Author Archives: Belden Fields

Man Sentenced to Prison by Fired Former Judge Has Sentence Reduced

Posted on 09/03/2015 by Belden Fields

On August 13, Bidemi Ajobiewe, a Nigerian national who had been given six years in prison for an fatal accident on I-74 had his sentence reduced from six years in prison to 24 months of parole and time already served. … Continue reading →

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Police Lying

Posted on 09/03/2015 by Belden Fields

Do Police Lie? The answer is that some police officers do indeed lie. The major conditions under which police lie are three: to frame a suspect, to protect themselves or fellow officers from detection or punishment of misdeed, and to … Continue reading →

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DUI Judge Richard Klaus Fired

Posted on 07/08/2015 by Belden Fields

In June, Champaign Country Associate Judge Richard Klaus was removed from his position by fellow Judges in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. This is the first time in 37 years that these judges have removed a colleague. The reason given was … Continue reading →

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Women on Top: Celebrate Women Behind the Camera

Posted on 07/08/2015 by Belden Fields

The Art Theater Co-op is proud to present a summer-long series celebrating women feature film directors. Bringing together an eclectic mix of films representing the breadth and depth of women’s filmmaking, WOMEN ON TOP: CELEBRATING WOMEN BEHIND THE CAMERA is … Continue reading →

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The Conundrum Over ISIS: The Issue of International Responsibility

Posted on 01/30/2015 by Belden Fields

In the November/December issue of the Public i, my colleague Susan Shoemaker wrote a very compelling article against the use of U.S. military strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.  After citing opinion polls finding that while 73% of Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, International | Comments Off on The Conundrum Over ISIS: The Issue of International Responsibility

Academic Freedom and the Board of Trustees at the U of I: A Historical Perspective

Posted on 11/13/2014 by Belden Fields

At the panel on academic freedom and free speech across disciplines held in the Beckman Institute on Monday, September 29, one of the panelists, Professor Colleen Murphy, said that the project now must be to make sure that the way in … Continue reading →

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The Rosenwald Schools

Posted on 10/01/2014 by Belden Fields

This May I took a trip to Savannah, Georgia, and to the southern coast of South Carolina. In Savannah, I took a “Freedom Tour” that included visits to the oldest Black church, the black cemetery that contains a whip-scarred “whipping … Continue reading →

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How the Criminal “Justice” System Compounds Human Tragedy and Suffering

Posted on 08/21/2014 by Belden Fields

This article is about two cases in which the State’s Attorney’s office entered into a criminal plea agreement with individuals and then brought them before the DUI court of Judge Richard Klaus for sentencing. The first involved Katheryn Daly, a … Continue reading →

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Remembering Manni Brun

Posted on 03/27/2014 by Belden Fields

In January, this community lost a woman to whom it owes a great deal. Marianne (Manni) Brun passed away on January 6th. Manni and her husband Herbert, who was a professor of music composition, came to the university in 1963. … Continue reading →

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Six Community Organizations Ask Urbana Council for a Study Session on Racial Disparities in Police Stops

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Belden Fields

October 7, 2013 The Urbana Police Department (UPD) has been reporting traffic stop data to the State of Illinois for nine years, 2004 through 2012.  City data trends and patterns of traffic law enforcement can now be discerned and documented … Continue reading →

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The Attack on Labor Rights as Collective Human Rights in Great Britain

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Belden Fields

This article is inspired by the book, Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy. This text was written by a former undergraduate student of mine, Susan Kang, who is now a professor of political science at the … Continue reading →

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Racism in the Land of Lincoln

Posted on 08/01/2013 by Belden Fields

    From: Jim Allen <jimallen@consolidated.net> Sent: 06/18/13 10:59 PM To: dibendahl@mail.com Subject: 13th Congressional District reply Rodney Davis will win and the love child of the D.N.C. will be back in Shitcago by May of 2014 working for some law firm … Continue reading →

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Trivializing the Not-So-Trivial: the News-Gazette and Mr. Khan

Posted on 05/24/2013 by Belden Fields

In its editorial of April 23, the News-Gazette took members of the U of I Senate to task. These members had challenged the decision to award an honorary degree to Mr. Shahid Khan.  Mr. Khan, an engineering graduate of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Human Rights, Labor/Economics | Comments Off on Trivializing the Not-So-Trivial: the News-Gazette and Mr. Khan

Frances Friedman’s Passing; A Deep Loss to This Community

Posted on 04/03/2013 by Belden Fields

On February 28, this community lost a woman who made enormous contributions to the quality of life of so many in Champaign-Urbana.  Originally from Chicago’s West Side, Frances came to Champaign-Urbana and graduated in nursing from Mercy Hospital School of … Continue reading →

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Motivating High School Students to Become Future Builders

Posted on 01/21/2013 by Belden Fields

In 2007, I met Tanya Parker, now the publisher of the local magazine, Unity in Action, at a demonstration in front of the County Court House in Urbana.  We were both protesting what we felt was racial inequality in the … Continue reading →

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Tax the Rich; Spend on the Material and Educational Needs of the Less Well-Off

Posted on 01/20/2013 by Belden Fields

Pat Simpson Pat Simpson is a labor educator who is active in Central Illinois Jobs with Justice As the old year drew to a close, the walls of the Channing Murray Foundation echoed with speeches on the topic of the … Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Cities: Public Access to Police Complaints in Champaign and Urbana

Posted on 11/23/2012 by Belden Fields

Backstory: Champaign Over the course of 2012, several pieces have been published in the Public i and the News Gazette regarding the city’s continued practice of ignoring Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding complaints against the police and its … Continue reading →

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Message to the Community from the UCIMC Board of Directors

Posted on 11/23/2012 by Belden Fields

Message to the C-U Community from the UCIMC Board of Directors Dear Community Members: The purpose of this communication is, first, to provide information about an incident that allegedly occurred at the Independent Media Center where one of our staff … Continue reading →

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Section 20 of the UCIMC Personnel Policy, adopted March 20, 2012

Posted on 11/23/2012 by Belden Fields

“UC-IMC is committed to creating and maintaining a work place free of sexual harassment.  Improper conduct in the workplace is inappropriate and will not be tolerated.  This conduct includes: –Express or implied requests for sexual favors as a condition of … Continue reading →

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My Experiences with Worker-Owned Businesses

Posted on 09/08/2012 by Belden Fields

Walter Matherly       (Bio–After six years working in Africa and Latin America for the International Division of The Borden Company in 1954, Walter Matherly got a graduate degree in Economics from Duke and began a career in economic … Continue reading →

Posted in Labor/Economics | Comments Off on My Experiences with Worker-Owned Businesses