Category Archives: Uncategorized

There are not many minorities or women in the building trades. The Summer Construction Education Program tries to do something about that by introducing young minority people and women to the skills of the trades in a hands-on way. A … Continue reading →

Former Chicago Police Sargeant Jon Burge was convicted on June 28 on federal perjury and obstruction of justice charges. US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald had charged Burge with lying in court papers during a civil lawsuit that had alleged Burge had … Continue reading →

Government-funded human services are defined in specific terms in relation to statelevel administrative structures and the state’s annual budget. These services do not technically include significant portions of the budget devoted to health care and education. Human services—thus narrowly defined— … Continue reading →

This is a reflection on the May Day actions of 2006 and a sudden conflict that brought to life the complex relationship between “history” as spoken from the platform and “memory” as lived in the street. In 2007, 2008, 2009 … Continue reading →

Tamms Super Maximum Correctional Center, which opened in March 1998, is Illinois’ only “Supermax” prison. It is located at the southern tip of Illinois, originally opened under the guise of being for short-term incarceration. • There is no bus service … Continue reading →

Calling tech support. We’ve all been there: Long hold times with bad music, automated phone trees that go nowhere or are unclear, support staff that are required to follow a script and have a hard time deviating to accommodate different … Continue reading →

DEFINITION From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Precarious work is a term used to describe non-standard employment which is poorly paid, insecure, unprotected, and cannot support a household. In recent decades there has been a dramatic increase in precarious work due … Continue reading →

It was a common refrain of rally organizers that they had trouble sleeping the morning of April 21, 2010 before a Save Our Schools rally was to take place in Springfield. Most of us were up at 3:30 or 4:00 … Continue reading →

Loudly proclaiming its poverty whenever workers want a raise, the University of Illinois belies this claim through actions like hiring incoming President Michael Hogan at $620,000 a year “base” salary, plus retention bonus and perks. That’s more than a third … Continue reading →

The strategic advantage to Guerrilla Warfare is that through individual anonymity and highly-visible acts of defiance, a small number of motivated people can multiply their reach, amplify their message, and counter a far more powerful force. This is Guerrilla Gardening, … Continue reading →

In addition to training law enforcement, Blackwater, now operating under the name Xe Services, is offering a course designed for any gun toting citizen. This is the world’s most powerful and best known mercenary company with a reputation of operating … Continue reading →

Resistance to Olympian Drive has been growing more vocal in recent months— here’s a compendium of positions against the extension expressed by the CU community. At a marathon Urbana City Council meeting on March 22nd, Eric Thorsland of Tomahnous Organic … Continue reading →

In the late Spring of 2009, a group of homeless Champaign-Urbana residents formed “Safe Haven” as means to provide a sense of community and safety to homeless residents; who were oftentimes, targets of abuse. This group has been shunned by … Continue reading →

On April 13, 2010, State’s Attorney Julia Rietz dismissed all charges against Jeshaun Manning-Carter. Jeshaun was with Kiwane Carrington who was shot and killed by a Champaign police officer. While no charges were brought against police, Jeshaun was charged with … Continue reading →

Although it was 2008 when off-duty Champaign police detective Lisa Staples was caught driving drunk in an unmarked squad car, only recently were police reports describing the incident obtained. Many were outraged when Staples was given a lighter punishment than … Continue reading →

Once upon a time, this land we live on was covered in prairie. The people here called themselves the Peoria, Piankesaw and Wea. Creeks wound freely across the land. One little creek was especially fond of dancing and it glided … Continue reading →