Category: Legal Department News

City Manager Announces Appointment of New City Attorney

City Manager Dorothy Ann David announced today that she has appointed Thomas Yu to serve as Champaign’s next City Attorney, starting September 12, 2022. Yu currently serves as one of the City’s Assistant City Attorneys and has more than 21 years of experience practicing law. Yu has served the City of Champaign since 2017, and […]


Champaign City Attorney Announces Upcoming Retirement

Frederick C. Stavins, the City Attorney for the City of Champaign since 1981, has announced plans to retire from that position effective May 20, 2022. Serving for more than forty years, Stavins is the longest serving City Attorney and department head in the City’s history. Stavins says that he has treasured serving the City, saying, […]


City Attorney and Assistant City Attorney Honored by Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association

The Illinois Local Government Lawyers Association recently announced its awards at the Association’s Annual Meeting on February 18, 2021. The award for litigation is annually given to attorneys who litigated a case of significance to local governments over the previous year. The Awards Committee selected attorneys who significantly participated in the case of I-57 LLC v […]


City-Produced Video “Cannabis Questions 2020” Earns National Award

The City-produced video “Cannabis Questions 2020” received an Award of Distinction (4th place) in the 2020 Government Programming Awards sponsored by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). The video was recognized by the judges in the Public Education category for channels with an operating budget under $250,000.  The video was a collaborative […]


City Court Update

The City Court Team has been hard at work back in court this summer. The first-ever City Court “Zoom” arraignment was held in May, to speed up the timeline of a case where dogs had been impounded right before COVID-19 caused the Courthouse to close. Since June, the Team has been back for in-person proceedings […]


City of Champaign Provides Guidance for Peaceful Gatherings, Graffiti Use

City of Champaign Provides Guidance for Peaceful Gatherings, Graffiti Use The City of Champaign is reminding the community to proceed safely and respectfully while exercising your rights to peacefully assemble and protest. The City supports civic engagement, and as we continue to have more important and necessary discussions around social injustice, the City is providing […]


City Extends Time to Make Court-Ordered Payments on Ordinance Violation Cases

On March 24, 2020, County Administrative Order 2020-04 was issued by Circuit Judge Thomas J. Difanis, extending time to make court ordered payments in traffic, DUI, criminal felony, criminal misdemeanor, and juvenile delinquency cases in Champaign County. While this order does not address ordinance violation cases, the Legal Department would like to extend it to […]


Information About City Ordinance Violations in Response to COVID-19

Information About City Ordinance Violations in Response to COVID-19 A recent Administrative Order issued by Circuit Judge Thomas J. Difanis and Covid-19 Precautionary Measures memo from Associate Judge Anna M. Benjamin have postponed most proceedings at the Champaign County Courthouse as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, including City of Champaign Ordinance Violation (OV) court. […]