Big Ten champion Thomas Pieters swings big SPORTS, 1B
Wednesday May 1, 2013
The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Vol. 142 Issue 150
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Suburban Express drops Ford County civil court cases
THE SUN
Service changes terms and conditions after controversy BY CORINNE RUFF STAFF WRITER
Ford County Circuit Court on Tuesday dismissed 126 small claims lawsuits filed by Suburban Express against passengers who violated the company’s terms and conditions. Kim Evans, the county’s circuit clerk, confirmed that circuit judge Steve Pacey dismissed the cases with prejudice after the company filed a motion for the action Monday. Evans said several cases were filed under a misspelling of the bus company, which led to confusion about the total number of lawsuits filed. In a statement provided to The Daily Illini, Suburban Express said it decided to drop the lawsuits over the weekend. “We recognized that this legal approach of trying to uphold our agreement with customers carries with it a negative perception that we do not intend,” they said. Appearances in court scheduled for Tuesday afternoon were also canceled, including the case of Manfred Kubler, freshman in LAS. Kubler said his attorney, who works with Martensen & Niemann in Paxton, Ill., attended the court appearance to represent him in his $500 lawsuit for “liquidated damages” but left once the case was dismissed. “It’s nice to have the $500 dismissed, but I was still personally attacked by this man (Dennis Toeppen) and unjustly put on a list and cannot ride the bus, which is very inconvenient,” Kubler said. He said as he was about to
EMILY OGDEN THE DAILY ILLINI
At the end of a noticeably cold and wet April, students take advantage of the 80-plus degree weather and fill the quad on a sunny afternoon on Tuesday.
Link cards used in farmers’ markets Cards promote healthy diet in low-income families and help local economy
The Champaign City Council will hold a study session May 28 to discuss the future of the city’s Mobile Food Truck Pilot Project, which is set to end June 30. City staff will likely recommend an extension of the pilot project, with some changes, to the city council at its study session, said Rob Kowalski, assistant planning director for the city of Champaign. After the pilot project ends, mobile food trucks would not be able to operate on public property without the extension. “They could operate on private property zoned commercial,” Kowalski said. The city defines a mobile food truck as a food service operated in a movable vehicle, used to
See FOOD TRUCK, Page 3A
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Turn to Page 3A to see Suburban Express’ changed terms and conditions.
Food trucks may currently operate in seven locations across the city. They may stay for a maximum of two hours from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. with the exceptions of the loading zones on Sixth and Walnut streets, where vendors may park from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Cracked, Papa Johns, The Empanadas House and Burrito King currently run food trucks in the city. These locations are available for mobile food vendors from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. daily: E WASHINGTON ST
Corner of Neil and Washington streets
W CHURCH ST
MAIN
Corner of Neil Street and University Avenue
ST
W UNIVERSITY AVE
Corner of Neil and Church streets
E UNIVERSITY AVE
W SPRINGFIELD AVE
S WRIGHT ST
STAFF WRITER
Corinne can be reached at cruff2@dailyillini.com.
Easy access to food provided by truck locations across Champaign
S SIXTH ST
BY EARN SAENMUK
store, prepare, display or serve food intended for individual meals. Push carts, food stands and other methods of selling food without use of a motorized wheeled or towed vehicle are ineligible. Through the pilot project, the Champaign City Council aims to provide an opportunity for mobile food service in the city while observing vending impacts as the council considers operational regulations for mobile food service. Food trucks may currently operate in seven permitted locations across the city. Trucks can stay in a location for a maximum of two hours from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m., except for the loading zones on Sixth and Walnut Streets, where vendors are allowed to park in the evening from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. The maximum number of vendors is different at all locations. The city has issued six permits to mobile food vendors. Mobile food service is currently provid-
See LINK CARDS, Page 3A
E SPRINGFIELD AVE S FIFTH ST
Trucks will stay in public zones under extension
of food science and human nutrition, said she recognized the good intentions behind this fresh food initiative. “We all know that junk foods are cheap, and fresh produce is not only expensive, but it’s also sometimes difficult to get access to, and it perishes quickly,” she said. “I think we waste a lot,
ST
Council likely to extend access for local food trucks
federal government. Anyone in Illinois who has been approved to receive cash assistance or food stamps by the Illinois Department of Human Services will be issued an Illinois Link card. This will enable low-income residents to use their Link cards, which work like food stamps, to purchase fresh, locally-produced food sold at farmers’ markets. Nicki Engeseth, professor
LNUT
Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is working to increase fresh food availability throughout Illinois for low-income families through the use of Illinois Link cards. Link cards are already used in Urbana but have not been introduced in Champaign. According to her April 17 press release, Simon collaborated with
the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council to urge farmers’ markets to apply for a federal grant called the Illinois Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Wireless Project grant, which will give them $1,200 to buy wireless machines that accept debit cards, credit cards and Illinois Link cards. Link cards are plastic cards which look and act like a debit card but are paid for by the
N WA
STAFF WRITER
S NEIL ST
BY BRITTANY GIBSON
return to Champaign on a Suburban Express trip on Jan. 13, he asked the bus driver if he could grab a bag he left in his mother’s car just outside the door. However, when he attempted to reboard the bus, he said Toeppen was dismissive, asking him to get off the bus and telling him to find his own ride to Champaign. But Toeppen said in a statement that Kubler was told that if he got off the bus, which had already started rolling, he’d have to board another bus. Toeppen said Kubler refused to board the new bus and his company also provided him with a refund. Suburban Express also said in the statement it will “look at other ways of communicating and upholding the terms and conditions of (its) ticket-purchase agreement” instead of taking legal action. The terms and conditions have been revised and condensed in a temporary statement posted on the Suburban Express website, titled, “You Asked For It: New Terms and Conditions.” New terms and conditions can be found after the jump. Sections of the old terms that were eliminated, include a $100 fine for duplicated, altered or invalid tickets and a $500 fine for disruptive behavior that interferes or delays departure. Changes to terms and conditions are found after the jump.
E GREEN ST
Fifth Street (across from Joe’s Brewery) Corner of Wright and Green streets
These locations are available for mobile food vendors from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily: Sixth Street (across from Parking Lot J) Corner of Main and Walnut streets
AUSTIN BAIRD THE DAILY ILLINI
Source: City of Champaign
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