Category Archives: Section

Hidden Costs of Drought and Floods

Posted on 01/31/2014 by Gregory McIsaac

Gregory McIsaac Climate models indicate that Midwestern US will likely experience warmer and more volatile weather in the future, with more intense rainfall and more frequent and severe droughts. Trends in this direction are already evident. The severe … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Food, Labor/Economics | Comments Off

The Economic and Political Context of Student Debt

Posted on 01/31/2014 by David Green

Alan Collinge, author of “The Student Loan Scam: The Most Oppressive Debt in U.S. History and How We Can Fight Back,” recently spoke to students at Lincoln Hall on the UI campus. His argument is detailed, persuasive, and heartbreaking; it … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics, Youth | Comments Off

Protests at Walmart in Urbana and McDonald’s in Champaign

Posted on 12/01/2013 by Public i

On this year’s Black Friday, November 29, 2013, local activists held a rally at the Walmart in Urbana that was organized by Central Illinois Jobs With Justice. They stood out in 30 degree weather holding signs as shoppers drove by, … Continue reading →

Posted in Labor/Economics, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Raising Concerns about Chinese Students’ Mental Health

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Hong Cheng

Yongfei Ci is a 6th-year-PhD student in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While he is majoring in math here, this semester he went to Brown University to do research. But on September 28th, Ci returned to Urbana and murdered his ex-girlfriend … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare, International | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Policing, Uncategorized | Comments Off

21st Century Slavery, Electronic Style

Posted on 11/14/2013 by James Kilgore

Somewhere in the middle of a November night in 2009 I got a phone call from my then 95 year old mother. She said she had chest pains, had already phoned 911 and thought she was having a heart attack. … Continue reading →

Posted in Policing, Technology | Comments Off

Transgender Justice and Prisons

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Onni Gust

Onni Gust (Onni Gust is originally from London, UK, where she took part in social justice activism and education, particularly on LGBT rights and racism. Onni arrived in Champaign-Urbana in August 2013 and is a post-doctoral fellow at the Illinois … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, LGBTQA, Transgenders, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Angela Davis with CUCPJ at the IMC

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Brian Dolinar

Angela Davis gave a talk at the University YMCA’s Friday Forum on September 27, 2013 in its series “Beyond Mass Incarceration.” That morning, she spoke at the IMC and talked with members of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Policing | Comments Off

The Profound Strength of an Unclenched Fist

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Renner Larson

Each generation sees masculinity in a new light. At twenty-four, my thoughts reflect those of my grandfather in his twenties, seventy years ago. As the United States anticipated involvement in World War II, a generation of men was drafter into … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Forum | Comments Off

Illinois and the Right to Know What’s in our Food: Labeling Genetically Engineered Food, Part II

Posted on 11/14/2013 by Lois Kain

Could this really have been the summer that the anti-GMO tipping point was reached? Has the time finally come when so many of us have gotten so fed up with our broken and unjust food system and become so vocal … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment | Comments Off

50th Anniversary March on Washington: Room for Criticism; Room for Hope

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Patricia Simpson

This little light of mine I’m going let it shine – in North Carolina! It’s Aug. 24 and we have made it to the 50th Anniversary of the original March on Washington. Germaine Light, my Central Illinois Jobs with Justice … Continue reading →

Posted in National | Comments Off

Unleashing the Whirlwinds of Revolt: A Reflection on the MOW by Sundiata Cha-Jua

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua

Sundiata Cha-Jua, professor of history and African American studies, recently spoke with the U of I News Bureau’s Craig Chamberlain about the 1963 March on Washington. Can you set the stage for the March on Washington? What was happening 50 … Continue reading →

Posted in National | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Human Rights, Labor/Economics, Politics | Comments Off

Media Hoax Launched Against Monsanto by Sin Maíz No Hay Vida

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Alex Cline

Last Thursday, an intriguing press release from “Monsanto Global” was sent out to to the email inboxes of media organizations all over the world, including our own Independent Media Center. According to the press release, Monsanto had received approval from … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Media | Comments Off

internet.org Business Models Will Put NSA Equipment Vendors Out of Business

Posted on 10/03/2013 by Brian Duggan

Today (August 21, 2013), Facebook and a private surveillance gang of seven announced the latest innovation in advertising, internet.org The group includes the closed-source web browser developer, Opera, and the Microsoft puppet cell phone manufacturer, Nokia. Opera and Nokia are … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | Comments Off

Illinois and The Right to Know What’s In Our Food: Labeling Genetically Engineered Food

Posted on 10/02/2013 by Public i

Illinois has jumped into a food fight! Some even call it the food fight of our lives. It is the fight for our right to know what ingredients are in our food and to have those ingredients clearly and truthfully … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Illinois Rolls Out New Medical Marijuana Law

Posted on 10/02/2013 by Public i

Let’s put Illinois’ new medical marijuana law, Public Act 098-0122, under the microscope from the viewpoint of patients. I didn’t choose to suffer from what afflicts me or the absolute fact that marijuana is the best, most effective, and safest … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare | Comments Off

Champaign-Urbana Rallies for Immigration Reform

Posted on 08/31/2013 by Brian Dolinar

On Saturday, August 31, 2013, a rally organized by the local Immigration Forum took place at West Side Park in Champaign. Some 300 people attended in the 90 degree heat. The rally was aimed at swinging the vote of Rodney … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Brazilians marching on the street: what´s behind 20 cents

Posted on 08/21/2013 by admin

By Walênia Silva: Walênia Silva is an adjunt professor at the Music School at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, in Brazil. Dr. Silva completed her PhD. at the College of Education at UIUC. Last June, Brazilians decided to march in … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, International, Politics, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Vehicle for Hire

Posted on 08/01/2013 by Aaron Ammons

The twin cities of Urbana-Champaign both have ordinances which contain language that discriminates against citizens with a felony conviction. In Urbana, the Vehicle for Hire (VFH) ordinance section 26-43, under “qualifications of an applicant” reads: (a) No license shall be … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights | Comments Off