Featured Stories

Ameren Announces Energy Shut-Off Moratorium

Submitted by BridgetB on November 18, 2020 - 3:48pm

COLINSVILLE, Ill.-- Ameren Illinois announced that it will be suspending disconnections for the winter months through March 31, 2021.

The moratorium on shutoffs is due to the forecasted colder weather coupled with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a release from the energy supplier. Ameren says it is encouraging its customers who are experiencing financial challenges due to the pandemic to take steps to save energy and pay whatever they can afford in order to avoid falling too far behind on their energy bills.

Election Filing Periods

Submitted by KayM on November 12, 2020 - 3:22pm

Date:

November 16, 2020 - 8:00pm to November 23, 2020 - 5:00pm

ELECTION FILING PERIODS

The City of Urbana City Clerk's Office will accept complete (signed, notarized) Consolidated Primary Elections packets November 16-23, 2020, starting at 8:00 AM at the north entrance door of the City Building at 400 South Vine Street, Urbana, IL 61801. This is for candidates seeking nomination for the February 23, 2021 Consolidated Primary.

For More information, please visit the City Clerk's page.

CITY OF URBANA RECOGNIZES COVID-19 BUSINESS GRANT RECIPIENTS

Submitted by BridgetB on November 12, 2020 - 3:02pm

The City of Urbana would like to acknowledge those Urbana businesses that received $1,102,021 in COVID-19 relief funding in recent months.

“We’re grateful to be able to distribute over $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds to local businesses. Our community has rallied around these businesses to help maintain their operations and help retain jobs. We continue to ask everyone to wear a mask and respect public health guidelines to help them stay open,” Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin said.

The City’s Economic Development and Grant Management Divisions have been working diligently to help businesses secure these crucial funds that will help defray costs of operating a business during the pandemic.

“Yes, the grant money has helped keep our doors open by covering rent and keeping all of our staff fully employed for their full-time and part-time hours,” Paris Baldarotta said of the business she co-owns with her husband, Jordan Baldarotta.

Baldarotta’s, which has been in operation for three years, is a Sicilian-American sandwich shop located in Lincoln Square Mall.

WARD 2 Council Seat Vacated

Submitted by BridgetB on November 2, 2020 - 10:53am

Date:

November 2, 2020 - 8:00am to November 30, 2020 - 5:00pm

Ward 2 Map

The City of Urbana is accepting applications for the Urbana City Council seat vacated by Ward 2 Alderman Julie Laut (D-Urbana).

Laut announced that she was stepping down effective October 28, 2020.

“I appreciate Julie’s willingness to serve. In her short time on the council, she led efforts to have Urbana join the Government Alliance on Racial Equity and advocated for youth involvement in civic issues. She brought enthusiasm and a genuine interest in helping her community to her role as a council member and we will miss her," Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin said.

Per state law, Mayor Marlin has up to 60 days from the date of a council member’s resignation to recommend an appointment to the City Council to fill the remainder of the term which ends May 3, 2021. The Urbana City Council must vote on the appointment within 30 days. Mayor Marlin will bring a recommendation to the City Council on Monday, December 21, 2020.

A Poem for Urbana by Will Reger

Submitted by BridgetB on November 1, 2020 - 10:23pm

I. The Poem I Am Planning

My idea is to give the city a poem to reflect its past and dreams.

The poem I will write will contain the city's life in full, its jazz, its parks, its lights, its art, libraries, schools, orchestras, and certainly its poets, artists and their grand celebrations, and even for the way a favorite book sits lightly in a child's hands at bedtime.

A poem with room for every good thing that is ours.

The poem I want to write will hold the dark moments, too, when tornadoes tear through, when we drive others away, when we lose our own, when fire blizzards strike, when the broader world comes with its demand for soldiers made to die in foreign lands.

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