Champaign County | featured news

Antonio Gibson, 45, pleaded guilty Monday before Judge Roger Webber to unlawful possession of a credit and debit card. In return, a charge of burglary was dismissed.

URBANA — A Champaign man who admitted to having another person's credit and debit cards has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Jeremy Brown, 38, was charged Wednesday with armed violence, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, possession with intent to deliver cannabis and possession of a stolen firearm.

URBANA — A Peoria man who allegedly had cannabis and a stolen gun in a vehicle in Rantoul early Wednesday has been charged with four felonies.

Fire Chief Rich McFadden said firefighters were sent to a blaze in the 500 block of South Main Street at 4:50 p.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from an older two-story house.

GIFFORD — The Champaign County Coroner has identified a man who died in a house fire Wednesday afternoon on Gifford's south side.

Today is Thursday, May 9, the 129th day of 2019. There are 236 days left in the year.
Today's highlight
On May 9, 1980, 35 people were killed when a freighter rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida, causing a 1,400-foot section of the southbound span to collapse.
On this date
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A couple education-related updates.

Today is Thursday, May 9, 2019. Here are local news reports from 100, 50 and 15 years ago:
In 1919, Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood spoke before a large crowd at the University of Illinois Auditorium.
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Atilcan Malak, 22, was arraigned Wednesday on a charge alleging that he committed a sex act Aug. 24, 2017, at the Acacia fraternity with a woman, now 22, who was unable to consent.

URBANA — A University of Illinois senior is being held in the Champaign County Jail on $250,000 bond after being charged with sexually assaulting a fellow student at a fraternity almost two years ago.

The new mayor's parents were on hand Tuesday to witness the swearing in of their son, who his mother said wanted to become his hometown's leader 'as far back as grade school. ... I'm glad he stuck to his dream.'

The county board's facilities committee set a bid opening for at 2 p.m. Thursday, and five companies are anticipated to submit bids. Tentative plans call for the full county board to award a bid at its May 23 meeting.

URBANA — Champaign County's Juvenile Detention Center could have a new roof by the end of the summer.

The Westview Elementary educator's journey to the classroom could almost be defined as a happy accident. A pre-med student with thoughts of a teaching career, she said a mistake while she was a student at UMass convinced her to change paths.