by Check CU | Apr 16, 2024 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Chief Larry Boone presents to the City Council on Police Department staffing on April 1st, 2024 The Urbana City Council has recently undergone two presentations pushing for a significant expansion of the Police Department (at significant cost),...
by Check CU | Feb 1, 2024 | Featured
The City of Urbana, Illinois has now spent over $30,000 in their efforts to keep police use of force records secret, only to eventually release them in a lawsuit settlement. This story started almost exactly two years ago, when Check CU requested records from the City...
by Check CU | Jan 16, 2024 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois City Council presentation on Gaza ceasefire resolution by Ben Joselyn on January 8th, 2024 Last week’s Urbana, Illinois City Council meeting was packed wall to wall largely because of a single discussion item on the agenda: the consideration of a...
by Check CU | Dec 18, 2023 | Latest Articles
This individual was seen stalking a woman in West Urbana, then running from the location of a mugging moments later. His clothing and description match that given by the victim. Click here for full resolution image. If you know who this person is, please contact the...
by Check CU | Mar 27, 2023 | Latest Articles
Mayor Diane Marlin (right) claimed that the Urbana Police Department had made commitments to improve civilian police review, but the City can’t find any records of those commitments At the March 13th, 2023 Urbana City Council meeting, right before splitting a...
by Check CU | Mar 19, 2023 | Latest Articles
On March 13th, 2023, just before a final vote on a Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) contract, one member of the Urbana City Council laid out just how straightforward basic police accountability can be. Or rather, could have been, if anyone had listened. We...
by Check CU | Mar 17, 2023 | Latest Articles
A screenshot of the Illinois Documents website, where hundreds of Central Illinois public officials are listed in a single directory In recognition of Sunshine Week, Check CU would like to draw attention to some Central Illinois resources that make public records and...
by Check CU | Mar 13, 2023 | Latest Articles
Ward 5 Councilperson Chaundra Bishop made big promises on police reform during her campaign in 2020/2021, but her actions on Council indicate that she actually wants to slow down and prevent reforms. Some of the new Urbana, Illinois City Council members appear to have...
by Check CU | Mar 12, 2023 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Officer Eric Ruff is frequently quick to violence when interacting with residents Another use of force incident by Urbana Police seems to show that officers are ready to draw their guns for almost any type of call, even when there is no...
by Check CU | Mar 12, 2023 | Featured, Latest Articles
Interim Chief of Police Richard Surles (center table, right) and Finance Director Elizabeth Hannan (center table, left) represented the people of Urbana in their negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police last year (for an explanation, see CU-Perspective’s...
by Check CU | Mar 9, 2023 | Latest Articles
Urbana and University of Illinois Police were quick to use excessive force against a group of teens trying to sneak out on a Christmas night. The incident occurred in 2018 when a resident called police, reporting seeing what they thought was suspicious activity...
by Check CU | Mar 8, 2023 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Officer Eric L Ruff with his TASER It has been more than a year since Check CU requested public records related to likely police misconduct involving Urbana, Illinois Officer Eric L. Ruff. In January of 2022 we learned of an incident...
by Check CU | Mar 8, 2023 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Officer Eric L. Ruff (previously an officer for the Village of Rantoul) has a long history of using excessive force against residents Check CU is reviewing another violent incident involving Urbana, Illinois Police Officer Eric Ruff. On March...
by Check CU | Mar 8, 2023 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Officer Eric L. Ruff (center) Urbana, Illinois Police Officer Eric Ruff gained local notoriety in 2020 for kneeing a young woman in the ribs, and punching her in the head after she was tackled to the pavement. After video of the arrest...
by Check CU | Mar 7, 2023 | Latest Articles
A dangerous interaction in Urbana, Illinois resulted in an armed “high risk” response by police, and the outcome raises a lot of questions about public safety and police documentation. On March 13th, 2020, an energy salesman ignored signs prohibiting...
by Check CU | Mar 5, 2023 | Latest Articles
Urbana City Council member Jaya Kolisetty, along with other Council members who campaigned heavily on police reform, have taken no action in pursuit of reforms, and have repeatedly pushed to keep the public in the dark. It has been a year since Check CU published the...
