Local Interest
The Illinois Medicaid Program: Spending is NOT Out-of-Control
Submitted by anonymous on March 15, 2010 - 3:50pmSome Republicans in the state legislature and some hard-right groups like to blame Medicaid for the state fiscal crisis, stating that Medicaid spending is out-of-countrol. In fact, this is not true.
The claim has been made that because Medicaid comprises 30-50% of all the state's spending, it should be cut back to free-up state funds for education and other programs. This claim is highly misleading because it fails to distinguish state spending on behalf of a program (while using matching dollars from Federal, local, & private sources) versus the state revenue that is actually used in such spending.
While about 33% of all state spending is made on behalf of the Medicaid program, only one-third of this spending (about 11%) actually comes from state tax dollars and the general revenue fund. Furthermore, the 11% share of Medicaid in state revenues hasn't changed significantly in several years.
An example of good policing that puts Norbits and Finney to shame
Submitted by Pancho Angry on March 15, 2010 - 11:36amI happened to catch a news story on ABC World News about an innovation in police technology. It's a tiny video camera that a policeman wears near his ear that records what he sees and hears on a small computer. It was being tried out in Cincinnati and the video it produced was riveting.
What makes it worth writing about are the classes announced in the News-Gazette, apparently in response to the death of Kiwane Carrington, teaching ‘proper’ behavior around police officers.
In the incident highlighted in that news story, a policewoman responds at night to a store being terrorized by a large black man. She chases him down an alley and after he ignores her demands to halt, she uses her projectile taser on him. Unfortunately, he's wearing a heavy jacket and the taser is ineffective.
UC2B Granted $22.5 Million, Champaign City Council Deciding Tuesday Whether to Accept Funds
Submitted by jking on March 12, 2010 - 9:26pmThe Champaign City Council is deciding at their meeting on Tuesday at 7pm whether to accept $22.5 million federal grant already awarded to the two cities and the University for creating jobs and building internet connectivity in our community. If you support the deployment of a municipal broadband network in Champaign-Urbana, please consider contacting your city council member to express your support of the plan. Attached is a .doc file containing contact information and a sample correspondence. Whether or not Champaign accepts the grant funds has a strong bearing on whether federal stimulus money under the Broadband Opportunities Program will be used to create jobs in both Champaign and Urbana or provide essential services to underserved parts of our community. Our acceptance of this money also has a strong bearing on the viability of our round 2 funding proposal for community centers, libraries, and schools.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Support-Big-Broadband-2.doc | 14 KB |
THIS IS WHAT WHITE PRIVILEGE LOOKS LIKE
Submitted by Local Yocal on March 10, 2010 - 12:45pmTHIS IS WHAT WHITE PRIVILEGE LOOKS LIKE
By Local Yocal
(Warning: Editor's note: This article contains wanton bias and should be considered an editorial, not a factual piece of journalism.)
CHAMPAIGN- Nothing says white privilege quite like the drunken bachaanal that is our UnOfficial St. Patrick's Day drinking celebrations at the University of Illinois. During this annual event the state laws of Illinois are suspended, the drug war goes on hiatus, and general public safety is jeopardized. In the face of a powerful constituency, the cash cow known as college students, (who can flex their arrogant political muscle to binge drink if they damn well want to); our government annually chooses to sit politely on the sidelines, hoping no one spoils the college brochure by dying or getting brutally raped in what is now a two-day drinking race.
Chief Finney Pays Return Visit to 906 W. Vine St.
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on March 8, 2010 - 9:12pmOn Monday afternoon, Deborah Thomas, who lives at 906 W. Vine St., received a phone call from the City of Champaign. The woman on the phone identified herself as “Susan” from the City Attorney’s office. They wanted to visit her house the following day on March 2 at 3:30 p.m. with Police Chief R.T. Finney. It was at Deborah’s home that Kiwane Carrington was fatally shot after Chief Finney and officer Daniel Norbits arrived there on October 9, 2009. Running between classes at Parkland, Deborah did not get the chance to ask why they wanted to visit, but told them they could come by.
