Goal Getters is intended to reduce violence and provide leadership skills to youth in Champaign. The initiative was created by the Champaign Unit 4 Schools, city of Champaign and the Champaign Community Coalition in the wake of an especially violent year in Champaign-Urbana. This fall, the program will expand to provide mentorship to students enrolled in Booker T. Washington Elementary and Edison Middle Schools.
The city of Champaign has permanently terminated police officer Matt Rush after two-and-a-half years of appeals and litigation. City Manager Dorothy David announced the $50,000 separation agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police at the conclusion of Tuesday's Champaign City Council meeting. Rush was twice fired by the city, and was the subject of multiple excessive force lawsuits, costing the city more than $300,000 in settlements.
Authorities say five people were shot, one of them fatally, in two separate overnight shootings within minutes of each other near the University of Illinois Campus. Police say in a news release that they believe the two shootings may be related. The person who died is identified as George Korchev of Mundelein. The other three were taken to a hospital for treatment of what police called non-critical gunshot wounds.
East-central Illinois ceremonies marking the 15th anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001 included one held by Champaign firefighters. The ceremony began at 8:46 AM, marking the minute (8:46 AM Eastern Time) when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City.
While holding back on whether a citizen police review board will be formed in Champaign, Mayor Deb Feinen says the proposal to form a working group to study the issue is a sound idea.