by Check CU | Jan 23, 2023 | Latest Articles
Ever since the surprise unveiling of a new Urbana Police Department Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) contract on December 19th, 2022, members of the public have shown up to City Council meetings to demand more transparency in the police contract negotiation process. ...
by Check CU | Dec 19, 2022 | Latest Articles
The Urbana City Council once again unanimously voted to move discussions of Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) contracts into a secretive closed session room. Some members of the public who attended tonight’s Council meeting, many of whom attended specifically to...
by Check CU | Aug 7, 2022 | Latest Articles
Just over two months ago, Urbana Interim Chief of Police Richard Surles released a statement which revealed that more than ten percent the City’s police officers were looking to apply to the Illinois State Police (ISP). Check CU sent a Freedom of Information Act...
by Check CU | Jul 11, 2022 | Latest Articles
The Urbana, Illinois City Council unanimously reappointed Anthony Allegretti and Tony Rice (left top and bottom) to the Civilian Police Review Board, despite repeated past misconduct while serving on the Board On June 27th, 2022 the Urbana, Illinois City Council voted...
by Check CU | May 25, 2022 | Latest Articles
Interim Police Chief Richard Surles (bottom left) and Interim Deputy Police Chief Matt Bain (bottom right) have continued the effort led by recently resigned Police Chief Bryant Seraphin (bottom center) to reduce police oversight in Urbana, Illinois (photo taken at...
by Check CU | Apr 11, 2022 | Latest Articles
On January 29th, 2022 Check CU requested a number of records involving police use of force from the City of Urbana, Illinois. The Urbana Police Department is still refusing to release some police reports and they have refused to release the names of police...
by Check CU | Apr 9, 2022 | Latest Articles
Research by Check CU has revealed what can only be described as the felony destruction of public records by Urbana Police Officers. Throughout 2020, amidst the nationwide demands for police reform, Urbana, Illinois residents took up similar causes with their local...
by Check CU | Apr 4, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois City Administrator Carol Mitten at the April 4th, 2022 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting Urbana, Illinois City Administrator Carol Mitten announced at a Council meeting tonight that the City had received zero bids in response to their...
by Check CU | Apr 3, 2022 | Latest Articles
New Interim Police Chief Richard Surles (bottom left), resigned Police Chief Bryant Seraphin (bottom center), and new Interim Deputy Police Chief Matthew Bain (bottom right) at the March 28th 2022 Urbana City Council meeting. On March 28th, the Urbana, Illinois City...
by Check CU | Mar 28, 2022 | Latest Articles
New Interim Police Chief Richard Surles (bottom left), resigned Police Chief Bryant Seraphin (bottom center), and new Interim Deputy Police Chief Matthew Bain (bottom right) at the March 28th 2022 Urbana City Council meeting. Earlier this evening, the Urbana City...
by Check CU | Mar 28, 2022 | Latest Articles
Residents now have an easy to use tool for submitting complaints about Urbana, Illinois Police officers. The non-profit “Civilian Resource Site” at UrbanaPolice.org now has a web portal that can be used to submit complaints at any time, by any person, even...
by Check CU | Mar 28, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois City Council members have thus far ignored the statutory and contractual violations by their Police Department in regards to the handling of complaints against police officers. Check CU recently published two articles showing that the Urbana...
by Check CU | Mar 27, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Officer Colby Wright shoots an unarmed subject in the back with his TASER in a 2019 incident. The subject turned out to be an innocent bystander who was misidentified by Urbana Police. Deputy Chief Richard Surles argued that the TASER use was...
by Check CU | Mar 26, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Mayor Diane Marlin will ask the City Council to appoint current Deputy Chief Richard Surles to the position Interim Police Chief at Monday night’s meeting. Lieutenant Matthew Bain will be appointed to Interim Deputy Police Chief. Police Chief...
by Check CU | Mar 20, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Chief Bryant Seraphin talks about changes in technology as he holds up the one and only cell phone owned by the Police Department in 1999, reserved for use by the detective on shift. Chief Bryant Seraphin will serve his last day as a police...
