Champaign, IL
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Champaign ( ) is a city in
Champaign County, Illinois Champaign County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 205,865, making it the 10th-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Urbana. Champaign County is part of the Champaign–Urbana, ...
, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the
Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...
. It is included in the
Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area The Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign–Urbana and Urbana–Champaign as well as Chambana (colloquially), is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. As defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the ...
. Champaign shares the main campus of the University of Illinois with its twin city of
Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...
. Champaign is also home to
Parkland College Parkland College is a public community college in Champaign, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505 which includes parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquoi ...
, which serves about 18,000 students during the academic year. Due to the university and a number of well-known technology
startup companies A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend t ...
, it is often referred to as the hub, or a significant landmark, of the Silicon Prairie. Champaign houses offices for the Fortune 500 companies Abbott, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM),
Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
,
John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...
,
Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastic ...
, IBM, and
State Farm State Farm Insurance is a large group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Overview State Farm is the largest property and casualty insurance provider, and the la ...
. Champaign also serves as the headquarters for several companies, the most notable being
Jimmy John's Jimmy John's is an American sandwich chain headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983. After Liautaud graduated from high school, his father gave him a choice to either join the military or sta ...
.


History

Champaign was founded in 1855, when the
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
laid its rail track two miles (3 km) west of downtown Urbana. Originally called "West Urbana", it was renamed Champaign when it acquired a city charter in 1860. Both the city and county name were derived from
Champaign County, Ohio Champaign County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,714. Its county seat is Urbana. The county takes its name from the French word for "open level country". Champaign County comprises the ...
. During February 1969,
Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...
joined with
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
to write the song "Champaign, Illinois", which Perkins released on his album ''On Top''. The band
Old 97's Old 97's is an American rock band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1992, they have since released twelve studio albums, two full extended plays, shared split duty on another, and have one live album. Their most recent release is ''Twelfth''. They ...
took another Bob Dylan song, "
Desolation Row "Desolation Row" is a 1965 song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was recorded on August 4, 1965, and released as the closing track of Dylan's sixth studio album, ''Highway 61 Revisited''. It has been noted for its length (11:21) and ...
", and combined its melody with new lyrics to make a new song "Champaign, Illinois", which they released with Dylan's blessing on their 2010 album ''The Grand Theatre Volume One''. It achieved considerable popularity. The two "Champaign, Illinois" songs are not similar to each other, except that Bob Dylan was involved in both of them. On September 22, 1985, Champaign hosted the first
Farm Aid Farm Aid is an annual benefit concert held for American farmers. History On July 13, 1985, while performing at the Live Aid benefit concert for the 1983–1985 Ethiopian famine, Bob Dylan made comments about family farmers within the United S ...
concert at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium. The concert drew a crowd of 80,000 people and raised over $7 million for American family farmers. In 2005, Champaign-Urbana (specifically the University of Illinois) was the location of the National
Science Olympiad Science Olympiad is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science, including earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. Over 7,800 middle school and high school team ...
Tournament, attracting young scientists from all 50 states. The city also hosts the state Science Olympiad competition every year. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign once again hosted the National competition on May 20–22, 2010. Joan Severns was the city's first female Mayor, serving between 1979 and 1983. Deb Frank Feinen, who has served as Mayor since 2015, is the city's second female Mayor. In May 2017, the city's first female-majority city council was sworn in.


Geography


Location

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Champaign has a total area of , of which (or 99.37%) is land and (or 0.63%) is water. Champaign is a city in central Illinois and is located on relatively high ground, providing sources to the
Kaskaskia River The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed May 13, 2011 in central and southern Illinois in the Un ...
to the west, and the Embarras River to the south. Downtown Champaign drains into Boneyard Creek, which feeds the Saline Branch of the
Salt Fork Vermilion River The Salt Fork is a tributary of the Vermilion River located in the Central Corn Belt Plains of Illinois. The Salt Fork owes its name to saline springs that provided natural salt licks for animals, and which were used for production of salt by ...
. Champaign shares a border with the neighboring city of
Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...
; together they are home to the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
. Champaign, Urbana, and the bordering village of
Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...
form the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area also known as ''Champaign-Urbana''. It may also be colloquially known as the "Twin Cities" or '' Chambana''.


