Christopher Hansen, Founder

I founded Check CU due to the failures of other local news media to cover issues of importance.  The Champaign-Urbana area suffers from too many incestuous relationships and that has the effect of causing issues of corruption and incompetence to go unreported, or to be reported dishonestly.

I have been deeply engaged in the issues of local governance and oversight since I was falsely arrested and prosecuted in 2015 after being accused of a robbery that never occurred.  My well-connected accuser and the police and jail officers who committed abuses were never held accountable, and the local justice system demonstrated itself to be a circus of corruption.  You may read my full story on that incident here: www.corruptcu.com.

My primary areas of interest are government transparency, public records, open meetings, government corruption, free speech, police brutality and misconduct, jail misconduct, misconduct and unethical/illegal behavior by elected officials and public employees, and all types of discrimination and bias (especially by public entities).  I am very familiar with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act.  On a daily basis, I increase my familiarity with the Illinois State Constitution, the Citizen Participation Act, the Local Records Act, the Urbana City Code, and the Champaign City Code.

I am a member of the Investigative Journalists and Editors (IRE) and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

I have lived in Urbana since I came here in 2002 to study Electrical Engineering at the University of Illinois.  I believe my engineering background and technical approach may provide a clearer perspective when analyzing and deciphering processes that are meant to obfuscate by design.  This is important when searching for ways to instill accountability in systems that have been designed to have none.