Gun violence and how to stop it was the focus of a town hall meeting held Wednesday in response to the shooting outside Champaign Central High School in early December.

The University of Illinois Police Training Institute graduated what some thought would be its final class Thursday in Urbana. But the institute’s director opened the ceremony by announcing that the PTI would continue to hold classes in 2018.

"Just knowing how to talk to people and knowing how to treat people, these are the most important skills in being a cop," said Michael Schlosser, Director of the Police Training Institute at the U of I.

On Tuesday, Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz announced she would not be filing criminal charges against Champaign Police Officer Matt Rush, the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging excessive force.  The head of the U of I's Police Training Institute weighed in on the state's use of force measure.