Climate

The city has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
, typical of the Midwestern United States, with hot summers and cold, moderately snowy winters. Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32.2 °C) on an average of 24 days per year, and typically fall below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) on six nights annually. The record high temperature in Champaign was 109 °F (42.8 °C) in 1954, and the record low was −25 °F (−31.7 °C), recorded on four separate occasions − in 1899, 1905, 1994 and 1999.


Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 88,302 people, 34,851 households, and 15,624 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 40,314 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 53.45%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 17.97%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.37% Native American, 16.69%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.05%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 3.96% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 7.52% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race were 8.74% of the population. There were 34,851 households, out of which 40.07% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.63% were married couples living together, 8.77% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.17% were non-families. 39.97% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.01% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.13 and the average family size was 2.30. The city's age distribution consisted of 17.0% under the age of 18, 29.0% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $49,467, and the median income for a family was $78,118. Males had a median income of $36,680 versus $27,805 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $30,245. About 10.3% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

In addition to the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, Champaign is also home to
Parkland College Parkland College is a public community college in Champaign, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505 which includes parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquoi ...
.
Herff Jones Herff Jones is an American company that manufactures and sells educational recognition and achievement products and motivational materials, and has been in continuous operation since 1920. Herff Jones maintains production facilities across the Un ...
, formerly Collegiate Cap and Gown, and Kraft also form part of the city's industrial base. Kraft's plant is one of the largest pasta factories in North America. Champaign is also home to nationally recognized record labels, artist management companies, booking agencies and recording studios.
Polyvinyl Records In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers ar ...
,
Undertow Music Undertow began in 1996 in St. Louis, Missouri, as a collective of independent artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers and creative managers sharing resources, ideas, and a love of music. Undertow Music is currently located in Champaign, Illinoi ...
,
Parasol Records Parasol Records is an American independent record label based in Urbana, Illinois. The label was founded by Geoff Merritt as an outgrowth of the catalog Parasol Mail Order (which was started in 1991). The Parasol Records banner also includes t ...
, Great Western Record Recorders, Pogo Studios, and Nicodemus Booking Agency are all based in Champaign. In April 2011, ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'' named Champaign-Urbana one of the five cities leading the economic turnaround based on jobs; the information sector added over 300 jobs within a year and unemployment dropped 2.1%.


Research Park

The city also features a large technology and software industry mostly focusing on research and development of new technologies. The
Research Park The following is a list of science park, technology parks and biomedical parks of the world, organized by continent. Asia ASEAN Economic Community Report listing all the Economic Zones in the ASEAN Economic Community froUNIDO Viet Nam China ...
, located in southern Champaign and backed by the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
, is home to many companies, including
Riverbed Technology Riverbed Technology is an American information technology company. Its products consist of software and hardware focused on Unified Observability, Network Visibility, End User Experience Management, network performance monitoring, application per ...
,
Citrix Systems Citrix Systems, Inc. is an American multinational cloud computing and virtualization technology company that provides server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software as a service (SaaS), and cloud computing technologies. C ...
,
Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...
, Dow Innovation Center,
Intelligent Medical Objects Intelligent Medical Objects (IMO) is a privately held company specializing in developing, managing and licensing medical vocabularies. IMO partners with various health care organizations, medical content providers and EHR developers. Founded i ...
,
Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...
and the State Farm Research Center. Numerous other software and technology companies also have offices in Champaign including
AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...
,
Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, IBM,
Amdocs Amdocs ( he, אמדוקס) is a multinational corporation that was founded in Israel and currently headquartered in Chesterfield, Missouri, with support and development centers located worldwide. The company specializes in software and services ...
,
Infobright Infobright is a commercial provider of column-oriented relational database software with a focus in machine-generated data. The company's head office is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Most of its research and development is based in Wars ...
, Instarecon,
Phonak Sonova Holding AG (Phonak Holding AG before 1 August 2007) is an internationally active Swiss group of companies headquartered in Stäfa that specializes in hearing care ( hearing instruments, cochlear implants, wireless communication). The Sono ...
, Power World, Caterpillar Simulation Center, and Volition. The largest high technology employer is
Wolfram Research Wolfram Research, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational company that creates computational technology. Wolfram's flagship product is the technical computing program Wolfram Mathematica, first released on June 23, 1988. Other products include Wo ...
, with more than 400 employees in Champaign. The
United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...
maintains the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) in Champaign.


