Problems with leaking underground storage tanks persist in Illinois

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

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

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

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...

Concerns about brain cancer cases in Piatt County grow, but Illinois public health agency yet to investigate

Lessie Ann Patterson lived in Monticello, Illinois, for 25 years before dying in 2015 from glioblastoma, a rapidly advancing brain cancer with an average survival time of 12 to 18 months.  Belinda...

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 recorded a...

Neighborhoods

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...

Concerns about brain cancer cases in Piatt County grow, but Illinois public health agency yet to investigate

Lessie Ann Patterson lived in Monticello, Illinois, for 25 years before dying in 2015 from glioblastoma, a rapidly advancing brain cancer with an average survival time of 12 to 18 months.  Belinda...

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 recorded a...

Recent News

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...

University of Illinois research already suffering from federal funding cuts and DOGE 

Wendy Dorman is the recipient of a NASA early career researcher grant to create a detailed grasslands map in Illinois to improve wildlife, agricultural and environmental understanding. Despite...

Champaign County Head Start programs still funded amidst national concern of budget cuts

Head Start, an early childhood education program, hosts about 500 students a year with a budget of at least $9.1 million in federal funding in Champaign County. The...

Concerns about brain cancer cases in Piatt County grow, but Illinois public health agency yet to investigate

Lessie Ann Patterson lived in Monticello, Illinois, for 25 years before dying in 2015 from glioblastoma, a rapidly advancing brain cancer with an average survival time of 12...

‘Mission Accomplished’ for Rantoul air force base, yet $76 million of environmental clean-up work remains amidst its deteriorating buildings

Numerous abandoned buildings still sit on the 2,125 acres of the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois. Some are boarded up — others have broken doors...

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...