Category Archives: Section

Popular University for Gaza at UIUC

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Clara Belitz and Sana Saboowala and Izzy Grosof

From Friday, April 26 through Friday, May 10, we established a branch of the Popular University for Gaza at UIUC, joining the national student movement for Palestine. This encampment was just one small piece in the long movement for Palestinian … Continue reading →

192 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Section, Students, University of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Voices | Tagged campus activism, divestment, Israel/Palestine, student protest, University of Illinois | Comments Off

Is the Strike Back?

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Jim Barrett

This article has been adapted by the author from his talk at the Strike School event at the IMC on May 5. For almost two centuries the strike has been the characteristic and most important form of protest for working-class … Continue reading →

144 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Economy, Inequality, labor, Labor militancy, Labor/Economics, Section, union soldarity | Tagged economy, inequality, labor militancy, labor organizing, strikes, union solidarity | Comments Off

The Poor People’s Campaign Continues

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Paul Mueth

The Poor People’s Campaign is a grassroots movement that began in the 1960s and continues to this day, aiming to address issues of poverty, inequality, and social justice in the United States. The campaign was initially launched by Rev. Dr. … Continue reading →

164 total views, 2 views today

Posted in Economics, Economy, Politics, Politics, Poverty, Section | Tagged activism, economy, Poor People's Campaign, poverty | Comments Off

Critical Need for Long-Term Care for Older Adults in Champaign County

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Cathy Emanuel

When my eighty-nine-year-old friend survived her bout with fungal pneumonia after spending nearly a month in the hospital, we were ecstatic. Her outcome had not always seemed certain, and we were delighted that she was on the path to recovery. … Continue reading →

173 total views, 1 views today

Posted in county goverment, health care, Healthcare, Nursing Home, Section, seniors, the elderly | Tagged aging, Champaign County, community action, health care, nursing home, seniors, the elderly | Comments Off

Advocating for End-of-Life Options in Illinois

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Meg Miner

The Illinois End-of-Life Options for Terminally Ill Patients Act (SB3499), which would authorize medical aid in dying in Illinois, was introduced in the Illinois Senate on February 9, 2024 by Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes (D-Aurora). None of the bill’s … Continue reading →

172 total views, 1 views today

Posted in health, health care, Healthcare, IL, Section, seniors, the elderly | Tagged dementia, elderly, end-of-life care, health care, Illinois legislation | Comments Off

The Erosion of US Asylum Protections

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Janice Jayes

It’s been a bad year for international “rule of law.” The escalating war in Ukraine and the wretched failure of the United Nations (UN) to respond to the horror in Gaza deserve the attention they have received, but other international … Continue reading →

245 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Immigrants, Immigration, Latin America, Refugees, Section | Tagged allies, asylum processing, experts, political asylum, refugees, US immigration policy | Comments Off

City Business is Whatever the Community Cares About

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Dua Aldasouqi

Americans have been in the streets since October 8 demanding an end to the US-backed Israeli attack on Gaza. They’re at sporting events and camping out in front of top politicians’ homes. They were at tree-lighting and caroling events over the … Continue reading →

1,009 total views, 2 views today

Posted in Gaza, Israel/Palestine, Justice, Middle East, Palestinians, Politics, Section, Voices, War | Tagged Gaza, Israel/Palestine, local government, Middle East, Palestinian rights, Urbana City Council, war | Comments Off

IMC Holds a Second Public Safety Forum

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Jane McClintock

On March 24, the UCIMC hosted a second public safety forum focused on alternative responses to traditional law enforcement. The forum was organized in accordance with calls from Urbana residents and elected officials for a study of alternatives to traditional … Continue reading →

1,424 total views, 5 views today

Posted in Community, Crime, Justice, Police, police accountability, Policing, Section, Uncategorized, Violence, Youth Services | Tagged community action, police accountability, policing, public safety, public services, youth services | Comments Off

After Fatal Shootings, Rantoul Police Recommended More Training: They Sent One Officer to a Gun Range—Print Version

Posted on 05/03/2024 by Farrah Anderson of Invisible Institute

A version of this article originally appeared on IPM Newsroom on February 5, 2024. It has been edited for space and style. See the full version on the Public i’s website. This story is part of a partnership between the … Continue reading →

618 total views

Posted in Police, police accountability, Police Brutality, Police brutality, Policing, Section, Violence | Tagged police accountability, police brutality, police review, police training, Rantoul, use-of-force policies | Comments Off

After Fatal Shootings, Rantoul Police Recommended More Training: They Sent One Officer to a Gun Range—Original (Long) Version

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Farrah Anderson of Invisible Institute

This is the full version of the article that originally appeared on IPM Newsroom on February 5, 2024. It has been edited for style. A shorter version appeared in the Public I’s May/June print edition.. This story is part of … Continue reading →