Top employers

According to the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, the top ten employers in the city are: Other major employers include
Horizon Hobby Horizon Hobby, LLC. is an American international hobby product distributor, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It currently manufactures various hobby-grade radio-controlled (RC) models, as well as Athearn model trains and die ...
,
Jimmy John's Jimmy John's is an American sandwich chain headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983. After Liautaud graduated from high school, his father gave him a choice to either join the military or sta ...
, Plastipak, SuperValu, and
Wolfram Research Wolfram Research, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational company that creates computational technology. Wolfram's flagship product is the technical computing program Wolfram Mathematica, first released on June 23, 1988. Other products include Wo ...
.


Startups

The Champaign-Urbana community is a well-known hub for startups, including a top ranking from Silicon Prairie News in 2019.


Arts and culture


Landmarks and districts


Downtown

In the 1980s, part of the downtown Champaign area (Neil St.) was closed to vehicular traffic to create a pedestrian mall, but this short-lived experiment was scrapped when business declined. As part of a revitalization effort, One Main Development constructed two new mixed-use buildings: One Main and M2 on Neil. The City of Champaign gave $3.7 million in tax incentives for the building of M2 and agreed to pay nearly $11 million for a new parking deck. This growth in downtown Champaign coincided with the larger growth of the "north Prospect" shopping district on the city's northern boundary. The growth in the north Prospect area relied, in part, on leapfrogging, moving out to the countryside and developing more remote farm land that eventually connects to the main development. Given the overwhelming success of such suburban shopping areas nationally, new development within any city center represented an alternative to the dominant movement out and away from the cities. In April 2007, One Main Development broke ground on M2 on Neil, a nine-story, $40 million, mixed-use project – the largest ever for downtown Champaign – located at the corner of Neil and Church Street. M2 on Neil features retail and office space, and 50 upscale condominiums. The project was expected to be complete in late 2008, but experienced delays in construction, partially due to $5 Million in mechanics liens filed against One Main Development, as well as a large fire on an adjacent property that caused substantial facade damage to M2. Construction on the commercial shell and core and the residences was completed in the Summer of 2009. New condo owners began moving into M2 in April 2009 and the first ground-floor tenant, a branch of local BankChampaign, opened its doors in November 2009. Destihl, a restaurant and brewpub, opened in Spring 2011, and two other restaurants opened in ground-floor space in Fall 2011. The City of Champaign has constructed a six-story parking structure on Hill Street adjacent to M2, intended to serve the greater Downtown; it was completed in May 2009. The Champaign City Building serves as the City Hall and is a recognizable landmark. The building replaces the original city building, which sat on the same site until 1937.


=Art Theater Co-op

= The Art Theater Co-op, which showed independent and foreign films, was built in 1913 as the Park Theatre. From 1969 to 1986, it showed adult films. Until October 2019, it was the only single-screen movie theater operating daily in Champaign-Urbana, and was the United States's first co-operatively owned art movie theater. It closed in October 2019.


=Virginia Theatre

= The historic
Virginia Theatre The August Wilson Theatre (formerly the Guild Theatre, ANTA Theatre, and Virginia Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 245 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, the theater was designed b ...
is a recently restored 1463-seat movie theater, which opened on December 28, 1921. It has an ornate, Spanish Renaissance-influenced interior, full stage and dressing rooms, and its original Wurlitzer pipe organ. It hosts
Ebertfest Ebertfest is an annual film festival held every April in Champaign, Illinois, United States, organized by the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Roger Ebert, the TV and ''Chicago Sun-Times'' film critic, was a native of the adjoin ...
and has a single 56' x 23' screen. The theater does not have a daily show schedule, but schedules special screenings and live performances several times each month.


