Government – Page 6 – CU-CitizenAccess.org

Ignited, contaminated water from the Spiro's Law website. "In some places, the amount of concentrated gas is enough to set the water coming out of a kitchen sink on fire," the website about the lawsuit said.

Contaminated drinking water from Peoples Gas leak persists, funds to fix frozen as lawsuit continues

Post author:Ryan Head / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:January 12, 2022
Post category:Environment Government Public Funds Public Health

A 2016 gas leak into the drinking water supply north of Mahomet continues to be a hot topic even five years later as 2021 nears its end. The first official report of a methane leak from the underground holding wells of Peoples Gas was reported on December 20, 2016. The problem location was County Rd 350 E. in the township of Newcomb, just north of Mahomet and near Fisher, IL. Peoples Gas claims to have capped off the well which was leaking and terminated its use. However, homes in the vicinity were still affected by the leak.

KFC & A&W, 1321 N Dunlap Ave., Champaign The health department closed the restaurant Aug. 22 due to “gross unsanitary conditions” during its routine inspection. No details were provided in the report. On Thursday, November 29, 2018. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Restaurant closures, failures down under new restaurant health inspection system

Post author:Allison Silvestro / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 23, 2021
Post category:Food Government Public Health Technology

Since 2019, at least 63 Champaign-Urbana restaurants have failed and 19 have been temporarily closed down by public health officials under a new restaurant inspection system launched that year.

Local Canada geese causing issues, spreading into more human-populated areas across Champaign-Urbana

Post author:Becca Bertram / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 23, 2021
Post category:Environment Government Neighborhoods

Geese invading grassy and populated areas are causing residents to ask both the Champaign and Urbana Park Districts to manage the geese population better. However, others in the area are trying to get rid of the geese humanely.

Read more about the article Urbana’s number of waste haulers cited as environmentally unsustainable, some residents agree

Darrell Hoemann

Republic Services exterior at 2801 N Willow Rd, Urbana, IL 61802) on Sunday, December 19, 2021. Photo by Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess

Urbana’s number of waste haulers cited as environmentally unsustainable, some residents agree

Post author:Maggie Burnetti / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 23, 2021
Post category:Business Environment Government

While recycling is controlled in Urbana, trash is not consolidated in the same way, as there are seven licensed haulers for the city of Urbana, all ranging in price and accepted volume. Not every hauler services each part of Urbana, and haulers pick up trash on a few designated days. Courtney Kwong, recycling coordinator for Urbana, said this is a long-term goal for the city to increase efficiency in the next 30 years.

Read more about the article Nearby landfill capacity nears limit within two decades

Darrell Hoemann

Illinois Street Residence Halls, exterior (1010 W Illinois St, Urbana, IL 61801) on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. photo by Darrell Hoemann/C-U Citizen Access

Nearby landfill capacity nears limit within two decades

Post author:Maggie Burnetti / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 23, 2021
Post category:Business Environment Government

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) predicted capacity limit for the Republic Services Brickyard Disposal is the lowest in the Central Illinois region, and…

A graphic depicting the project location from the project's petition documents.

South Mahomet Road drainage agreement discussed for years before public was told

Post author:Taylor Castro / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:Environment Government

An agenda item on the Oct. 18 meeting packet stated that the school district had an “obligation” to complete on-site underground storm sewer work at the Middletown Prairie campus as private land west of Middletown Prairie Elementary (MPE) developed. That obligation may have been the first time the public was made aware of the situation, yet, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by CU-CitizenAccess, it is evident that all parties involved, including the boards, were aware of a developing situation as early as 2016 and 2017. It started with a drainage issue and led to an agreement for South Mahomet Road while the school district finalized their plans for Phase II construction on the elementary school.

Champaign-Urbana social-media community exploded in hundreds of comments under the Facebook and Reddit posts discussing a long line of people waiting at the entrance of one of the campus bars – Red Lion, on January 23, 2021.

City of Champaign no longer enforcing underage drinking laws at Campustown bars during pandemic

Post author:Rachel Gardner / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:CU-Covid19 Education Government Justice

It’s no secret that some underage students at the University of Illinois like to drink at nearby Campustown bars, and that those under 21 have ample opportunity to violate the law at Campustown bars. But throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Champaign Police Department has made it even easier for minors to get away with underage drinking at the local campus bars.

Read more about the article Champaign County Sheriff’s Office knew Norman Meeker had an alcohol problem for a decade. Why did it take a flipped truck and a DUI for Meeker to leave the force?

A close view of the flipped vehicle. Screenshot from body camera footage.

Champaign County Sheriff’s Office knew Norman Meeker had an alcohol problem for a decade. Why did it take a flipped truck and a DUI for Meeker to leave the force?

Post author:Sam Stecklow, Invisible Institute and Dylan Tiger
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:Featured Government Justice

Champaign County Sheriff’s Sergeant Norman “JR” Meeker had a 10-year history of violations, including destruction of personal property, contract violations, a Tik Tok account that shared bodycam videos of crime scenes and mountains of missed paperwork. Yet, he was still employed and promoted at the Sheriff’s Office until he flipped a truck while drunk. Champaign County Sheriff’s Office records suggest a systemic inability to deal with over-the-top behavior from its officers — a system in which a sergeant can be disciplined regularly, suspected for having alcohol problems for over a decade, violate contracts and be accused of using racial slurs — yet keep their job.

Read more about the article Results of defunct Urbana Community Alternative Policing program a mystery; racial disparity reports no longer accessible

King School

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, the site where Urbana Community Alternative Policing committee meetings were held.

Results of defunct Urbana Community Alternative Policing program a mystery; racial disparity reports no longer accessible

Post author:Jenni Kallenback / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:Government Justice Neighborhoods

UCAP was intended to be a catalyst for the community policing program. It no longer exists and there doesn’t seem to be a community policing program for northern Urbana, north of W. University Avenue and west of N. Broadway Avenue, or any other part of Urbana.

Read more about the article Urbana experiences the lowest number of nuisance complaints in three years

Darrell Hoemann

Busey Avenue looking south from Illinois Street in Urbana on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. Photo by Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess

Urbana experiences the lowest number of nuisance complaints in three years

Post author:Diana Anghel / For CU-CitizenAccess
Post published:December 22, 2021
Post category:Environment Government Public Funds

Throughout this year, about 466 nuisance complaints were reported in Urbana. Nuisance complaints include weeds and overgrown trees and vegetation, trash, debris, loud noise…