Welcome to the newest version of Smile Politely. It is our fifth redesign that we’ve made over the course of 15 years of publishing, and I would venture to say, the most comprehensive and impactful …
Posts by Seth Fein:
Illinois Men’s Basketball wins Big Ten Title

I mean, it’s a share of the title, but it is an absolutely massive accomplishment considering what they lost to the NBA and graduation, and how hard the team got screwed over last year. The …
Year of the Park: The 20 Best Parks in Champaign-Urbana

End of line, dear readers! After over 100 entries, Year of the Park comes to a close. Read on to learn what Publisher Seth Fein thinks are the Top 20 Best Parks in Champaign-Urbana.
Year of the Park: Worst to First, 50 – 21

As we begin to unpack the parks that really have some value, we can be reminded that we are blessed with all that we have, and forget about all that we don't. At least for the moment.
Year of the Park: Worst to First, 82 – 51

There are 82 publicly funded parks in Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy. Some of them are magnificent, and some of them are hey, pretty good! But there are others are sort of really bad. Counting down from 82, here's bottom 31 parks in our fair city.
Year of the Park, Special Report: City Parks, Champaign-Urbana

Here is the final installment of Year to the Park A to Z! Next week, we'll run down Worst to First to give it a nice shiny bow, but for now, these are “parks” that are not run by the park districts, but rather, our municipalities. Yes, it is confusing!
Year of the Park, A to Z: Crystal Lake Park, Urbana; Video Feature

Tucked into the north part of central Urbana, Crystal Lake Park's majesty is far too overlooked, and it's time we collectively change that. Build a bridge. It's time.
Year of the Park, A to Z: Morrissey Park, Champaign

This park located near Windsor Road in Champaign is a decent one.
Year of the Park, A to Z: Mullikan Park, Champaign

Mullikan Park is a park. You wish there was more information about this Mullikan character, because otherwise, there's nothing to really unpack.
Year of the Park, A to Z: Human Kinetics Park, Champaign

For now, Human Kinetics Park is closed down for construction. The future, which will be the Martens Center, is very very bright, and will be a much needed boost to the north side of Champaign. Generosity and planning together knows no bounds!