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Lt. Tod Myers to City Council: We Don’t Use SWAT-Team Images for Recruiting

The City of Champaign Police Department has been struggling with declining employment numbers for years. At the 2020 March 10th Champaign City Council meeting, this issue was discussed at length during CPD’s “Police Department Update”. The Department is having trouble attracting applicants, and the primary reason cited by council members,…

Urbana Council Picks Insider William Colbrook to Replace Dean Hazen

CU-Underground recently posted an article which showed that resigning Urbana City Council Member Dean Hazen was attempting to transfer his seat to his “good friend” William Colbrook. In an email dated January 28th, 2020, Hazen assures Mayor Diane Marlin that if she would cooperate with this, “I will continue to…

Assistant City Attorney Laura Hall Violates Her Own Rules on Public Input at Meetings

Just weeks after Champaign City Assistant Attorney Kathryn Cataldo sent out a warning letter about interacting with citizens at public meetings, Assistant City Attorney Laura Hall is already breaking the rules. The letter, which was sent by Hall’s subordinate to all of Champaign’s boards, commission, and subcommittees, advises board members…

Urbana Council Member Dean Hazen Attempts to Transfer Elected Position

CU-Underground is in receipt of some concerning emails between Urbana City Council Member Dean Hazen and Mayor Diane Marlin. In the correspondence, Hazen attempts to directly transfer his own elected Council seat to William Colbrook, a fellow law-enforcement officer, an action which is a clear violation of Illinois State law.…

Champaign Assistant Attorney Kathryn Cataldo Warns Volunteer Board Members Not to Interact With the Public

Champaign, IL Assistant City Attorney Kathryn Cataldo (photo credit: ILDocs.com) CU-Underground is in receipt of a concerning memo which was sent to all of the Champaign Citizens who volunteer their time to work on various boards and subcommittees of the City of Champaign. Targeted boards include the Board of Trustees…

Urbana Police Search Citizens’ Mailboxes “All the Time”

The body camera footage from a recent Urbana Police complaint revealed a rather disturbing act by Officer Collin DeDecker. After a hit & run incident, DeDecker went door-to-door in an effort to identify a vehicle owner. DeDecker was then seen opening and searching inside of a resident’s mailbox without permission.…

Attorney General to City Clerk Charlie Smyth: Urbana is Violating Public Records Laws

We have obtained a copy of a letter from the Illinois Attorney General which indicates that the City of Urbana is in violation of public records laws. The letter, addressed to Urbana City Clerk Charlie Smyth, says that records were improperly withheld by the Smyth’s office in a recent Freedom…

Champaign City Council: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

City Council study session on January 28, 2020 covered two main topics- City of Champaign’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and the review of Boards and Commissions. The CAFR, commonly known as “the audit” presents the financial operations and financial position of the city for fiscal year ended June 30,…

City of Champaign Employee Compensation: slicing the pie

During the Citizen Review Subcommittee (CRS) Meeting in August 2019, Champaign Police Chief Anthony Cobb evaded answering questions from board members. His excuse? It was above his pay grade. This prompted us to identify the Top 10 highest paid public officials in Champaign County. The ten highest paid public officials…

A “Historic Moment”: Urbana Police Review Board Holds Third Hearing in 12 Years

On January 29, 2020, the Urbana Civilian Review Board (CPRB) held a special appeals hearing meeting for Complaint 2019-06. The appeals hearing is part of the civilian police complaint process – the mechanism by which civilians can file complaints concerning Urbana police conduct. The CPRB is tasked with hearing appeals…

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