11/05/2024
Protestors say they have only left temporarily. What do you think about the encampment - productive or unproductive?
U of I Protestors Leave Their Mark on Main Quad – Urbana, Illinois
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Check CU was established by Urbana resident Christopher Hansen to provide news coverage on issues in the Champaign-Urbana area.
30/04/2024
Two School Board members resigned last month - today, we acquired copies of their resignation letters.
Two Resignation Letters from Unit 4 School Board Members – Champaign, Illinois
19/04/2024
Last night, Champaign County Board member John Farney accused County Auditor George Danos of violating ethics rules by allegedly engaging in campaign activities while on the clock. Farney apparently FOIA'd Danos's web history and concluded that Danos was filing his campaign finance report on the Illinois elections website last Friday afternoon at 3:17pm. Danos said that he was on his 15 minute break and that filing campaign records with the state does not count as campaigning.
Champaign County Board member John Farney accuses County Auditor George Danos of violating ethics rules by allegedly engaging in campaign activities while on...
17/04/2024
The Attorney General eventually forced them to release the audio recording, but why was the Yorkville School Board so adamant about keeping the public in the dark on this book ban discussion?
School Board Spent $20K Trying to Keep Closed Meeting Sealed – Yorkville, Illinois
17/04/2024
Urbana might be pursuing a major expansion to its police department. Two City Council presentations and a 289 page report from a consulting firm call for a nearly 50% increase in patrol personnel, which will cost the taxpayers millions.
Urbana Council Pressured to Expand Police Department – Illinois
16/04/2024
This is a sign to start paying closer attention to what is happening with the Unit 4 School District. The full video of the resignation statement, which seemed to take everyone by surprise, is in the article.
Champaign School Board Member Resigns, Sees No Clear Path Forward – Illinois
13/04/2024
Nearly $5 million spent on over 72,000 line items, processed by 146 different personnel. What do you think caused the School District to double Amazon spending in 2021?
Champaign Unit 4 Schools Spend Millions on Amazon – Illinois
13/04/2024
Rather impressive is the stubbornness of the Urbana City Council in refusing to follow the Open Meetings Act, even after multiple complaints over several years. Just as impressive is the City Attorney's willingness to make knowingly false arguments in attempting to defend the Council. Public officials should have more integrity than that.
Now, will the Council follow the law after this Attorney General determination, or will they continue ignoring it?
Urbana Council Cited by AG for Years of OMA Violations – Illinois
12/04/2024
This letter published by the NG is the very definition of demagoguery. The general message seems to be that elected public officials should never disagree with the status quo and should just be agreeable no matter what.
The letter ends with "we need bridge builders, not wall builders". By all appearances, the writer includes bridges to nowhere in that statement.
"I believe that if a firefighter is willing to put his/her life on the line for me and Chris Evans, then the least I can do is get that firefighter
06/04/2024
When the only item on the entire meeting agenda is “Response to FOIA Request”, you know something curious is going on. This meeting certainly had its fair share of yelling and interruptions.
County Board Discuss P**n & Work Practices of Auditor’s Office – Champaign County, IL
11/02/2024
The Urbana, Illinois City Council is getting ready to spend what will probably end up being around $20 million to rebuild two fire stations. Finance Director Elizabeth Hannan has recently stated that Urbana residents should expect increase taxes due to the City's bloated spending practices. One suggestion has been to tax Urbana residents on their use of streaming services, such as Netflix.
Writes Urbana Alderman Chris Evans of the proposed cost of building two new fire stations: "If this proposal passes, I want to apologize to the citizens of Urbana for when
07/02/2024
Residents in the area have apparently been complaining for decades. This should be an interesting story going forward if these law firms decide to pursue the matter.
Asphalt Plant Faces Possible Class Action Due to Odorous Fumes – Urbana, Illinois
06/02/2024
This issues seems to have gone dead silent since the law was passed nine months ago, but why?
Has Danville’s Anti-Abortion Law Been Aborted? – Illinois
05/02/2024
What do you think? Should Urbana taxpayers still give the full $5.5M to these developers despite their repeated failures to complete the project on time?
Fourth Extension Requested on Hilton Hotel Project – Urbana, Illinois
02/02/2024
A reminder to judge public officials by their actions, not by flowery resolutions and propaganda.
