Category Archives: Uncategorized

On January 20, 2006, Henry W. Bell III, a 41-year-old African-American journeyman electrician, resident of Champaign, and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 601, filed a civil lawsuit against his union. Bell’s allegations of racial discrimination against … Continue reading →

A few days ago I celebrated my 82nd birthday. Today I am speaking about one of the groups I am proud to be a part of and that will shortly celebrate its 102nd year. This group about to turn 102 … Continue reading →

King Ahab once greeted the prophet Elijah with the title “the troubler of Israel.” Elijah rightly responded to King Ahab by calling him “the troubler of Israel”—the one who had abandoned all the values and deeply held beliefs of the … Continue reading →

Pick a tax, and you pick who pays directly, and also who pays indirectly when the cost of the tax is passed along to others in the current of buying and selling. Pick a program on which to spend tax … Continue reading →

On Saturday, April 28, a May Day Solidarity Celebration was held at the IMC as a benefit for the Central Illinois Jobs with Justice Campaign. Also benefitting from the celebration were striking Steinway workers who had come over from Indiana … Continue reading →

Almost one year ago I wrote an article about the difficulties a local parent faced when finding specialty dental care for her child. I worried that the state All Kids Insurance Program, introduced in July 2006, would not address her … Continue reading →

The following was a talk given on April 17, 2007 organized by the College of Education. This transcription of the talk was shortened for the Public i due to space considerations. This is a very special occasion for me in … Continue reading →

Patrick Thompson’s new attorneys Robert Kirchner and Ruth Wyman recently had a major victory in the campaign to clear his name. They overturned the guilty verdict of a man who was wrongly convicted – they did this without DNA testing … Continue reading →

In the February issue of the Public i, Shara Esbenshade and Cody Bralts wrote about police abuse of power in an incident last year. In November, 2006, the Champaign Police Department was called by Dana Brenner, the associate director of … Continue reading →

This speech was given by Rev. Mike Mulberry, Community United Church of Christ (http://www.community-ucc.org), at the campus May Day “Stop the Raids” rally. The New Sanctuary Movement began on May 9, 2007, in faith communities nation wide. For too long, … Continue reading →

On April 9, 2007, local Urbana attorney Brian Silverman began a ninemonth suspension handed down by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) in Springfield. They found credible the allegations made by a girlfriend of one of Silverman’s clients that … Continue reading →

If you have seen the local newspaper recently you may have read that some in the community think AWARE, the local anti-war anti-racism effort of Urbana Champaign, is some kind of radical group of subversives out to overthrow the government. … Continue reading →

On May Day we celebrate the struggle for the eight-hour day and other workers’ rights. In the above article, David Johnson recounts the history of May Day that is too little known in this country. Workers who try to organize … Continue reading →

During the summer of 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades called for May 1st 1886 to be the beginning of a nationwide movement for the eight-hour work day. Both state of Illinois and federal employees were already covered by an … Continue reading →

Just four days ahead of a formal nationwide boycott by tomato pickers and their allies, on April 9, 2007, fastfood giant McDonald’s Corporation signed a historic agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the grassroots labor association of mostly immigrant … Continue reading →

The flood of responses from pro-“chiefers” since the Board of Trustees agreed to retire the racist mascot at UIUC have caused many to think that some sort of archive is necessary. STOP (Students Transforming Oppression and Privilege), a coalition of … Continue reading →

“IT’S NOT IF…. THEY’RE DOING IT.” The United States has a history of interfering with Iran’s development. In 1953, the United States collaborated with Britain to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, and put the Shah Mohammed Reza … Continue reading →

Myth #1. The U.S. Government has a legal right to pursue torture as a means to get information out of people it deems to be terrorists because we are under attack. Reading the Geneva Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, … Continue reading →

The following is excerpted from a talk given by Cindy Sheehan at the University of Illinois on March 1, 2007. It was recorded and transcribed by Shara Esbenshade. Before my son was killed, I disagreed with the war and I … Continue reading →

Forty years ago as the Vietnam War was raging opposition and organized resistance to the US military was growing rapidly. The military draft provided the focus for protest and resistance. Young men and their families were forced to examine the … Continue reading →