Read more about the article Residents complain about housing conditions at Latitude apartments; Out-of-town owners exacerbate issues
A half-lit sign illuminates the Latitude East building on 608 E University Ave. Nine residents have filed maintenance complaints with the city of Champaign in the past year. Photo by Gwyn Skiles.

Residents complain about housing conditions at Latitude apartments; Out-of-town owners exacerbate issues

Latitude, a five-story apartment complex in Champaign, has been the target of at least nine complaints to the city within the past year. Located…

Continue ReadingResidents complain about housing conditions at Latitude apartments; Out-of-town owners exacerbate issues
Read more about the article Rising Champaign housing complaints detail violations; Champaign Park Apartments received most in past two yearsapartments.com
Champaign Park Apartments received the most complaints in Champaign from January 1, 2021 to mid February 2023. During this time, 393 units were condemned by the city.

Rising Champaign housing complaints detail violations; Champaign Park Apartments received most in past two years

Over the past year, Champaign Park Apartments had so many serious inspection issues that led to the condemnation of 393 units and an unknown,…

Continue ReadingRising Champaign housing complaints detail violations; Champaign Park Apartments received most in past two years
Read more about the article Over 100 restaurants failed inspections in Champaign County in the past two years, but failures hard to find in online database
Ambar India on Wright Street in Urbana received a red placard in January 2021. Screenshot from Google Street View.

Over 100 restaurants failed inspections in Champaign County in the past two years, but failures hard to find in online database

After a routine inspection, only 10 restaurants were closed due to non-compliance with safety regulations and 116 restaurants received food safety alerts for less…

Continue ReadingOver 100 restaurants failed inspections in Champaign County in the past two years, but failures hard to find in online database
Read more about the article COVID-19 delays, alters University inspections of private certified housing; less violations discovered annually
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity on the University of Illinois campus has been placed on conduct probation until Nov. 16, 2021 after violating mask protocol and city emergency orders.

COVID-19 delays, alters University inspections of private certified housing; less violations discovered annually

Between 2020 and 2021 in Champaign, more than 40 private certified housing locations for the University of Illinois campus decreased the number of violations…

Continue ReadingCOVID-19 delays, alters University inspections of private certified housing; less violations discovered annually
Read more about the article University Tenant Union Housing Portal taken down for violating ad policies, but decision eliminates student complaints against landlordsHousing Explorer web page
The Housing Explorer was among one of the cuts to student and community resources made by the University of Illinois's Off-Campus Community Living Office.

University Tenant Union Housing Portal taken down for violating ad policies, but decision eliminates student complaints against landlords

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign quietly removed an online portal last year that, compiled a database of student complaints against area landlords and landlord responses to those complaints. A university official said this month that the site was taken down because it violated campus website advertising rules and that it was too much work to maintain the complaints section. The University of Illinois Off-Campus Community Living suggests that students use sites like Google Reviews, Yelp, the U of I Reddit Page, or the Better Business Bureau to draw their own conclusions about leasing companies on campus. 

Continue ReadingUniversity Tenant Union Housing Portal taken down for violating ad policies, but decision eliminates student complaints against landlords
Read more about the article Blighted Housing: Inspections fail to stem poor conditions for migrant farmworkersPhoto by Darrell Hoemann/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Workers rest outside at the Nightingale camp in Rantoul, Ill., after a day's work in July 2014. The migrant farmworker housing is located on the former Chanute Air Force Base. The Illinois Department of Public Health lists the camp’s maximum occupancy at 450 workers.

Blighted Housing: Inspections fail to stem poor conditions for migrant farmworkers

An ongoing investigation by The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting has found the oversight of migrant housing is a fractured and ineffective system despite decades of reforms.

Continue ReadingBlighted Housing: Inspections fail to stem poor conditions for migrant farmworkers
Read more about the article Blighted Housing: A look inside eight migrant farmworker ‘camps’Photo by Darrell Hoemann/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
A bedroom for migrant farmworkers at the Nightingale facility in Rantoul, Ill., on July 29, 2014.

Blighted Housing: A look inside eight migrant farmworker ‘camps’

State inspection records highlight substandard conditions inside eight migrant farmworker housing sites.

Continue ReadingBlighted Housing: A look inside eight migrant farmworker ‘camps’
Read more about the article Six food establishments closed for not paying, renewing permits
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Six food establishments closed for not paying, renewing permits

In the past four months, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District shut down seven restaurantsbecause of issues that put customers at risk. But it also shut down six food establishments because owners or managers did not pay health permit fees or submit a permit application. One restaurant is still closed.

Continue ReadingSix food establishments closed for not paying, renewing permits
Read more about the article Health inspectors temporarily shut down seven Champaign County restaurants, failed seven othersphoto by Darrell Hoemann/CU- CitizenAccess.org
Ichiban Buffett, 105 N. Mattis, Champaign, Illinois on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.

Health inspectors temporarily shut down seven Champaign County restaurants, failed seven others

A Champaign restaurant received one of the worst health inspection scores on record after inspectors found dried meat and blood on its wall in April. Inspectors closed Ichiban Buffet, located at 105 N. Mattis Avenue in Champaign, after it received a -56 out of 100 on its April 27 health inspection.

Continue ReadingHealth inspectors temporarily shut down seven Champaign County restaurants, failed seven others
Read more about the article Local tattoo artists frustrated with lax law, lack of quality health inspectionsDarrell Hoemann
Ray Allen Hughes of Champaign Tattoo with his registration receipt in his studio in Champaign, ILL on Friday, May 1, 2015.

Local tattoo artists frustrated with lax law, lack of quality health inspections

Some local tattoo artists are expressing frustration with the cursory inspections of their shops since Illinois took the responsibility of inspections from the Champaign-Urbana health district two years ago.

Continue ReadingLocal tattoo artists frustrated with lax law, lack of quality health inspections