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About Check CU
This non-profit site was established to aid in disseminating information about relevant issues in the Champaign-Urbana area. Transparency and access to public records is paramount to functioning government and since the public bodies within CU are failing in that regard, civilians must do the work. If you have files or documents that are of public interest, please consider sending them to Check CU so that we can make them publicly accessible.
-Christopher Hansen, Founder
Latest articles
Urbana License Plate Readers Originally Intended for Parking Enforcement
At the September 20th City Council meeting the Urbana Police Department (UPD) presented their desire to deploy a network of expensive license plate cameras for the stated purpose of solving violent crimes. These automatic license plate readers (ALPRs)...
Urbana ALPR Proposal Tabled on Lack of Information, Concerns of Abuse
Urbana’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) proposal, initially presented to the City Council on September 20th, has been tabled by the Committee of the Whole (COW) for the time being. At the October 4th COW meeting, some members expressed concerns about the...
Urbana Mayor Abuses Meeting Rules, Favors Political Allies
Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin has repeatedly abused meetings rules and the Open Meetings Act during her terms as Mayor Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin violating the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) is certainly not a new phenomenon. Hardly a month goes by where Check CU...
Will Urbana’s ALPR Cameras Target non-Residents?
An example license plate capture which flags a driver as a "NON RESIDENT" which has been "Seen 3 times in last 30 days" (image from Flock Safety website) At the September 20th City Council meeting the Urbana Police Department (UPD) presented their desire to deploy a...
Urbana Officers Violate Body Camera Law, Refuse to Stop Recording Victim of Violent Attack
Urbana Police Officers Andrew Hewkin and Sarah Links, posing for a photo in the Urbana City Building In the spring of 2020 Urbana Police officers responded to a call from a resident who had just been the victim of an assault. The victim ran from the attacker and...
License Plate Camera Salesman Unaware of 4th Amendment
Dan Murdock, a salesperson for ALPR supplier Flock Safety, at the September 20, 2021 Urbana City Council meeting During the September 20th Urbana City Council presentation on automatic license plate readers (ALPRs), a number of issues were raised about the lawfulness...
Urbana Clerk Unlawfully Fabricates Council Vote
Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin swears in City Clerk Phyllis Clark on May 3rd, 2021 At the November 9th, 2020 meeting of the Urbana City Council, a roll call vote was taken on “Ordinance No. 2020-11-063: An Ordinance Amending Ratification of Extension to Emergency Order No....
Urbana Police Use of Force Review Scam Goes Unexplained
Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin, City Administrator Carol Mitten, and Lieutenant Jason Norton present to the Urbana City Council on April 27th, 2020 on police use of force and the Aleyah Lewis arrest. Three weeks ago, Check CU published an article which suggested...
Urbana Council to Consider License Plate Cameras and Vehicle Tracking System
Urbana City Council members ask questions on September 20th after a presentation urging them to vote for spending on Automatic License Plate Readers to be distributed throughout the City At the September 20th City Council meeting the Urbana Police Department (UPD)...
Urbana Police Contract Violates Human Rights Laws
On September 13th, the Urbana City Council voted on a new Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) contract which effectively locked out any police reform efforts for the next two years. The new FOP contract is largely similar to the prior one, which expired and was...
OMA Violation: Urbana Council Fails to Approve and Post Meeting Minutes
The City of Urbana continues to struggle with lack of basic transparency. While attempting to perform basic research, Check CU has found that the Urbana City Council has failed to publicly display, and frequently failed to approve, its City Council meeting...
Christopher Evans on Urbana Police Contract: “I Refuse to Play Pretend”
Before voting against Urbana’s new Fraternal Order of Police contract this evening, Council member Christopher Evans broke from his typically low-key presence at City Council meetings and issued a prepared statement which certainly turned some heads. Evans spoke...
Urbana Police Use of Force Review – Total Scam?
Since mid-2020, police “use of force” has become a front-and-center issue both locally and nationally. The City of Urbana has been hearing from residents about the need for police use of force reform for the past 18 months, and City officials have frequently...
Urbana has 3rd Shooting Homicide in 44 days
A deadly shooting occurred at the far end of this parking lot on Ivanhoe Way in Urbana 12 hours before this photo was taken. The Urbana Police Department announced another shooting death this morning, making a total of three such homicides in just over six weeks....
Urbana Alderman Scoffs at Desires for Oversight
Ward 3 Alderman Shirese Hursey scoffs at Alderman Christopher Evans for espousing oversight of public officials Urbana Ward 3 Alderman Shirese Hursey interrupted another Council member tonight to express her continued irritation with the ongoing pleas from members of...
Urbana Chief Refuses Police Policy Question from Alderman
Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin (left) and Deputy Chief Richard Surles (right) present their revised Use of Force Policy to the Urbana City Council on August 23rd, 2021. On August 23rd the Urbana City Council heard a presentation from Chief of Police Bryant...
Drive-by Shooters Target West Urbana Home
The scene of a drive-by shooting on the 400 block of West Illinois Street in Urbana. Urbana Police block the street while searching for shell casings. An otherwise calm and quiet Saturday afternoon in West Urbana was interrupted by a sound that has become more...
Marlin’s Police Advisory Committee – Abandoned?
On July 27 2020 Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin declares the creation of an “Advisory Committee on Public Safety and Policing” Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin made a number of promises to the public after widespread demand for less violence and greater accountability in...
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