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"Urbana deals with revenue loss by not filling vacant posts." Daily Illini, May 22 Because of the recession, the city of Urbana's revenue stream has been declining. One thing the city council has been doing to cope with the lost income is not filling vacant posts in city government after their occupants quit. This includes the police department, which currently has two vacant positions that will not be filled in the next fiscal year under the proposed budget.
"Administrative restructuring raises tensions among faculty," Daily Illini, April 27 Following the creation of a more centralized administration position, tensions have boiled over on campus, including the resignation of one official. Michael Hites, executive chief information officer, or CIO, will supervise campus units such as Administrative Information Technology Services and Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services, more commonly referred to as CITES.
"Building and services workers picket before final negotiations," Daily Illini, April 14 More than 60 University building and service workers continued picketing outside of Florida Avenue Residence Hall Thursday morning before negotiations took place with the University and a federal mediator. For the past nine months the service workers have been negotiating with the University for a better wage contract. Thursday figures to be the last negotiation between the two sides before the workers and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) …
"UI police chief addresses Illini-Alert sent in error," Daily Illini, March 24 An Illini-Alert template mistakenly alerting recipients of an "active shooter" in the area Thursday morning was the result of human error. University Chief of Police Barbara O'Connor said in a mass mail to students this afternoon that a person had pushed the "submit" button instead of pushing the "save" button to update the pre-scripted message. As a result, an incorrect alert was sent to 87,000 e-mail addresses and …
"Survey: UI dorms among worst in nation," Daily Illini, March 14 On Mar. 1, CampusSplash.com, a college news website, published a list of the "10 Worst Dorms in America," based on ratings from students across the country. The verdict? Garner was ranked the worst dorm in the country, with Weston and Forbes coming in fifth and sixth, respectively.
"UI owes thousands in back taxes to IRS," Daily Illini, March 7 The University owes thousands of dollars in back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, after failing to withhold taxes for graduate assistants for seven years. . . . Now that the University has begun to correctly tax graduate assistants for 2011, 17 graduate assistants will have no pay left after the withholding and, 56 will have more than 50 percent of their pay withheld. In total, 280 people …
"Indiana Dems flee to C-U as ‘safety precaution'," Daily Illini, February 23 Despite promises from Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to not call state troopers to round up legislators, Win Moses, state representative from Fort Wayne, said the Democrats fled as a safety precaution. Wednesday's exodus marks the second time in a week neighboring legislators have fled to Illinois to avoid the passage of union-busting legislation brought forth by Republican controlled legislatures
"Budget plans put Urbana in red for at least a year," News-Gazette, February 8 The city council reviewed revised budget estimates on Monday night as the fiscal year nears its final quarter. Revenues such as sales taxes have not performed as officials estimated before the budget cycle began and other line items such as snow removal and fuel costs have gone beyond what was forecast - in all, creating a budget gap of about $225,000.
"U of Ill. official: Close aviation program," Pantagraph, February 3 A University of Illinois official is recommending the closing of the school's aviation program in an effort to save money. . . . [Interim chancellor Robert] Easter last year estimated the university could save up to $750,000 a year by closing the program.
"MTD board will take annexation case to Supreme Court", News-Gazette, January 26 Members of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District board voted unanimously Wednesday to take a long-running annexation dispute to the Illinois Supreme Court. . . . The case dates back to 2005 when the MTD annexed property in southwest Champaign. A group of citizens responded by collecting 995 signatures to place on the ballot a proposal to create a second mass transit district called the Champaign Southwest Mass …
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Thank you for discussing Ron Paul’s “successors” - the future of the freedom movement. The movement didn’t begin with Dr. Paul, nor will it end with his exit from the political scene. How many future political leaders were in that audience of nearly 5,000 last night?
I went to the Ron Paul event last night. There was alot of energy & the audience responded to Ron Paul’s ideas which surprised me. I didn’t think most people would be aware of NDAA. Another person, who was there last night, observed that quite a few…
A really well researched article. Great job!
I love the Guitars
Hi my name is Harry Huffman, professional speaker…. keynote humorist and above all story teller. I have also been a ballroom dancer, competitor and instructor over 45 years.I’m looking to get on the story telling circuit or radio. Can you give me some advice. Thank you. My web site http://www.speakdance.com
Man, I cannot wait for these four records to be released by Parasol/Hidden Agenda - seriously great music for them to be working with. Thanks for letting me hang out in the studio and see you at the party…
Rob, I’m slightly confused about the media player you are referring to.
I’ve looked at this page with two different browsers, and four different operating systems. I’ve decided that the embedded media player is just plain busted.
$100K for a toy house? No wonder my taxes are killing me. http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/solar-decathlons-rainy-start_594112.html
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Most Recent Comments
Did the Crave Truck get a permit to park in city metered spots and city right of way? Or did they just get a permit? The city clerk’s office seems to be a suspect here, but it’s not clear they did anything wrong. Did the Crave Truck…
High-profile whining. AKA Lobbying.
it’s quite choice. looking forward to seeing how it and its patronage grow and develop over the course of the year. could be a neat little ecosystem.
“It was at this point, before he started his business, that working with city employees should’ve raised red flags…” But they didn’t because: 1) The City Clerk’s office originally mis-interpreted the rules, or are indeed re-interpreting them. 2) Champaign’s brick-n-mortar merchants hadn’t yet started whining about The Crave Truck.
Super cool! Excellent track, Excellent band.
Looking forward to trying this place!
I’m in the middle (or the beginning or end, depending on how you look at it) of re-reading Slaughterhouse Five. What a great companion column.
Get yours early. The Rave’s CD will be available at Exile and at The C-U Flea on Saturday. C-U Flea details here: http://www.smilepolitely.com/news/sp_radio_podcast_c-u_flea_arrives/
I don’t know about Gerard and a random police sargeant. My (mild) outrage is based on this: “...he worked closely with Champaign City Clerk Marilyn Banks to make sure he was licensed properly as a transient food peddler, filling out the necessary paperwork and paying a $225…
Local Yocal pretty much nails it here. I suspect there will be merchants who oppose food trucks because they arguably don’t pay their fair share to locate their trucks in high traffic (high rent) areas. The food trucks take away business from rent payers, park in city…
Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
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What a great job by all the volunteers! This event was really put together fast, and well. What I noticed about the crowd was how many old faces I saw despite occurring on a college campus. I talked to quite a few, including students, who assured me…