One of the biggest drug kingpins from the 1980s, “Freeway” Rick Ross, spoke on Thursday night, Dec. 3, 2009, at the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club in Champaign. Ross appeared for the first time with a Chicago educational group called Hip Hop Detoxx, [...]
Back in 1999, several local unions donated money to send 18 people from Urbana-Champaign to attend the historic “Battle in Seattle” where massive protests shut down meetings of the WTO. They came back and founded UC-IMC on Sept. 24, 2000. Come help us to [...]
The following is video footage from a "National Day of Outrage" held by CU Citizens for Peace and Justice in coordination with the National Action Network.
There are clips from Nick Green, Dr. Lou Turner, Durl Kruse, Carol Ammons, Aaron Ammons, and Seon Williams.
[...]
On Monday, November 23, 2009, Urbana-Champaign participated in a “National Day of Outrage” held by Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network to call attention to the national epidemic of violence in urban communities. Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice organized a rally to take [...]
Two banners were dropped on the University of Illinois campus by a group of anonymous activists in the early morning of November 20th in solidarity with the UC occupations and the UC strike. This banner drop follows a [...]
After two days of picketing in stormy weather, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) emerged victorious. The GEO called a strike on Monday, November 16, after contract negotiations broke down over the issue of tuition waivers for out-of-state graduate students. Their strike is an example [...]
Despite the rain and cold, hundreds showed up on Monday, November 16, 2009 to join picket lines thrown up around several buildings on the quad at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After negotiations broke down over the weekend, the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) [...]
The Graduate Employees' Organization held two actions on Thursday, November 12, 2009. The first was an early morning rally at the Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting held at the Springfield campus. Approximately 80 to 100 members and supporters rallied outside the meeting, then were invited inside by Interim President Stanley' [...]
About 25 people, including several youth and their parents, showed up at the Champaign County courthouse on November 12, 2009 for a juvenile hearing of the other 15 year old involved in the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington. Police had originally responded to a [...]
The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO), the largest union in Champaign-Urbana, is gearing up for a strike. In a vote by members, 92% agreed to strike.
A press conference announcing the news was held at the YMCA today. Peter Campbell addressed the local media. Two dozen [...]
The independent media movement started ten years ago to expose the mainstream media’s thin veil of objectivity. Recent editorials about the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington in the local News-Gazette reveal the newspaper’s role in protecting the police and other powerful interests in Champaign. [...]
"I have so many thoughts running through my mind, I don't know where to start. Straight up, Kiwane, wasn't just another black boy, whatever that means. He was a friend to me, he was a son brother and cousin. He didn't deserve to be murdered. The'" [...]
On Wednesday night, October 14, a large vigil was held at the house where the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington occurred. Several hundred youth, neighborhood residents, and community members came to pay their respects to Kiwane. After the vigil, the crowd [...]
Follow this link for the audio file: [www.ucimc.org].
Community leaders, family members and concerned citizens gathered for a press conference this morning at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center to address the police killing of unarmed 15 year-old African American youth, Kiwane Carrington. He was shot dead [...]
On Friday afternoon, Oct. 9, 2009, Champaign police fatally shot an unarmed 15 year-old African American named Kiwane Carrington. The name of the Champaign police officer who did the shooting or how many police officers were involved has not been released. The Illinois State [...]
Only one day after the anti-"Chief" rally at Assembly Hall protesting the Students for Chief Illiniwek's "Next Dance," the News Gazette had a major story buried on A8 of the Sunday newspaper.
In the middle of the page is a headline "Regalia returned." There is a picture of former "Chief" portrayers [...]
Despite the dreary day, about 75 people came out for the sixth annual Unity March on October 3, 2009. The event is a unique coming together of black, brown, and white people from both the campus and the community. This year’s march addressed the [...]
More than 200 people marched across the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to protest the return of its racist mascot, “the Chief,” which was retired by the Board of Trustees in February 2007.
For the second year a registered student organization, [...]
The U-C Independent Media Center is celebrating 10 years of promoting social and economic justice in the Champaign County area. Find out what the fuss is about at our open house on Saturday, October 3 from 11-2pm at [...]
The 6th Annual Unity March is Saturday, Oct. 3, at noon.
It will kick off from the Champaign City Building in downtown Champaign, travel down University Ave, and end for a rally at the Champaign County Courthouse.
There will be a reception at the Independent Media Center afterwards.
*Bring [...]
G20 LINKS
author: Joe Anybody
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G20 is Live<!-- MEDIA TABLE -->
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[twitter.com] ---Twitter Account [...]
