Some takeaways from Imagine Urbana
A few weeks ago, the City of Urbana released the Imagine Urbana Comprehensive Plan, a master plan for the city that’s been years in the making. The lengthy report is easy to read, but it’s …
Opinion
The University of Illinois has a housing crisis
Last week, this Editorial Board recognized the influx of new people that will be moving to our area in the next month, as the fall semester at the University of Illinois is set to begin …
Good to grow: Illinois passes Native Homeowner’s Landscaping Act
In a huge win for the environment, native pollinators, and gardeners across the state, Illinois recently passed HB5296, also known as the Native Homeowner’s Landscaping Act. In summary, this bill: Provides that an association shall …
New to C-U? Welcome, we have some quirks
With less than a month until the new academic year begins, this is a time of year when we expect an influx of new students, faculty, and staff to begin moving to the area. There …
Accidental traffic calming
From around May to October, it is construction season in the Midwest. This summer local drivers dealt with a number of closures around town like the Springfield Avenue viaduct and a large scale sewer project …
City of Urbana backs down from large police budget increase
Reported crime in Urbana during 2022 and 2023 was the lowest it’s been for ten years, but you wouldn’t have known it from the recently proposed more than $4 million increase in Urbana’s police budget …
Here’s how we’re dealing with the heat
Last summer we wrote about the current climate emergency; things aren’t getting any better. Extreme heat and humidity have become the norm for summers in Central Illinois. These conditions are oppressive, uncomfortable, and dangerous. This …
Prospect Avenue is getting the glow up it deserves
If you’ve lived or worked in Champaign-Urbana for any number of years, you will likely think of a particular stretch of road if asked the question: “What is the most frustrating place to drive in …
Good news for queer Chambana
June is National Pride Month and not a whole lot has changed since last year when we wrote about the state of LGTBQ+ rights in our community: That is to say, there is a lot …
Make the most of your time this summer
For the last few years, we have published an end-of-year article that lists several ways in which people can give back to the community to make the most of holiday season generosity. But now summer …
Checking in on five issues
We have a lot of opinions on the Editorial Board, and we have a long history of asking questions and/or making, ahem, the occasional suggestion about how things might be improved in Champaign-Urbana. This week, …
The lowdown on live music events in Downtown Champaign
NOTE 12:45 p.m., Wednesday, May 22nd: Following the publication of this article, representatives from the City of Champaign contacted the Editorial Board to clarify several points, none of which were available in any public-facing information …
Calling fowl on backyard barns
We don’t want to ruffle any feathers here, but it seems at least one local household is making headlines with allegations from neighbors that their backyard barn is a nuisance. Put alongside the now multiple …
We need to talk trash
Over the years, we’ve received several emails from readers concerning the garbage situation in Champaign-Urbana. This is a perennial issue. We’ve found public questions and concerns dating back decades. Here at Smile Politely, we try …
The eighth loneliest city in the US
Recently we stumbled upon an NBC Chicago article with the clickbait headline “This Illinois city is the 2nd loneliest in the US, recent analysis reveals.” That Illinois city was Danville, with Champaign-Urbana coming in not …
It’s time to rethink Moms and Dads Weekends
The University of Illinois recently celebrated Moms Weekend, a Spring semester weekend full of brunches, flowers, and various “mom”-themed things. With the U of I aiming for a more inclusive campus, why are we still …
Time for Urbana School District to stop, collaborate, and listen
Some of you reading last week’s editorial entreating Unit 4 schools to get it together might have wondered why Urbana schools were spared a critique. Make no mistake, Urbana schools also need to get it …
Lincoln Square: The anti-mall
When I was growing up in Urbana in the 90s and aughts, Lincoln Square was considered a place where businesses go to die. It had its mainstays, of course, but for the most part it …
Let’s get it together, Unit 4
We have written many, many, many, many times about the issues and dramas in both Champaign Unit 4 and Urbana District 116 schools. We’re writing again this week about Unit 4, not to break down …
Smile Politely’s Food + Drink Tournament 2024: Championship
We’ve reached the Championship matchup of our Food + Drink Tournament, and if you’re just now joining us, here’s how you can catch up: Revisit the Round of 32, Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and Final …
Smile Politely’s Food + Drink Tournament 2024: Final Four
You showed up and voted in the Elite Eight, for which voting closed yesterday evening. We’re moving on to the Final Four. The participation for this year’s tourney has been great to see, and there’s …
Even more spaces we need in C-U
A couple weeks ago, we did a poll about what cuisines we were missing in Champaign-Urbana. There was a lot of great feedback, so we decided to poll you again to ask what else C-U …
Smile Politely’s Food + Drink Tournament 2024: Elite Eight
If you’re anything like us, you tuned into the game on Saturday to root on the Illini, and obviously, it was good because we’re headed to our first Sweet 16 in nearly two decades. It …
Smile Politely’s Food + Drink Tournament 2024: Sweet 16
That was a lot to take in for the first round of our Food + Drink Tournament, which kicked off on Monday with our Round of 32 matchups. Our Food + Drink Editor Alyssa Buckley …
For women in C-U, it could be worse