252 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Police, police accountability, Police Brutality, Police brutality, Policing, Section, Violence | Tagged police accountability, police brutality, police culture, police review, police training, Rantoul, use-of-force policies | Comments Off

Beyond Abortion: Reproductive Justice Envisions More

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Julie Laut

The human right to choose to have children or not to have children is a foundational principle in the vision of Reproductive Justice (RJ). Thus the increase in legal attacks on abortion rights and trans rights is understandably central to … Continue reading →

265 total views, 1 views today

Posted in abortion rights, Feminism, Human Rights, Reproductive Justice, Section, Voices, Women, wonen's rights | Tagged abortion rights, birth justice, bodily autonomy, human rights, reproductive justice, women's rights | Comments Off

Healing Culture in Wartime

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Evelyne Accad

Forty-one years ago when we organized the Common Differences conference on the UI campus, I was a young professor, already quite engaged in women’s issues, which had led to my research, writing, travels, and overall commitment. When I retired from the University of … Continue reading →

237 total views

Posted in Feminism, International, Middle East, Section, Voices, War, Women, Women, wonen's rights | Tagged feminism, Lebanon, Middle East, war, women's rights, women's shelters | Comments Off

Coalition of Labor Union Women for Champaign County

Posted on 05/02/2024 by Stephanie Fortado

On the evening of March 27 more than 30 people representing about a dozen labor unions and community groups gathered at the Plumbers Local 149 Union Hall in Savoy to launch a chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women … Continue reading →

246 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Feminism, Labor, Labor/Economics, Section, union soldarity, Voices, Women, Women | Tagged feminism, Labor, organizing, unions, women in labor | Comments Off

The Case for Reparations: Champaign County

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Jeff Trask

According to the Descendants Truth and Reconciliation Foundation, Black people in America own 10 cents of wealth for every dollar a white person owns, have lower life expectancies and higher unemployment, will earn $1 million less during their lifetimes, are … Continue reading →

435 total views

Posted in African American history, African Americans, African Americans, Inequality, Labor/Economics, Racism, Section, Voices, Voices of Color | Tagged African American history, discrimination, inequality, racism, reparations, Slavery, wealth gap | Comments Off

What is the Radical Black Church?

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Reverend Terrance Thomas

How Do We Define the “Black” Church? In some sense, the Black Church can be readily defined by its music, style of preaching and sounds. Yet these are only surface definitions—it is so much more. The Black Church was born … Continue reading →

384 total views, 1 views today

Posted in Africa, African American history, African Americans, African Americans, civil rights, Justice, Religious radicalism, Section, Voices, Voices of Color | Tagged African American history, Black church, liberation theology, religious radicalism, resistance, Slavery | Comments Off

Criminology Mixology

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Leo Cardez

Criminalization, abolition, and prison reform have long been third-rail issues in America. The only benefit to this impasse of ideologies is the mountain of research that has been collected in the interim. Those of us in camp reality, camp humanity, … Continue reading →

353 total views

Posted in African Americans, incarceration, Prisoners, Section, Voices, Voices of Color | Tagged African Americans, criminal justice system, incarceration, prison reform | Comments Off

The Prison Economy from the Inside

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Shamar Betts

Nineteen-year-old Shamar Betts of Urbana had no previous criminal record when he was arrested for “inciting a riot” via a Facebook post he wrote after witnessing the video of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. He was sentenced to three years … Continue reading →

733 total views

Posted in African Americans, incarceration, Prisoners, Section, Voices, Voices of Color | Tagged incarceration, local African American voices, memoir, prison life | Comments Off

Black History: Is This Really 2024?

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Mrs. Marilynn Dean Cleveland

I am a mother of three sons and a grandmother of 83 years of age. This incident happened on Wednesday, January 31, in the middle of the afternoon. I was going to visit a friend and on the way, I … Continue reading →

523 total views, 1 views today

Posted in African American, African American history, African American women, African Americans, Section, Voices, Voices of Color, Women | Tagged African American women, local stories, Memory, trauma | Comments Off

Champaign Hired Police Chief Timothy Tyler Despite Disciplinary Past and Allegations of Misconduct—Print Version

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Farrah Anderson and Sam Stecklow of Invisible Institute

A version of this article originally appeared on IPM Newsroom on January 9, 2024. It has been edited for space and style. See the full version on the Public i website. This story is part of a partnership between the … Continue reading →

502 total views

Posted in Police, police accountability, Policing, Section | Tagged Champaign City Council, community involvement, local policing, police accountability | Comments Off

Champaign Hired Police Chief Timothy Tyler Despite Disciplinary Past and Allegations of Misconduct—Original (Long) Version