Co-Responder Models | Lunch and Learn
On May 1, 2025 the Justice Victim Advocates from E&E participated in a Lunch and Learn event at the Cunningham Township Supervisor’s Office. The session aimed to educate community members and service providers on various Co-Responder Models implemented nationwide. The presentation highlighted the existing benefits for local agencies, organizations, and residents as our region progresses […]
Urbana School District 116’s Strategic Plan Development
On April 16-17, 2025, Community Relations Manager Tracy Parsons (Equity and Engagement Department), participated in the Urbana School District 116’s Strategic Plan development sessions at the I Hotel Conference Center. Tracy was selected to join a group of community and educational leaders to help shape the district’s mission, core values, and strategic priorities for the […]
Champaign County Community Coalition
On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, the Champaign County Community Coalition held its monthly meeting. The Coalition was excited to host a special panel discussion focused on the critical issues of Civility, Compassion, Climate Change, and Violent Crime. The panel, comprised of Urbana Police Chief Larry Boone, Champaign Police Chief Timothy Tyler, TRI Director Karen Simms, […]
City Staff Present at UIUC
On Friday, March 28, 2025 Community Relations Manger Janel Gomez and intern Terra Salgado (Equity and Engagement) presented at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. They were invited by the Department of Animals Sciences to highlight the work done at the Equity and Engagement Department, specifically within the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The presentation […]
Country Brook Canvasing
On March 20 & 21, 2024, Justice Victim Advocate, Eric Toga (E&E) and the Neighborhood Ambassadors (NSD) canvassed the Country Brook Apartments area for education and outreach after a gun violence incident. The goal was to provide resource and service information that the City of Champaign has to assist with issues of gun violence. Additionally, […]
Resistance in Resilience : Intertwining Our Roots Standing Our Ground
On February 24, 2024, Eric Toga from the Equity and Engagement Department attended the University of Illinois’ annual Black & Latinx Summit “Resistance in Resilience : Intertwining Our Roots Standing Our Ground”. This was an all day event held from 9:30am to 6:30pm at The I-Hotel and Conference Center. The summit discussed the challenges students […]
IDOT Conference | Today’s Challenge, Tomorrow’s Reward
On February 21, 2024, Mikal Washington from the Equity and Engagement Department and Adonis Fuller from the Finance Department attended IDOT’s annual conference “Today’s Challenge, Tomorrow’s Reward” in Springfield, IL at the Crowne Plaza hotel. The event was centered around providing education and networking opportunities to DBE firms and contractors. City staff provided information on […]
Diving Into Digital Equity
On January 30, 2024, April Faulkner (E&E) attended a seminar hosted by the Illinois Broadband Lab (IBL) providing insight on the Illinois Digital Equity Plan. Representatives from IBL provided important information on upcoming grants to support digital equity as well as a deep dive into local findings and initiatives. The seminar was attended by 20+ […]
January Community Coalition Meeting
On January 10, 2024, the Champaign County Community Coalition held its monthly meeting at the Holiday Inn Conference Center (101 Trade Center Dr., Champaign, IL 61820). This months meeting highlighted Illinois Soul, a new media platform set to air starting February 1, 2024. This new audience service Illinois bridges the gap in the media landscape […]
Grant Writing and Utilizing AI
On December 11, 2023 staff from the Equity and Engagement Department attended an all day workshop hosted by the U of I School of Social Work. Inspired by community partner feedback, the event focused on grant-writing and include a portion on utilizing AI for productivity and grant-writing. More than 50 people were in attendance for […]