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Urbana Limits Access to Public Records with Crushing Fees

The City of Urbana has been restricting access to public records by charging exorbitant fees to residents who make Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Much of the effort to barricade the public from access to records has been in regards to police misconduct. This became a contemptuous issue after…

Changes in the Urbana Police Review Board Amidst Public Scrutiny

In the past few months, the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) has been in the spotlight amidst discussions of police misconduct and police reform. Residents have criticized the failures of the CPRB, most notably the board failing to follow their mandates as written in the City Ordinance (article here).…

Chicago Firm Hillard Heintze Selected to Perform Investigation of Violent Urbana Arrest

On April 10, 2020, Urbana Police officers violently arrested and beat an innocent woman, Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis (video and original article here). Following the incident, Urbana Police Department (UPD) performed an internal investigation of the incident and concluded that the actions of the officers were within UPD policy and…

Urbana Staff Attempt to Hamper Efforts of Civilian Police Review Board

After more than two months of public criticism of the Urbana Police Department at weekly City Council meetings, another recipient of significant criticism, the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB), finally hosted its first meeting in five months. On June 24th, 2020, the CPRB held a special meeting to discuss…

Marlin Appoints Retired Cop to Handle Public Records Requests

After nearly two months of complaints from residents about the Urbana Police Department, two weeks after the killing of George Floyd, and one week after marching in the streets with thousands of people concerned with police violence, Mayor Diane Marlin decided that Urbana’s public records requests would be best handled…

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin Limits Public Input, Violates Open Meetings Act

In an effort to manipulate the conversation on police misconduct, Urbana Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin violated the Illinois Open Meetings act by limiting the public input session of the June 8, 2020 City Council meeting. Among the items on the agenda for the June 8, 2020 City Council meeting was…

Urbana City Staff Directly Lie to Council about Police Complaint Notary Requirement

When the issue of submission requirements for police complaints arose during the June 3rd, 2020 Urbana City Council meeting, City staff demonstrated just how far they are willing to go to deceive the public and protect their friends. Wednesday’s meeting served as a “continuance” of Monday’s meeting. After nearly 3.5…

Urbana Police Review Board Chair Still Confused about the Basics of Taser Review Ordinance

On June 3rd, 2020, the Chair of the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) gave residents good reason to further question his ability to serve in his newly assigned position. When questioned about the board’s decision to stop reviewing all Taser usages, Chair Mikhail Lyubansky gave an incoherent explanation that,…

Founding Member of Urbana Police Review Board Blames Human Relations Officer Vacellia Clark for Failures

At the June 1st, 2020 Urbana City Council meeting, the Council and the public spent hours speaking about local police misconduct issues. Most commentary focused on the violent arrest of Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis in April, and on the broken status of the Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) which is…

Urbana City Clerk Resigns Amidst Storm of Misconduct Allegations

Just two days after being publicly criticized by residents at an Urbana City Council meeting on May 18th, 2020, City Clerk Charlie Smyth informed the Mayor of his intent to resign. Mayor Diane Marlin and Smyth did not inform the public of this decision until May 30th. Charlie Smyth spent…

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