by Check CU | Mar 13, 2022 | Latest Articles
Nearly eight months after the Urbana, Illinois City Council approved funds for a “Community Safety Review”, the City is finally searching for proposals. A Request for Qualifications (RFQ), titled “Community Safety Review Through the Lens of Racial Equity and...
by Check CU | Mar 13, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Officer Colby Wright chases an unarmed subject with both guns drawn after already having shot him in the back with his TASER Body camera video and police reports obtained from the Urbana Police Department (UPD) show what appear to be highly...
by Check CU | Mar 8, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Mayor Diane Marlin stresses the importance of keeping ties with neighborhood associations at a City Council study session on February 22nd, 2022, but her actions don’t align with her words. Urbana, Illinois Mayor Diane Marlin has frequently...
by Check CU | Mar 7, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Chief Bryant Seraphin and Mayor Diane Marlin participate in a police reform march on June 1st, 2020. Demonstrations were held in Urbana-Champaign and nation-wide to push for greater accountability and transparency in policing, with a focus on...
by Check CU | Mar 6, 2022 | Latest Articles
The Urbana, Illinois City Council passed a resolution on Police use of force more than a year ago, but it has gone almost entirely ignored. More than a year after the passage of “A Resolution Prioritizing Tactical De-escalation in the Use of Force Policy and Police...
by Check CU | Mar 5, 2022 | Latest Articles
The Urbana, Illinois Police Department (UPD) has been distributing complaint forms that contain language which violates state law, as well as UPD’s contractual agreement with the people of Urbana. Check CU recently published an article showing that the Urbana...
by Check CU | Mar 5, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois City Council member Christopher Evans speaks on September 13th, 2021 about the Urbana Fraternal Order of Police contract negotiations: “The contract was never discussed…Council was kept ignorant as to what was going on.” It seems the...
by Check CU | Mar 3, 2022 | Latest Articles
Despite repeated objections from the public, the Urbana Police Department (UPD) continues to supply a police complaint form that quite clearly violates state law. The unlawful form, along with multiple unlawful requirements, is supplied on Urbana Police webpages...
by Check CU | Mar 3, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana, Illinois Police Officers chase a resident with TASER gun and pistol drawn Seven years after passing a TASER gun review requirement for their police department, the Urbana, Illinois City Council seems to have given a passive thumbs-up to its destruction. ...
by Check CU | Feb 20, 2022 | Uncategorized
Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin made a number of promises to the public in 2020 after widespread demand for police reform. One of the most substantial declarations by Marlin, seemingly in an effort to steer discussion of police reform away from City Council meetings, was...
by Check CU | Feb 14, 2022 | Latest Articles
In September 2021, the Urbana City Council voted to significantly reduce their role in selecting police command staff. All seven Urbana City Council members campaigned on increased police oversight and accountability, and four of those Council members made it one of...
by Check CU | Feb 10, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin The Urbana Police Department and the Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) have been openly violating their mandate for more than two years. Whereas City Ordinance and UPD policy require the Police Department to review TASER gun...
by Check CU | Jan 23, 2022 | Latest Articles
On October 27th, 2021, Check CU published an article which reveals many of the failures of the TASER review process by the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB): Urbana Staff Refuse Oversight on Police TASER Usage From the article: “When the Board members issued...
by Check CU | Jan 20, 2022 | Latest Articles
Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin announced today that he would resign his position effective March 25, 2022. At just 50 years old, it is likely that Seraphin has already acquired a new position at a different department,...
by Check CU | Jan 16, 2022 | Latest Articles
The Urbana City Council reappointed police officials even after they repeatedly lied about conducting use of force reviews (Grace Wilken, Jaya Kolisetty, James Quisenberry, Diane Marlin, Maryalice Wu, Chaundra Bishop, Christopher Evans, Shirese Hursey) Over four...
by Check CU | Nov 14, 2021 | Latest Articles
A clip from a presentation given by Police Chief Bryant Seraphin and ALPR salesman Dan Murdock at the September 20th Urbana City Council meeting (yellow highlighting added by Check CU) When Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin and a representative from automatic...
