A Dialogue with Urbana Police Chief Larry D. Boone and Jazz icon Branford Marsalis

On the February 10, 2024 edition of "Dialogue":

Nearly 6 months ago, Larry D. Boone took the oath as the new police chief of the city of Urbana. This week, Chief Boone about his rise from an officer to the top cop in Norfolk, Virginia to coming to Central Illinois. He addressed a troubling run-in with police during his youth; reacted to pushback to his plan to hire more officers in Urbana; talked about why he wants to pair police officers with pastors on busy nights; and explained why tracking the flow of guns into Black and Brown communities is part of reducing youth violence.

The number of Black students in Illinois enrolled in college has dropped by more than a third over the past decade. A big deterrent is cost. Need-based scholarships are one way of making sure more Black students can sign up – and finish school.
But this type of financial aid is becoming less of a priority for many schools. Instead, they’ve increased spending on scholarships that target students with high GPAs and test scores. WBEZ's Lisa Kurian Philip has the story.

Renowned saxophonist Branford Marsalis was born into a family of professional and equally famous musicians but he didn't always know that it was what he wanted to do for a living. In late January, The Branford Marsalis Quartet performed at Krannert Performing Arts in Urbana. But the Grammy award winner took some time to speak with IPM's Kimberly Schofield.