Campustown

Located along Green Street, this commercial district serves as the entertainment and retail center for students at the University of Illinois and citizens of the Champaign-Urbana Metropolitan Area. This area has been undergoing change since 2002 with the completion of a new $7 million streetscape project. Campustown is now attracting new retail and entertainment stores as well as serving as the center for new construction projects. Several new projects opened in 2008 including the 18-story Burnham 310 high-rise and grocery store at 4th and Springfield, and a new 24-story apartment building called 309 Green. The newly renamed Tower at 3rd (formerly Champaign Hilton, Century 21, Quality Inn, University Inn, Presidential Tower) is located in the University District and is over twenty stories high. A hotel until 2001, it currently houses student apartments. A new 14-story apartment complex was completed in 2014 at the intersection of 6th and Green streets (site of the former Gameday Spirit). A 12-story, mixed-use complex consisting of a hotel, apartments and parking was scheduled to be completed by August 2015. The mixed-use complex is reported to consist of two towers which will be connected by a skywalk. A 27-story apartment building is planned at 308 East Green Street. This high-rise is reported to have an automated parking vault which will be operated by an elevator.


Museums and libraries

*
Orpheum Children's Science Museum The Orpheum Theater opened in Champaign, Illinois in 1914 on the site of a vaudeville theater built in 1904. Designed by the Architectural firm Rapp & Rapp, the Orpheum (also known as The New Orpheum) was built to accommodate both live vaudeville ...
. A hands on science museum for children. *
Krannert Art Museum The Krannert Art Museum (KAM) is a fine art museum located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It has of space devoted to all periods of art, dating from ancient Egypt to contemporary photography ...
. An Art Museum featuring both modern and classical art owned by the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
. It has of space devoted to all periods of art, from ancient
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian to contemporary photography. * Champaign County Historical Museum. Located in the Historic Cattle Bank built in 1858. Features exhibits on the history of the area and the midwest as a whole. * Champaign Public Library


Sports


Illinois Fighting Illini

The
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
fields ten men and eleven women varsity sports.


Minor League Baseball

During its history, the city has been home to several separate minor league baseball clubs. The first in 1889 was a shared club between Champaign and
Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northwest of Kokomo. Hi ...
called the Logansport/Champaign-Urbana Clippers. The Clippers played for one season in the Illinois–Indiana League before folding. The city hosted its second team, the Champaign-Urbana Velvets from 1911 to 1914 who played in the Illinois–Missouri League until the league disbanded after 1914. The city's most recent minor league team was the Champaign-Urbana Bandits who played during the single 1994 season of the
Great Central League The Great Central League was a short-lived baseball league of four teams that played baseball in the upper Midwest of the United States in . The league and four teams were owned by Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota ...
. The Bandits played at
Illinois Field Illinois Field is a baseball venue in Champaign, Illinois, home to the University of Illinois Fighting Illini baseball team. It is located in the sports complex at the University of Illinois near the Champaign- Urbana border. It is a short dist ...
. Prior to holding postseason play, the league folded. Twice Champaign was also home to a Collegiate Summer Baseball League team. The city's Champaign County Colts were a founding member of the
Central Illinois Collegiate League The Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL) was a collegiate wooden bat summer baseball league. It was composed of five teams from Illinois and Indiana. The CICL was founded in 1963 as a charter member of National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...
from 1963 to 1964. In 1990 the Colts were revived as the Champaign-Urbana Colts until the team folded in 1996. The more recent club played its home games at
Illinois Field Illinois Field is a baseball venue in Champaign, Illinois, home to the University of Illinois Fighting Illini baseball team. It is located in the sports complex at the University of Illinois near the Champaign- Urbana border. It is a short dist ...
.


