Editorial Board

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …