Good News
-Journalist Terrell J. Starr, a University of Illinois alum, has gained some notoriety over the past couple of months for his incredible coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
He’ll be on campus on Tuesday, 4/19 at 7:30 giving a talk and taking questions about his work. Find more information here:
-Illini basketball added their most highly-rated recruit in roughly 20 years on Thursday. Skyy Clark, who decommitted from Kentucky earlier this year.
He’s coming off of a pretty gnarly ACL tear, but if Kofi comes back, (even if he doesn’t, really) the future looks incredibly bright around State Farm Center. You can listen to The 200 Level break down the decision (and what it means) on their newest episode.
-In food news…
Dave’s Dogs is allegedly back, but without Dave at the helm. In a world of elaborate food trucks, Dave’s serves $2 hot dogs both to and for the people, and we stan them for that:
-While we’re on this subject of food in Champaign-Urbana, this is one of the most interesting local food takes I’ve ever seen. It becomes more complex the more you think about it, like a fine wine:
Porgy’s, La Bamba and Garcia’s contribute to a very compelling argument here. Pancake House. I’m sure there are others.
-Let’s go for a food triple: Manolo’s won the Smile Politely pizza bracket. It’s a good pie and well-deserved. It’s not the best in town, but that’s ok. The people have spoken. The fact that there wasn’t a Filippo’s (Monticello) vs. Filippo’s (Mahomet) championship matchup will forever be a tragedy. We could have been great.
-The dog who captured the hearts of the entire Champaign-Urbana metro area when she was rescued out of Kaufman Lake a couple years ago is now living her best life.
Bad News
-The City of Champaign continues their quest to put a band-aid on the police shortage in town. The newest idea’s a brilliant one - to deploy private security in a radius of downtown Champaign during popular hours in hopes of de-escalating issues before they turn serious.
Opponents of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) this winter warned about this, and were shouted down in the name of urgency. The warnings of a “police state” of sorts, where the powers of law enforcement are amplified out of fear from elected officials and the need to “just do something”, were brushed off as leftist talking points, not worthy of merit.
That was quick! Just a few months later. Here’s another idea that expands the already-existing power structure of law enforcement in Champaign-Urbana.
Private security, who can act with some level of legal authority, with less rigorous training and oversight than traditional police, motivated by profit. What could go wrong? Probably nothing. Pair them with Community Ambassadors and you’ve got a “welcoming force” in downtown Champaign, according to our Mayor.
But it doesn’t seem that welcoming, even with the ambassadors included. Actually, it seems un-welcoming. I guess we’ll just have to take their word for it.
What’s so frustrating about this is that we could actually spend time addressing the root cause of Champaign’s police shortage. We could be asking why Champaign can’t hire officers, but the famously-policing-resistant City of Urbana doesn’t have the same problems, we could allocate resources to dive into the data to figure out why these problems persist. Or we could throw some money at private security - another band-aid. If only someone had predicted this. Or perhaps multiple people. Bummer.
The Last Gasp (a local newsletter that you should subscribe to) said it best:
“I don’t want Blackwater in the military, I don’t want AGB in Unit 4 schools, and I don’t want whoever wins this contract on Walnut Street.”
Good Reads
New Affordable-Housing Development Under Construction in north Champaign (News-Gazette)
WILL At 100: From its first broadcast on April 6 1922, WILL evolves from high-tech novelty to pioneer broadcaster (Illinois Newsroom)
Nectar unveils release date for new album No Shadow (Smile Politely)
Underwood's raised recruiting standard (247 Sports)
Good Pods
The 200 Level with Mike Carpenter
Skyy’s the Commit (4/7/22)
Luna (from The Latex Figure) (4/8/22)
I Have To Ask…with Elizabeth Hess
Good Listens
Local:
Non-local:
Everyone be safe and have a good weekend. C-U soon.