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Illinois’ appearance in the NCAA tournament generated some mailbag questions this week, along with the usual mix of infrastructure issues (potholes, the possible widening of Florida Avenue, summer road work).
Also, more on the origins of the Tumble Inn, outdoor shows at Urbana’s Rose Bowl this summer, a controlled burn at Meadowbrook Park and the “That’s What She Said” show.
Meadowbrook Park controlled burn
“Our daughter noticed Meadowbrook Prairie was recently burned. Could you please tell us how often this happens and how they control the burn?”
Derek Liebert, the Urbana Park District superintendent of planning and operations, and Matt Balk, the district’s natural areas coordinator, combined on this answer.
“The Urbana Park District burns portions of its fire-dependent natural areas on a three- to five-year cycle, though the strict weather and wind conditions required sometimes extend our burn cycles beyond five years as they have recently,” they wrote. “Fire is an important management tool for preserving and restoring prairies and woodlands, which historically developed in the presence of periodic fire. Fire discourages the growth of invasive species, and fire-adapted plants grow more vigorously in areas that are occasionally burned.
“Prescribed fires help create beautiful and more diverse habitats for years to come. Prairie fires burn very quickly and cleanly. The Environmental Protection Agency issues a permit for our burns, and the Urbana Fire Department and METCAD are always informed. Staff responsible for the burn are trained and certified to conduct prescribed burns.
“Preparations for conducting burns include developing a burn plan which prescribes the conditions and additional precautions that allow for a burn. In preparation for the burn season, the park district installs burn breaks by mowing/removing grass and leaves from the perimeter of the prioritized burn units. On the day of the burn, these areas are closed to visitors. A burn is typically ignited on the downwind side of the unit and then wraps around on the sides to create a buffer of burned vegetation. Once the buffer is in place, the upwind side is ignited and the wind carries the fire through the unit. The unburned areas adjacent to and within the unit serve as a refuge for wildlife.”
The old Tumble Inn
“About Tumble Inn’s 75th anniversary — my dad is 89 years old and recalls going to Tumble Inn on Hickory Street in Champaign with family members when he was in junior high (1944?). He believes it was owned by ‘Swede’ Ferguson at the time. Can you find out if it was owned by someone before Herges? Tobin did say it started on Hickory, but did not say if they bought it from someone.”
Your father is correct. Starting around 1936 the Tumble Inn was at 521 N. Hickory, about a half-block north of Washington Street. And according to city directories, it was owned by Bright G. Ferguson.
Beginning in 1947 the directory named Alcuin P. Herges as owner of the Tumble Inn, still at 521 Hickory.
The 1936 city directory shows the following taverns in Champaign-Urbana at that time:
Jacob Becker, 108 E. Main, Urbana
Blatz Tavern, 114 N. First St., Champaign
Brass Rail Tavern, 15 E. University Ave., Champaign
Carp’s Tavern, 110 N. First St., Champaign
The Club, 522 E. Green St., Champaign
Continental Cabarette, 36 Main St., Champaign
Doc’s Tavern, 117 N. Broadway, Urbana
Embassy Tavern, 136 W. Main St., Urbana
The Esplanade, 6 E. Columbia Ave., Champaign
Family Tavern, 207 W. Main St., Urbana
John Gilbert, 126 N. First St., Champaign
Hansen’s Tap Room, 219 W. Main St., Urbana
Katsinas Buffet, 318 N. Hickory, Champaign
W.C. Marshky, 122 N. First St., Champaign
J.W. Maxwell, 703 N. Prospect Ave., Champaign
McGuire’s Tap Room, 326 N. Neil St., Champaign
Meier & Pfeifer, 106 E. University Ave., Champaign
Melody Tavern, 1513 W. Springfield Ave., Champaign
Oh-Me’s Place, 65 Main St., Champaign
Reifsteck’s Beer Parlor, 110 E. Main St., Urbana
Chest Sadorus, 49 Main St., Champaign
Tumble Inn, 521N. Hickory, Champaign
Twenty Taylor Tavern, 20 Taylor St., Champaign
Utopia Tap Room, 32 Chester St., Champaign
Vinson Sandwich Shop, 306 1/2 N. First St., Champaign
M.R. Wilson, 708 N. Neil St., Champaign
Wonder Tavern, 9 Taylor St., Champaign
Rose Bowl shows
“Has a decision been made about allowing the Rose Bowl Tavern (in Urbana) to use the city parking lot outside of its business for outdoor concerts again this summer?”