Date: October 2, 2009
Location: UIUC Assembly Hall (1800 S. 1st Street, Champaign, IL)
Time: 6:00pm Rally Before the ‘Next Dance’
7:00pm Press Release & Coalition Speakers
7:30pm Open Mic
8:15pm Rally After the ‘Next Dance’
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign retired “Chief Illiniwek” as its official symbol in February of [...]
We're STILL losing jobs!
We're STILL losing homes!
We STILL need a "working people's bailout"!
Central Illinois Jobs with Justice, together with C-U Citizens for Peace and Justice and the Catholic Worker House, will rally Thursday to demand a different set [...]
In an act of international solidarity, a small group of workers in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, picketed and passed out leaflets about the suppression of fellow workers by Kraft Foods Global, Inc. at a factory in Argentina. On September 17, 2009, workers also picketed a plant [...]
On Wednesday, September 2, Jesse Masengale returned to city court for two tickets given to him by Champaign police this summer. A member of the Safe Haven community, Jesse was present when Champaign police showed up on June 8 to videotape [...]
Once again, racial profiling numbers were released by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) with no coverage in the local media. When I notified a journalist for the News-Gazette of the latest figures, he told me they covered the story several years ago. Racial profiling is apparently no longer an [...]
UPDATE: The UCIMC will be hiring a part-time AmeriCorps Program Director to oversee the AmeriCorps program. Please see: ([ucimc.org]). Applications are due by September 15th. Please submit them to Nicole@ucimc.org.
The UCIMC has been awarded 8 State AmeriCorps starting in Fall of 2009! We will be hiring for [...]
A crowd of approximately 20 people showed up in city court on July 28, 2009 to watch the proceedings in a case against Jesse Masengale, a member of the Save Haven Tent Community. After a group of homeless men and women had organized a tent city on the property of [...]
Today, July 2, 2009, Mark Nepermann pleaded “not guilty” in court. He is charged with misdemeanour theft under $300, despite evidence given to State’s Attorney Julia Rietz of the greater artistic value of the two signs stolen from the “Beyond the Chief” exhibit at the University of Illinois.
[...]
A press conference was held at the Independent Media Center on June 25, 2009, where community leaders spoke out about the police shooting of Toto Kaiyewu, a medical student from Carbondale. When Kaiyewu was passing through Villa Grove, a former “sundown town,” he was [...]
The Peoria Journal Star owes a long overdue public apology to the late Mark Clark, and especially to his remaining family members.
Peorian Mark Clark, then 22, was murdered by Chicago police authorities during the infamous predawn raid on December 4, 1969 at a [...]
This from Barbara O'Connor, UIPD police chief: The University of Illinois Police Department seeks the public's help in
identifying the suspect responsible for the theft of two artworks that occurred on Saturday (June 13) between 2:13 a.m. and 2:28 a.m. at' [...]
C-U Tent Community
This document is a collective effort of the Tent Community and of its supporters!
Danielle Chynoweth: Addresses Housing Issues at the Peoples Potluck June 2009
In reporting for the housing group at the June Peoples Potluck Sunday night Danielle Chynoweth discussed the recent evictions which took place at Gateway Studios. Chynoweth describes how tenants [...]
On Saturday, June 6 at 10 a.m., a memorial was held at the federal courthouse in Urbana to correspond with the funeral of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas and similar memorials that were held across the country. On Memorial Day, Tiller was gunned [...]
On Monday, June 1, 2009, local press received a 320-page report on the police killing of “Toto” Kaiyewu which included medical and mental health records normally to be kept sealed from the public. Beyond objectively analyzing the facts of the case, this was an attempt of Vermilion County State’s Attorney [...]
Damaged Wea sign: Wea sign damaged on May 20, 2009From: http://www.iresist.org/beyond_the_chief.html
On
May 20, 2009, three items from the Beyond the Chief art exhibit,
created by the renowned Cheyenne-Arapaho artist HOCK E AYE VI Edgar
Heap of Birds, were vandalized for the [...]
The employment and housing crisis has impacted central Illinois workers and there is an urgent need for working class solidarity based on two different situations.
Autumn Glen, an apartment complex in Rantoul, Illinois made news in March when the municipally owned electric company cut power to a number of [...]
At least 15 children, 3 elderly women and a dozen adults, will be homelessness in Champaign in less than 48 hours. The shelters are full. The residents, most of whom work, just paid May rent and have no savings. And the City of Champaign seems to have washed their hands [...]
Action Alert! Help Pass the Medical Marijuana Bill in Illinois Senate! Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) is once more asking you to take action to help Illinois join the 13 other states that currently allow the seriously and terminally ill to use medically prescribed marijuana to alleviate their pain and suffering when [...]