March Forth Rally pic
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on March 5, 2010 - 8:58am
Miriam Larson on the bull horn.
BD
March Forth Rally pic
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on March 5, 2010 - 8:49am
The "Reclaim Knowledge" banner and flags created by local artist-activists Sarah Ross and Ryan Griffis.
BD
UIUC Marches Forth for Public Education
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on March 4, 2010 - 10:25pm
On March 4th, 2010 several organizations on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus and people across the country gathered to “march forth” in a National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. At UIUC, more than 300 came together for a spirited rally on what turned out to be the first sunny day of the new Spring.
The march began at the Alma Mater statue with a dedication to the Native American peoples who “granted” the land on which this land grant university was built. Miriam Larson led a modern-day adaptation of the classic Woody Guthrie song: “This land is your land, This land is my land, From Illinois to California, From Minnesota to Arizona, Land grants were made for you and me!”
March 2010 Progressive Community Calendar
Submitted by carly on March 4, 2010 - 5:25pmMarch 2010 Progressive Community Calendar
Please comment with additional events!
UC2B Granted $22.5 Million for Infrastructure
Submitted by jking on March 2, 2010 - 3:34pmThe NTIA just sent out an official press release announcing that the infrastructure part of the broadband proposal submitted by a coalition of the two cities and the University is going to receive $22.5 million in federal funds for a fiber-optic infrastructure rollout.
Note that the SBA (Sustainable Broadband Adoption) and PCC (Public Computing Centers) parts of the proposal were rejected for Round 1 funding, so this increases the importance of submitting a strong application for those components for Round 2, in order that the infrastructure being contructed can be successfully utilized by the citizenry. The cities have 30 days to decide whether to accept the award.
Project description from the NTIA press release below:
Growing Hope! Local Food Panel
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on March 1, 2010 - 10:30am
I gave an audible affirmation when Erin Harper, a member of Engineers Without Borders at Illinois, spoke of efforts to create a community garden at Washington School in Urbana. I learned that the school board has approved a community garden curriculum at Washington and that each class will grow food and take it home and perhaps one day sell it at a local food stand.
Marvin Reeves and Mark Clements from Campaign to End the Death Penalty at UIUC
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on February 25, 2010 - 10:38am
Marvin Reeves (pictured on left) and Mark Clements (right) visited Champaign-Urbana on Wednesday night, Feb. 24, 2010. They spoke on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and on the topic of "Lynching Then/Lynching Now" as part of a national tour sponsored by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. An audience of some 60 people filled a room in Gregory Hall.
Freed from prison in October 2009 after 21 years, Marvin Reeves spoke about how he was framed for murder by the testimony of an inmate in jail for burglary. His co-defendant Ronnie Kitchen made a false confession after being tortured by Sgt. Jon Burge of the Chicago Police Department. Reeves has since been awarded approximately $200,000 as compensation.
Mark Clements was sentenced to life without parole as a juvenile and was released in August 2009 after serving 28 years in prison. He spoke about the need to end the harsh penalities handed out to juveniles. He was also tortured into making a false confession by Chicago police who later worked alongside Sgt. Burge.
What's the Matter With Midwestern Democrats and Coal?
Submitted by anonymous on February 24, 2010 - 10:29amWhat's the matter with the Democrats in the Midwest and the challenge of coal?
Have they turned their backs on the great American pastoral and our devastated coalfield communities and gobbled up the hook-line-and-sinker of Big Coal public relations shams and Big Coal lobby money?
Instead of making false promises of more boom-bust jobs in a heavily mechanized industry---strip mining strips jobs, using explosives and bulldozers instead of miners--why aren't Midwest Democrats recognizing the huge boom in the clean energy market and helping coalfield communities get their fair share of the clean energy jobs, and the investment funds?
