Emily Hays

2 weeks ago | ipmnewsroom.org | Emily Hays |Emily Hays started

SAVOY — Ronnie Carrasquillo was among the last sentenced before the state ended parole in 1978. Unlike everyone convicted since then, he’s had the chance to ask the parole board to release him early. Instead, he was denied parole over 30 times. Year after year, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board debated his actions at age 18, when he shot at a fighting crowd from over a block away and killed a plainclothes police officer. “I’m the oldest 18-year-old you know.

2 weeks ago | ipmnewsroom.org | Emily Hays

URBANA — Some students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have lost their visas amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. U of I spokesperson Robin Kaler confirmed Tuesday that multiple foreign students on campus have had their visas revoked. “We are working directly with affected students to help them connect with appropriate resources and understand their options,” she said in a statement sent via email.

2 weeks ago | ipmnewsroom.org | Emily Hays

URBANA — Chancellor Robert Jones and Provost John Coleman announced by email on Thursday that the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign will not strike sensitive words or phrases from websites under pressure from the federal government. Instead, administrators will help departments add language stating its activities are inclusive and “open to all.”The letter also said U of I administrators are reviewing scholarships, awards and events but not curriculum or research .

3 weeks ago | ipmnewsroom.org | Emily Hays |Emily Hays started

CHAMPAIGN — While mail-in ballots could shake up the election results, five candidates are currently in the lead to win seats on the Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education. According to unofficial results from the Champaign County Clerk’s office, Fatima Ahmed currently has the highest vote total out of the 11 candidates running for the school board. Ahmed and Justin Michael Hendrix are ahead in the race to fill the seats that have been left vacant due to resignations. Their terms would last two years.

3 weeks ago | ipmnewsroom.org | Emily Hays |Emily Hays started

https://ipmnewsroom.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CCP-Letter-Audio.mp3URBANA — The Republican-led House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter in March to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and five other universities. The letter asks administrators for information on their Chinese international student populations. It claims relying on foreign enrollment for tuition poses a national security threat that could undermine U.S. research initiatives.