Latest news with #ChristieClinicIllinoisRaceWeekend
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ebertfest and Race Weekend could bring Champaign Co. millions of dollars
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Champaign-Urbana will be busy this weekend with thousands of people expected to be in town. Two of the biggest events of the year are happening in Champaign-Urbana at the same time: Ebertfest and the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend. Officials said Ebertfest is expected to bring in around $350,000 while the marathon may top $5 million. Best Buddies Friendship Walk making a difference in Champaign 'In terms of the economic impact, all of that economic impact money that comes in is filtered back into the community as tax money,' said Mark Brown, Experience Champaign Urbana Director of Event Services and Film. 'And so, when people from out of town are coming in and spending their money, it goes into sales tax, and then that money can be used for the community for things like repairing roads, improving city functions, things like that.' Ebertfest kicked off Wednesday and will end Saturday after the final showing at 9 p.m. The Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend started Thursday night with the mile race and ends on Saturday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Champaign announces road closures for race weekend, Ebertfest
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Champaign is gearing up for a busy weekend between the Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend and Ebertfest. Now, the city is letting residents know that if you're driving around this week, you may see some road closures. IL Race Weekend welcoming new faces from cancelled event The Michael Hogue Team Mile will kick off the events on Thursday. It'll start on First Street, north of Kirby at the Grange Grove gate. Participants will go north to Green Street, and west on Green to finish near Neil Street. One block of First, between Kirby and Peabody and one block of Green, from Neil and Locust will close at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. The rest of the mile-long route will close at 7 p.m. Traffic will be able to exit the area along Kirby or roads north of Green. Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend offering free entries through donation On Friday, motorists will begin to see road closures beginning around 7 p.m. The Christie Clinic Illinois 5K starts on Oak Streetsouth of St. Mary's Rd. The route takes participants through campus using First, Green, Sixth, and Gregory before turning south on First Street and heading to the stadium. Traffic will be closed off completely between 7-8:15 p.m. for the area in blue, according to the race map. The first intersection to open will be First and Armory. Once that's open, traffic will be able to leave the area by going west on Armory to Oak Street and then south out of the area. Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend still asking for volunteers Several races will take place on Saturday. This includes the marathon, half marathon, the wheelchair marathon, the relay marathon, the 10K and the Busey Illinois Youth Run. IL_Marathon_FullDownload Closures will begin at 7 a.m. on First Street, south of Green, and Green Street, from First to Race Street. The wheelchair racers begin at 7:31 a.m., followed by the full/ half marathoners and the relay racers. The 10K racers will begin at 8 a.m. Stadium Drive, Kirby Avenue and St. Mary's Road will be closed to traffic east of Neil beginning at 7 a.m. Drivers attempting to enter State Farm Center parking should take Neil Street to Windsor Road, to Fourth Street. 2025 Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend medals unveiled The City of Urbana will likely be clear of participants by 11 a.m. Then, marathoners and relay participants will be heading south on Prospect in the east-most lane, between Armory Avenue and Curtis Road. South and northbound traffic will continue through the event. The Village of Savoy should be clear of participants by 1:30 p.m. To help drivers avoid road closures on race day, organizers provided a map, suggesting a route around town that isn't impacted by the race. You can find the map here: For more details about when certain streets are expected to close — and reopen — click here. You can also find more details about the races on the Illinois Marathon's website. Champaign County residents will also see temporary street closures from another event happening this weekend. Ebertfest announces more guests, final films for festival later this month Ebertfest, held at the Virginia Theatre, will run from April 23-26. During the festival, Park Avenue will be closed between Randolph Street and the entrance to Hickory Point Bank, beginning April 23. Traffic will not be allowed through in this area, but the city said residents will be able to reach businesses in the area through State Street to Park Avenue. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Downtown Champaign plaza opens; city announces live music plans
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Downtown Champaign has officially opened its plaza. 'Construction crews have been on a roll downtown: pouring and sandblasting concrete, planting trees, installing new bike racks, and finishing the stage decking,' city officials posted on Facebook. 'There are still a few final touches but…the plaza is open!' Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend offering free entries through donation Final touches that still need to be completed include bench swings, which should be installed at the end of April, and completing the stage in May. Nearby businesses are also setting up outdoor dining. 'From unique bike racks to wood-capped seating with accessibility cutouts, every detail in the plaza contributes to this space being one for everyone to relax, gather, and celebrate,' officials added. 'Come out and explore the space!' In addition, the city has also announced there will be three weekly concert series performing in the plaza this summer. These include: Rhythm & Roots – Live music during the Tuesday Farmers Market from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sound Bites – A lunchtime series on Thursdays, 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. And the return of Friday Night Live – on Fridays from 6 p.m. to – 9 p.m. Phase 2 for the plaza, which will include a public lawn, pop jet fountain and small business kiosks, will break ground next year. Construction for the plaza is funded by state grants. More pictures of the new plaza can be found by visiting Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Champaign smoke alarm foundation receives grant to support safety efforts
