In April 2020, the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) began to give out loans via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). By the end of the…
Darrell Hoemann
It has been an arduous journey since the early 2000s for the Urbana-Lincoln Hotel. There have been at least 7 different owners, 5 name changes, and millions of dollars in renovations and selling costs. Both city officials and the new owner, Icon Hospitality, LLC, are now confident the hotel will not only successfully open in late 2022 but will bring in significant revenue.
Darrell Hoemann
While recycling is controlled in Urbana, trash is not consolidated in the same way, as there are seven licensed haulers for the city of Urbana, all ranging in price and accepted volume. Not every hauler services each part of Urbana, and haulers pick up trash on a few designated days. Courtney Kwong, recycling coordinator for Urbana, said this is a long-term goal for the city to increase efficiency in the next 30 years.
Darrell Hoemann
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) predicted capacity limit for the Republic Services Brickyard Disposal is the lowest in the Central Illinois region, and…
Housing Explorer web page
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign quietly removed an online portal last year that, compiled a database of student complaints against area landlords and landlord responses to those complaints. A university official said this month that the site was taken down because it violated campus website advertising rules and that it was too much work to maintain the complaints section. The University of Illinois Off-Campus Community Living suggests that students use sites like Google Reviews, Yelp, the U of I Reddit Page, or the Better Business Bureau to draw their own conclusions about leasing companies on campus.
Darrell Hoemann
Construction in Champaign for Carle Foundation Hospital buildings is joined by the addition of other businesses and restaurants nearby, contributing to the economic growth of the new area known as The Fields.
It’s been more than seven years since local and state officials broke ground for a $1.4 billion fertilizer plant near Tuscola, Ill. along U.S.…
Danielle Sheppard
Prices for Ebertfest tickets soared this year with passes increasing between 35% and 50% from 2020 to 2021, depending on the type of pass. The annual film festival started by the late film critic Roger Ebert in Champaign-Urbana in 1999, was scheduled for September 8 to 11 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, but was delayed again because of concerns about COVID-19 pandemic. The festival had previously been called off in the spring of 2020 due similar concerns about COVID-19, but returned this fall with the price increases.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced details about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a program established under the American Rescue Plan Act Congress passed…
The Local Initiative Supports Corporation partnered with Verizon to open a grant program for small businesses.