It’s on the agenda for Monday’s Urbana City Council meeting although the agreement between the city and the Rose Bowl does not require a council vote. A city committee that reviewed the Rose Bowl’s proposal “agreed unanimously in favor of the city signing a licensing agreement,” according to memo to the council.
In its proposal accepted by the city, the Rose Bowl will have access to the same east half of the parking lot north of the tavern from May 1 through Oct. 31.
Rose Bowl owners Marten Stromberg and Charlie Harris agreed to pay $500 a month for use of the area (an amount they said would make up for lost parking meter revenue), said they would make a better effort to keep the area neat, reorient their stage so it faces east and disturbs fewer people and restrict amplified shows to no later than 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
“With the activation of Lot 1 as an outdoor open space, downtown Urbana became a gathering place for people to enjoy our community while indulging in music, performance, art, food and drinks,” Stromberg and Harris wrote. “The space itself saw an attendance of approximately 100 people per day on average. As the Rose Bowl Tavern does not serve food, we happily encourage our patrons to bring food from neighboring restaurants while enjoying the outdoor seating and entertainment. We plan to continue to support the other downtown businesses and to bring more people to enjoy everything Urbana has to offer.”
Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin said the city “received many heartfelt emails from the community, including some downtown businesses, who want live, outdoor, all-ages music to continue and we’re happy to do that.”
“It’s good for people, good for nearby restaurants and other businesses, and good for musicians who are hired to play there,” she added. ” And, based on emails, a surprising number of Urbana dogs enjoy the music as well!”
That’s What She Said
“The 2022 ‘That’s What She Said’ was well-attended and had the support of quite a few corporate sponsors. Is this a for-profit event, or do proceeds go to local charities? If so, which ones? Also, are the presenters paid? Very nice performance. Glad I attended.”
The seventh presentation of “That’s What She Said,” women going onstage and sharing personal stories, was held Feb. 26 at Champaign’s Virginia Theatre.
“The annual ‘That’s What She Said’ production is a partnership between That’s What She Said, LLC and The Virginia Theater (Champaign Park District) and there are always one to two local nonprofits that benefit from a portion of the proceeds of the event,” said Jenette Jurczyk. “This year those nonprofits were the U of I YWCA and the Junior League of Champaign-Urbana. In addition to receiving funds, they get promotion and recognition from the stage.
“The sponsorships raised help cover the costs of producing and marketing the show, as well as the video catalog and podcast production that come from the live show. In exchange, the sponsors are given a certain level of marketing exposure and support. A number of the sponsors featured were in-kind (non-cash) donors, so if they contributed to the success of the production in any way, they received recognition. Sponsor dollars also go toward developing and growing additional programming, such as ‘That’s What Teens Say’ an empowerment program for teen girls. The women who are asked to speak are not paid, but do receive value in the form of training, gifts, services and meals for giving of their time.
“There are many moving parts to make ‘That’s What She Said’ an impactful experience for the women on that stage and the women in our audience, and we cannot make it happen without the generous support from our community. Thank you so much for supporting ‘That’s What She Said’ and the women that bravely appeared in our 2022 performance.”
MTD at fire scene
“I noticed a MTD bus among the many firetrucks at a house fire on Healy Street in Champaign when I was driving by last Sunday morning. Can you tell me why? I’m wondering if the MTD has a deal to help the fire departments.”
“We don’t actually have too many formal agreements for emergency response. We just have a long history of being responsive to the community,” said MTD Managing Director Karl Gnadt. “We provide heating/cooling buses for firefighters, we provide buses for command operations during police actions, we allow SWAT training to use our buses, we evacuated students from Parkland during a bomb scare, we have picked up passengers when an over-the-road coach has had a mechanical failure — it’s a pretty long list. We even allowed the Secret Service to use our buses to form a blockade at Willard Airport when President Clinton visited years ago.
