Champaign, Illinois

History

Champaign was founded in 1855, when the Illinois Central Railroad laid its rail track two miles (3 km) west of downtown Urbana. Originally called "West Urbana", it was renamed Champaign when it acquired a city charter in 1860. Both the city and county name were derived from Champaign County, Ohio.

During February 1969, Carl Perkins joined with Bob Dylan to write the song "Champaign, Illinois", which Perkins released on his album On Top. The band Old 97's took another Bob Dylan song, "Desolation Row", and combined its melody with new lyrics to make a new song "Champaign, Illinois", which they released with Dylan's blessing on their 2010 album The Grand Theatre Volume One. It achieved considerable popularity. The two "Champaign, Illinois" songs are not similar to each other, except that Bob Dylan was involved in both of them.

On September 22, 1985, Champaign hosted the first Farm Aid concert at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. The concert drew a crowd of 80,000 people and raised over $7 million for American family farmers.

In 2005, Champaign-Urbana (specifically the University of Illinois) was the location of the National Science Olympiad Tournament, attracting young scientists from all 50 states. The city also hosts the state Science Olympiad competition every year. The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign once again hosted the National competition on May 20–22, 2010.

In 2013, Champaign was rated fifth best place in the United States for a healthy work-life balance.

Location

According to the 2010 census, Champaign has a total area of 22.457 square miles (58.16 km²), of which 22.43 square miles (58.09 km²) (or 99.88%) is land and 0.027 square miles (0.07 km²) (or 0.12%) is water.

Champaign is located on relatively high ground, providing sources to the Kaskaskia River to the west, and the Embarras River to the south. Downtown Champaign drains into Boneyard Creek, which feeds the Saline Branch of the Salt Fork Vermilion River.

Champaign shares a border with the neighboring city of Urbana; together they are home to the University of Illinois. Champaign, Urbana, and the bordering village of Savoy form the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area also known as Champaign-Urbana. It may also be colloquially known as the "Twin Cities" or Chambana.

The following diagram represents localities within a 35 miles (56 km) radius of Champaign.

Climate

The city has a humid continental climate, typical of the Midwestern United States, with hot summers and cold, moderately snowy winters. Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32.2 °C) on an average of 24 days per year, and typically fall below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) on six nights annually. The record high temperature in Champaign was 109 °F (42.8 °C) in 1954, and the record low was −25 °F (−31.7 °C), recorded on four separate occasions − in 1899, 1905, 1994 and 1999.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, 81,055 people and 34,434 total housing units in Champaign. The population density was 3,974.6 people per square mile (1,534.4/km²). There were 28,556 housing units at an average density of 1,681.0 per square mile (648.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.8% White, 15.62% African-American, 0.3% Native American, 10.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.7% from other races, and 3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino individuals of any race made up 6.3% of the population.

According to the 2010 Census the city's 32,152 households, 21.5% included children under age 18, 33.1% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.7% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 persons and the average family size was 2.97.

According to the 2010 Census of all individuals, 17.3% were under age 18, 22.5% from 20 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 18% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% were age 65 or older. The median age was 25.7 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.9 males.

According to the 2010 Census the median income for a household in the city was $41,403, and the median income for a family was $72,819. The per capita income for the city was $24,855. About 11.9% of families and 26.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Mayor

The current city executive or Mayor of Champaign is Deborah Frank Feinen who assumed office in May 2015.

List of mayors:

City Council

The representative body of Champaign is known as the City Council. Currently, the City Council is composed of three At-Large members and one member from each of the five council districts located within the city limits. As of July 2016, its members are: Tom Bruno (At-Large), Will Kyles (At-Large), Matthew Gladney (At-Large), Clarissa Fourman (District 1), Michael LaDue (District 2), Angie Brix (District 3), Greg Stock (District 4), and Paul Faraci (District 5).

Other representation

Scott Bennett (D) represents Champaign in the Illinois Senate while Carol Ammons (D) represents Champaign in the Illinois House of Representatives. Rodney L. Davis (R) serves Illinois's 13th congressional district, which includes Champaign, in the United States House of Representatives.

Andrew J. Quarnstrom (D) is the City of Champaign Township Supervisor. Elected in 2013, he is in his second term in office.

Economy

In addition to the University of Illinois, Champaign is also home to Parkland College. Herff Jones, formerly the Collegiate Cap and Gown, also forms part of the city's industrial base.

The city also features a large technology and software industry mostly focusing on research and development of new technologies. The Research Park, located in southern Champaign and backed by the University of Illinois, is home to many companies, including Riverbed Technology, Citrix Systems, Abbott Laboratories, Dow Innovation Center, Intelligent Medical Objects, Yahoo! and the State Farm Research Center. Numerous other software and technology companies also have offices in Champaign including AMD, Intel, IBM, Amdocs, Infobright, Instarecon, Phonak, Power World, Caterpillar Simulation Center, and Volition, Inc.. The largest high technology employer is Wolfram Research, with more than 400 employees in Champaign. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign.

