IMC to Urbana council: New rules causing us to be ‘regulated out of existence’
The City of Urbana has imposed stiff new regulations (shocking, I know) on the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. So much so that IMC advocates fear that the center may cease to exist if the regulations are enforced.
Music venues in C-U have shut down with regularity over the past few years, but the IMC is one that has remained, and in doing so, become a de facto center of DIY scenes spanning many genres, in addition to its many other community-serving initiatives. Now, one of the final remaining bastions of the C-U music culture is under fire:
The city’s new guidelines for the IMC said all events open to the public there would be required to apply for a special-event permit 45 days in advance, pay a $100 processing fee if the event is not produced by the IMC — which is more than double the $40-an-hour fee that the IMC charges — and submit a security plan.
“The IMC leadership was shocked by the lack of communication and collaboration from the city of Urbana, where we hold trusted relationships, as well as an unbelievably all-encompassing net the city was casting,” Medina said.
Something of note: the IMC has also become a hub for hip-hop shows lately, booking local acts that other spaces in town refuse to. Hopefully I’m wrong, but this reads as a somewhat veiled attempt to curb hip-hop in C-U, which comes around every few years. It feels eerily familiar.
(Adalberto Toledo / News-Gazette)
(Featured photo from Google Street View)
Urbana City Council OK’s Downtown Hotel Redevelopment Deal
(Jim Meadows / Illinois Public Media)
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(Julie McClure / Smile Politely)
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Not great! We’ll see what more comes from this. I’m sure Whitman or Lovie will have comments sooner or later.
(Nathan Fenno / Los Angeles Times)
JB’s coming to town tomorrow
(Tim Ditman / News-Gazette)
Update: U Of I Dining & Building Service Workers Vote To Authorize Strike
(Christine Herman / Illinois Public Media)
Danville officials ready to push in chips on finding developer for potential casino
Hell yeah.
(Tracy Crane / News-Gazette)
Here’s a Campus construction picture update
Construction progress on Wright: from r/UIUC
[…] An update from last week. […]