Category Archives: Justice

Insurgent Midwest: The Constructing Solidarities Symposium

Posted on 10/19/2017 by Ken Salo

by Ken Salo, Zsuzsa Gille and Efadul Huq [Editor’s note: the Public i requested contributions on this important conference from both organizers and academic attendees; these perspectives have been integrated into this article.] On September 8-10, delegates from grassroots … Continue reading →

Posted in homeless, Justice, South Africa | Comments Off

Interview with Marlon Mitchell from FirstFollowers

Posted on 09/09/2017 by Carol Inskeep

. The local group FirstFollowers is only two years old, but it is already making in impact in our community. In this interview Marlon Mitchell talks with Carol Inskeep about their mission and the ambitious range of projects the group … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Justice, Prisoners | Comments Off

The Racial Justice Task Force and the slow trudge toward justice in Champaign County

Posted on 09/07/2017 by Albert Stabler

The Champaign County Racial Justice Task Force (RJTF) will be issuing its final report this fall. Those who sought to create this task force, and those working within it, have faced an uphill struggle in trying to get the white … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Justice | Comments Off

Fighting Mass Incarceration Under Trump: New Strategies, New Alliance

Posted on 02/23/2017 by James Kilgore

By James Kilgore Yusef Shakur is a Detroit community organizer who spent several years in Michigan state prisons. “The prison-industrial complex has found the right person to feed it,” he said in response to the election results. “Trump is of … Continue reading →

Posted in African American, Justice, Policing, Prisoners, Trump | Comments Off

A Very Rude Awakening

Posted on 01/19/2017 by Faruq Nelson

“Faruq Nelson is an attorney in solo practice. He has been an active member of the local mosque for nearly 25 years.” Like almost everyone I know, I could not imagine that Donald Trump would win the presidential election. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2016 election, Human Rights, Justice, Trump | Comments Off

Regulation of Prison Phone Calls Sweeps the Nation

Posted on 11/18/2016 by Brian Dolinar

The Justice Department’s recent recommendation to end the use of private facilities for US citizens in federal prisons has been hailed as a victory by reformers, but the widespread privatization of everyday services in prison, like hygiene products, food, laundry … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Prisoners | Comments Off

October Surprise: Harold “Killer” Koh to Lecture at UI Law School in Election Week

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Midge O'Brien

Harold Hongju Koh, Hillary Clinton’s former legal advisor at the State Department has been invited as an ‘endowed speaker’ at the U.I. College of Law, twelve days prior to the November election. Koh, currently a Yale Law School professor and … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, International, Justice | Comments Off

Statement on the Upcoming Ballot Referendum on “Public Facilities”

Posted on 09/02/2016 by Public i

Statement delivered by Build Programs, Not Jails before the County Board on August 18, 2016. Last week [on Tuesday, August 9, 2016] the County Board’s Committee of the Whole voted in favor of placing a referendum on the November ballot … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Prisoners | Comments Off

State’s Attorney Rietz Goes Easy on Violent Police and Jail Officers

Posted on 07/13/2016 by Belden Fields

Rape On March 30, 2015, there was a ceremony in the Champaign City Building during which Officer Jerad Gale was given the award for being “Officer of the Year.” About a year later, in May 2016 this same officer pleaded … Continue reading →

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In Memory, Honor, and Love of Gene Vanderport

Posted on 06/27/2016 by Belden Fields

It is difficult to write about an untimely death of someone whom one has known for almost half a century. Gene was my student, my comrade, and my friend since the late 1960s. Only a couple of years after my … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Justice, Labor/Economics, socialism | Comments Off

The Myron Scruggs Case and the Champaign Police Department

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Belden Fields

by Belden Fields An Ugly Image From the Past In the late 1960s, I joined the newly created chapter of the Champaign County ACLU and became the chair of its investigations committee. I received a call from a woman member … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Justice, Policing | Comments Off

Racism and Mass Incarceration in the US Heartland: Historical Roots of the New Jim Crow

Posted on 05/27/2016 by James Kilgore

If asked what state had the highest rate of incarceration rate of black men, most people would likely cite somewhere in the old Confederacy, perhaps Mississippi or Louisiana. They would be about 1000 miles too far South. According to labor … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Justice, Latino/a, Prisoners | Comments Off

Black Lives Matter C-U Summer Activities

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Public i

Social justice collective, Black Lives Matter, the Champaign-Urbana chapter, has been gaining further traction within their outreach. From demonstrations and panel meetings, to youth involvement and local radio shows, Black Lives Matter’s efforts continue to make striving progress throughout the … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Human Rights, Justice | Comments Off

Incarceration figures

Posted on 05/27/2016 by Public i

Some figures compiled in the Coalition for Prisoners’ Rights Newsletter (April 2016). Reprinted with Permission. I. Number Incarcerated in U.S., 2014 1.5 million people at an annual per person cost of $80 billion–approximately $51,250 each. (A “free world” minimum wage of $15/hr … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Justice, Latino/a, Prisoners, Women, Youth | Comments Off

Barbara Kessel Accepts Humanitarian Award

Posted on 03/11/2016 by Barbara Kessel

Barbara Kessel’s acceptance statement of the 2016 James R. burgess, Jr.-Susan Freiberg Humanitarian Award given by the 2016 Martin Luther King, Jr. Countywide Celebration Committee: “I am happy for this opportunity to remind the audience that as we sit here … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Human Rights, Justice | Comments Off

Courtwatch Victory

Posted on 03/11/2016 by Courtwatchers

By Courtwatchers Courtwatchers is a group of citizens who volunteer to attend criminal proceedings by request of the defendant,a family member or a concerned party. We are there as witnesses to criminal justice in Champaign County, to figure out how … Continue reading →

Posted in Justice, Policing, Women | Comments Off

This Black Life Matters

Posted on 09/03/2015 by Teresa Barnes

Michael Brown was killed a year ago. They used to say, “It’s been a long, hot summer” but it’s been another long, hot, horror-filled year in the US; every single day another Michael Brown. This is someone I know. In … Continue reading →

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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 →

Posted in Justice, Policing | Comments Off

First Class Justice vs. “the Cattle Call”

Posted on 09/03/2015 by Public i

By a Courtwatcher Courtwatch is a group of citizens who volunteer to attend criminal proceedings by request of the defendant or a family member of a jailed defendant. We are there as witnesses to criminal justice in Champaign County, to … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Community Forum, Justice, Policing | Comments Off