Current Champaign County NAACP President and former Champaign County Board Chair Patricia Avery announced her candidacy for Illinois Lieutenant Governor Thursday, running with Democratic candidate for governor Tio Hardiman.
A rally to end gun violence over the weekend in Champaign also served as a tribute to a local gun violence victim. Michael DeArmond was among those leading a march of 35 people on the city’s north side Saturday, on what would have been his daughter Desirie DeArmond Austin’s 25th birthday.
Once again, an arbitrator acting under terms of the Champaign police union contract has ruled in favor of fired police officer Matt Rush, in one of the two charges cited for his 2016 dismissal.
Independent arbitrator Micheal Falvo determined that the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s refusal to use Rush as a courtroom witness was not valid grounds for firing Rush last April --- and that State’s Attorney Julia Rietz overstepped her bounds in doing so. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police announced the arbitrator’s ruling on Monday.
The City of Champaign has started gathering public input as it weighs whether to recommend forming a citizens police review board. Monday's meeting of the 14-member Citizens Review of Police Complaints Working Group was first of two this week. The 16 people who attended the first at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church cited concerns with they call an intimidating complaint process that needs to be better explained.
Champaign was one of nearly 200 US cities that took part in National Gun Violence Awareness Day Thursday, wearing orange - and trying to bring attention to the gun violence that some in the area say is at a ‘crisis level.’ Organized by Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, about 50 attended a rally in Champaign's Westside Park.
