Police Department Hosts Employee Awards Ceremony
On May 17, 2023, the Police Department celebrated their annual employee award recipients with a reception. Award recipients for 2022 are: Officer of the Year: Christopher Aikman Employee of the Year: Gretchen Davis Life Saving Award: Molly Hedrick, John McAllister, Caleb Rice, Jeffrey Thomas Distinguished Leadership Award: Kevin Olmstead, Katherine Thompson, Renae Yandell Medal of […]
Communities of Practice
On May 15, 2023 the Communities of Practice team met to continue work on implementing the Welcoming Plan. This team is made up of leadership across the county from City departments, not-for-profits, and other public service entities. The Welcoming Plan is a set of strategic initiatives to welcome immigrants and better integrate foreign-born residents into […]
City Council to Consider $2 Million State Grant for Community Development and Violence Prevention
On May 16, 2023, the Champaign City Council will consider approving an agreement to accept $2,000,000 from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) through the Community Development, Violence Prevention and Administrative Costs Grant. This grant funding was appropriated for the City of Champaign by the late State Senator Scott Bennett. If the […]
Community Gun Violence Response Meeting
On May 9, 2023, a Community Gun Violence Response Meeting was held at the Champaign Public Library from 6-7:30 pm. The meeting was hosted by the City of Champaign’s Equity and Engagement Department in collaboration with the CU Trauma and Resilience Initiative. Chief Tyler and division Lieutenant, Brian Maloney from the Champaign Police Department joined community […]
Champaign County Community Coalition
On May 10, 2023 the Champaign County Community Coalition hosted a wide variety of speakers highlighting work being done in the community. We heard from local law enforcement that were excited to share a steady downward trend of gun violence. They also shared a few community engagement events like Touch-a-Truck, Coffee with a Cop, and […]
City Staff Support High School Career Fair
April 18, 2023, City staff from 7 different departments (Equity & Engagement, Public Works, Fire, Police, Library, Neighborhoods Services, and IT) attended the high school career fair held at Central High School. This fair was open to all Unit 4 highschool students and had more than 20 organizations present with information and goodies. Students explored […]
Inaugural “Rising Star” Program
March 30, 2023, the Champaign County Community Coalition, Parkland College, Urbana 116, and Unit 4 came together to promote black student excellence. The inaugural “Rising Star” program recognized any 5th, or 8th grade African-American student that has shown academic promise and/or academic excellence. Using a variety of data sets (including MAP, IAR, attendance, discipline, etc.) […]
Citizen Review Subcommittee Training
In February 2023, the City Council approved the appointment of two new members to the Citizen Review Subcommittee (CRS). On March 11, 2023, staff from the Equity and Engagement, Legal, and Police Departments held an all-day training session for new and existing members of the CRS. CRS members learned about limits of authority, use of […]
City Staff Celebrate International Women’s Day
On March 8, 202, International Women’s Day (IWD) was celebrated around the world. This day is a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. The theme of IWD 2023 was #EmbraceEquity, a campaign to get the world talking about […]
City Staff Attend Library Community Job Fair
On February 20, City staff met with local job seekers at the Library’s Community Job Fair. Police Chief Tim Tyler and Police Sergeant Matt Crane (pictured right), along with Jessica Mullins and Stacy Rachel from the Human Resources Department, spoke with attendees about current and future employment opportunities with the City, the Police Department, and […]