We asked and you answered
August 27, 2007
You like your weathercasters. And lots of different restaurants.
And you feel strongly about your coffee shops (and not just for the coffee).
The results are in from the very unscientific News-Gazette poll of readers' favorite restaurants, stores and places to go. They include some perennial winners – Custard Cup, Papa Del's, Judy Fraser – but also some surprises. Full story »
Stories about: Champaign-Urbana Park Lands Higher Education Beyond
2007 Answer Book Champaign-Urbana
Some things you should know
New to Champaign-Urbana? Columnist Tom Kacich offers a quick 10-part history lesson on the twin cities: Full story »
A survival guide for living in this area
The News-Gazette offers tips for moving in, getting connected: Full story »
A quick primer on C-U government
The News-Gazette's Mike Monson offers key issues facing councils: Full story »
County pushes ahead with some new ideas
Earlier this year, Greg Knott, a Republican Champaign County Board member from St. Joseph, and Brendan McGinty, a Democrat from Urbana, asked members to consider some ideas about streamlining government and preparing for its future.
We asked them to offer some thoughts about the challenges the county faces. Full story »
Getting to know local government
Here are the particulars on elected officials from Champaign, Urbana and Champaign County: Full story »
The benchmark for legal matters
The N-G's Mary Schenk explains the Champaign County court system: Full story »
Keeping safe or rolling the dice
The News-Gazette's Steve Bauer offers the five smartest and five dumbest things you can do when it comes to personal safety: Full story »
Chance to light up going up in smoke
Local and area bar owners are waiting for the hammer to drop Jan. 1.
That's when they enter the brave, new smokeless world. Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently signed the statewide nonsmoking ban, which takes effect New Year's Day. Full story »
Council helps you map future with area arts scene
If you are an artist or writer new to town, you might want to get on the radar of 40 North 88 West Champaign County Arts, Culture and Entertainment Council.
The council acts as a resource for artists and information clearinghouse on the arts in Champaign County, and offers artists special benefits if they join. Full story »
Wireless Web expanding to cover most of C-U
Maybe you can't get online everywhere in Champaign-Urbana – yet – but it's probably accurate to say you're never more than a few blocks from a Wi-Fi access point, usually for free, or at least for the price of a cup of coffee.
Danville has a number of Wi-Fi "hotspots" as well, including outdoors at Temple Plaza downtown and the Danville Public Library. Full story »
Space, doctors at premium for rising health demands
Patients seem to keep needing more time with their doctors at Carle Clinic.
And keeping ahead of the demand means more than recruiting more doctors, says Dr. Bruce Wellman, the clinic's chief executive. It also means building more clinic space. Full story »
Urbana schools make facility, safety improvements
From paint jobs to principals, students in the Urbana schools will see plenty of changes in the new school year.
Preston Williams, a former Urbana teacher and longtime district employee, has become the district's new superintendent. Three principals have come in, as two former principals have retired and a third was promoted to director of human resources. Full story »
New Champaign school board must deal with same situations
Many faces in the Champaign school district are new. Four of the seven school board members. Principals at nearly half the district's buildings.
But the issues they'll be dealing with are the same ones that faced their predecessors: complying with its federal consent decree; ensuring students are meeting state learning standards; figuring out how to keep aging schools in good shape; and deciding what programs get a share of the money in a tight budget. Full story »
Other Champaign County schools
How to contact other schools in Champaign County: Full story »
East Central Illinois can lay claim on fame
From deadly three-point shooters to fabulous singers to brilliant scientists, the great and the near-great have called East Central Illinois home.
Some still grace us with their presence, but many of them have gone on. Full story »
2007 Answer Book Park Lands
Plenty of greenery to celebrate in area
East Central Illinois has a virtual plethora of parks catering to about every interest of its population year-round.
State parks; conservation, forest preserve and local districts; and Danville's city park system offer everything from nationally designated natural scenic rivers to parks catering to children with special needs and activities from baseball to tobogganing. Full story »
Champaign Park District sites and facilities
A look at the Champaign Park District: Full story »
Urbana Park District sites and facilities
A look at the Urbana Park District: Full story »
State parks in Vermilion County
Vermilion County is home to three state parks: Full story »
Champaign County Forest Preserve District
Here is a listing of Champaign County Forest Preserve District sites and facilities: Full story »
Vermilion County Conservation District
Here is a listing of Vermilion County Conservation District sites and facilities: Full story »
Danville Parks and Recreation sites and facilities
A look at Danville parks and recreation sites: Full story »
2007 Answer Book Higher Education
A fresh, new look on campus
Here's a guide to bring you up to speed on what's happening on the University of Illinois campus and what might be the hot topics of conversation this school year:
Crimes on campus follow a pattern
Crimes against people in the area in and around the University of Illinois occur most often early in the morning, mostly on the weekends and mostly northwest of the campus.
