectors say the bridge carrying traffic on County Highway 50 over Interstate 74 in Mahomet is in “critical condition” and “structurally deficient.” 

    But an average of 2,550 vehicles  — including school buses — still use the bridge each day, although the bridge has been reduced to a single traffic lane since August 2011.

    Gary LaForge,...

  • A common area for inmates to gather during the day, at the Champaign County Jail.

    Poor conditions in county jails persist as state inspections go unenforced
    May 30, 2013

    By Amy Harwath/CU-CitizenAccess.org - Trash litters the floors of the Edgar County jail, unknown liquid leaks from the ceilings, and broken locks make it impossible to secure internal doors.

    The Sangamon County Jail is consistently overcrowded, making living quarters unfit for inmates.

    These are just a few of the shortcomings in the Illinois county jails revealed in a review of hundreds of state...

  • Opt-in text alert system leaves many at University of Illinois out
    April 25, 2013

    By Amy Harwath/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- A Northern Illinois University lecture hall was the target of a mass shooting in 2008 where five persons were killed and 18 injured before the shooter took his own life.

    At the time of the shooting, Northern’s students had to voluntarily sign up for emergency text message alerts, which only reached up to 10 percent of the university’s students.
  • Photo of people looking at Dr. Alan Kalmanoff on a big screen.

    Community voices questions, concerns to jail consultant at public hearing
    April 19, 2013

    By Amy Harwath/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- On Wednesday, April 17 the group Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice held a public hearing with jail consultant Alan Kalmanoff to air their concerns and ask questions about his ongoing evaluation of the Champaign County jail.

    Over 70 people were in attendance, from local community members to graduate student members of the Planners Network to county officials...

Restaurant Inspections: Map, Graphs & Stories

Click HERE to see restaurant inspection reports

For the past four years, Champaign Urbana Public Health District officials have discussed ways to best publicize restaurant inspections.

Health inspection reports of restaurants and food facilities are available by request from the health department. In June, the health department also began posting a monthly list of all inspected food facilities and the current status.

In 2011, CU-CitizenAccess.org began posting full inspection reports of all restaurants that failed routine health inspections since 2008.

As a service, we continue to post the full reports of failed health inspections as part of our searchable, interactive map.

Access the map, stories and other content on this issue here.

Jobs

Housing Authority hopes 'Moving to Work' increases affordable housing options
By Robert Holly/For CU-CitizenAccess The Housing Authority of Champaign County recently joined The Moving to Work Program in an effort to increase jobs and education for those receiving federal...

Immigration

CU-CitizenAccess receives national award for project highlighting racial issues in Central Illinois
CU-CitizenAccess.org has won a national investigative journalism award for its collaborative project with Hoy Chicago looking at changing demographics and racial issues in Central Illinois....

Housing

A sign blocks the entrance to the property known as Cherry Orchard
Jones building likely to be razed
By Dave Hinton/Rantoul Press editor The owner of an apartment building between Thomasboro and Rantoul did not attend a meeting of the Champaign County Zoning Board of Appeals last week, clearing the...

Justice

Jail consultant recommends risk-assessments for Champaign County justice system
By Amy Harwath/CU-CitizenAccess.org -- While the debate continues about whether to shutdown Champaign County’s downtown jail, a consultant hired by the county is pushing for a new system for...

Neighborhoods

Bristol Place Speaks: Big JJ Fish and Chicken
By Joe Nocco -- Ayoub, Moe and Mike Abeed are three Palestinian brothers originally from Israel’s West Bank who moved to Champaign in 2005. In 2006, they opened Big J J Fish and...

Health Care

Demand still up for college counseling services
By Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess In the wake of Sandy Hook and other school shootings of recent years, gun control advocates – and some politicians, including President Obama – have...

Food

Few restaurants netted top scores on health inspections
By Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess -- Just 29 Champaign County eateries ranked in the top scoring health inspections over the past six months, a new CU-CitizenAccess.org analysis shows. ...

Education

Spot check: Campus emergency alert systems across the country
By Amy Harwath/CU-CitizenAccess -- A spot check of universities across the Midwest and around the nation has revealed that four-year institutions are inconsistent in their approach to sending out...
Weekly RoundUp: The Farm Bill
May 16, 2013

Congress is marking up the Farm Bill this week.



The House version (seen here) makes cuts to the food assistance program.



Over 1.6 million people in Illinois were enrolled in the Food Stamp program in 2010 – up from 816,000 in 2000, according to Census Bureau estimates.



 
CU-CitizenAccess.org wins 2012 Peter Lisagor Award
May 16, 2013

CU-CitizenAccess.org has won the 2012 Peter Lisagor Award for its collaborative project with Hoy Chicago looking at changing demographics and racial issues in Central Illinois.



The award was announced earlier this month by the Chicago Headline Club, the largest Society of Professional Journalists chapter in the country.
Weekly RoundUp: Graduation and Employment
May 8, 2013

As college seniors finish their final exams, pack up their rental houses, and bid their friends for the last four years good-bye, they may be experiencing some apprehension about what comes next. Though their fears of unemployment are not altogether unfounded, there is some hope. According to a recent story in The Atlantic, "Young bachelor's holders are hurting.

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