Minor League Basketball

In October 2014, the
Midwest Professional Basketball Association The Midwest Professional Basketball Association (MPBA) was a professional men's basketball league that began play in January 2015. The six charter members were: Bloomington Flex, Champaign Swarm, Chicago Force, Gateway Steam, St. Louis RiverShar ...
announced the creation of the Champaign Swarm as one of its founding members, that began play at the Dodds Athletic Center in January 2015.


Stadiums


Memorial Stadium

Built from 1922 to 1923, Memorial Stadium was named in honor of the students and faculty members who died overseas during World War I. Since opening in 1923, Memorial Stadium has been home to
Illinois Fighting Illini football The Illinois Fighting Illini football program represents the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) level. The Fighting Illini are a founding member of ...
. The stadium also was the temporary home of the NFL's
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
for the 2002 season while its regular venue
Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1 ...
was being renovated.


State Farm Center

Originally known as the Assembly Hall, the State Farm Center is home to the
Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball The Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at the State Farm Center, located on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campu ...
and
Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball The Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at State Farm Center, located on University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign's campu ...
teams. It holds the annual Broadway Series, which features popular musicals.


Parks and recreation

There are 60 parks, 11 trails, and 14 facilities within the city of Champaign, totaling over .


Education


K-12 education

The city of Champaign is served by
Champaign Unit 4 School District Champaign Community Unit School District No. 4 is a unit school district with over 10,000 students and 19 campuses covering Champaign and the villages of Bondville and Savoy in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. It was formed in 1948 fr ...
. Unit 4 administers both
Champaign Central High School Champaign Central High School is a high school located in Champaign, Illinois. It has 1,385 students in grades 9- 12. The principal is Joe Williams. It is part of the Champaign Unit 4 School District school system. Its sports teams are the Centr ...
and Champaign Centennial High School. Champaign is also served by three
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
high schools. The largest of the three is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
High school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, St. Thomas More High School which is located on the city's far northwest side. The school opened in 2000 and is the newest charter of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria The Diocese of Peoria ( la, Diœcesis Peoriensis, Peoria, Illinois) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the central Illinois region of the United States. The Diocese of Peoria is a suffragan diocese ...
. The second is Judah Christian School, which is located just south of
I-74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchang ...
on Prospect Avenue. Judah Christian opened in 1983 and serves about 120 9th- 12th grade students. The entire school's pre-K through 12th grade enrollment is a little more than 500 students. The third i
Academy High
which is an accredited, Independent high school located in South Champaign on Fox Drive. Academy High opened in 1997 and serves 60 9th - 12th grade students. The school reflects the innovative culture of Champaign-Urbana and is designed to be student-centered, highly collaborative, and project-based.


Higher education

Located within Champaign are two institutions of higher education, the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
and
Parkland College Parkland College is a public community college in Champaign, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505 which includes parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquoi ...
.


Media


FM radio


AM radio

* 580
WILL Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
,
Public Radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
* 1400
WDWS WDWS (1400 AM) is a commercial radio station in Champaign, Illinois, calling itself "Newstalk Radio 1400 & 93.9FM DWS." It airs a News/Talk radio format and is owned by ''The News-Gazette'', the primary daily newspaper in the Champaign-Urbana M ...
,
News/Talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
( AM Stereo) * 1460 WKJR, Spanish Music


NOAA Weather Radio

NOAA Weather Radio station WXJ76 transmits from Champaign and is licensed to NOAA's National Weather Service Central Illinois Weather Forecast Office at Lincoln, broadcasting on a frequency of 162.550 MHz (channel 7 on most newer weather radios, and most SAME weather radios). The station activates the SAME tone alarm feature and a 1050 Hz tone activating older radios (except for AMBER Alerts, using the SAME feature only) for hazardous weather and non-weather warnings and emergencies, along with selected weather watches, for the Illinois counties of Champaign, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Moultrie, Piatt, and Vermillion. Weather permitting, a tone alarm test of both the SAME and 1050 Hz tone features are conducted every Wednesday between 11 AM and Noon.


