Editor’s Note: This article was published in the Spring 2010 Year in Review issue.

It has been an important year for the city of Champaign, from the death of Kiwane Carrington to the approval of a Big Broadband Internet project.

Last fall, 15-year-old Carrington was killed in an altercation with a police officer after a neighbor reported a possible burglary.

Following Carrington’s death, there was a fall-out in relations between the Champaign community and the Champaign Police Department, after a long investigation involving police officers from Urbana, the University, Illinois State Police, Rantoul and the Champaign County Sheriff’s office.

The police officer involved in the incident, Daniel Norbits, was issued a 30-day suspension by Champaign City manager Steve Carter.

On the Champaign City Council’s agenda, the Big Broadband project was passed 7-1, in mid-March, with Mayor Jerry Schweighart voting against it. The project, a collaboration between Champaign, Urbana and the University, will extend Internet service to private homes and businesses by placing fiber rings at 11 districts.

Schweighart said he could not rationalize the project at a time when the federal, state and local governments would be facing cuts.

Council member Michael La Due, District 2, said he doesn’t care for the way the project is being organized, but he thinks it is important to bring that federal money to our local area.

The University’s Interim Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement, Steve Sonka, said that he is very excited for the project.

Sonka said Big Broadband will allow Champaign to be a leader in education and urban planning.

“It’s really about the future,” he said.

Kyle Harrison, District 3, said that he knows the project is going to be expensive, but he believes it will be good for the city’s growth.

“Sometimes you have to spend money to better the comparative advantage of the city,” he said.

The Olympian Drive project was also passed this year, after being a part of the city’s agenda for 30 years.

The project will extend Olympian Drive from Champaign into Urbana, which is expected to attract business to the area.

It is expected to be finished by 2040 and has a price tag of $27.6 million.

La Due said the project involves pretty straightforward infrastructure and said he thinks that those who voted against it are making it more complicated than it really is.

“Interestingly enough, where it matters, in Urbana, they voted unanimously for it,” he said.

Harrison said that the north side of the city doesn’t have a way from Champaign to Urbana, but with the development of Olympian Drive, this will change.

The city of Champaign will also be facing more budget cuts in the coming year.

City Manager Steve Carter said the city will face up to $2.5 million in expenditure reductions.

The city’s main source of revenue, its sales tax, has fallen by 5.5 percent. Income tax has also dropped by 13 percent.

Carter said the cumulative impact of these cuts will be substantial and the city staff will have a harder time providing good service.

La Due said that he is most concerned about budget cuts that will affect the police department of Champaign.

“We’ve never had financial problems like this before,” he said.

This year also saw the selection of a new council member, Gordy Hulten, District 5.

Hulten, previously the publisher of the Illini Pundit website, was chosen to replace former Council Member Dave Johnson, who left in early March to pursue another job.

Hulten will serve on the council until the consolidated elections in 2011.