News is starting to come in about a non-violent demonstration that took place over the weekend at Blackwater's training camp in Jo Davies County, northwest Illinois.
Among 22 who were arrested in the demonstration, four were members of the local St. Jude Catholic Worker House.
They delivered this message:
' [...]
This position begins in mid-July of 2009 and is funded through the AmeriCorps CTC*VISTA program (Community Technology Center * Volunteer in Service to America).
[...]
A press conference was held at the Independent Media Center with the family of Oluwatofunmi Kaiyewu, a 23 year-old medical student who was killed by local police on April 6, 2009. This bizarre series of events began in the former “sundown town” of Villa [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IMCfest is this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday April 17-19 (All Ages)!
For Current Schedule of Events and Performer Info See: http://imcfest.org/
Support the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center!
Come to three-days of concerts from 30 local musicians, see the work of
local artists, and support your community. All available [...]
On April 9, members of the Campus Antiwar Network, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and the International Socialist Organization joined forces for a third annual protest against the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruitment session at the [...]
Wednesday, February 25, 8-10pm - Roy Zimmerman LIVE at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
We are proud to welcome back singer-songwriter Roy Zimmerman for his second performance at the IMC. Roy is an intensely clever and entertaining writer and performer, who, according to the Los Angeles Times, "displays a lacerating wit" [...]
There was an important victory Thursday night, February 19, 2008, for those fighting for reform of the criminal justice system in Champaign County. By a unanimous vote, the Champaign County Board appointed the Citizens Advisory Committee on Jury Selection.
This committee is made up of [...]
Statistics on racial profiling collected by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) were released this year with no local fanfare. Although covered for the last three years, the 2007 numbers went unreported by the News-Gazette, who has a virtual monopoly of the local newspaper market. This is surely an attempt [...]
This February 6, 7 and 8th, the Urbana Champaign Independent Media Center (IMC) will be hosting the IMC Film Festival (www.imcfilmfest.org). This three day celebration of the art of cinematography will highlight local and independent artists and kickoff monthly IMC Film Nights. It will also be a chance for [...]
It's been three days since we got back to Champaign-Urbana and still I am having a hard time properly putting into words our past weeks experiences in D.C. I keep going back to using words like amazing, intense, and incredible but twitch inside due to their inadequacy. These are words' [...]
Please join us on Saturday night for humor, entertainment, and a great benefit of the IMC!
Saturday, January 24: 8pm - David Lippman Counter-Intelligence Cabaret Comedy Theatre
Here we have part 1 and part 2 of our footage taken on day 3 (MLK Day), enjoy!
[...]Just before the November 2008 elections, a few people at the IMC started talking about a road trip to Washington, DC for the presidential inauguration - a trip we would especially want to make if Barack Obama won the election, there was enough local interest in making the journey, and [...]
This February 6, 7 and 8th, the Urbana Champaign Independent Media Center (IMC) will be hosting the IMC Film Festival (www.imcfilmfest.org). This three day celebration of the art of cinematography will highlight local and independent artists and kickoff monthly IMC Film Nights. It will also be a chance for local [...]
You have to admit the Crisis in Springfield (or is it The Crisis in Chicago?) is, at the very least, entertaining. Sometimes watching recent events unfold in BlagoGate is like watching an old grainy, black and white, televised prizefight straight out of the comic-book 50’s.
Every politician in the United State's of' [...]
Members of the Graduate Employees' Oorganization Healthcare Working Group learned on Thursday of McKinley's plans to cease sonogram service by January 1, 2009.
[...]A common reaction to our Governor's latest legislative maneuverings (the governor has promised that at trial, we will see there was clearly no wrongdoing on his part - if we would just quit closing in on him and give him some space.) has been sprinkled with a fairly consistent belief that the Governor's arrest [...]
It was a beautiful day for the fifth annual Unity March, an event organized by Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice. This year’s march was dedicated to passage of the coming Township referendum on the ballot this election day, a measure that would raise funds to help the poorest of [...]
Restoring Champaign’s safety net for the poor
Would you vote “Yes” for a tax increase if you didn’t know what it was for? If you live in Champaign, this is exactly what you’ll be faced with on Election Day unless you read on. If you don’t vote “Yes” you may regret [...]
Wednesday night at rush hour, approximately 30 people assembled outside the Illinois Terminal in downtown Champaign to protest the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street.
Several local TV stations, as well as WILL 580's Jim Meadows were there, although the News-Gazette failed to cover the event.
