Latest news with #UrbanaCityCouncil
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EDITORIAL: What's the point of having rights if we don't exercise them?
May 9—Labor negotiations are usually confined to the negotiating table, and for a very good reason. When both sides are talking in a serious way, they generally can find avenues to agreement. That's why it's called collective bargaining, a process driven by a mutual goal and the willingness to compromise to get there. But negotiations between Champaign County officials and union employees have taken a slightly different approach. Union leaders and members have appeared before the county board and in public to demand a more generous offers, apparently in the hope that management will feel public pressure and offer more in terms of salary and benefits. Public speech is A-OK, but this is an argument that will be resolved at the bargaining table and not in public. Why? Because most people are not familiar with the issues — What do employees really want? How much does management have to give? — they'll sit it out, perhaps paying some attention but mostly living life in the usual fashion. Whatever their instincts, they don't feel like they have a dog in the fight. They do, of course, because ordinary people pay the taxes that support county government. But it's hard to draw a direct line between a wage agreement and property taxes. Not long after county employees engaged in their public display, there was a similar effort at the City Building in Champaign. An anti-Israel contingent protested in front of the municipal building and later before the city council to complain about the Israel/Hamas war in Gaza. The protesters want the city to condemn Israel, a spokesman complaining that city officials have responded disrespectfully with "one year of silence." Again, this is a speech issue with a questionable goal, much like one earlier that went on before the Urbana City Council. It's been pointless to note, as Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen has repeatedly, that city councils in Champaign-Urbana have nothing to do with a war between Israel and Hamas, and even if the city wanted to exercise some influence over it, it lacks the authority to do so. In their hearts, the anti-Israel contingent has to know that. So what is going on? The answer is as simple as it is clear. Members of these groups are — rightly or wrongly — aggrieved to the point of wanting to have their say in public. The U.S. Constitution grants people individual rights to speak out, and they are exercising that privilege. Their ends may not be attainable, but the means are well within American traditions.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Urbana City Mayor Diane Marlin
URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) – In this week's Meet the Mayor, WCIA's Mitchell Rife sat down with Diane Marlin to talk about her final months as Urbana's Mayor. Mayor Marlin has been at the helm since 2017, but says her service to the Urbana and Central Illinois community has more history than just being on city council. 'As long as long as I've lived here, I've been a volunteer in the community in some capacity or another,' Marlin said. 'And as far as serving as an elected official, I served for eight years on the Urbana City Council and finishing up eight years as Mayor of Urbana.' The food hall purchase has been a big discussion point as well, with many restaurants like Smith Burger. READ MORE: Urbana's Broadway Food Hall to reopen as The Yard on Broadway with more restaurants Urbana city leaders have also focused a lot of time on rebuilding the financial foundation. 'We've eliminated our structural deficit, we rebuilt our city emergency reserves, we have restored pension funding,' Marlin said. 'We're on track for, you know, proper pension funding. And we have gone to things like a cloud-based financial system, launched a new website.' Marlin reflected on her final months in the role. 'It's the best job I have ever had, being Mayor of Urbana; and it's also by far the hardest job I ever had,' she said. 'But taken as a whole, there is no better way to impact people's lives and to help people than to serve in local government. This is where the decisions, all of the decisions you make, have a direct impact on on the folks you live with in and see every day.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
