The timeless music of Carole King takes center stage at the Virginia Theatre this summer as the Champaign Urbana Theatre Company (CUTC) and J. Barry Howell present the Tony and Grammy Award-winning production “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
Less than a month after five of its seven members were sworn in, the newly restructured Champaign Unit 4 school board is preparing to cut ties with Superintendent Shelia Boozer, nearly a year before her contract is set to expire.
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), through its Office of Tourism, has announced the addition of 20 new small businesses to the prestigious Illinois Made program, celebrating the artisans, creators, and entrepreneurs whose work embodies the spirit and cultural richness of the state.
National Hamburger Day is being celebrated on Wednesday, May 28, with $5 burgers at participating locations. This one-day-only offer is a tribute to America’s favorite sandwich in Champaign County.
Urbana School District 116 will be offering free breakfast and lunch to children 18 and under this summer through the federally funded Summer Meal Program. The initiative, running from June through mid-July 2025, ensures that all children in the area—regardless of income or school enrollment—have access to nutritious meals during the summer break.
When Albin Selimi reopened his family’s longtime restaurant under a new name and fresh identity, he didn’t anticipate just how quickly the community would embrace it. Formerly known as Urbana Gardens, the restaurant is now Maple & Yolk, and it’s drawing crowds — with 1,500 patrons on weekends alone.
Champaign County Coroner Laurie Brauer has confirmed the identity of a deceased male discovered on May 15, 2025, in Heritage Lake, located in Rantoul. With the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the individual has been positively identified as Matteo Antonio-Antonia, a resident of Champaign.
Expect a mild and mostly cloudy Memorial Day weekend across Central Illinois. Friday night will be cool with a low near 46°. Saturday brings sunshine and a high around 69°, before clouds return overnight.
With just days remaining in the legislative session, Illinois lawmakers are scrambling to finalize a state budget under mounting financial pressures. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget has reduced revenue projections by more than half a billion dollars for the upcoming fiscal year, adding to a complex mix of fiscal uncertainty and political tension. Lawmakers must approve a budget by May 31 with a simple majority; after that, a three-fifths vote is required.
Urbana residents will soon see a shift in their electricity billing as the city’s municipal electric aggregation contract with Constellation comes to an end. The expiration of the contract means that eligible accounts will revert to Ameren’s Basic Generation Service unless residents choose a different electricity provider.