Read more about the article Housing authority chair brings insight to new roleFile photo
Margaret Neil sits inside the Joann Dorsey community center during a youth event in 2011. Neil ran an after school program there until the public housing complex was closed last year for redevelopment.

Housing authority chair brings insight to new role

By Robert Holly/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- Think positive, stay focused and take one day at a time. As a girl, those are the words Margaret…

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Read more about the article Fundraising for arts not always a pretty pictureNicha Poolpol/Flickr Creative Commons
Viola from Nicha Poolpol. Nonprofits face challenges generating donations during tough economic times, but marketing the importance of the arts is ongoing struggle.

Fundraising for arts not always a pretty picture

By Andrea Baumgartner/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- Champaign and Urbana nonprofits in arts education took a hard hit to funding in 2007 as the great recession…

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Read more about the article Housing authority to discuss preference planSteven McRae
Jamonte Williams, 11, practices basketball in front of his home at 105 E. Roper St. Jamonte is ranked 11th in his state Amateur Athletic Union basketball age bracket and according to his mother, Sheena Williams, is also an A student. Dozens of residents in the Bristol Place neighborhood could be relocated from the area as part of a redevelopment plan from Champaign city officials.

Housing authority to discuss preference plan

By Robert Holly/For CU-CitizenAccess.org -- For more than a month, community members have waited for the Housing Authority of Champaign County’s board of commissioners…

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Read more about the article Pulitzer-prize journalist talks immigration, life as undocumented residentSean Hermann/For CU-CitizenAccess
Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas speaks on immigration Thursday night, Oct. 25, 2012, at the University YMCA. Vargas publicly announced he was undocumented in an essay he wrote for The New York Times in June 2011.

Pulitzer-prize journalist talks immigration, life as undocumented resident

By Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess - For journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, a driver’s license meant working for the Washington Post - a job he really…

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Read more about the article Secure Communities program spurs fear among ethnic residentsRoger Morales/Hoy
Jennifer Carrillo of Illinois People's Action poses for a photo on Oct. 9, 2012, in Bloomington. Carrillo is one of several advocates who have been fighting for immigration rights.

Secure Communities program spurs fear among ethnic residents

By Sean Powers /Illinois Public Media -- Angelina Lopez, 47, is a single mother in central Illinois who came into the U.S. illegally 10…

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