[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6204529,"mediaKeyId","3778808-c0cbe1a181d12a345469306a8b24680a","parentId",3778808,"title","Lincoln Legacy Committee asks board for funding help to refresh courthouse exhibit","audioSeconds",567,"startMs",1888000,"endMs",2455000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3778808-c0cbe1a181d12a345469306a8b24680a&start=1888&end=2455","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3778808-c0cbe1a181d12a345469306a8b24680a/thumbnail_1888000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6204529/Champaign-County/Illinois/Lincoln-Legacy-Committee-asks-board-for-funding-help-to-refresh-courthouse-exhibit","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6204529-e3321158d80f0621a29f8745b85dcbef/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440100&Signature=kGYbQKtncKeDheaMsBDe07n4anx9gjVn0UN~PR7R5IoP2qkefliQOJ9g-1BABYR5OM-JOU0LTFweMSDhSqFLW8P8-3EaWVf8asLna0ifhkMStSPrddAlihhX6WotfRrZhNYE2NlaoNUf7H3YjKTmLbYhsgFFJx0iEww5jSoS22ATlJ5VdiYoFieqNfdjyuG5eyZxcbr0duWDpGn-VNnw6UvWcqCR0oxp6lh-KegZ4aFHVEynNeES2B82kFyAobNybMNVS92Yk-prwtPwOy7qAv60Z3t2sCZmDm~Vzy68h~jNcxf8jB96u~IWh6wD7qcUg3YuKzqdG978M1SnG7oxHg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Champaign County, IL","date","2025-06-12T05:57:49.007Z","article","The Lincoln Legacy Committee briefed the Champaign County Board on its courthouse exhibit and asked the board to consider modest support to refresh audio‑visual elements and materials.

\"We are hoping to at least do a quick renovation of the exhibit,\" said Barb Olschleger Garby, a historian and member of the Lincoln Legacy Committee, who presented the committee’s work and plans to the board. The exhibit, which opened in February in the bicentennial year of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, documents Lincoln’s legal work and local connections in Champaign County.

The committee described its prior grant work and ongoing projects. Garby said the committee secured a $121,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to produce the initial courthouse exhibit and to contract Taylor Studios for installation. The committee also noted a complementary exhibit at the Museum of the Grand Prairie and a network of nine Lincoln wayside markers around the county.

Garby outlined near‑term priorities: an AV refresh (to correct some audio and visual problems), completion of a public brochure and an online “trail” of Lincoln‑related sites, and participation in an upcoming exhibit on the Underground Railroad at the Urbana Free Library in early 2026. She warned that the federal grant program that previously funded the exhibit has been reduced, saying, \"the Institute of Museum and Library Services... has been stripped of its funding at the moment,\" and the committee will therefore seek private donations and alternative grants for any major renovation.

County Board liaison Eric Thorsland thanked the committee for their work and praised its members. \"Barb is a wealth of knowledge,\" Thorsland said, and noted that much of the committee’s fundraising has come from private donors and grants rather than county general funds.

No board vote followed the presentation. Committee members said they will return with proposals and costs if they identify specific funding needs.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Champaign County - Committee of the Whole - 6/10/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Lincoln Legacy Committee updated the Champaign County Board on an exhibit in the courthouse, outlined recent and planned activities, and requested modest funding to address audio‑visual and brochure updates.","taxTitle","Champaign County, Illinois","taxId",2552,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6204534,"Residents urge Champaign County Board to consider a countywide reparations commission",350,209000,559000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3778808-c0cbe1a181d12a345469306a8b24680a&start=209&end=559","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3778808-c0cbe1a181d12a345469306a8b24680a/thumbnail_209000.jpg","/articles/6204534/Champaign-County/Illinois/Residents-urge-Champaign-County-Board-to-consider-a-countywide-reparations-commission","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6204534-46699057002b11ee6bd0fe465d1615c9/orig.mp4?Expires=1770440100&Signature=Iy-PP~36UQloVLTB8eqjl~uxjq2ZdIN2yzwXgnE-oVhywYhTzkLnoaAYaF2N6AdDK0q53ZN4EcPmE5byv4DsdlS7m7E2ZyGUv1yuvSYLzY0GaXgvhPeEwuFsmtEA3q~ChP7WUXvieX0WQjn3lzg46qeAl3ykewXZ5BD6F7whY~mhgBOgCs6ySAIABQeGN1sVWUcUfZxbgZyKS6jT~fQWIS-gmwBr7d3vjctj6PXf81E9K~fl756Xs6JBxbqg7yXTWSgM~OyKYRi6CMk3hIQ4NxWqcpJDJAb2tasg4ApV882A~g2AfoNmFcc8J-xiSYWEF-AQk-t14LJBz82X542EIA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Champaign County Board meeting, several residents asked the board to support forming a countywide reparations commission to research harms done to African Americans in Champaign County and recommend remedies.

Speakers said a commission would gather local history, conduct community outreach and produce recommendations for reparative actions. \"Reparations is definitely not a new concept,\" said Jeffrey Trask, Midwest regional leader for First Repair and a member of the Champaign‑Urbana Reparations Coalition, as he outlined national and local precedents.

The request came during the board’s public‑comment period and carried examples intended to show feasibility and precedent. Trask pointed to Evanston’s program, which has directed more than $5 million toward reparative housing grants and noted university commitments he said included $100 million gifts from major institutions. \"Our hope is that the city of Urbana, City of Champaign, Champaign County Board, and folks from UIUC... can be on this commission,\" Trask said.

Younger residents also spoke in favor. \"Reparations are really a way to dig into that harm and be very intentional about the way that we do that healing,\" said Jada Fulcher, 25, identifying herself as a youth representative for the local coalition. Fulcher described local effects she and peers attribute to segregation, policing disparities and unequal access to opportunity in Champaign County.

Renee Antrocio, a licensed clinical social worker and pastor at New Covenant Fellowship, described local congregation efforts to contribute directly: she said members have “contributed out of their own pockets... over $50,000 to a reparations fund” for targeted supports such as college savings accounts for African American children. James Lohr, a resident and local business owner, cited public‑health statistics and historic redlining records he said demonstrate disparate outcomes for Black residents in the county.

Speakers asked the board to permit a fuller presentation from the coalition and to consider being represented on any future commission; board members thanked speakers and indicated willingness to be contacted to schedule a fuller presentation.

The comments did not result in any formal board motion or vote during the meeting. The public‑comment speakers said they will return with a fuller presentation and asked the board to consider future steps.","Multiple public commenters representing local reparations groups told the Champaign County Board they want a county-level commission to research and recommend reparations tailored to local harms, citing examples from other U.S. cities.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Lincoln Legacy Committee asks board for funding help to refresh courthouse exhibit

Residents urge Champaign County Board to consider a countywide reparations commission