March is International Women’s Month and an excellent opportunity to do a temperature check of how women are faring in C-U. Spoiler alert: We have a long way to go in dismantling the patriarchy and …
The private market destroyed our nursing home
In 2018, the Champaign County Board sold the Champaign County Nursing Home. In 2023, that facility was shut down by the private market entity that bought it. In five short years, our once publicly-run elder …
Smile Politely’s Food + Drink Tournament 2024 announced: Round of 32
March has arrived, which means it is bracket time. If you’ve followed along for the last few years here on Smile Politely, you’re familiar with our tournament of Champaign-Urbana related things. We’ve done food and …
More than five cuisines we need in C-U
Here are Smile Politely, we know you have strong opinions about food and drink — we do, too. As we noted in our 2020 editorial listicle on five cuisines missing in Champaign-Urbana, C-U is home …
We’re hoping Hotel Royer will be worth the wait
The story of the former Urbana Landmark Hotel has been a dramatic one. With the progress that’s been made thus far to transform it into Hotel Royer, it seems like a functioning hotel is just …
Urbana School Board and leadership erode trust through lack of planning, transparency, and community engagement
The article was written with collaboration from the Urbana Schools Action Coalition. It’s been over 5 years since a significantly low point for Urbana School District #116 (USD116). The resignations and removals of those in …
Let’s be thoughtful about transforming our parks
With the teardown of Meadowbrook Park’s Prairie Play playground happening soon and glimpses of warmer weather in the forecast, we’ve got spending more time outdoors on the brain. Champaign and Urbana’s parks are wonderful and …
Willard Airport could use an expansion, maybe
Willard Airport is in the local news again, and we don’t just mean in our editorial about the extent to which our community meets the benchmarks for being considered a “city.” In that editorial, we …
Delivering for Champaign-Urbana
The US Postal Service (USPS) is something that we all take for granted. It’s just about as old as this country (it was established in 1792), and we expect it to always be there. It …
Why are county positions partisan, and should they be?
The 2024 primary election is upon us. Early voting begins tomorrow, February 8th. There are not many primary races to speak of in this cycle, including at the county level. In fact, the only contested …
Recovering from snow day fumbles
Snow and other types of terrible weather aren’t new in Central Illinois. We’ve seen school closures, historic snow days, and intense weather happen pretty regularly, and climate change will only make things worse. So why …
Chambana is a city
Nobody loves to complain about Champaign-Urbana and its shortcomings more than people who live here, us included. One common portrayal, as illustrated in a recent Reddit post, is that C-U is a charmless flyover town …
Looking at Illinois politics 2024
This year will be a big one for politics in our nation; if you haven’t heard, this year we elect a president. It will be stressful, but there are plenty of state and local politics …
Reform Animal Control policies to treat pets and other animals humanely
Like so many others in Champaign-Urbana, I’m a proud dog parent. We adopted our first dog in early 2023. He’s a former stray, and based on his timid and shy behavior at the time we …
WORST 2023
Another year is gone, and we have been celebrating the BEST of it. Now that those articles are published, we can turn our attention to the WORST of the year. Some of our complaints are …
Our 2024 C-U wishlist
As we thought about what we wanted to see in Champaign-Urbana for 2024, we kept coming back to similar things we wished for in 2022 and 2023. We realized that these issues are important enough …
Community wins free phone calls at the Champaign County Jail
“He calls first thing in the morning just to say good morning,” said Blaine Lee, whose son was arrested in Urbana on a gun charge and has been in jail for two years. “Usually, he …
Reflecting on 2023
Each year, our Editorial Board takes a moment to reflect on what’s been happening in our community over the past year. We’ve looked back at our 2023 Wishlist, considered some of the topics we’ve tackled …
Six ways to be a better community member this holiday season
It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means it’s almost time for the holiday season. For many, this is a time for reflection, and if you are able, to give back to the community. The last few years …
A few suggestions for dealing with the winter blues
Earlier this week, daylight savings time ended, and we all set our clocks back one hour. Now, if you wake up at 6:30 a.m., it won’t be as dark, but daylight hours will get shorter …
The renters’ crisis in Champaign-Urbana
The housing problems facing Champaign-Urbana residents are nothing short of a crisis. For renters in particular, the price of living in our community is out of control. While landlords and owners may blame inflation, even a …
Some thoughts on Halloween
It’s Halloween, and this evening kids of all ages and their caregivers will take to the sidewalks of C-U and beyond to, in the words of Jerry Seinfeld, “get candy, get candy, get candy.” Have …
Let’s talk about book bans
The first week of October was Banned Books Week, a nation-wide event launched in 1982 as a response to an upsurge in book bans at the time. If you were in any book-centered physical or …
Year-round municipal yard waste pick up isn’t a likely possibility
In late October and early November, you might hear a collective groan from Champaign-Urbana’s homeowners and home renters. That groan is the indication of yard waste collection season, which means an investment of time, labor, …
Why didn’t Unit 4 spend money on gun violence prevention?
Last week, The News-Gazette reported an update on the City of Champaign’s Community Gun Violence Prevention Blueprint. Included was a list of every organization and entity that received funding to help implement the initiatives laid …