Urbana Spent $30K Unlawfully Concealing Police Use of Force Records – Illinois
30/01/2024
Nearly six months after an illegal closed meeting had left them in the dark, the public can finally hear why the school board banned this book from the curriculum, .
Yorkville BOE Book Ban Closed Meeting Recording Released - Illinois
20/01/2024
Attorney Steve Lehto just posted a video today about school book banning efforts underway in Florida. Interesting timing given the recent and ongoing mess in Yorkville, Illinois.
In Florida, because of recent legislation.https://www.lehtoslaw.com
18/01/2024
The Yorkville School District wants us to change our news article. Maybe the article was "too controversial", just like the book that the Yorkville Board of Education recently removed from the curriculum - a matter that the Board discussed in an illegal closed meeting.
School District Demands News Article on Illegal Book Ban Meeting be Altered – Yorkville, Illinois
17/01/2024
Urbana, Illinois Mayor Diane Marlin got rather upset after two City Council members added a discussion item to the meeting agenda on a possible ceasefire resolution in the Middle East. Council members Chris Evans and Grace Wilken refused to remove the agenda item, prompting applause from some members of the public attending the meeting.
Urbana, Illinois Mayor Diane Marlin got rather upset after two City Council members added a discussion item to the meeting agenda on a possible ceasefire res...
17/01/2024
Many people are upset about their federal tax dollars being used to support war efforts by Israel, but is anyone talking about local police spending on munitions? Two very different subjects here, but with a few strings that connect them.
Urbana Spends $20K/Year on Ammunition, Considers Ceasefire in Middle East – Illinois
10/01/2024
This feels like a losing battle on the part of the Yorkville Community School District 115. The only reason for refusing to release the closed meeting recording at this point is that perhaps they are planning to fight the PAC binding opinion in court.
School Board Refuses AG Order to Release Secret Meeting Recording – Yorkville, Illinois
09/01/2024
Champaign Police seem to have interpreted the creation of these graphics as an attack of some kind. The creator's actual motive may surprise you.
Police Request Removal from Grand Theft Auto Video Game – Champaign, Illinois
09/01/2024
The makes two FOIA lawsuit settlement payouts for the City of Champaign just in the month of October, 2023.
City of Champaign Pays to Settle Lawsuit on Police Misconduct Records – Illinois
06/01/2024
This problem has been persistent in Urbana for at least the past several years. Is your local government posting meeting documents in accordance with the Open Meetings Act?
Council Failure to Approve Meeting Minutes a Years-Long Problem – Urbana, Illinois
06/01/2024
It seems the Mayor and City staff were fully aware of the Open Meetings Act violation, but weren't willing to admit it until the Attorney General started asking questions.
Urbana Mayor Admits Secret Meeting was OMA Violation – Illinois
04/01/2024
Defending the secret meeting, Council member Maryalice Wu said, "I just wanted to correct for the record, it was not a closed session, it was a recess."
Urbana Plan Commission Investigated by AG for Unlawful Closed Meeting – Illinois
01/01/2024
Yorkville District 115 School Board's attorneys tried a number of defenses with the Illinois Attorney General's Office in an attempt to defend their unlawful closed meeting. In a 17 page determination letter, the AG dismantled all of those excuses.
AG: Secret School Board Meeting on Book Banning was Illegal – Yorkville, Illinois
31/12/2023
Even when public bodies are caught blatantly violating public records laws, the process often becomes so drawn out that the records cease to have any value. Public bodies make things so miserable for the requester that there is no longer any energy or desire to make use of the records.
City Ignores AG Directive to Provide Records on Police Chief – Urbana, Illinois
31/12/2023
Common argument in favor of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs): "any person could sit by the side of the road and do the same thing".
U of I's argument against releasing ALPR locations: doing so "would constitute a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the community".
U of I Illegally Concealed Locations of License Plate Cameras – Illinois
30/12/2023
A group of residents attended this meeting to express their concerns over the Hope Village development in Urbana. For some reason, the Plan Commission moved a portion of their meeting to the 2nd floor conference room where members of the public could not attend. They're claiming "it was not a closed session, it was a recess".
Plan Commission Holds Questionable Closed Meeting – Urbana, Illinois
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