THE DAILY ILLINI
MONDAY April 23, 2018
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
61˚ | 50˚
Vol. 147 Issue 58
Nobody Is Above The Law rally planned for CU BY CORI LIPPERT STAFF WRITER
A rally would be triggered in Champaign as a series of rallies across the country, depending on President Donald Trump’s decision regarding the Russian investigation and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
According to Nobody Is Above The Law, the organization planning the rallies, the rallies will occur if Trump fires Mueller, pardons key witnesses in his investigation or takes actions that would prevent the special counsel investigation from being conducted.
Illini Democrats President Anusha Thotakura, sophomore in LAS, said protesting would be important to send a message to Congress to protest Trump’s decision to fire Mueller. “They don’t necessarily make it all the way to the president’s ears, but I
think what they can do is pressure our representatives and our senators to pass some concrete legislation to serve as a check (on the president),” Thotakura said. Thotakura said the Illini Democrats would participate in the Nobody Is Above The Law rallies if they were
Students celebrate Holi festival
to occur. Vikram David Amar, dean of the College of Law, said it is good for people to express their voices. He said the rallies will send a statement, as long as the message gets through to the Republicans in Congress. “Those folks have the right to march. It’s neither
good nor bad,” said Mark Ballard, chairman of the Champaign Republicans, in an email. “Everyone has the right to express their outrage. As Republicans, we believe in their right to do so.” Mueller’s investigation is SEE RALLY | 3A
Racial disparity persists in local justice system munity were upset by the proposal and protested the jail’s decision. One organization, Build Programs Not Jails, rose from the debate. James Kilgore, member of Build Programs Not Jails, considers himself to be anti-incarceration, meaning that he believes the jail system should reduce its inmate population. Kilgore said he believes any money spent on reconstructing the jail would be better spent on programs to keep people out of jail in the first place. One of the main issues Kilgore believes the criminal justice system should find a solution to is the mass incarceration of people who do not need to be in jail, specifically black people who do not. According to the Champaign County Jail records, a
BY ABBY PAETH EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
“Eager” is a word that makes Amy Felty, a member of the Champaign Human Relations Commission, cringe when she hears it used to describe new recruits at the Champaign Police Department. She can’t help but wonder what makes them so excited about making arrests. Felty thinks this attitude is due to a problematic race concept known as implicit bias. In October 2017, the Champaign County Racial Justice Task Force issued an inmate report two years in the making. The task force was originally created as a result of the 2012 proposal to start a $20-million renovation on the Champaign County Jail, expanding it to hold more inmates, according to the RJTF. Some people in the comCONSTANCE SORANTOS THE DAILY ILLINI
People celebrate Holi at the fields by Florida Avenue Residential Halls Saturday. Holi, known as the Indian festival of colors, celebrates the beginning of spring in India.
SEE DISPARITY | 3A
Racial breakdown of Champaign County Jail, Champaign County population 46 percent of the inmates in the Champaign County Jail are of non-black races
US airstrike in Syria prompts dissent BY OLIVIA WELSHANS STAFF WRITER
Although chemical weapon attacks by the Syrian government have led to backlash from the international community, some members of the Champaign-Urbana community have disagreed with the United States’ mode of retribution. On April 13, The New York Times reported the United States, along with Britain and France, launched airstrikes against Syrian research and military targets to punish Syrian President Bashar alAssad for a suspected chemical attack the previous weekend on the Syrian people. Entrenched in civil war
since 2011, the Syrian government’s attack left more than 42 people dead in a rebel-held suburb east of the capital Damascus, according to the Times. For Alexandra van Doren, the conflict in Syria has been an inspiration for intervention. Van Doren is president of Three Spinners, a non-profit aiding immigrants and refugees in Champaign-Urbana, and a University doctoral candidate. Speaking as an individual, not as president of Three Spinners, Van Doren said she found the chemical weapons attacks upon Syrians and the United States’ decision to use bombs to discourage
the country’s actions equally abhorrent. “I think (the airstrike) is privilege and political conquest over human lives, and I am very disturbed by how these things are carried out without consulting hundreds, without consulting the American people,” van Doren said. “...not to say people in Syria who are being gassed by their own political leaders are not deserving of help or some sort of intervention, but the fact that intervention came in the form of bombs does not solve anything.” Allia Sunbulli, sophomore in LAS, said she finds these attacks inhumane and disgusting, and she does not
54 percent of the inmates in the Champaign County Jail are black
understand how they can continue to occur when the attacks harm not only rebels opposing Assad but also civilians. “Those who have been killed are not just numbers,” Sunbulli said. “They are human beings who had their future ahead of them; we cannot be desensitized to this injustice.” However, Sunbulli said she doesn’t think the airstrikes will discourage the Assad regime from using chemical weapons, because they have not responded to similar discouragements from the previous presidency. SEE SYRIA | 3A
30 percent of the population is non-white
70 percent of Champaign county is white non-hispanic
SOURCE CHAMPAIGN COUNTY JAIL RECORDS AND U.S. CENSUS BUREAU CINDY OM THE DAILY ILLINI
University seeks to reduce food waste BY YASMEEN RAGAB ASSISTANT DAYTIME NEWS EDITOR
University Dining is taking measures to reduce preand post-consumer food waste in dining halls through donation methods and tracking systems, in time for Stop Food Waste Day on Friday. Dr. Dawn Aubrey, associate director of University Housing Dining Services, said the University’s consumer food waste has
decreased by almost 95 percent since 2007. Aubrey said University Dining started using a program called Lean Path to weigh, classify and take pictures of pre-consumer food waste, which then becomes available for donation through a program called Waste No Food. University Dining also assists Unify, a Registered Student Organization on
campus, with Project For Less. The project packages single- to four-serving meals that are transported to Wesley Food Pantry. As long as the pre-consumer food item is wholesome and ready to be eaten, it is made available for donation, Aubrey said. Products such as onion peelings and fat from meat products are not used or served and instead go into a
“digester” that breaks down biodegradable waste into a lipid-free, graywater residual in under 24 hours. Aubrey said the dining halls will not be creating a carbon footprint through composting that way. “Composting is good as long as you are using all of the compost,” she said. “If you are not going to be using it, it
INSIDE
Alex Diab wins individual title
Two thumbs up: Ebertfest 2018
PAGE 1B
PAGE 6B
SEE WASTE | 3A
r e h t o M OF A SALE
DAILYILLINI, DAILYILLINISPORTS
INSIDE
Police
2A
@THEDAILYILLINI, @DI_OPINION, @DI_SPORTS |
Opinions
4A
|
Letters
4A
|
Crossword
THEDAILYILLINI 5A
|
Life
@THEDAILYILLINI &
Culture
6A
|
Sports
THEDAILYILLINI
THEDAILYILLINI
1B
4B
|
Classifieds
|
Sudoku
THEDAILYILLINI 4B
|
buzz
6B