Category Archives: Section

‘Race’ to Borders or Why Brown Death Matters

Posted on 05/07/2015 by Gilberto Rosas

The mass detention of would-be refugees in Texas, recently covered in The New York Times Magazine, is but the latest cruel episode in the material histories of international borders and state-mediated racism. Central American women and children who’ve fled criminal … Continue reading →

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The Creation of Frankenstein in the Middle Eastern Region

Posted on 04/16/2015 by Al Kagan

The Creation of Frankenstein in the Middle Eastern Region Al Kagan Al Kagan is African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration Emeritus at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. Media coverage of the destruction of antiquities in northern Iraq during … Continue reading →

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Securus Technologies: How a Carceral Conglomerate Makes Millions from Mass Incarceration

Posted on 03/29/2015 by Brian Dolinar

Miguel Saucedo grew up in the Latino neighborhood of Little Village in Chicago. Now almost 30, Miguel recalls as an eight year old taking a five-hour drive to visit his older brother who was incarcerated downstate at Menard Correctional Center. … Continue reading →

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Get Your WEFT On!

Posted on 03/29/2015 by Lori Serb

by Lori Serb WEFT has been a terrestrial radio station since 1981. WEFT began webcasting in 2007. WEFT contributes to artist royalties through both of these avenues. A snapshot of recent programming includes a live set by electric blues guitarist … Continue reading →

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International Women’s Day Drawing by Maya Bauer

Posted on 03/29/2015 by Public i
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Courtwatch Report: Sitting in Jail vs. Bailing out

Posted on 03/06/2015 by Public i

By Courtwatchers In court we support, observe and learn. In the community, we share collected wisdom. Courtwatch is a group of volunteers who sit in on cases at the Champaign County Courthouse to learn how “justice” really works. Regardless of … Continue reading →

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From Boredom To Books: New Library at Stateville Prison

Posted on 03/06/2015 by Barbara Kessel

Three R’s (Reading to Reduce Recidivism) and BTP partnered to establish a new library at the Northern District Reception Center, the first stop for many newly sentenced males with time to serve in a state of Illinois prison. A state … Continue reading →

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Build Programs Not Jails: Community Mobilizes Against $32 Million Jail

Posted on 03/04/2015 by Kristina Khan

The Champaign County Board is entertaining the idea of spending $32 million on new jail construction. Jail architects, Kimme & Associates, were hired by the county for $150,000 to report on the current jails and propose the construction of a … Continue reading →

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People of the Screen

Posted on 03/01/2015 by Audrey Wells

As the day winds down, we no longer have to ask “What’s on tonight?” to keep ourselves entranced by moving pictures. We can download, dvr, stream, rent, borrow, or – don’t forget – go out to the movies. However, the … Continue reading →

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Rep. Carol Ammons Holds Community Advisory Panels

Posted on 02/26/2015 by Public i

Newly elected State Representative of the 103rd House District Carol Ammons, is reaching out to Champaign-Urbana community members to bring their passion and expertise to her Community Advisory Panels. Each panel is responsible for following the bills moving through corresponding … Continue reading →

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A Running List of CU Businesses Supporting White Supremacy

Posted on 02/13/2015 by Ryan Kenji Kuramitsu

Offensive imagery is a big problem on our campus.  That is, the entrenched white supremacy that formed and birthed my institution of higher learning resists erasure in powerful ways.  Each year we see a familiar slew of problems – in residence halls, some students hang Confederate … Continue reading →

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#BlackLivesMatter Protests Locally

Posted on 01/30/2015 by Public i

Along with others across the nation, people of Champaign-Urbana have held protests, die-ins, and marches. Below are photos from some of the events. On Tuesday, November 25, CU Citizens for Peace and Justice held a demonstration outside of the county … Continue reading →

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Groundswell Organizing and Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

Posted on 01/30/2015 by Aaron Johnson-Ortiz

After President Obama signed his executive action on immigration last November, immigrant activists commended the president for his decision, which might help up to 4 million undocumented immigrants normalize their status, and at the same time emphasized that this action … 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 →

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The Lessons Ebola Is Teaching

Posted on 01/30/2015 by Gregory L. Damhorst

Greg Damhorst is an MD/PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . His graduate research involves the development of diagnostic technologies for HIV/AIDS. Greg is also a co-founder of the Global Health Initiative … Continue reading →

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Why the Republicans Were So Successful in the Mid-Term Elections

Posted on 01/30/2015 by David Johnson

It is obvious from the recent mid-term elections that the Democratic Party nation-wide is in crisis. The corporate media states that the Democratic Party must become more “centrist,” meaning that the Democratic Party needs to be more like the Republicans. … Continue reading →

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American Exceptionalism and Our Newest War

Posted on 11/13/2014 by Susan Shoemaker

Once upon a time, when I was a child growing up in 1950s America, I truly believed in American Exceptionalism, the idea that the United States is a virtuous country and unique among nations because of our revolutionary history, experimental … Continue reading →

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Important Questions Related to the Steven Salaita Case at the U of I

Posted on 11/13/2014 by GaryStorm

For university faculty, when, if ever, is speech that includes what may be perceived as vulgar, discourteous or uncivil language protected from putative action by university administrators and/or boards of trustees? Is speech which uses such language, even swear words, … Continue reading →

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A View on Bulldog Coal Mine from the Appalachian Mountains

Posted on 11/13/2014 by Charles Suggs

“Support coal or sit in the dark.” That phrase is familiar in the coal-burdened areas of Central Appalachia, but now some who supported coal are finding themselves out of work, abandoned by coal—many too injured by coal mining to work … Continue reading →

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Political Soccer: A Global Phenomenon—Except Here

Posted on 11/13/2014 by Richard Esbenshade

This summer’s soccer World Cup—always the most-watched sporting event on the planet—in Brazil was accompanied by enormous demonstrations, at times violently repressed. Citizens protested the diversion of vast resources from urgent social needs to the building of hugely expensive stadiums, … Continue reading →

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