Deputy accused of killing Sonya Massey in Springfield was discharged from Army for serious misconduct

Urbana activists want more police oversight. But local laws hold the civilian review board hostage

Champaign County jail bookings remain stable while public defender workload triples to keep clients out of jail under SAFE-T Act

About Us

CU-CitizenAccess is an online newsroom devoted to community and watchdog reporting by journalism students at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

The newsroom focuses mostly on Champaign County and central Illinois, but produces occasional regional, national and international stories.

NEW TOOL: Click here to search Champaign County property by owner name — a feature removed by county officials

Neighborhoods

Causes of many fires in Champaign and Urbana go undetermined; Campustown is a hot spot

A cigarette butt flicked out of an open window.  A late-night pizza sitting in the oven for too long.  A hair curler left on during a night out.       These scenarios are...

Champaign County suffers chronically high number of domestic violence calls and cases

In the first two months of this year, there were around 10 calls per day to emergency services regarding domestic violence and disputes in Champaign County. It is the leading statistic for...

University of Illinois campus trying to address safety concerns over e-bikes and e-skateboards; Accidents not being tracked

Almost two years ago, Illinois State University administrator Adam Peck was hit by a bicycle. Four days later, he died of his injuries. Peck, the assistant vice president for student affairs, was...

Neighborhoods

Causes of many fires in Champaign and Urbana go undetermined; Campustown is a hot spot

A cigarette butt flicked out of an open window.  A late-night pizza sitting in the oven for too long.  A hair curler left on during a night out.       These scenarios are...

Champaign County suffers chronically high number of domestic violence calls and cases

In the first two months of this year, there were around 10 calls per day to emergency services regarding domestic violence and disputes in Champaign County. It is the leading statistic for...

University of Illinois campus trying to address safety concerns over e-bikes and e-skateboards; Accidents not being tracked

Almost two years ago, Illinois State University administrator Adam Peck was hit by a bicycle. Four days later, he died of his injuries. Peck, the assistant vice president for student affairs, was...

Recent News

Concerns raised in Monticello about number of brain cancer cases; Data being collected from the community 

This past February at a Monticello City Council meeting, resident Caitlin McClain spoke about her father-in-law who died of brain cancer in 2022. “My father-in-law was a smart...

Causes of many fires in Champaign and Urbana go undetermined; Campustown is a hot spot

A cigarette butt flicked out of an open window.  A late-night pizza sitting in the oven for too long.  A hair curler left on during a night out...

Champaign County suffers chronically high number of domestic violence calls and cases

In the first two months of this year, there were around 10 calls per day to emergency services regarding domestic violence and disputes in Champaign County. It is...

University of Illinois campus trying to address safety concerns over e-bikes and e-skateboards; Accidents not being tracked

Almost two years ago, Illinois State University administrator Adam Peck was hit by a bicycle. Four days later, he died of his injuries. Peck, the assistant vice president...

More than 250 pedestrian accidents reported in Champaign and Urbana in past six years

For Patricia Marxmiller, a simple trip became the defining moment of the rest of her life. In February 2015, Marxmiller returned from her lunch break to the Christie...

MTD works to fully restore bus service to pre-pandemic levels; District invests more in drivers

After service struggles during the pandemic, the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) is restoring routes and investing in bus drivers as ridership rebounds to pre-pandemic levels. “In January...

Justice

Deputy accused of killing Sonya Massey in Springfield was discharged from Army for serious misconduct

This article was originally published by IPM Newsroom on July 24, 2024. This article was updated with additional reporting about Grayson’s claims to have been discharged honorably and the circumstances...

Urbana activists want more police oversight. But local laws hold the civilian review board hostage

This story was originally published on IPM Newsroom on July 8, 2024. This story is part of a partnership focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police...

Champaign County jail bookings remain stable while public defender workload triples to keep clients out of jail under SAFE-T Act

A recent sweeping state criminal justice reform bill was intended to keep people out of jail if they could not afford bail. But while Champaign County’s jail population numbers haven’t...

Champaign County suffers chronically high number of domestic violence calls and cases

In the first two months of this year, there were around 10 calls per day to emergency services regarding domestic violence and disputes in Champaign County. It is the leading...