Stop the County Board from building 20 million dollar jail!

CUCPJ has been very active in fighting the plans of Sheriff Dan Walsh, State's Attorney Julia Reitz, and a handful of County Board members to significantly expand the number of beds in the satellite county jail in east Urbana. We oppose spending $20 million plus on a criminal justice system which locks up a disproportionate number of African Americans and contributes to the ability of the police and courts to harass and detain low-income members of our community. We believe that if the County Board is going to spend more than $20 million of our tax dollars, the money should go to education and other programs that will benefit the community and actually reduce crime.

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Posted Sat, 2010-01-23 16:57 by admin

The Champaign Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice (CUCPJ) is a black-led, multi-racial group, which seeks to expose and remedy racial and class inequities in a number of areas of life in the Champaign-Urbana community in Illinois. Since 2004, our action research regarding the criminal justice system has achieved many local gains and produced a large wealth of material on police accountability. These include critical histories we have connected to current cases of police abuse and the lack of transparency and accountability for police misconduct to help educate the public and advocate for victims and their families. Services we have provided to our community include our campaign against TASERs, support and referrals for families who have been the victims of police violence (including legal support and resources for two black activists charged for a "copwatch" program), reforming Champaign county jail in the wake of several inmate deaths, and the establishment of a legal fund.

CUCPJ was formed in the Fall of 2003 as a small group of concerned citizens sat down to contemplate what we could do to address the attempt by the Champaign police department to purchase tasers, the high powered electrical stun guns. Aaron and Carol Ammons, Danielle Schumacher, Kimberlie Kranich and Danielle Chynoweth sat down at the International House of Pancakes and decided that we would devote our time and energy to opposing the purchase. It was at this meeting we brainstormed and gave birth to the name Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice because we are from the twin cities, we are Citizens, and we work for Peace and Justice.

CUCPJ is currently engaged in an effort to educate and mobilize the public against plans for a new jail. For more go to "Jail Campaign."

Feel free to contact us with questions or concerns. As a community group, we are eager to recieve feedback from any community members.

In addition, we encourage you to visit Champaign-Urbana Community Police Watch, where citizens can report their own interactions with area police.

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Stop the County Board from building 20 million dollar jail!

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