Category Archives: Violence

The Making of a Social Justice Priest

Posted on 07/29/2024 by Tom Royer

Compiled by Janice Jayes from interviews she recorded between 2018 and 2023, in which Father Tom reflected on the many experiences that expanded his vision of moral responsibilities in the decades after his 1960 ordination. Daniel Berrigan and the Challenges … Continue reading →

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Posted in Latin America, Peace movement, Politics, Religious radicalism, Sanctuary movement, Vietnam War, Violence, War, World-wide death and suffering | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The Making of a Social Justice Priest

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 →

 1,557 total views

Posted in Community, Crime, Justice, Police, police accountability, Policing, Section, Uncategorized, Violence, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on IMC Holds a Second Public Safety Forum

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 →

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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 →

 342 total views

Posted in Police, police accountability, Police Brutality, Police brutality, Policing, Section, Violence | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on After Fatal Shootings, Rantoul Police Recommended More Training: They Sent One Officer to a Gun Range—Original (Long) Version

March/April Issue Back Cover

Posted on 04/01/2024 by Public i

Hundreds gathered in Westside Park on Saturday, March 2 as part of a Global Day of Action for Palestine. They heard speeches and then marched through downtown Champaign.  289 total views

 289 total views

Posted in Imperialism, Israel/Palestine, Middle East, Peace movement, Violence, War | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on March/April Issue Back Cover

As Police Budget Swells, Safety Forum Articulates a Different Vision

Posted on 02/12/2024 by Jane McClintock

Crime is going down in Urbana, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at Urbana’s police budget. After a $2.25 million increase in the police budget in the last two years—largely for salary increases and bonuses—Urbana leadership is pushing to … Continue reading →

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Posted in Community, Crime, Justice, Police, police accountability, Policing, Section, Violence, Youth Services | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on As Police Budget Swells, Safety Forum Articulates a Different Vision

There Is Only Old People Here. All the Children Are Gone

Posted on 11/18/2023 by Mrs. Marilynn Dean Cleveland

There’s no hope for a better tomorrow. There’s no vision or dream for a better reason. The paths are darkened by fear and evil forces that dwells in the darkness that roams the corners of the street. There is only … Continue reading →

 400 total views,  1 views today

Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Arts, children, Poetry, Section, Violence, Voices | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on There Is Only Old People Here. All the Children Are Gone

FirstFollowers: Using Participatory Action Research to Make Change in Our Community

Posted on 08/28/2023 by James Kilgore

FirstFollowers has a tradition of doing participatory action research at Champaign-Urbana Days, the premier outdoor summer event aimed primarily at the Black community. Participatory Action Research (often called PAR) aims to gather data and information, not just for publication but … Continue reading →

 586 total views

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A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Shortened Print Version)

Posted on 08/27/2023 by Brian Dolinar

This article originally appeared at WILL/Illinois Public Media on July 5, 2023. Reprinted with permission. It has been edited for space and style. See the full version here. “I had a big goose egg on my forehead,” Tianna Morrow recalled, … Continue reading →

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Posted in African American Women in Champaign-Urbana, African Americans, BLM, Justice, Police, police accountability, Police Brutality, Police brutality, Policing, Racism, Section, Violence | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Shortened Print Version)

A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Full Version)

Posted on 08/27/2023 by Brian Dolinar

This story is part of a partnership, focusing on police misconduct in Champaign County, between the Champaign-Urbana Civic Police Data Project of the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization, and Illinois Public Media. This investigation was supported … Continue reading →

 663 total views

Posted in African American Women in CU, African Americans, BLM, Justice, Police, police accountability, Police Brutality, Police brutality, Policing, Racism, Section, Violence | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on A “Pattern of Problematic Conduct”: Urbana Officer Tests Police Accountability (Full Version)

Frozen Conflicts, Flashmob Militants, and the End of the Gunpowder State

Posted on 07/18/2023 by Janice Jayes

Syria, Libya, Yemen . . . and now Sudan. Sudan has the unhappy potential to become the next of the intractable conflicts that have unfolded over the past decade. These multisided struggles involving a cocktail of militaries, militias, and mercenaries … Continue reading →

 694 total views,  2 views today

Posted in Africa, Foreign Policy, International, International, Middle East, Section, Violence, War | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Frozen Conflicts, Flashmob Militants, and the End of the Gunpowder State

Slaves—Our Ancestors

Posted on 05/01/2023 by Mrs. Marilynn Dean Cleveland

We give praise to those who came before us, fighting for the right to be free. Who were they? They are our ancestors, who suffered unendurable pain. Pain, from the snake-like whip that mutilated their flesh as it bit into … Continue reading →

 637 total views

Posted in African American history, African American Women in Champaign-Urbana, African Americans, Arts, Local Arts, Section, Violence, Voices, Women | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Slaves—Our Ancestors

How The Issue of Representation Impacts Central Illinois

Posted on 12/31/2022 by Marcus Pruitt

The issue of unequal representation of cultures has plagued the nation since its birth, often resulting in the perversion of people’s natural rights. In central Illinois, it extends that perversion through aggressive discrimination. Although minorities have seen more representation on … Continue reading →

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Posted in African Americans, African Americans, bigotry, Media, Racism, Section, Violence, Voices | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How The Issue of Representation Impacts Central Illinois

The Unacknowledged and Ongoing Genocide: Violence against African Americans

Posted on 02/09/2022 by Gordon Brown

I began writing this reflection on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021, a national holiday created by President Lincoln in the hopes of healing the wounds following the Civil War. Yet for many the wounds still run deep. One of the … Continue reading →

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There’s Something Happening Here

Posted on 11/15/2021 by Chris Evans

Gun violence in Champaign-Urbana has certainly dominated public discourse of late. As a city council member, I hear a lot of it. Here are some common myths being thrown around about local gun violence and law enforcement: “The libs on … Continue reading →

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Ubuntu Project Statement on Automated License Plate Readers

Posted on 11/15/2021 by Ubuntu Project

The Ubuntu Project Urbana-Champaign is disappointed to learn that the Champaign City Council is considering voting to purchase license plate readers. Considering the well-documented controversial reputation and questionable value of license plate readers, the Champaign people need more information on … Continue reading →

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The Border We Build Every Day: Guatemala in Champaign-Urbana

Posted on 11/15/2021 by Janice Jayes

The border mechanisms that capture headlines—the roundups, the cages, and the deportations—deserve attention, but this human sorting isn’t confined to the moment or space of the frontier crossing. It is part of the food we buy, the clothes we wear, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Foreign Policy, Immigrants, Immigration, Indigenous, Refugees, Violence | Comments Off on The Border We Build Every Day: Guatemala in Champaign-Urbana

“It’s Scary Having a Fifteen-Year-Old Son”: Community Voices on Gun Violence in C-U

Posted on 12/06/2020 by FirstFollowers

In the midst of the global pandemic, Champaign-Urbana has its own local epidemic: gun violence. As of July 20, police had received 95 reports in 2020 of shooting incidents in Champaign alone. This is more than double the total for … Continue reading →

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Violence as a Public Health Issue: One Nurse’s Perspectives

Posted on 09/20/2019 by Susan Misner

Another round of mass shootings in the news and once again Americans ask, “What can be done to keep my loved ones safe?”  Sadly, these tragic events are only the tip of a terrible iceberg of violence that devastates families … Continue reading →

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