Weekly RoundUp: Defense of Marriage Act
This week the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, violated the Constitution. According to an article in the…
Low income often depend on two federal programs for housing
Public housing authorities are responsible for supplying affordable homes to their community’s population of low-income residents. The Housing Authority of Champaign County’s mission statement, for example, is to provide “quality, safe and affordable housing to the citizens of Champaign County.”
To do so, authorities receive millions of dollars from HUD to build homes and create programs that will put poor people in affordable homes.
Robert Holly
Linda Tortorelli recently tried getting a housing voucher for her son, who has a behavioral disability, but learned there already is an extensive voucher waiting list of more than 400 families in Champaign County.
No vacancy: Getting on waiting lists for subsidized housing can take years
Linda Tortorelli recently faced the challenge of finding affordable housing for her 23-year-old son, Patrick, in Champaign. Her task was complicated by the fact Patrick has Smith-Magenis syndrome, a rare chromosomal condition that causes behavioral disorders. Because her son qualified for government assistance under a federal housing voucher program, Tortorelli called the Housing Authority of Champaign County to seek a voucher that would allow him to live in an apartment of his own.
Robert Holly
The Urbana Free Library - Urbana, Illinois
Weekly RoundUp: Urbana Free Library
The Urbana Free Library recently removed thousands of books from their shelves as part of a “weeding” process designed to make room for more…
Weekly RoundUp: Crime
A shooting spree in Champaign over the weekend resulted in six injuries and three arrests. Local residents and several groups called for a "cease…
Pam Dempsey
Students stand outside a bookstore at the University of Illinois in August 2015.
Weekly RoundUp: Mental Health
This week the Obama administration launched a new website - mentalhealth.gov – as part of a conference to raise awareness and create a discussion about mental health…
Danielle Sheppard
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
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.