Weekender: January 27-29
Friday, January 27th Eat up, Restaurant Week restaurants, all weekend, prices vary Cheers to Restaurant Week! The nine day celebration kicks off today, and the 40+ participating restaurants want to give diners a taste of …
Urbana
The Champaign-Urbana Police Data Project launches next week
Invisible Institute, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization out of Chicago, is launching a new tool meant to hold police in Champaign and Urbana accountable to the public. Members of the group will be at the …
Negligent landlords and renters’ rights in C-U
For low- and moderate-income residents in Champaign-Urbana, affordable, safe, and comfortable housing is hard to come by. Like many social issues, this issue has only been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. The League of Women …
C-U One-to-One Mentoring transforms lives
When 90-year-old Edith was asked whether she wanted to retire as 17-year-old Alice’s mentor, she laughed. “No,” she said. “She needs to graduate high school, and I’m the only person in her life who will …
You’ve helped CUPHD donate 1250 gallons of breast milk
Since 2014, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District has donated more than 160,000 ounces, or 1250 gallons, of breast milk. That’s a lot of mothers and babies who have benefitted. CUPHD is a drop off site for …
Urbana Park District is creating a “dream quilt”
Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and in preparation for Black History Month, Urbana Park District is creating a “dream quilt” to be displayed at Phillips Recreation Center throughout the month of February. Community members …
A look at 2023 Illinois politics
Happy New Year, readers, and welcome to the newest version of Smile Politely. Our website isn’t the only thing that’s new — there’s a new General Assembly and legislative session. To kick off 2023, we’ve …
No such thing as a “safe” jail: 31-year-old woman dies at Champaign County jail
On October 13, 2022, Tillie Deitz, a mother of three young children, died in the Champaign County jail. As I found in my own review of publicly available documents, Deitz admitted to being a drug …
H Mart to open in Urbana’s former Save A Lot location
According to Chicago Korea Times (translated to English from Korean), the popular Korean grocery store H Mart is taking over the space previously occupied by Save A Lot in Urbana. The store is considered a …
Hear from author Bruce Adams at the Urbana Free Library next week
On January 17th, at 7 p.m., Bruce Adams will be discussing his book You’re With Stupid in the Busey Mills Reading Room at Urbana Free Library. According to the event description, the book is an …