Black History Month Issue of Public i Out Now!
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on February 22, 2010 - 9:57pm
The Black History Month issue of the Public i is out on stands now featuring an article by Michael Burns on the history of the Douglass Center. Also in this issue is an interview with Deborah Thomas, at whose home Kiwane Carrington was killed. There is an article on all-white juries by Jan Kruse. The GEO's Kerry Pimblott writes about ensuring that higher education is publicly accessible. The Public i's own Belden Fields writes a satirical aritcle comparing the NYPD to the Champaign Police Dept.
BD
A RECENT CASE STUDY OF THE CHAMPAIGN POLICE
Submitted by Local Yocal on February 21, 2010 - 11:56am(Author's note: Before reading this true account of a recent incident with Champaign police officers, the reader should know that within days after becoming aware of the victim's complaint about this incident, the command staff of the CPD were diligent and forthright in addressing the victim's concerns. According to the victim, "Champaign Deputy Police Chief Troy Daniels called me and apologized profusely and promised me it would never happen again, and they [the police] have taken precautions so it will not happen again," the victim said.
Also, in order to protect the victim from any possible police retaliation on the part of offended rogue officers because the victim has gone public with this story; the location of the victim's address and the identity of the victim have been concealed. Every other detail is true.)
IMC FILM FESTIVAL [SNIPPET]
Submitted by rmorales on February 21, 2010 - 1:20amA quick sample of the evening during the IMC Film Festival featuring a piece on Haiti followed by a presentation from a CU Haiti Relief Rep & MCs ripping the mic. This episode will air this Spring 2010 on UPTV Channel 6 and UI Channel 7. Stay tuned for more. To be in the audience or to request to be on the air, contact wrfu @ comcast.net. Thank you to everyone who helped out and Thanks to the IMC!
LINK: The Show Commercial
$20 Million Worth of Pot, $10 Million Worth of Missing Taxes, No Wonder This State Is Flushing Itself Down the Drain
Submitted by anonymous on February 18, 2010 - 5:57pmYou've been hearing about the police celebrating the more than two tons of pot seized after a traffic stop of a semi-trailer in Douglas County, just south of Champaign County on I-57 on Monday evening. It's been estimated it has a street value of about $20 million, although such estimates by police are often wildly inaccurate. But let's just assume that number is a reasonable one.
For decades, police have estimated that they stop only 10% of the drugs getting to the market. They do this because it always allows them to comes back and ask for a budget increase next year.
They'll tell you there's a "war on drugs" underway. That's a term that Richard Nixon first came up with, back during the Vietnam War. And we all know how sucessful THAT war was.
In truth, the "war on drugs" amounts to little more than a job and federal grant-in-aid program to pay overtime to cops. Really. Start calling it "drug welfare for cops" because that's really what it is.
And look how successful it's been.
Coroner’s Inquest Into Kiwane’s Death / Court Hearing For Jeshaun
Submitted by Brian Dolinar on February 18, 2010 - 2:39pm
At a coroner’s inquest on Thursday, February 18, 2009 into the police killing of Kiwane Carrington, six jurors ruled the death was an accident. This came after Illinois State Police Special Agent Lisa Crowder, who oversaw the investigation, stretched the facts in the case. Interviewed after the hearing, James Montgomery Jr., the attorney who has filed a civil suit on behalf of Carrington’s family, said the testimony was a “smoke screen” to make the youth look bad.
Crowder confirmed that it was a bullet from Officer Norbits’ gun that killed the 15 year old. Yet she also said that testing for the gunpowder residue on Kiwane’s clothes was never conducted. A forensics expert stated that from eye view it appeared as if the gun shot did occur at close range. Crowder’s explanation was that Kiwane had several layers of clothes on, making it difficult to conduct a test. Of course, the only layer that would require testing would be the outer layer. Crowder said the clothing is currently in the possession of the FBI, who is conducting their own investigation into the matter.