Television

* 3
WCIA WCIA (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Champaign, Illinois, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Central Illinois region. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Springfield-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate W ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
* 7 W07DD-D,
Three Angels Broadcasting Network The Three Angels Broadcasting Network, or 3ABN, is a Christian media television and radio network which broadcasts Seventh-day Adventist religious and health-oriented programming, based in West Frankfort, Illinois, United States. Although it is ...
* 12
WILL-TV WILL-TV (channel 12) is a PBS member television station licensed to Urbana, Illinois, United States, serving the Central Illinois region. Owned by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as part of Illinois Public Media, it is sister to NPR m ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
* 15
WICD Wicd, which stands for Wireless Interface Connection Daemon, is an open-source software utility to manage both wireless and wired networks for Linux. The project started in late 2006 with the creation of Connection Manager, which eventually becam ...
"NewsChannel 15",
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
* 17
WAND A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic. Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which c ...
,
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
* 23
WBUI WBUI (channel 23) is a television station licensed to Decatur, Illinois, United States, serving the Central Illinois region as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by GOCOM Media, LLC, alongside Springfield-licensed Fox affiliate WRSP-TV, chann ...
, CW * 27 WCCU "Fox 55/27" * 33 W31EH-D,
Trinity Broadcasting Network The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...
* 44 WBXC-CA,
MTV 2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to shift its programm ...
* 49
WCIX WCIX (channel 49) is a television station licensed to Springfield, Illinois, United States, serving the Central Illinois region as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Champaign-licensed CBS affiliate WCIA (c ...
"My WCFN TV" My Network TV * 51 WEIU,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...


Print and electronic media

* ''The News-Gazette'', daily local newspaper * ''
Daily Illini ''The Daily Illini'', commonly known as the ''DI'', is a student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 1871. Weekday circulation during fall and spring semesters is 7,000; co ...
'', campus newspaper * '' The Booze News'', former satirical campus newspaper, now called ''The Black Sheep'' * ''
Buzz Weekly The Illini Media Company is a nonprofit, student media company based in Champaign, Illinois. The company owns several student-run media outlets associated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: the general newspaper, the ''Daily Illi ...
'', weekly entertainment magazine * '' Prospectus News'', Parkland College's independent student newspaper * ''Smile Politely'', Champaign-Urbana's online magazine


Infrastructure


Transportation

Champaign is served by
I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...
,
I-72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champai ...
,
I-74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchang ...
, two
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
lines, and the University of Illinois operated Willard Airport (CMI).
Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 essen ...
enters in Champaign County after a diamond interchange with Curtis Road. It makes 2
Cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...
s with
Interstate 72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champ ...
towards
Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...
and the second (soon to be changed)
Cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...
with
Interstate 74 in Illinois Interstate 74 (I-74) in the US state of Illinois is a major northwest–southeast Interstate Highway that runs across the central portion of the state. It runs from the Iowa state line at the Mississippi River near the city of Rock Isla ...
to
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. After making the two major interchanges, it runs out of Champaign County with a
Partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to-arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also bee ...
with
U.S. Route 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...
to
Rantoul, Illinois Rantoul is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,371 at the 2020 census. History The community was named after Robert Rantoul, Jr., a U.S. representative from Massachusetts, and a director of the Illino ...
. Interstate 74 starts with
U.S. Route 150 in Illinois U.S. Route 150 (US 150) in Illinois is a east–west highway that runs from U.S. Route 6 in Illinois, US 6 near the Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois, Moline to the Indiana state line near Vermilion, Illinois, Vermilion. ...
with
Mahomet, Illinois Mahomet () is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,434 at the 2020 census. Mahomet is located approximately 10 miles northwest of Champaign at the junction of Interstate 74 and IL 47. Geography Mahomet is ...
it makes two total interchanges within the city's limits. After making those interchanges, it makes one interchange with Interstate 57. After making the main interchange it starts to make interchanges with the city's streets. Interstate 74 goes out of Champaign County with St. Joseph, Illinois.