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — A Champaign-based foundation will continue pushing fire safety into the community for years to come thanks to state help. The Christian Sheehan Smoke Alarm Foundation gives out free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to the Champaign community. It's named after a Champaign man who died in a house fire. ImpactLife, Knights of Columbus hosting Champaign blood drive to combat donation decline Now, thanks to a $50,000 state grant, the foundation is in the final stages of getting the crucial cash to continue their life-saving operations well into the future. 'It's not a matter of 'do we have enough funds to keep getting smoke alarms,'' said Joy Sheehan, mother of the late Christian Sheehan. The foundation found out in October they'd be getting the $50,000. On Friday, WCIA caught up with Christian's mom, who's also the foundation's leader to see just how much this grant means for the organization's future and her son's legacy. 'This will go on for many years now, and I probably won't be around to see it,' Sheehan said. 'So, it's great.' It was 2016 when the Champaign community lost Christian Sheehan in a house fire. The 23-year-old's passing gave way to a foundation in his honor. Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend still asking for volunteers The Christian Sheehan Smoke Alarm Foundation holds yearly events where volunteers go door to door and offer to install new smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. 'To bring some good out of bad and give back to our community because everyone was just amazing and has been amazing to us since we lost our boy,' Sheehan said. She also said they got a special volunteer at last year's event when Senator Paul Faraci came to help. 'We had our last event in May, the senator, Faraci, came and volunteered, and I believe it was already by August that he reached out to me by a phone call,' Sheehan said. 'And then by October, I had an email, and now the community foundation has been working on this grant and expediting it, along with the Champaign Fire Department and going to make it happen.' The grant they'll receive will be up to $50,000. To put this in perspective, the campaign buys detectors for about $55, meaning the money will help them buy about 900 detectors. 'Each year, it was just trying to make sure we had enough for just that event,' Sheehan said. 'And so now with $50,000, this event will be able to go on for many more years.' Housing market expected to improve for buyers nationwide, what this means for Central IL: And for Sheehan, it means Christian's legacy in Champaign will continue to center around safety and security for years to come. 'Hopefully his life is helping save others and is drawing awareness to what a small price of what a smoke alarm is in comparison to a fatality of a loved one,' Sheehan said. This year's event is on May 3 at 8 a.m. with the volunteer home base at Franklin Middle will be trained by the Champaign Fire Department on how to install alarms. Sheehan said those interested in volunteering should head to the foundation's Facebook page or just show up at Franklin Middle School. The Champaign Fire Department is partnered with the foundation and told WCIA in a statement, part: 'The Sheehan family has been instrumental in providing equipment, resources and finances that support our efforts to provide life-saving smoke alarms within our community.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Housing market expected to improve for buyers nationwide, what this means for Central IL:
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Realtors across the nation are painting a more optimistic picture for people wanting to buy homes this spring, but the same might not be true for Central Illinois. They're hoping the market bounces back after sales of previously occupied houses fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. Realtors point to lower mortgage rates; prices and more properties being listed. But is the same true in Central Illinois? ImpactLife, Knights of Columbus hosting Champaign blood drive to combat donation decline One local realtor said no. Stefanie Pratt from Coldwell Banker said she's not seeing the same level of change in the area. Pratt said she had a closing on Friday, and that the house had several buyers fighting for the property with a few cash offers. For her, that's an indicator of tough times for buyers, especially for those trying to secure their first ever house. 'You're going against a lot of first-time buyers, especially your FHA loans, which are first time buyer loans or real development, some conventional that you don't see a lot of cash buyers on that, but we have been seeing more cash buyers still in the market,' Pratt said. 'And cash can actually beat out because if you over list price, they'll want to make sure that you can cover that amount over the list price in case there's an appraisal issue. So, a cash buyer is much more apt to actually have that and not worry about that appraisal gap.' Christie Clinic Illinois Race Weekend still asking for volunteers But with some trends changing in bigger cities, she said the public could see them in Champaign soon. Pratt said Champaign-Urbana is an insulated market because it's a college town. Because of the constant need for housing, the city sees the effects of housing trends after they hit areas like Chicago. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
