Darrell Hoemann
Domestic violence in the city of Champaign rose by 13% last year, surging from 871 incidents in 2019 to 982 incidents in 2020, a…
It’s no secret that some underage students at the University of Illinois like to drink at nearby Campustown bars, and that those under 21 have ample opportunity to violate the law at Campustown bars. But throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Champaign Police Department has made it even easier for minors to get away with underage drinking at the local campus bars.
Vivian La
To mitigate infection, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had to utilize several novel technologies, yet lack of staff availability to enforce this technology…
Darrell Hoemann
For one Champaign Unit 4 school parent, vaccinating his child is important. “How can you go against science?” Daniel Martinez said. “I lost my…
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
The inconsistent pick up by some commercial garbage-hauling companies has been sharply criticized residents in the Champaign area. Despite an increase in complaints, no companies have received a fine from the city. The city also has no employee in the city’s public works department who is dedicated to dealing with complaints about waste haulers.
Darrell Hoemann
For years, Garden Hills residents, property owners and advocates have been unsuccessfully pleading with the city of Champaign for improved living conditions, more city funding and reduced crime. While plans are underway for some improvements, some said it should have come sooner.
Darrell Hoemann
During one of its quarterly neighborhood association meetings this year, the MLK Subdivision brainstormed about how to reduce speeding on its streets. Kerri Wiman, the director of the Champaign neighborhood services department, happened to be sitting in on the meeting. Hearing the group’s concerns, she decided to direct them to the Neighborhood Services Small Grant Program — and it helped get them results.
Gun violence in Champaign has steadily marched westward over the past three years as shootings have increased in neighborhoods north and south of Springfield Avenue, especially in or near several apartment complexes, according to a review of police data over the past seven years by CU-CitizenAccess.org. With about two weeks left in this year, 16 people have lost their lives. In 2020, there were nine homicides, but only two in 2019. Shooting incidents more than doubled in Champaign since 2019, going from 100 shootings, to 189 in 2020, then to 251 by December 13.
Darrell Hoemann
Shootings continue at over 250 in a year that has already seen its highest number of shooting deaths ever recorded in the city, at 16 so far. The previous high of 9 occurred just last year, and even all the numbers that measure gun violence in Urbana have tripled in the past five years. Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said the rise in shooting incidents and homicides this year can be attributed to retaliation in a lot of cases. While retaliation may be to blame for a lot of the shootings, law enforcement officials and community leaders said it is not the only cause.