Author Archives: Brian Dolinar

About Brian Dolinar

Brian Dolinar has been a community journalist since 2004.

Community Wins Free Phone Calls at the Champaign County Jail

Posted on 02/12/2024 by Brian Dolinar

This article originally appeared at Smile Politely on December 5, 2023; reprinted with permission. It has been lightly edited for style. “He calls first thing in the morning just to say good morning,” said Blaine Sherase Lee, whose son was … Continue reading →

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Securus is Charging Families Six Dollars for Phone Calls from Jail

Posted on 11/18/2023 by Brian Dolinar

This article originally appeared at Smile Politely on September 28, 2023; reprinted with permission. It has been lightly edited for style. Phone calls are a lifeline for those incarcerated to stay in touch with their families and loved ones. The … Continue reading →

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A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Shortened Print Version)

Posted on 08/27/2023 by Brian Dolinar

This article originally appeared at WILL/Illinois Public Media on July 5, 2023. Reprinted with permission. It has been edited for space and style. See the full version here. “I had a big goose egg on my forehead,” Tianna Morrow recalled, … Continue reading →

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A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Full Version)

Posted on 08/27/2023 by Brian Dolinar

This story is part of a partnership, focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County, between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and Illinois Public Media. This investigation was supported … Continue reading →

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No Such Thing As a “Safe” Jail: 31-Year-Old Woman Dies at Champaign County Jail

Posted on 02/10/2023 by Brian Dolinar

On October 13, 2022, Tillie Deitz, a mother of three young children, died in the Champaign County jail. As I found in my own review of publicly available documents, Deitz admitted to being a drug user upon entering the jail … Continue reading →

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“It’s a Money Grab”: Billions in COVID Relief Going to Fund Police and Prisons

Posted on 05/12/2022 by Brian Dolinar

If you’re from inner-city Birmingham, Alabama, there’s a “99-percent chance” you have a family member or friend who has been incarcerated, according to Veronica Johnson, deputy director for the Alabama Justice Initiative, which has been fighting against a proposal to … Continue reading →

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Taking the Band-Aid Off of Mass Incarceration

Posted on 02/10/2022 by Brian Dolinar

On a bad day, those of us seeking justice can find little to be hopeful about. The recent acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse again reminds us that the law is designed to protect white lives. Even after widespread protests and demonstrations … Continue reading →

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COVID-19: Coming to a Jail Near You

Posted on 02/07/2021 by Brian Dolinar

This article was first published in The Progressive on January 4, 2021. Reprinted with permission. Wayne Colson, Sr. recalls he felt “helpless” with his son sitting in jail as news of the COVID-19 pandemic was breaking. A loyal father, Colson … Continue reading →

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The Trump Administration Just Opened a New Immigrant Prison in Rural Michigan

Posted on 03/18/2020 by Brian Dolinar

From his office at the Cristo Rey Church in Lansing, Michigan, Oscar Castañeda runs a campaign against a new federal immigrant prison, part of President Donald Trump’s escalation of immigration enforcement. In May, 2019, the Trump administration awarded a ten-year, … Continue reading →

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Illinois Prison Phone Rates Are Lowest Following Grassroots Activism

Posted on 04/12/2019 by Brian Dolinar

“There were a lot of times my sons tried calling me,” recalled Annette Taylor, who regularly receives calls from her two sons in prison, “but there was no money on the account.” Those were some of the “hardest calls,” she … Continue reading →

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Local Sheriff Cooperating with ICE

Posted on 12/12/2018 by Brian Dolinar

On the day Manuel went to have his electronic monitor cut off, he was feeling “uneasy” about being picked up by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It only took minutes for the sheriff’s deputy at the county jail … Continue reading →

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After Four Months in Detention, 8 Year-Old Girl Reunited With Family in C-U

Posted on 11/14/2018 by Brian Dolinar

This eight-year-old girl (on the right in the photo) traveled 4,000 miles and spent four months in detention to get a hug from her mother. They were reunited last week at Willard Airport in Champaign. The news reports about children … Continue reading →

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Open Scene Open Mic w/ DJ Silkee

Posted on 11/14/2018 by Brian Dolinar

Open Scene Open Mic w/ Host DJ Silkee Wednesday, Nov. 14, 6-8pm at IMC Join the Urbana Public Arts Program and Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center for the next installment of Open Scene Open Mic, a downtown showcase of poetry, spoken … Continue reading →

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Call For Artist to Design IMC’s New Outdoor Sign!

Posted on 05/30/2018 by Brian Dolinar

The IMC is now seeking proposals from artists to design and paint a new outdoor sign. We seek a diversity of applications by a variety of artists. The chosen design will serve as a main identifier for the public to … Continue reading →

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ICE on Main Street: Undocumented Immigrants Arrested in Urbana

Posted on 05/04/2018 by Brian Dolinar

  When Juan showed up for work one morning at Siam Terrace on Main Street in downtown Urbana, two men were waiting for him in the parking lot. They were dressed in plainclothes, but wearing guns on their hips. They … Continue reading →

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New Bill Takes Effect Cutting Cost of Calls from Illinois Prisons

Posted on 01/08/2018 by Brian Dolinar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 8, 2018 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Brian Dolinar, Program Director, Independent Media Center, (217) 621-5827, briandolinar@ucimc.org The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) is proud to announce that as of January 1, 2018, a new state law took … Continue reading →

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Soros Fellowship Awarded to UCIMC’s James Kilgore for Electronic Monitoring Campaign

Posted on 07/26/2017 by Brian Dolinar

July 25, 2017 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE We are proud to announce that James Kilgore has been awarded the prestigious Open Society Foundation Soros Justice Fellowship for 2017-18. Building on work supported by Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) for the last … Continue reading →

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No Accident: White Cop Shoots Another Black Man in Champaign

Posted on 06/26/2017 by Brian Dolinar

The shooting of unarmed Black men by white police in the United States is a story that keeps repeating over and over. The recent case of a local 22-year-old African American man shot in the shoulder by Champaign police officer … Continue reading →

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The Cops Killed Richie

Posted on 05/01/2017 by Brian Dolinar

No matter how much training or technology they get, the cops just can’t stop killing Black people. On a Wednesday morning, November 16, 2016, at approximately 8:30 a.m., Champaign police received a call about a “disorderly” subject, Richard “Richie” Turner, … Continue reading →

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IMC Announcements

Posted on 04/01/2017 by Brian Dolinar

Final Open Scene Workshop with Hill L. Waters April 14 (6-8pm) and April 16 (2-4pm) Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway There is a last Open Scene workshop with Hill L. Waters (April 14-16), a Black feminist love praxis project … Continue reading →

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