Public Funds

Rural transit ridership surges

Submitted by Dan Petrella on Mon, 2011-10-24 13:26

By Dave Hinton/Rantoul Press -- When CRIS Rural Mass Transit District began serving residents of northern Champaign County, officials figured it would take two years to reach the ridership levels of 1,000 passengers a month. It didn’t take nearly that long – only a few months.

“I guess the need has been far greater than we predicted,” CEO Amy Marchant said.

There was a definite need for a rural public transportation system, said the woman who serves as CEO of CRIS Healthy Aging Center of Danville, which operates the service.

Total ridership has skyrocketed from 514 in May to 1,178 in August, the latest figures available.

File Photo/CU-CitizenAccess -- CRIS Rural Transit driver Bob Dunagan prepares to make the rounds to Rantoul to pick up three riders headed to Champaign-Urbana. CRIS recently began providing transportation to rural residents through an agreement with Champaign County.

Deadbeat Illinois: Joint project highlights burden of unpaid bills

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2011-10-18 16:08

Public Funds

By The News-Gazette/"Deadbeat Illinois: The Painful Price of Unpaid Bills" is a joint project by The Associated Press and its members across Illinois — including The News-Gazette.

The goal is to highlight the state's decision not to pay its bills on time and to examine the extent of the impact on the people, businesses and human-service groups across the state.

These stories will appear in The News-Gazette in print and then online. As they are posted, we'll link to them from here.

Screen shot of Illinois outstanding bill search database

Comments

Stimulus money may explain Champaign, Vermilion stability on poverty

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2011-09-22 08:52

By Julie Wurth/The News-Gazette -- A new report from the U.S. Census shows Champaign and Vermilion counties holding their own economically in 2010, with overall poverty not worsening and median incomes actually rising.

However, that may reflect an influx of federal stimulus money that has since dried up, according to one local official.

The U.S. Census released the findings of its 2010 American Community Survey, which collects socioeconomic information about communities across the country each year, from poverty to education to demographics. The data are taken from surveys of about 3 million U.S. addresses, but given the small sample sizes in each community, margins of error vary greatly.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics/A map of unemployment rates in July 2011 across Illinois. The dark areas indicate high unemployment rates, while the lighter areas indicate lower unemployment rates. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday shows median income rising, but local social service officials say it's due to federal stimulus money, which has since dried up.

Budget pain compounds for agencies helping immigrants, refugees

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Thu, 2011-06-09 21:05

By Jay Lee/For CU-CitizenAcccess - Champaign County’s immigration-service agencies may have to bear some of the burden for the state’s burgeoning debt – and they aren’t happy about it.

Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess - Anh Ha Ho, left, and Deborah Hlavna, co-directors of the East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center, discuss a problem Ho encountered Thursday morning helping a client.

Affordable housing may soon be harder to find for some Section 8 renters

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Fri, 2011-04-15 23:57

By Matthew Schroyer/For CU-CitizenAccess -- With budgets crimped by dismal job prospects and the cost of living ever-increasing, more and more Champaign families are in need of federal housing assistance.

The demand has hit the local housing authority so hard that the wait list for Section 8 vouchers, which pays for rental housing for needy families, had to be closed. Hundreds in Champaign County now wait for the subsidy, also known as Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs).

CU-CitizenAccess/File photo.

New study takes first-time look at Champaign County's housing needs

Submitted by Dan Petrella on Fri, 2010-11-05 13:46

by Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess — The dream of owning an affordable home is out of reach for one out of three Champaign County residents, according to a new regional housing study commissioned by local government agencies and cities.

The housing study, prepared by Columbus, Ohio-based consultants Vogt Santer Insights, estimates that the median home value for the county this year is $139,419.

The News-Gazette/ A house in the 200 block of Green Street. A new regional housing study shows that owning a house is out of reach for one in three Champaign County residents.

Farmers markets offer better access to fresh foods for low-income families

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Tue, 2010-05-25 01:28

By Jhane Reifsteck— Local farmers markets in Champaign and Urbana, IL have started accepting LINK cards, creating more options for low-income people and families to obtain fresh foods.

CU Citizen Access/ A woman shops at a farmers' market in Urbana. Local farmers markets have started to accept government benefits such as food stamps as payment for goods, giving receipients more fresh food options.

More funds for utility assistance, but gaps still exist

Submitted by pdempsey on Fri, 2010-04-23 13:59

CHAMPAIGN — A recent $3 million windfall could help residents who are struggling to pay utility bills this year.

The need for utility help is growing, yet there’s a gap among the few programs that offer assistance.

CU-Citizen Access/A woman applies for help paying her water bill at empty tomb inc., a Christian research and service organization, in January. The nonprofit organization cuts a check for $30 for the first eight people who call for help with utility bills on Mondays. Empty tomb inc. is one of few organizations locally that offer assistance without income guidelines.

Cheaper C-U bus pass helps low-income riders

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Tue, 2010-04-20 11:36

CHAMPAIGN – A $60 bus pass gets Steve Burgess out of the house and into the world.

To be perfectly honest, “house” isn’t entirely accurate: The unemployed restaurant manager lives in a men’s shelter. His newfound access to public transportation is meant to change that.

CU CItizen Access

broadband update

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Sun, 2010-01-17 00:56

Public Funds

URBANA -- Local officials are waiting for word on a federal grant application to help build a high-speed fiber-optic Internet network, but a consultant hired to advise Champaign and Urbana councils thinks the proposed project here is designed too large and will have big problems with capital replacement in 10 years.

At a meeting of the Champaign-Urbana Cable Commission Wednesday, project organizers said there has been extensive questioning by federal officials about a local $28 million big broadband project.

Mike Smeltzer, director of networking for the University of Illinois Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services, told commission members, “We’ve been getting a going-over ... and we see this as hopeful.”

The News-Gazette/Peter Resnick, right, gives an update about the broadband grant application to Giraldo Rosales, left, and others on the Champaign-Urbana Cable Commission at Champaign City Council chambers in Champaign, Ill on Jan. 13, 2010

Champaign officials exploring options to help area homeless

Submitted by The News-Gazette on Tue, 2009-12-08 10:58

Public Funds

CHAMPAIGN – Officials will be looking for ways to solidify support for the homeless in Champaign County.

"We are suggesting a tiny amount of caulk to fill the cracks in the planks through which people are falling every day," Champaign City Council member Michael La Due said Tuesday night at a council study session on housing issues.

The council unanimously voted to direct the city staff to pursue three options: developing an emergency tenant relocation plan; a housing needs study; and exploring a safety net fund to expand emergency shelter service during the recession.

Kevin Jackson, director of the Champaign neighborhood services department, said all three will be done in partnership with other cities and service providers.

The News-Gazette/ A number of code violations were found by city of Champaign inspectors at the Catholic Worker House annex, seen in this July photo, at 314 Cottage Court in Champaign. A “tent community” for the homeless was set up this summer in the backyard.

Citizens to feel impact of cuts in Champaign city budget

Submitted by The News-Gazette on Tue, 2009-12-08 02:02

CHAMPAIGN — The proposed city budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 has a line item that is easy to overlook but is worthy of attention.

The fiscal year 2010 budget, released Tuesday, projects spending in the general operating fund, the city´s main account, of $67.5 million.

That´s $2.3 million less in spending than was budgeted for the current fiscal year, and $900,000 less than the city actual expects to spend this year — after the city implemented a hiring freeze and other cost-saving measures last fall.

Reductions in city spending don´t come easily, according to city Finance Director Richard Schnuer. He said the city needs revenue growth of 5 percent annually just to stay even in terms of numbers of employees.