by Check CU | Nov 14, 2021 | Latest Articles
Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) photos provided by Rantoul Attorney David Wesner in response to a FOIA request (click image to see all 68 images in higher resolution) Nearly two months after Chief Bryant Seraphin pushed for the installation of automatic license...
by Check CU | Oct 27, 2021 | Latest Articles
Urbana City Administrator Carol Mitten interjects during a CPRB meeting, arguing that the Board is not allowed to perform TASER oversight. The September 22nd Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) meeting continued a theme that has been present at virtually every...
by Check CU | Oct 10, 2021 | Latest Articles
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)...
by Check CU | Oct 10, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Oct 4, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Oct 3, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Oct 2, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Oct 2, 2021 | Latest Articles
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)...
by Check CU | Sep 30, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Sep 13, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Sep 12, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Aug 30, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Aug 23, 2021 | Latest Articles
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...
by Check CU | Mar 8, 2021 | Latest Articles
Sgt. James Cory Koker helps pin down Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis on April 10, 2020 At tonight’s Urbana City Council meeting, Mayor Diane Marlin will be seeking approval from the Council for the appointment of a handful of positions, such as Deputy Fire Chief and City...
by Check CU | Mar 7, 2021 | Latest Articles
Body worn camera video recovered from the Urbana Police Department shows that police officers and their supervisors seem to have contempt for the public’s right to oversight. In the video, Sgt. James Cory Koker can be heard joking about how he should have told a...
by Check CU | Feb 12, 2021 | Latest Articles
On January 15th, the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) convened for an appeals hearing in regards to a handful of police complaints filed more than a year prior. A number of issues arose which seem to indicate that due process is of little concern in regards...
by Check CU | Jan 31, 2021 | Latest Articles
Law Enforcement Officer Wearing an Avon PC50 Gas Mask and Riot Helmet (the same equipment ordered by the Urbana Police Department) Though the overwhelming demand from the residents of Urbana is to move their police department toward a less violent and more...
by Check CU | Jan 6, 2021 | Latest Articles
On November 2nd, 2020, Urbana City Administrator Carol Mitten spoke about a mysterious memo regarding the legality of the obstacles she had placed in front of Urbana residents attempting to submit police complaints. The memo was in regards to the filing of...
by Check CU | Dec 22, 2020 | Latest Articles
Attorney Ben Gehrt, hired by City Administrator Carol Mitten, argues that Urbana’s Civilian Police Review Board should not be allowed to accept police complaints based on video evidence. The Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) met on December 17th, though...
by Check CU | Dec 14, 2020 | Latest Articles
New Urbana Community Engagement Coordinator, Lemond Peppers, speaks at a Human Relations Commission meeting on December 9th, 2020. Check CU is in possession of records from the City of Urbana which reveal more about the recent hiring of Lemond Peppers as their...
by Check CU | Dec 11, 2020 | Latest Articles
Urbana City Attorney James Simon enters the Champaign County Courthouse to defend the City from a lawsuit on their denial of a public records request seeking the police reports on the alleged purse theft by State Representative Carol Ammons. On the morning of December...
by Check CU | Dec 7, 2020 | Latest Articles
In January of 2020 there was a big kerfuffle over the alleged theft of a purse from the Carle Auxiliary Resale Boutique, 810 W. University Avenue. State Representative Carol Ammons was named as the suspect and naturally, with very little information, everyone...
by Check CU | Dec 5, 2020 | Latest Articles
Curt Borman, serving as Urbana’s Freedom of Information Act Officer, has become known for numerous illegal records denials and fees in regards to resident requests for police records. Records provided by the Village of Carpentersville have Urbana residents...
by Check CU | Dec 2, 2020 | Latest Articles
Urbana City Administrator Carol Mitten claims that the City will sanction its public board members to prevent them from disclosing what happens in closed sessions. On the evening of November 30th, the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) assembled for an appeals...
by Check CU | Nov 22, 2020 | Latest Articles
Demonstrators amass just north of the Urbana City Building on June 1st, carrying signs for George Floyd, Aleyah Lewis, Black Lives Matter, and innumerable slogans for police reform and accountability. After the killing of George Floyd in May, almost every government...