Champaign is also home to nationally recognized record labels, artist management companies, booking agencies and recording studios. Polyvinyl Records, Undertow Music, Parasol Records, Great Western Record Recorders, Pogo Studios, and Nicodemus Booking Agency are all based in Champaign.

In April 2011, the Christian Science Monitor named Champaign-Urbana one of the five cities leading the economic turnaround based on jobs; the information sector added over 300 jobs within a year and unemployment dropped 2.1%.

Top employers

According to the City's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Other major employers include Jimmy John's, Futaba Corporation, and Horizon Hobby.

Champaign City Building

The Champaign City Building serves as the City Hall and is a recognizable landmark. The building replaces the original city building, which sat on the same site until 1937.

Downtown

In the 1980s, part of the downtown Champaign area (Neil St.) was closed to vehicular traffic to create a pedestrian mall, but this short-lived experiment was scrapped when business declined. As part of a revitalization effort, One Main Development constructed two new mixed-use buildings: One Main and M2 on Neil. The City of Champaign gave $3.7 million in tax incentives for the building of M2 and agreed to pay nearly $11 million for a new parking deck.

This growth in downtown Champaign coincided with the larger growth of the "north Prospect" shopping district on the city's northern boundary. The growth in the north Prospect area relied, in part, on leapfrogging, moving out to the countryside and developing more remote farm land that eventually connects to the main development. Given the overwhelming success of such suburban shopping areas nationally, new development within any city center represented an alternative to the dominant movement out and away from the cities.

In April 2007, One Main Development broke ground on M2 on Neil, a nine-story, $40 million, mixed-use project – the largest ever for downtown Champaign – located at the corner of Neil and Church Street. M2 on Neil features retail and office space, and 50 upscale condominiums. Opened in 2009, the M2 project has been a significant part of the revitalization of downtown and has persevered through the global economic challenges to become a destination for business owners and residents seeking the energy of the downtown community. M2 stands where a surface parking lot was just a decade ago. It also encompasses the restored façade of the original Trevett-Mattis Bank, originally at 112 W. Church St. on the south side of the building.

As of 2016, all of the condos have been sold to private owners and the office and retail floors of the building hit 95% occupancy. A unique feature of the M2 building is The Enclave, located on the 4th floor. The Enclave offers office space to smaller businesses in a Class A office environment with shared amenities like shared reception, business center, conference rooms, kitchen and more. The increase in business tenants and residents now located in One Main Plaza and M2 have revived the downtown atmosphere and it is now a thriving center of dining and entertainment. One Main Plaza featured retail tenants such as Big Grove Tavern, Ko Fusion, Merry Ann’s Diner and Snow Meets Coffee. M2on Neil features Destihl, Miga, Dublin O’Neil’s and Mongolia 301. You can learn more about each property at www.onemainplaza.com and www.m2onneil.com.

The City of Champaign has constructed a six-story parking structure on Hill Street adjacent to M2, intended to service the greater Downtown; it was completed in May 2009.

For more information on Downtown Champaign visit the Champaign Center Partnerships website.

The Art Theater Co-op

The Art Theater Co-op, which shows critically acclaimed independent and foreign films, was built in 1913 as the Park Theatre. It has since undergone several changes in name and repertoire, including a phase from 1969 to 1986, in which it showed adult films. The theater is the only single-screen movie theater still in existence operating daily as a movie theater in Champaign-Urbana, and is the nation's first co-operatively owned art movie theater.

Historic Virginia Theatre

The historic Virginia Theatre is a recently restored 1525-seat movie theater, dating back to the 1920s. It has an ornate, Spanish Renaissance-influenced interior, full stage and dressing rooms, and an elaborate Wurlitzer pipe organ. It hosts Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival and has a single 56' x 23' screen. The theater does not have a daily show schedule, but schedules special screenings and live performances several times each month.

Campustown

Located along Green Street, this commercial district serves as the entertainment and retail center for students at the University of Illinois. This area has been undergoing change since 2002 with the completion of a new $7 million streetscape project. Campustown is now attracting new retail and entertainment stores as well as serving as the center for new construction projects. Several new projects opened in 2008 including the 18-story Burnham 310 high-rise and grocery store at 4th and Springfield, and a new 24-story apartment building called 309 Green.

The newly renamed Tower at 3rd (formerly Champaign Hilton, Century 21, Quality Inn, University Inn, Presidential Tower) is located in the University District and is over twenty stories high. A hotel until 2001, it currently houses student apartments.

A new 14-story apartment complex was completed in 2014 at the intersection of 6th and Green streets (site of the former Gameday Spirit). A 12-story, mixed-use complex consisting of a hotel, apartments and parking was scheduled to be completed by August 2015. The mixed-use complex is reported to consist of two towers which will be connected by a skywalk. A 27-story apartment building is planned at 308 East Green Street. This high-rise is reported to have an automated parking vault which will be operated by an elevator.

Parks

There are 60 parks, 11 trails, and 14 facilities within the city of Champaign, totaling over 654 acres (2.65 km²).