Kris Fitzpatrick, interim chief for UI police, said, "It is true that the 'bad guys' will strike where they believe no one is around or when they see someone who can easily be taken by surprise." Full story »
Will third season be charm for Zook?
The third year of the Lou Tepper era produced his best record at Illinois (7-5), wins against Ohio State and Iowa and a shutout victory against East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl.
The third year of the Ron Turner era produced his first winning season (8-4), wins against Michigan and Ohio State and a blowout Micronpc.com Bowl victory against Virginia. Full story »
Weber's new-look crew hopes to rebound with a vengeance
A week into their college lives, the six new basketball players bounced around the Illinois practice facility as though Red Bull was being served in the dorms.
"I think we're going to be really good," freshman Demetri McCamey said. "We have all the pieces to be really good." Full story »
Parkland, DACC offer affordable college options
As the cost of college continues to rise, more people see community colleges as a way to obtain a quality college education at a lower cost.
Institutions like Danville Area Community College and Parkland College are also seeing more activity as they continue to expand corporate and community education programs, business and industry training, dual-credit programs for high school students and other educational opportunities for the public. Full story »
2007 Answer Book Beyond
Around here, rural roads rule
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE – This state is gorgeous in summer, but you might forget that if you never leave the highway.
I'm all about the rural roads, those little two-laners that wind around cornfields and mosey through downtowns that seem forgotten by time, populated with paint-peeled silos and antique shops in buildings that must be antique themselves. Full story »
It's all about speed, not history
You know what my idea of a great highway attraction is? The "Origin of the Kaskaskia" sign on Interstate 74 between Champaign and Mahomet.
There! You've seen it! Keep driving! Full story »
Savoy: Right at the heart of it all
Savoy has a lot of big-town amenities – Willard Airport, the University of Illinois golf courses, a multiplex movie theater, a skating rink, a bowling center and a miniature golf course. And it's close to all the educational and entertainment options just north in Champaign. Full story »
Mahomet: Moving in — and moving up
Mahomet is quickly becoming the hottest place to live in Champaign County. About 500 new lots were platted in Mahomet in 2006, and the village continues to grow. Full story »
Rantoul: Village spreads its wings
Rantoul was a military town for about 70 years; it was the home of Chanute Air Force Base until 1993. Now that the base is closed, Rantoul has found its niche as an industrial town, as factories and warehouses find homes in former Air Force hangars and in an industrial park on Rantoul's west side. Full story »
Tolono: Welcoming one and all
Tolono is a 151-year-old village about 10 miles south of Champaign-Urbana. It boasts a strong history: Both Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln visited, and it's the home to the original Monical's Pizza parlor. Full story »
Monticello: Right on track in Piatt County
Monticello is the seat of Piatt County and a town starting to explore an identity in arts and culture. It boasts a newly formed arts council and will host Artrain USA, an art exhibit traveling via railroad, this fall. Full story »
St. Joseph: Popular place to populate
The population of this small town just east of Urbana is soaring. A special census conducted last year showed St. Joseph's population grew to 3,825 residents, up from to 2,912 in 2000. That's a 30 percent increase in six years. Full story »
Danville: Staying the course
As the seat of Vermilion County, Danville is home to about 34,000 people. During the past year, residents have seen changes in city operations and re-elected most of their aldermen and Mayor Scott Eisenhauer, who won a second term. Here's a look at what the city faces today: Full story »
Vermilion County Board
Here are the members of the Vermilion County Board: Full story »
Tuscola: Embracing the old — and new
Tuscola is more than simply the county seat of Douglas County.
It is the home of the Tanger Outlet Center, several industrial plants, the Iron Horse golf course and the Douglas County Museum. Full story »
An energetic stage for farming in area
Ethanol and the business of biofuels top the list of issues in agriculture today. With gas prices at all-time highs, consumers want alternatives and ethanol made from corn or diesel made from soybean oil look like promising answers.
And if you don't understand the role of agriculture in East Central Illinois, you probably don't get out of town much and you've managed to miss all the herbicide ads on television. Full story »
A snapshot of area agriculture
A county-by-county look at area agriculture: Full story »
Campaigns firing up early for '08 elections
Illinois voters will hear pitches from political candidates earlier than ever next year, thanks to a new state law that moves the primary election up by six weeks.
The legislation, which passed the House and Senate by wide margins, is designed to energize voters and give the state more prominence in the 2008 presidential election process. Full story »
Election information online
Information about upcoming elections can be found at these Web sites: Full story »
Getting in touch
Contact information for The News-Gazette area's state representatives in Springfield: Full story »