Highways

Interstate Highways
Interstate 57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 essen ...

Interstate 72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champ ...

Interstate 74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...

US Highways
US 45 U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporatin ...

US 150 U.S. Route 150 (US 150) is a 571-mile (919 km) long northwest-southeast United States highway, signed as east–west. It runs from U.S. Route 6 outside of Moline, Illinois to U.S. Route 25 in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Route description I ...

Illinois Highways
Route 10


Airport

Champaign is served by Willard Airport (CMI) which is operated by the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
. The airport is currently served by
American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
offering daily flights to
Chicago O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...
and
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport , also known as DFW Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and the North Texas Region in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest hub for American Air ...
. Housed at the Willard Airport was the
University of Illinois Institute of Aviation The University of Illinois Institute of Aviation was an aviation institute affiliated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Founded in 1945, it was located at the university-owned Willard Airport in Savoy, Illinois, United States. The i ...
, which was forced to close for the 2013–2014 academic year due to university budget cuts after 60 years of operation.


Mass transit

The local bus system, which is supported by the taxpayers of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District (MTD) and the University of Illinois, serves Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, and surrounding areas. The C-U MTD has twice been named as the best local transit system in the United States.


Illinois Terminal

In 1999, a newly designed intermodal transportation center, aptly named
Illinois Terminal The Illinois Terminal is an intermodal passenger transport center located at 45 East University Avenue in Champaign, Illinois, United States. The facility opened in January 1999 and provides Amtrak train service and various bus services to the C ...
by historic reference to the defunct electric interurban rail line that once ran through Champaign, was completed and serves as a central facility for intercity passenger rail, bus services as well as the MTD's local bus network.


Rail

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
provides service to Champaign-Urbana by: Train 58/59, the
City of New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Saluki The Saluki, also known as the Persian Greyhound, is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals. The dog was origina ...
; and Train 392/393, the Illini. The former
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
line — now part of the
Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
system — runs north to south through the city. A spur line from the Canadian National line provides service to several large industries, including two large food processing plants, on the west edge of Champaign and two grain elevators in outlying communities to the west. The
Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...
operates an east to west line through Champaign. The NS line connects industries in eastern Urbana to the Norfolk Southern main line at
Mansfield, Illinois Mansfield is a village in Piatt County, Illinois in the United States. The population was 906 at the 2010 census. History Mansfield was originally incorporated around 1870. The village may have been named for John Mansfield, an officer in the Civ ...
, west of Champaign. The line now operated by Norfolk Southern is the former
Peoria & Eastern Railway The Peoria and Eastern Railway was incorporated on February 21, 1890, for the purpose of constructing or acquiring a railway between Pekin, Illinois, and Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capita ...
, later operated as part of the Big Four ( Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway),
New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
,
Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
, and
Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
systems, being sold by Conrail to Norfolk Southern in 1996. Construction of the line was begun by the Danville, Urbana, Bloomington and Pekin Railroad. This short-lived entity became part of the Indianapolis, Bloomington and Western Railway before the railroad was completed.


Bus

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
,
Peoria Charter Coach Company Peoria Charter Coach Company is a family-owned bus company based in Peoria, Illinois, which provides charter bus services, custom group tours, and transportation from several universities in Illinois to Chicago suburbs and airports. It is a contr ...
, and
Burlington Trailways Burlington Trailways is an inter-city bus company based in West Burlington, Iowa. History Burlington Trailways was founded in 1929 as the Burlington Transportation Company, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. It started ...
provide intercity bus service to Champaign.The City of Champaign Illinois: Public Transportation
Accessed October 18, 2007


Notable people


See also

*
Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area The Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, also known as Champaign–Urbana and Urbana–Champaign as well as Chambana (colloquially), is a metropolitan area in east-central Illinois. As defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the ...
* Triaxial Earthquake and Shock Simulator, experimental device located in Champaign.


References


External links


City of Champaign Web Site
*

{{authority control 1855 establishments in Illinois Cities in Illinois Cities in Champaign County, Illinois Populated places established in 1855