Museums

Illinois Fighting Illini

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign fields ten men and eleven women varsity sports.

Memorial Stadium

Built from 1922–1923, Memorial Stadium was named in honor of the students and faculty members who died overseas during World War I. Since opening in 1923, Memorial Stadium has been home to Illinois Fighting Illini football. The stadium also was the temporary home of the NFL's Chicago Bears for the 2002 season while its regular venue Soldier Field was being renovated.

State Farm Center

Originally Assembly Hall, the State Farm Center is home to the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball and Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball teams. It holds the annual Broadway Series, which features popular musicals.

Minor League Baseball

During its history, the city has been home to several separate minor league baseball clubs. The first in 1889 was a shared club between Champaign and Logansport, Indiana called the Logansport/Champaign-Urbana Clippers. The Clippers played for one season in the Illinois–Indiana League before folding.

The city hosted its second team, the Champaign-Urbana Velvets from 1911–1914 who played in the Illinois–Missouri League until the league disbanded after 1914.

The city's most recent minor league team was the Champaign-Urbana Bandits who played during the single 1994 season of the Great Central League. The Bandits played at Illinois Field. Prior to holding postseason play, the league folded.

Twice Champaign was also home to a Collegiate Summer Baseball League team. The city's Champaign County Colts were a founding member of the Central Illinois Collegiate League from 1963–1964. In 1990 the Colts were revived as the Champaign-Urbana Colts until the team folded in 1996. The more recent club played its home games at Illinois Field.

Minor League Basketball

In October 2014, the Midwest Professional Basketball Association announced the creation of the Champaign Swarm as one of its founding members, scheduled to begin play at the Dodds Athletic Center in January 2015.

K-12 education

The city of Champaign is served by Champaign Unit 4 School District. Unit 4 administers both Champaign Central High School and Champaign Centennial High School.

Champaign is also served by two private high schools. The larger of the two is a Roman Catholic High school, St. Thomas More High School which is located on the city's far northwest side. The school opened in 2000 and is the newest charter of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria.

The other is Judah Christian School, which is located just south of I-74 on Prospect Avenue. Judah Christian opened in 1983 and serves about 120 9th- 12th grade students. The entire school's pre-K through 12th grade enrollment is a little more than 500 students.

Higher education

Located within Champaign are two institutions of higher education, the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and Parkland College.

Transportation

Champaign is served by I-57, I-72, I-74, two railroad lines, and the University of Illinois operated Willard Airport (CMI).

Airport

Champaign is served by Willard Airport (CMI) which is operated by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. The airport is currently served by American Airlines offering daily flights to Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Housed at the Willard Airport was the University of Illinois Institute of Aviation, which was forced to close for the 2013–2014 academic year due to university budget cuts after 60 years of operation.

Mass transit

The local bus system, which is supported by the taxpayers of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) and the University of Illinois, serves Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, and surrounding areas. The C-U MTD has twice been named as the best local transit system in the United States.

Illinois Terminal

In 1999, a newly designed intermodal transportation center, aptly named Illinois Terminal by historic reference to the defunct electric interurban rail line that once ran through Champaign, was completed and serves as a central facility for intercity passenger rail, bus services as well as the MTD's local bus network.

Rail

Amtrak provides service to Champaign-Urbana by Train 58/59, the City of New Orleans, Train 390/391, the Saluki Train 392/393, the Illini.

The former Illinois Central Railroad line — now part of the Canadian National system — runs north to south through the city. A spur line from the Canadian National line provides service to several large industries, including two large food processing plants, on the west edge of Champaign and two grain elevators in outlying communities to the west. The Norfolk Southern operates an east to west line through Champaign. The NS line connects industries in eastern Urbana to the Norfolk Southern main line at Mansfield, Illinois, west of Champaign. The line now operated by Norfolk Southern is the former Peoria & Eastern Railway, later operated as part of the Big Four (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway), New York Central, Penn Central, and Conrail systems, being sold by Conrail to Norfolk Southern in 1996. Construction of the line was begun by the Danville, Urbana, Bloomington and Pekin Railroad. This short-lived entity became part of the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railway before the railroad was completed.

Bus

Greyhound Lines, Peoria Charter Coach Company and Suburban Express bus companies provide intercity bus service to Champaign.

FM radio

AM radio

NOAA Weather Radio

NOAA Weather Radio station WXJ76 transmits from Champaign and is licensed to NOAA's National Weather Service Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office at Lincoln, broadcasting on a frequency of 162.550 MHz (channel 7 on most newer weather radios, and most SAME weather radios). The station activates the SAME tone alarm feature and a 1050 Hz tone activating older radios (except for AMBER Alerts, using the SAME feature only) for hazardous weather and non-weather warnings and emergencies, along with selected weather watches, for the Illinois counties of Champaign, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Moultrie, Piatt, and Vermillion. Weather permitting, a tone alarm test of both the SAME and 1050 Hz tone features are conducted every Wednesday between 11 AM and Noon.

Television

Print and electronic media