Champaign-Urbana businesses varied in reasons to take — or not to take — federal loans
A $3 million forgivable federal loan helped one local agribusiness offset rising costs, while a $100,000 loan allowed another business to simply survive. In…
Darrell Hoemann
Habitat for Humanity, Champaign Executive Director Chad Hoffmanon in the Restore in Champaign on Friday, December 11, 2020. Photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access
Small Business Incentive Program relief grants provides ‘much needed’ financial assistance
Forty-eight out of approximately 90 small businesses in Champaign received a total of $520,000 in grants from the Small Business Incentive Program COVID Relief Grants. The money for these grants came from the Federal CARES Act fund. The city council amended the pre-existing Small Business Incentive Program so that the program could be used to distribute this new funding in an efficient and productive way.
Vivian La
A vacant building monitor desk in the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics in Urbana.
University building monitoring for COVID-19 lax after shortfall in hiring
To get into University of Illinois buildings, students and employees are supposed to show an app saying that they’ve had a recent, clean COVID-19 test. Nearly one-third of the time, however, there’s no one at the door to check their status.
Carle.org
Carle's new dashboard is updated daily with statistics on COVID-19 for the Carle Health System.
Carle health system launches COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU occupancy tracker
Since March, a total of 80 COVID-19 patients have died in the Carle Health System and 511 have been discharged. Carle shares these trends “to inform our region of the reality we’re facing today,” according to the website. “As the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, we continue to meet our community’s healthcare needs whether it’s care for COVID, heart attack, stroke or trauma.”
The former News-Gazette building in downtown Champaign on Monday, September 28, 2020. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access
Former News-Gazette building sold to local businesswoman
The former owners of the News-Gazette have sold the building at 15 East Main Street in Champaign for nearly $1.2 million to local businesswoman Laura Kalman, according to documents filed in U.S Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.
How to stop gun violence? Just ask
Like Peoria and Champaign before it, Springfield is the latest IL city to adopt a national model for a community-wide approach to reducing gun violence. Brian Mackey explains what it looks like, and whether it’s shown success elsewhere.
Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org
An aerial photo of Green Street looking west from the Fourth Street intersection on April 23.
Federal housing analysis says Champaign rental market oversaturated, but city continues to approve development
The development of student apartments in Champaign-Urbana has not slowed down over the past five years, despite two separate federal housing analyses describing the rental market as oversaturated.
Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org
Mark Pflugmacher with irrigation equipment at his farm just outside of Gifford, Ill., on November 29.
‘Uncharted waters:’ Illinois water use issues exacerbated by irrigation, lack of water supply planning
In our “Uncharted Waters” series, The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting took at look at what’s behind the recent spike in irrigation, the lack of regulations around groundwater and stalled water supply planning efforts and the impact this will have on Illinois in the future.
Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org
Jim Roberts of the Champaign-Urbana Health District holds up a sample placard as county board members discussed whether restaurants in the county should be required to display inspection placards on August 21, 2014.
Illinois health departments to abandon scoring as part of changes to food code
Starting in July 2018, Illinois public health departments will no longer score restaurant inspections as part of sweeping changes coming to the state’s food code.
Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access
Patrons leave the Champaign Library just before the 6 p.m. closing on December 9, 2016.
Libraries struggle to reach entire Champaign-Urbana community
Historically, library usage is highest during economic downturns, when people go to libraries for employment and educational training.