CU-CitizenAccess

A community online news and information project devoted to investigative and enterprise coverage of social, justice and economic issues in East Central Illinois

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

While dozens of businesses are leasing property from the Village of Rantoul on the former Chanute Air Force Base, the Air Force is still performing $55 million of environmental cleanup at other locations on the former base.

https://t.co/35sVAebLAD

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

Each year, Champaign County property owners each get a tax exemption of up to $6,000 for living in their one home.

But about 1,400 landlords are granted multiple exemptions a year on their assessments — over 3,000 exemptions total.

https://t.co/acAHX0Bf4X

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

A few hours south of Champaign, the Prairie State Energy Campus coal plant has been operating without a Title V clean air permit since 2012.

The facility’s operation has also raised questions about how air pollution rules are applied across Illinois.

https://t.co/26O186ECNC

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

Volunteer advocates in Champaign County, Ill., drove more than 39,000 miles last year to visit children placed in foster care just to maintain consistent contact.

https://t.co/OlwX95wxVH

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In a landmark decision in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court held the Constitution does not confer a right to an abortion.

Since then, two abortion clinics in Champaign, Ill., have become destinations for thousands of pregnant women, especially from Indiana.

https://t.co/bRz8izGklE

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

In Champaign, nearly one-third of ambulances responding to 911 medical emergency calls failed to meet the standard of arriving at the scene within eight minutes.

In Urbana, nearly half failed to meet the same standard.

https://t.co/WcFYs01YsJ

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

Last week, Champaign County officials voted to establish a one-year moratorium on new data centers on April 23, following “serious” inquiries into new developments in the county.

But no one has said exactly what companies are proposing them.

https://t.co/MQOzdwhYlu

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

Alongside legacy outlets and public media, independent publishers regularly contribute to the local news landscape in Champaign-Urbana to fill gaps left by a loss of traditional reporting.

https://t.co/K4hh0g7Ptc

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

In 2023, the Illinois Secretary of State launched the “Skip the Line” program to lower wait times at DMV facilities.

But several international students at the University of Illinois say they are still in the waiting game.

https://t.co/VUkq7BmDKc

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

At least 128 underage University of Illinois students were so inebriated that their friends had to call 911 for emergency medical attention last fall.

https://t.co/dEY2ii80n7

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Although the reasons why perpetrators shot their victims are often not immediately clear, case reports showed factors like retaliation, group violence, drug deals, mental illness and domestic violence have played a role in several homicides.

https://t.co/vIyPRypMWd

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

The City of Champaign is starting a new street outreach program with the help of a nonprofit private firm specializing in violence prevention.

https://t.co/kzjNprY0PJ

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Residents at Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park, a community with many Spanish-speaking residents, have been meeting with Champaign police over concerns about immigration enforcement.

https://t.co/Q4LppwL2SA

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

The manager at Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park said they are continuing to focus on maintenance and upgrades to streets throughout the neighborhood, which has a total of about 250 mobile homes.

https://t.co/8wRg0sN9Am

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

City plans made over a decade ago to incorporate a storm shelter for vulnerable mobile home park residents at Shadow Wood in Champaign have been abandoned, according to city officials and residents.

https://t.co/QmLpUHGcIQ

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

More restaurants in Champaign and Urbana received a red placard and were closed during a routine inspection last year compared with 2024.

https://t.co/Bhy60OMNpJ

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Nearly one-third of the active elevators and conveyances like escalators and lifts in Champaign County appeared to have expired safety certificates in the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s (OSFM) database last November.

https://t.co/A0yxEB3VEf

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

Two decades after a city plan called for $25 million in repairs and improvements on the Copper Slough waterway are still a work in progress, as the city shifted priorities to address upstream neighborhood flooding.

https://t.co/2yBxPb9Yrx

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

Getting an appointment at Champaign’s social security district office continues to take 30 days or more, but some recipients report that once they are at the office their needs are processed quickly.

https://t.co/4T950XWkWd

[CU-CitizenAccess @cucitizenaccess]

Organic farmer Patsy Hopper has filed 11 complaints about pesticide drift with Illinois in the last five years after applications near her farm damaged her trees, landscaping and perennial crops.

She said the pattern has continued despite her reports.

https://t.co/xP11V1C8Vd