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)

The Champaign County Clerk is hosting tax town halls this summer

(Julie McClure / Smile Politely)

Illinois football assistant Austin Clark named in LA Times story about violations at USC

Clark, who was a Graduate Assistant at the time, allegedly conspired to pay students to take classes for Graduate Student-athletes.

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

This is neat