Champaign County | featured news

They raised more than $7,000 for the school and a Tuscola mental health facility during their recent "Competing for Wellness" fundraising event.

TUSCOLA — The students, faculty and staff at North Ward Elementary recently demonstrated their ability to raise funds — and their willingness to give back to the community.

Joshua Davis, 31, pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of aggravated assault that stemmed from a Feb. 25 incident in which he allegedly broke in to the woman's home on Rowena Drive in Urbana.

URBANA — A Rantoul man who admitted he threw a car jack at an ex-girlfriend, hitting her in the leg, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Marcus Batts, 20, pleaded guilty Monday before Judge Heidi Ladd to a single count of unlawful use of weapons by a felon on parole.

URBANA — One of four young men arrested in late February for a number of gun-related crimes in Champaign that month has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

UI police Lt. Tom Geis said Michael Ward, 38, of Champaign was arrested Thursday on preliminary charges of official misconduct and conspiracy, but he declined to be interviewed by detectives.

URBANA — A second man believed to be involved in the theft of cash from parking meters on the University of Illinois campus is expected to appear in court today.

Yevgeniy Nikoloev, 35, and Jane Soo Hee Park, 21, were arrested on charges of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance following a court-ordered search of their residence Thursday morning.

URBANA — Two people who had what police describe as a robust psilocybin growing operation in an Urbana home have been arrested.

Police obtained a warrant for the arrest of Isaiah D. Cain, 28, after the state's attorney filed murder charges.

URBANA — Champaign police are looking for a man they believe responsible for the fatal weekend shooting of a Champaign man.

ARCOLA — Illinois State Police are investigating a Thursday afternoon bus crash involving students from Arcola Elementary School.
A bus carrying first-graders on a field trip was struck head-on by another vehicle on Illinois 133 west of Arcola, according to posts from the school district's social media.
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Related to a March 25 incident that happened at Lincoln Square in Urbana.

URBANA — A Champaign man on parole has been charged with criminal sexual abuse and aggravated battery for alleged inappropriate contact with a teen-age girl in Urbana.

Happened near Buena Vistra Drive and South Neil Street shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday.

CHAMPAIGN — A pedestrian was taken to an area hospital Thursday morning after being hit by a northbound freight train, Champaign police said.

A repentant killer who ended a man's life while trying to collect a drug debt has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

URBANA — A repentant killer who ended a man's life while trying to collect a drug debt has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.