[...]There is a school crossing at Oregon and Vine, the kind with flashing yellow lights, and a sign depicting a child in silhouette crossing with an adult, and white zebra stripes painted on the street. But every day at least 20 Urbana school children who walk to Leal Elementary School [...]
There have been numerous attempts to improve public education in the United States over the years. The No Child Left Behind Act has created required benchmarks for students through standardized testing with a focus on improving the performance of children in school, but it does little to help keep kids [...]
I quit watching television in 1985. I remember the exact moment when I made this decision. It was when I saw a senior citizen lady fall to the floor when she tried to spin the big wheel on The Price Is Right. It appeared she sprained her ankle during the [...]
From sascha:
The Twin Cities Independent Media Center was just raided by the police and shut down. Having worked extensively with TC Indymedia folks for years, I know first-hand that they are avid journalists who have a multi-year history of covering important local stories.
Ongoing coverage is available at: http://twincities.indymedia.org
In a small claims case local black activist Patrick Thompson filed against his former attorney, Harvey Welch, a judge decided that legal malpractice had been committed and ruled in Thompson’s favor. Thompson filed the suit pro se, arguing his own case, while Welch was represented by Urbana attorney David Rumley.
August 26, 2008 at 7pm: The Prison Impact Working Group will host a film screening at the UCIMC, showing the film Juvies, by director Leslie Neale. The film deals with the juvenile justice system in the United States, with regards to the trying of children as adults and the dispensation [...]
In the spring of 2008, a class at the University of Illinois produced a film about their participation in the Books to Prisoners program at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. SPCM396: Crime, Punishment, and Social Justice was taught by Professor Stephen Hartnett. Additional DVD credits include Martha Becker, Lisa Galvan, [...]
Breaking News ... Danielle Chynoweth, City Council Member from Ward 2 and Mayor Pro Tem, who has served for the past 7 years, is stepping down from Council. Here is a copy of the letter sent from Ms. Chynoweth to the Mayor and Council Members today:
Dear Mayor Prussing and Urbana [...]
I have been attending the meetings of the newly formed Civilian Police Review Board in Urbana
and a few folks have asked about its composition, members, etc.
A CPRB currently only exists in Urbana - NOT in Champaign, which has dropped the idea all together.
The Urbana CPRB just had its third [...]
On Tuesday, June 24, 2008, a hearing was held for a small claims suit Patrick Thompson has filed against Urbana attorney Harvey Welch to recuperate approximately $3,000 in legal fees. Thompson is arguing the case pro se and Welch is being represented by Urbana attorney David Rumley. A hearing was [...]
June 20th 7am, Evansville Indiana -- In the early morning hours of June 20th, around 25 police officers from the Indiana State Police (ISP), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and the Gibson County Sheriff's office descended on the scene of the anti-I69 tree sit, just south of State Road [...]
The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center (UCIMC) is seeking applicants for two full time positions in Outreach/Development and Media Training for July 2008-July 2009.
----> Contact the UCIMC by April 24th with your interest: finance@ucimc.org.
----> Deadline to finish the application process is May 1st.
On April 18 2006, in response to what school officials called an increase in the severity of physical confrontations between students, the Champaign City Council passed a resolution to approve an intergovernmental agreement with unit 4 school district that would put police officers in unit 4 schools.
[...]
Nearly a year ago, on March 30, 2007, when a 17 year-old black youth was stopped in Douglass Park, pepper sprayed, and sent to the hospital by Champaign police, it put the issue of police brutality in the spotlight just two weeks before an election for [...]
Today marks the fifth year anniversary of the start of the U.S. imperialist war of aggression in Iraq. Across the country thousands of people gathered to voice their opposition to the ongoing war, [...]
For people living in the Douglass Park neighborhood, the vacant lot at 5th and Hill has a distinctively toxic legacy. People with a connection to the neighborhood have long suspected that the site was a source of problems. As they have come to lean more about [...]
Support Iraq Veterans Against the War
Two Winter Soldier Events in the Champaign-Urbana Area
1. CENTRAL ILLINOIS IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR (IVAW) presents a showing of:
"Winter Soldier"
WHERE: Wisegarver Lounge, Illinois Disciples Foundation, corner of Wright and Springfield Streets, Champaign.
WHEN: Monday, March 10, 2008. Film to begin at 7:00pm. Please [...]
Despite decade of focused development work, Guatemala remains one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Much of the failure of development projects in Guatemala can be traced to the inattention at all levels to the phenomenon of “indigeneity.”
(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) My parents moved to Champaign IL when I was a small child in the early 1970s and they have lived here since. One of the ways in which they have managed to make this community their home is through following and supporting [...]
