"You have people working against mass incarceration right here. CU Citizens for Peace and Justice is doing the work and they need your help, volunteers, and money." - Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow

Resources

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CUCPJ is committed to producing change in the Champaign Urbana Community. These Community Resources can provide support, information, and practical help for individuals who have questions or concerns involving civil rights or the criminal justice system.

 

Community ResourcesMural

Urbana-Champaign Indepenent Media Center: The Urbana-Champaign Independent  Media Cent er is a  grassroots organization committed to using media production and distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice in the Champaign County area. We foster the creation and distribution of media, art, and narratives emphasizing underrepresented voices and perspectives and promote empowerment and expression through media and arts education.

Champaign-Urbana Community Police Watch:: Champaign Urbana Community Police Watch is an interactive website that illustrates policing patterns in the C-U area through citizen reports of community-police interactions. On the website, citizens are encouraged to report their own experiences with the police by filling out the online form or by sending an email. We encourage all visitors to share their reports of community-police interactions, be they positive or negative, so that collectively our voices can be heard and the relationship between the community and the police improve in the future.

NAACP of Champaign County: The Champaign County Branch of the NAACP strives to ensure equal access to all rights, privileges and resources that contribute to the quality of life for the people it serves. The strength of our branch lies with the history of the organization and its membership. The Champaign County Branch is committed to building an organization that is trusted, respected and considered an effective resource for the Champaign County community.

Illinois Coalition Against Torture: The Illinois Coalition Against Torture (ICAT) educates on the complex issues of U.S. sponsored torture and shares that knowledge and experience with others so as to becom e a public witness against such torture.

eBlack Champaign-Urbana: A Collaborative Portal on African-American Experiences in Champaign-Urbana seeks to use digital technology to connect interested individuals to the dispersed documentation of African-American experiences in Champaign-Urbana. The website encourages individuals and groups to submit memories, images, links, citations and digitized texts. They welcome contributions from African-American citizens of Champaign-Urbana, past and present, as well as from other individuals who have content to share relating to local African-American experiences.

Ministerial Alliance of Champaign-Urbana an Vicinity: MACU & Vicinity are committed to pray, fasting and action to address our community concerns. We will continue to partner and collaborate with other groups.

 

Research Resources

Circuit Court Public Access Case Lookup System (PASS): The PASS system is intended to be a summary of information for the public. It does not take the place of the legal information that is held in the actual Court File. The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Champaign County accepts no liability for discrepancies between these electronic versions and the official printed documents. 

Urbana Free Library: Named one of "America's best public libraries" in national rating surveys published by The American Library Association, The Urbana Free Library has earned a reputation for the quality of its collections and for outstanding service to patrons of all ages. Additionally, they maintain the Champaign County Historical Archives, where you can discover a wealth of local history.

Champaign Public Library: The Champaign Public Library connects our community with the power of knowledge, the world of culture and ideas, and the joy of reading. The Champaign Public Library is among the top 100 public libraries in the nation, and among the top 10 public libraries in its population category, according to the 2010 Hennen’s American Public Library Ratings (HAPLR).

Champaign County Courtwatching Project: A six-year study performed by the Leauge of Women Voters and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana School of Law. Observers in these studies collectively found Champaign County’s courts to be respectful places where the formal proceedings were generally perceived to be fair and appropriate. At the same time, the reports raised concerns about how representative juries were in Champaign County, as findings demonstrated a significant discrepancy between the demographics of adults in the County and those in jury pools at the courthouse.

A Guide to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): A very thurough guide for using FOIA, put out by the Illinois Attorney General's office. Also see the Sunshine Review's Illinois FOIA article.

The Public i: The Public i, a project of the Urbana- Champaign Independent Media Center, is an independent, collectively-run, community- oriented publication that provides a forum for topics underreported and voices under- represented in the dominant media. They prefer, but do not necessarily restrict themselves to, articles on issues of local impact writted by authors with local ties.

 

Legal Resources

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Champaign County: The ACLU works daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

Mid-West Coalition for Human Rights: The Midwest Coalition for for Human Rights is a network of 46 advocacy organizations, service providers, and university-based human rights centers collaborating to promote and protect human rights in our Midwest region, in the U.S., and internationally. Working together we provide broader visibility for urgent human rights issues in the Heartland and project a strong Midwest advocacy voice in the national and international human rights debate.

Meeting The People's Law Office in Chicago: For 40 years, People’s Law Office has successfully represented victims of the police and other government officials. We have fought for justice for people who have been tortured or physically abused, wrongfully arrested or convicted, unfairly sentenced to death, or targeted as a result of their political beliefs or organizing efforts on behalf of movements struggling for justice and liberation. Through our lawsuits we have uncovered secret abuses by police and government officials - including a torture ring inside the Chicago Police Department - and have recovered millions of dollars for our clients through settlements and trial verdicts.