Champaign

On June 25, at 6 p.m., the Community Justice Task Force will be presenting a final report with its recommendations for the current proposed jail expansion. The meeting will be at Brookens Administration Building (Lierman and Washington St. in east Urbana).

The Task Force has been working for over a year to develop alternatives to the county's original plan to build a multi-million dollar extension of the satellite jail. CUCPJ urges people to attend the session on the 25th and hear what the Task Force recommends. Hopefully their report will provide some concrete ideas for taking the county's criminal justice system in a new direction.

A draft report on the jail by ILPP was released on April 30 and can be read here. Below is a response from CU Citizens for Peace and Justice. A final report from ILPP will come at the end of the summer.

“We found that in virtually every county in the country, police have wasted taxpayer money enforcing marijuana laws in a racially biased manner...”

by Ian Urbina

WASHINGTON — Black Americans were nearly four times as likely than whites to be arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2010, even though the two groups used the drug at similar rates, according to new federal data.

This disparity had grown steadily from a decade before, and in some states, including Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois, blacks were around eight times as likely to be arrested.

During the same period, public attitudes toward marijuana softened and a number of states decriminalized its use. But about half of all drug arrests in 2011 were on marijuana-related charges, roughly the same portion as in 2010.

Advocates for the legalization of marijuana have criticized the Obama administration for having vocally opposed state legalization efforts and for taking a more aggressive approach than the Bush administration in closing medical marijuana dispensaries and prosecuting their owners in some states, especially Montana and California.

This summer, the City of Champaign will begin the process of demolishing a neighborhood in the north end of the city. Bristol Place, northeast of Bradley and Market and home to nearly 200 residents, has been slated for total demolition by the city because of its low property values, old building stock and a purportedly high rate of crime. The city will use eminent domain to acquire the properties from even those residents who wish to stay in the neighborhood and who own and occupy houses that are in good condition. Although the city has been clear to say that the neighborhood’s total demolition is a settled issue, many questions remain: Why was the neighborhood regarded as obsolete? What’s next for residents? Is this a process that we will see for other low-income, predominately African-American neighborhoods in Champaign?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2013
4:09 PM

CONTACT: Fast Food Forward
http://www.fastfoodforward.org/en/
Catherine Murrell, 312.523.3882

McDonald’s Workers and Supporters Protest Shareholder Meeting, Call for $15 / Hour and Right to Form a Union Without Intimidation

Following Strikes, Workers From Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Louis Converge to Ask Shareholders for Decent Pay to Support Their Families

CHICAGO - May 23 - McDonald’s shareholders were greeted at the company’s annual conference Thursday by a hundred workers and supporters calling for decent wages to support their families, and the right to form a union without interference.

Workers who had participated in recent unprecedented fast food and retail strikes in Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and St. Louis converged outside the meeting on the McDonald’s corporate campus in Oak Brook, IL, welcoming shareholders with chants and rally speeches.

As a new building on campus is being named after Maudelle Bousfield, the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Illinois, a public housing complex named after Joann Dorsey, black community activist in Champaign during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, has been torn down. One woman came from the black upper-class, the other from the working-class, yet they both should be recognized for their contributions.

Pioneer Educator, Maudelle Bousfield    

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Bloomington has a new interim Police Chief.

The city announced that retired Champaign Police Chief R.T. Finney will serve in that position until a permanent replacement is found.

Finney also served as interim Chief for East Peoria during a portion if 2012.

Starting Monday, Finney takes the spot of current Interim Chief Clay Wheeler, who is headed to Virginia for previously planned training with the FBI.

Former Chief Randy McKinley left the city as Chief of Police to take another position in ST. Charles, Missouri.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51373909/#.UVc6q1e67dU

Immigration. Yes. Chicago Youth Violence. Yes. Education. Yes.

On this spoken word project titled ILL POETS SOCIETY, six (6) poets from across the great state of Illinois were brought together to expound on the modern day issues facing America. The crown jewel of this project is a spoken word piece titled "Chi City Youth" by Jazmine McKinney. From the outset, she captivates audiences with her wordplay as she expresses the grief in her soul for her family, friends and community. To download the album for free, visit www.TheShow1045.com.

The film is available for checkout at local public libraries and cultural centers within the Champaign-Urbana community. This project was funded by SORF and supported in part by a City of Urbana Arts Grant.

by Paul Buchheit