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LIFE & CULTURE, 6A
MONDAY September 23, 2013
THE DAILY ILLINI
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 143 Issue 16
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As crime rises, UIPD brings back iWatch
Jewish holiday jams
UIPD reboots iWatch with hopes of raising awareness 0RUH RQOLQH Visit ZZZ 'DLO\,OOLQL FRP to learn
BY DANIELLE BROWN ASSISTANT DAYTIME EDITOR
The University Police Department and the Office of the Dean of Students have teamed up to reboot the iWatch Program. IWatch is a program that University Detective Becky Lauher and the UIPD started about three years ago and is very similar to Neighborhood Watch. University police said the goal is to teach students and faculty on campus how to be good witnesses for the police and to make everyone on cam-
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Members of the band Roger’s Park sing in the evening on Sept. 22 as part of the Illini Chabad annual concert on the Quad. The concert honors the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which began Sept. 18 and ends Sept. 25.
Wishmakers to donate barn dance profit to Make-A-Wish CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Two years ago, 7-year-old Will was eligible for a gift from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Diagnosed with cancer, he was able to go to Disney World with his family thanks to funding by Wishmakers, a University registered student organization. Wishmakers, a University registered student organization, grants wishes to at least two children a year and works directly with the Illinois branch of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. To raise the money, the group holds a variety of fundraisers and dinners throughout the year.
One such fundraiser was the Wishmaker’s barn dance, held Saturday. With tickets priced at $15, buses picked up attendees outside of KAM’S and transported them to Miner Farm, 5316 West Bloomington Rd., where there was a DJ and hay rides. Margaret Johnson , event coordinator and junior in Media, said in its second year, the dance is one of the group’s bigger fundraisers. She added that the barn dance is one of the organization’s most widely attended events. Johnson said having a barn dance is a good way to bring
awareness to Wishmakers and gain more support from students, as the organization is relatively new to campus. “That’s really what we’ve been trying to do recently, trying to blend our fundraising and our events into what maybe some other clubs and groups have done in the past so that (students) become a little bit more aware (of us),” Johnson said. T he g roup has other fundraisers throughout the year, including a cupcake sale on the Quad and events
Combined statement of activities from the National Make-A-Wish Foundation and related entities for fiscal year 2012 Total public support: $192,827,997 Q Total spent on wish granting: $148,631,757 Q Total spent on public information: $14,019,435 Q Average cost of granting a wish: $7,500 Q
BY ELI MURRAY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Urba n a’s qu a r ter - c ent sales tax increase will go into effect Jan. 1, 2014, and the city will see an estimated tax revenue increase of $686,000. The city of Urbana will only see $343,000 in Fiscal Year 2013 because January falls midway through the fiscal year. This leaves an additional $660,000 in expenditures to be covered, according to an Aug. 22 city council memorandum from Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing. Ur b a n a City Council approved the sales tax
Hundreds of ChampaignUrbana citizens lined up on South Glover Avenue on Thursday morning, hoping to ride home on a previously abandoned bike that had been recovered by Urbana Police. However, the Urbana Police Department had more people than they had bikes at the free bike giveaway. Lt. Robert Fitzgerald, of Urbana Police Department, said this was at least the fourth time the event was held. This time, the department had more than 100 bikes to give away. The bikes distributed had been abandoned and recovered in Urbana but were never claimed by their original owners. “We used to give the bikes to the Boys & Girls Clubs,” Fitzgerald said. “But when people stopped wanting them, we started the bike giveaway.” Fitzgerald also said people line up as early as three hours prior to the giveaway to ensure they get a bike because it’s based on a fi rst-come, fi rstserved basis. Bikes were free
SEE IWATCH | 3A
increase 6-1 on Sept. 14, following Champaign’s quartercent increase in June. Beginning Jan. 1, Urbana’s sales tax will reach 9 percent — higher than Springfield’s current 8 percent and just shy of Chicago’s 9.25 percent sales tax rates. Eric Jakobsson, Ward 2, said he voted to increase the sales tax “because the choice was (between) increasing (sales) tax, or increasing other taxes, or cutting services.” “It would be a very hard choice between cutting (social services) or cutting person-
SEE TAXES | 3A
Urbana City Council approved quarter-cent sales tax increase will begin in January and seeks to reduce the current deficit.
SEE MAKE-A-WISH | 3A
OLD TAX RATE
NEW TAX RATE
9%
8.75%
J. GUMBO’S
After stolen bikes go unclaimed, C-U citizens line up to receive a free bike STAFF WRITER
» » » » »
Tax rate increase to effect popular restaurant prices in Urbana
Urbana PD give bikes away to local residents BY ARIELL CARTER
pus feel comfortable with police when reporting crimes and suspicious activity. “We also basically want to try and get people to be more aware of what’s going on around campus and to create a sense of
Urbana tax increase to begin »on»Jan. » » 1» »
SADIE TEPER THE DAILY ILLINI
BY MIRANDA HOLLOWAY
more about UIPD and Office of the Dean of Student’s iWatch program.
AVG. ENTREE PRICE
$7.43
to Champaign-Urbana citizens, but there was a limit of one bike per person. All bikes were gone by 10:30 a.m., and the giveaway ended about an hour and a half earlier than the scheduled time. Champaign resident Nika Lucks said she was upset that she had missed the opportunity to get a free bike. “I got here at 10:30 a.m. and the police said there were 500 people lined up when they opened,” Lucks said. “If I had known it was fi rst-come, fi rstserved, I would’ve slept here or something!” Fitzgerald confi rmed a large turnout and Urbana Police left the warehouse before 11 a.m. with no bikes left to give away. Amelia Neptune, campus bike coordinator, said the best way to keep a bike from being classified as “abandoned” is to register it at go.illinois.edu/ mybike. This website allows owners to register their bikes with a description of it and the MELISSA MCCABE THE DAILY ILLINI A recipient of a bike from the Urbana Police Bike Giveaway pumps owner’s contact information. up the tires of his free bike. The Urbana Police gave out over 100 Ariell can be reached at abandoned bikes, which the police recovered, to people who came to carterc2@illinimedia.com. the event in Urbana on Thursday.
$7.44
ROSATI’S
AVG. LARGE SPECIALTY PIZZA
$23.76
$23.82
TIMPONE’S AVG. ENTREE PRICE
$27.00
$27.06
BREAD CO. AVG. ENTREE PRICE
$17.07
$17.11
EST. REVENUE INCREASE
THE CURRENT DEFICIT
$686,000 $1,000,000 SCOTT DURAND THE DAILY ILLINI
SOURCE: FIRSTHAND, AUG. 22 MEMO (PRUSSING)
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