THE DAILY ILLINI
THURSDAY August 31, 2017
77˚ | 62˚
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 147 Issue 2
Businesses hindered by construction BY GILLIAN DUNLOP ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
As construction continues along Green Street, some restaurants are negatively affected by the blockage. “It got tough,” said Armando Sandoval, owner of Maize Mexican Grill located at 60 E. Green St. “They were closing all the streets so we didn’t have access to three different places. The construction blocked our parking lot for Cinco de Mayo; my customers couldn’t get in.” Sandoval opened a second restaurant location at 110 N. Chestnut St. in Champaign before the construction began, which saved Maize's profits. “We thought (opening the new location) was the only way to survive the summer,” he said. “But I had to move my location before I was ready for it.” Sandoval decided to close Maize’s Green Street location for the summer because of the construction. “We had to close it down because they took away most of my sidewalk
around it and I knew they were going to take away my whole corner,” Sandoval said. Before construction began, the project’s website issued a statement saying it planned to minimize inconveniences as much as possible, and signs were put up reminding patrons that stores were still open. Other stores along Green Street did not face as many problems during construction. “It hasn’t been too bad since (construction workers) left our lot pretty much open at least one way on Green Street,” said Isaac Dumoulin, Wild Side Smoke Shop employee. “So people would come in and turn around and see our business.” Dumoulin said the profits at Wild Side Smoke Shop, located at 30 E. Green St., actually doubled this summer compared to previous summers, but that had to do with a management change. The Illinois budget crisis halted construction during the summer, prolonging the blockage along
Green Street. “We were irritated (about the budget crisis) because we obviously want the entire lot open so people can get back to us without hassle,” Dumoulin said. Campus Pantry, another local store located at 112 E. Green St., also did not lose any profits, but did face the inconvenience of construction. "It would be a lot better if there was a straight shot to enter the store," said Michael Amoo Otoo, Campus Pantry employee. Although not all businesses were negatively affected due to construction, small businesses like Maize were lucky to make it through unscathed. “People were still making their way to the restaurant; we are lucky people like the restaurant a lot,” Sandoval said. “For me, being a small business, it was really hard, so we were really fortunate to have the other location JESSICA JUTZI THE DAILY ILLINI as backup.” Over the summer, the Maize on First and Green streets closed due to lack of access from delayed construction.
gdunlop2@dailyillini.com
Ebel moves from lecture hall to campaign trail want to be very careful," he said. "I don’t want to start entering into agreements until I’m actually sure we have the resources to meet those obligations." Ebel is also consciously separating his role at the University from his candidacy for Congress. “I do not want to use my position here at any way to influence,” Ebel said. He noted he’s not contacting political groups on campus, but is open to speaking to them if asked through his campaign website. Ebel is teaching a full course load this semester, but is breaking from that to start a fellowship Jan. 1, 2018. He’ll be focusing on research, which gives him more time to campaign. “We will be running an aggressive campaign starting now, and I will be able to use much more of my time in January,” he said. If elected, he expects to step down from his current position at the University.
BY JESSICA BURSZTYNSKY NEWS EDITOR
ELISABETH NEELY THE DAILY ILLINI
University of Illinois Religion Professor, Jonathan Ebel, announced his run for Rodney Davis’ 13th Congressional District seat for the coming year.
Students enrolled in Jonathan Ebel’s religion courses will be noticing their professor outside of the classroom more often. A Navy veteran and University professor for 12 years, Ebel is running as a democrat against Rep. Rodney Davis for the 13th District’s U.S. Congressional seat. Davis has held the position since 2013, but Ebel said he isn’t too intimidated. “I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I could win,” Ebel said. Being disappointed with this past November’s election results, Ebel said he decided he wanted a role in public office. Before President Donald Trump, he said most people were “taking for granted the state of things.” For now, Ebel’s campaign is starting small. He doesn’t have a campaign office, so he is working out of his home and his friends’ homes for the time being. “When it comes to money, I
SEE PROFESSOR | 3A
Construction by Illini Union set to finish Friday
Agencies attempt to recover from budget impasse
MCORE Projects 1 and 2 to finish this year; Projects 4 and 5 set to finish in 2019
BY JESSICA BURSZTYNSKY AND AARON NAVARRO NEWS EDITOR
Champaign County agencies are taking a breath after two years of stalled state funding, but directors are nervous that break won’t last long. The passing of the state budget on July 6 has given places like the Rape Advocacy, Counseling & Education Services (RACES) in Urbana a solid dollar amount to expect, with RACES expecting $215,000 in annual state funding. That amount is paired with federal funding, as well as local funds from county taxes. RACES Executive Director Adelaide Aime had an overall sense though that next year’s numbers could be in jeopardy. “I am not confident that a year from now that the legislature is going to pass another budget," Aime said. "So we are going to be very cool. But we are not going to lock ourselves in." Aime said RACES found itself locked in a difficult cycle while running on partial funding the past two years, since a majority of its budget came from the state. “It was horrible. First (RACES) cut staff hours, and then they had to lay people off," Aime said. "And then after a whole year with no money, they continued laying people off, and really the agency went down to a skeleton
BY ANDREA FLORES AND AARON NAVARRO NEWS EDITORS
The trek around the Illini Union should be getting easier for students tomorrow. Project 1 of the Multimodal Corridor Enhancement is set to be completed on Friday, said Steven Breitwieser, customer relations and communications contact for MCORE. “Crews are aiming to re-open Green Street between Wright Street and Mathews Avenue as part of MCORE Project 1,” Breitwieser said. Stacey Delorenzo, F&S Transportation Demand Management coordinator, said that the construction project in front of Illini Union will enhance people’s mobility choices. “Whether it’s walking, biking, taking the bus, improving the way people can have access to those means of transportation,” Delorenzo said. “A lot of it, in front of the Union especially, has to do with the safety of the students that use the bus system in front of the Union.” There will be clearer distinctions regarding where pedestrians should walk, where bicyclists should ride and where the buses stop. Project 1 was originally sched-
BRIAN BAUER THE DAILY ILLINI
Green Street between Goodwin and Wright closed temporarily this summer as part of the MCORE project.
uled to be completed by student move-in day, but after an impasse with the state budget, MCORE had to halt construction. Once the budget was passed in early July, MCORE faced a
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