‘It’s amazing they function at all’: social security recipients and workers brace for cuts

Protesters say ‘Hands Off’ federal support, services in response to looming funding cuts

Built on Soul: How Neil St. Blues Became a Cornerstone of Downtown Champaign

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

Protesters say ‘Hands Off’ federal support, services in response to looming funding cuts

“Hands off” was the message shared by hundreds in Champaign calling on the federal government to halt funding cuts to essential services across the U.S.  Hundreds of people protested at West Side...

Thousands wait for housing assistance in Champaign County while federal cuts loom

Nearly 4,000 applications for tenant-based housing vouchers have been filed in Champaign County over the last seven months, but none have been processed and no one has received a voucher yet, housing...

Four sexual assaults reported over past eight weeks at fraternities at University of Illinois; Police seldom name frats or locations

On Feb. 20, an anonymous student at the University of Illinois arrived at Carle Hospital at 1 a.m. and requested a sexual assault kit.  In a mass email, the incident was reported...

Neighborhoods

Protesters say ‘Hands Off’ federal support, services in response to looming funding cuts

“Hands off” was the message shared by hundreds in Champaign calling on the federal government to halt funding cuts to essential services across the U.S.  Hundreds of people protested at West Side...

Thousands wait for housing assistance in Champaign County while federal cuts loom

Nearly 4,000 applications for tenant-based housing vouchers have been filed in Champaign County over the last seven months, but none have been processed and no one has received a voucher yet, housing...

Four sexual assaults reported over past eight weeks at fraternities at University of Illinois; Police seldom name frats or locations

On Feb. 20, an anonymous student at the University of Illinois arrived at Carle Hospital at 1 a.m. and requested a sexual assault kit.  In a mass email, the incident was reported...

Recent News

Arcola roofing, construction contractor fined over $1.8 million for exposing workers to unsafe working conditions in past decade

In the past decade, federal safety inspectors have fined Elmer Miller and his construction company based in Arcola, Illinois more than $1.8 million. Last year in Savoy and...

Several diseases on the rise in Champaign County as federal changes threaten prevention-based programs

Whooping cough, rabies, syphilis and strep. These are some of the infectious diseases on the rise in Champaign County over the past six years, public health district records...

Four sexual assaults reported over past eight weeks at fraternities at University of Illinois; Police seldom name frats or locations

On Feb. 20, an anonymous student at the University of Illinois arrived at Carle Hospital at 1 a.m. and requested a sexual assault kit.  In a mass email...

Champaign social security office overflows with residents seeking help with benefits and status

Richard Sexton, a man from Effingham who has been receiving disability benefits, said last week that his Social Security account and his retired wife’s account became inaccessible six...

Driving disparities remain in University of Illinois traffic stops

Driving while on the phone. Being pulled over without lights or sirens. Getting searched for incorrectly turning down a one-way. These are just some of the situations drivers...

Illinois cancer registry to reexamine multiple cases of glioblastoma reported in Piatt County

The Illinois Department of Public Health has reasserted Piatt County has been added to the list of sites that its cancer registry examines each year after concerns about...

Justice

Black and Asian drivers make up nearly half of traffic stops by university police even when number of stops drop

In 2023, the University of Illinois Police Department conducted 2,526 traffic stops — 19% lower than traffic stops made five years ago and nearly half of the 4,701 traffic stops...

Archer Daniels Midland fined almost $52 million in past decade for 90 violations of federal, state laws

In the last 11 years, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has racked up at least $51.9 million in fines for 90 federal- and state-level offenses and violations in the United States. ...

Champaign’s lawsuits against Champaign Park Apartments seek new remedies

In the ongoing legal battle between the City of Champaign and the troubled Champaign Park Apartments, the court recently ordered inspection of heating systems and that the owners pay utility...

Central Illinois county jails continue to lack respiratory illness isolation cells, but Champaign jail renovations add two

Six of nine central Illinois county jails fail to meet state standards for a respiratory illness isolation cell, state records show.  A review of 2023 inspection reports for Illinois county...