On June 25, at 6 p.m., the Community Justice Task Force will be presenting a final report with its recommendations for the current proposed jail expansion. The meeting will be at Brookens Administration Building (Lierman and Washington St. in east Urbana).

The Task Force has been working for over a year to develop alternatives to the county's original plan to build a multi-million dollar extension of the satellite jail. CUCPJ urges people to attend the session on the 25th and hear what the Task Force recommends. Hopefully their report will provide some concrete ideas for taking the county's criminal justice system in a new direction.

A draft report on the jail by ILPP was released on April 30 and can be read here. Below is a response from CU Citizens for Peace and Justice. A final report from ILPP will come at the end of the summer.

IMC is streaming the library board meeting where 200 showed up to protest the loss of nearly half of the non fiction collection in a haphazard weeding process and allegations of intimidation of staff members. Watch live now: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ucimc

This summer, the City of Champaign will begin the process of demolishing a neighborhood in the north end of the city. Bristol Place, northeast of Bradley and Market and home to nearly 200 residents, has been slated for total demolition by the city because of its low property values, old building stock and a purportedly high rate of crime. The city will use eminent domain to acquire the properties from even those residents who wish to stay in the neighborhood and who own and occupy houses that are in good condition. Although the city has been clear to say that the neighborhood’s total demolition is a settled issue, many questions remain: Why was the neighborhood regarded as obsolete? What’s next for residents? Is this a process that we will see for other low-income, predominately African-American neighborhoods in Champaign?

The Champaign County Board is considering a proposal to spend $20 million on new jail cells. They claim the current downtown jail, built in 1980, is beyond repair. The Board plans to pay for the new jail cells from the public safety sales tax which brings in about $4 million per year.

We say the Board, rather than spending $20 million on jail construction, should focus on investing in preventative services that will keep people out of jail and prison, things like youth job training, mental health centers, substance abuse treatment and re-entry programs for people returning home from prison. Click the title to add your name to the growing list of people who support investing in prevention instead of detention.

"To: The Champaign County Board We the undersigned oppose the Champaign County Board's proposal to spend $20 million on new jail cells. We believe the Board should spend this money funding preventative programs that will keep people out of jail and prison."

SIGN THE PETITION NOW: http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6220/c/1340/p/dia/action3/common/public/?act...

On Wednesday, April 17, there will be a meeting with Dr. Alan Kalmanoff at 6:15 p.m. at the Urbana Free Library (210 W. Green St.).

Dr. Kalmanoff is the Director of the Institute for Law and Public Policy (ILPP), the firm hired by Champaign County to conduct a needs assessment regarding the county jail and related criminal justice issues. Dr. Kalmanoff has been interviewing people and gathering data for his assessment since November. This meeting will be an opportunity to hear some of his findings and to present your concerns to him in person. Come and be heard!

For more information contact: briandolinar@gmail.com or carolammons@gmail.com

As a new building on campus is being named after Maudelle Bousfield, the first African American woman to graduate from the University of Illinois, a public housing complex named after Joann Dorsey, black community activist in Champaign during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, has been torn down. One woman came from the black upper-class, the other from the working-class, yet they both should be recognized for their contributions.

Pioneer Educator, Maudelle Bousfield    

These two community dialogues will address what even the Obama administration has admitted is a failed War on Drugs. It is also part of our local campaign to oppose a proposal for an expansion of the local jail, which is full of victims of the Drug War.

Thursday, Feb. 28, Levis Faculty Center (919 W. Illinois St., Urbana)

Friday night, March 1, Salem Baptist Church (500 E. Park St., Champaign)

5:30-8:30 p.m. both nights

Keynote Speakers:

Neill Franklin, former narcotics officer and executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

Clifford Thornton, anti-Drug War activist and co-founder of Efficacy.

Organized by Citizens with Conviction (CWC), and Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice (CUCPJ).

Co-sponsors: Salem Baptist Church, Urbana Human Relations Committee, MAS (Muslim American Society), UC Friends Meeting, ACLU, Breakfast Club, GEO, Planners Network, Educations Justice Project, U of I Department of African American Studies.

The POC Zine Project curates a traveling POC zine exhibition, has established an archive, cultivates digital platforms that share POC zines and provides grants, tools and events for zinesters.

The tour stopped in Urbana last year, along with 14 other cities. Hosted by the UC-IMC Librarians group, the POC Zine Project brought it's awesomeness to central Illinois.

Read more: http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/01/nia_zine_piece.html

Have something to say? An issue or kind of music you are passionate about? Thanks WRFU's new tower, now you can reach all of Champaign, Urbana, and Savoy through WRFU 104.5 FM, a community radio station located in the Independent Media Center in downtown Urbana. The next free training will be held on Tuesday, January 8th at 6 PM. Contact rfu@lists.chambana.net or 344-8820 to sign up.