by Check CU | Nov 20, 2020 | Latest Articles
A young male screams out as Urbana Police Officers use a prohibited drive-stun TASER technique to inflict pain. The individual had not been suspected of having committed any crime, did not have any weapons, and showed willingness to comply before being tackled to the...
by Check CU | Nov 15, 2020 | Latest Articles
It has been more than 7 months since the violent arrest of Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis. Tens of thousands of people have watched the videos of Urbana Police Officers throwing Lewis to the ground, pinning her, punching her in the head, and kneeing her in the...
by Check CU | Nov 12, 2020 | Latest Articles
Urbana Police Use of Force Listening Session (Mayor Diane Marlin, Chief Bryant Seraphin, Lieutenant Joel Sanders, Community Engagement Coordinator Sherman Lemond Peppers) An Urbana Police Listening session revealed some disturbing behavior from Urbana’s new...
by Check CU | Nov 12, 2020 | Latest Articles
Urbana Police Use of Force Listening Session for Youth (Mayor Diane Marlin, Chief Bryant Seraphin, Deputy Chief Richard Surles, Community Engagement Coordinator Sherman Lemond Peppers, Lieutenants Joel Sanders and Matthew Bain, School Resource Officer Chad Burnett. ...
by Check CU | Nov 5, 2020 | Latest Articles
Urbana City Administrator Carol Mitten speaks to the Council on November 2nd, 2020 City Administrator Carol Mitten gave a presentation at the November 2nd Urbana City Council meeting in regards to a contentious police complaint requirement that has been under...
by Check CU | Oct 27, 2020 | Latest Articles
City Administrator Carol Mitten gave a presentation on Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) complaints and appeals hearings at the Urbana City Council meeting Monday night. I had predicted she would attempt to deceive the Council and the public the previous week,...
by Check CU | Oct 26, 2020 | Latest Articles
The “use of force” listening sessions that Urbana City Administrator Carol Mitten briefly mentioned at last week’s City Council meeting were officially announced this afternoon. The announcement is coupled with the creation of a new section on the Urbana City...
by Check CU | Sep 21, 2020 | Latest Articles
Urbana City Attorney James Simon giving a presentation on July 20th, defending Urbana’s FOIA fee structure which was recently ruled to be illegal by the Illinois Attorney General On September 2nd, 2020 the Illinois Attorney General released a determination...
by Check CU | Sep 20, 2020 | Latest Articles
On September 2nd, 2020 the Illinois Attorney General released a determination letter indicating that the City of Urbana was in violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The City attempted to charge a requester $128.35 on a single FOIA request whereas...
by Check CU | Sep 17, 2020 | Latest Articles
In mid-April this year, Mayor Marlin announced that the Urbana Police Department would be giving a presentation on the Aleyah Lewis arrest, which occurred on April 10th. At the City Council meeting held on April 20th, Marlin further announced that the city...
by Check CU | Sep 8, 2020 | Latest Articles
Urbana Police Officer Eric Ruff running toward Officer Michael Cervantes and Urbana Resident Aleyah Lewis On April 10th, Urbana Police officers arrested Aleyah Lewis using, to put it mildly, highly questionable techniques. Alongside many other Urbana residents,...
by Check CU | Aug 23, 2020 | Latest Articles
Bijal Patel, Christopher Hansen, Sarah Nixon, Alen Romero (originally published by the Public i) Officers Michael Cervantes, Eric Ruff, and James Cory Koker wrestle Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis to the ground and apply handcuffs (image captured from Eric Ruff’s...
by Check CU | Jun 23, 2020 | Latest Articles
On June 23rd, four Urbana residents submitted “A Residents’ Petition for Reforming the City of Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB)” to the Mayor, City Council, and the members of the CPRB. The petition was also posted to change.org and has been signed by over...
by Check CU | May 29, 2020 | Latest Articles
A Meeting of the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board For the past seven Urbana City Council meetings, residents have lined up to deliver what has amounted to several hours of criticism and dozens of misconduct allegations against the Urbana Police Department. ...