“This is just one of many ‘hidden’ values MTD brings to the community. As an aside, we do have a few formal agreements as well. For instance, we have one with Carle so that they can use our maintenance facility for overflow during a disaster emergency. If they need a large, indoor space for a situation with mass casualties, we’re just down the road from their hospital.”
Florida Avenue upgrade
“Does the Florida Avenue improvement project include widening of Florida between Lincoln avenue and Vine street so that it is the same width as the sections east and west of there?”
As of now, said Urbana Public Works Director Tim Cowan, there is no anticipation of roadway that part of Florida Avenue.
“The improvements focus on enhancing multi-modal transportation safety and level of service while addressing infrastructure in poor condition,” he said. “This project is one of the top transportation priorities in our metropolitan planning area along this stretch of Florida Avenue that is one of Urbana’s heaviest traveled corridors.
“Many of the proposed improvements were identified in recently completed bicycle and pedestrian master plans as well as multiple rounds of public engagement during a yearlong corridor study performed by Champaign County Regional Planning Commission. The Corridor Study is slated to be complete in the coming months and we intend to share the final recommendations from the study with the public for a final round of public input. CUMTD and the city of Urbana are currently working together with CCRPC to apply for a federal RAISE grant in hopes of funding the majority of this project; the final application is due April 14th.”
Illini in basketball commercial
“I have been watching the the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament and the advertisement for Invesco QQQ caught my eye … the ‘freeze frame’ shows a basketball player with a dark blue No. 23 jersey with Illini clearly displayed ‘running over’ a player in the white jersey with possibly North Carolina powder blue trim.
“Is there a connection to Urbana-Champaign and/or the University of Illinois by that company? Did they need to get permission from the University to use ‘Illini’ and the orange and blue colors?”
“Invesco QQQ is a sponsor of UI Athletics through Fighting Illini Sports Properties,” said Kent Brown, associate athletic director at the UI. “They did reach out to us regarding interest in participating in their national ad campaign and we actually let them borrow our blue jerseys to use in the production of the commercial.”
Coleman Hawkins (33) during the UI basketball media day at the State Farm Center in Champaign on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021.
Improvisation on the court?
“Is UI basketball player Coleman Hawkins named after the jazz musician Coleman Hawkins? Some of us were wondering about this before an OLLI jazz class this morning.”
“We checked directly with Coleman, and he is aware of the great jazz musician with the same name since he has been asked this question many times in his life,” said Brown. “However, to jazz fans everywhere, he was not named after the great tenor saxophonist.”
Underwood nepotism?
“The director of recruiting and scouting for the Illini men’s basketball team is Tyler Underwood, a former player for the team but more importantly the son of head coach Brad Underwood. What is the athletic department’s policy on nepotism hires? Is the Board of Trustees aware of this hire? And why should Illinois taxpayers underwrite generational wealth for the Underwood family?”
“The University has a policy on employment of family members, which the DIA followed in this situation, and the Board of Trustees was made aware,” said Brown. “The DIA is a self-supporting division of the University, and its operational expenses, including salaries of its employees, are not paid with any state-appropriated funds.”
Brad Underwood is making $4.1 million this season. Tyler Underwood was hired at $50,000 annually.
Potholes on South First
“Who is responsible for the maintenance of First Street between Old Church and Airport Road in Savoy? There are vast differences in the road condition, especially in the middle portion near the CU Under Construction shop. There is some old construction at the bridge there and I have heard several people have had to get new rims from hitting the potholes in that particular section. I seem to have a vague recollection that the village of Savoy doesn’t have that full stretch of road.”
About three-quarters of that segment is the responsibility of Philo Township (the rest being within the village of Savoy).
Philo Township Highway Commissioner Brian Meharry was in that area Thursday morning using a “cold mix” to fill in potholes along South First Street and other roads.
“We’re at that point in the season where you can start with a pothole the size of your fist that can grow into something the size of a washtub within two days, especially if there’s rain with it,” Meharry said. “It’s just a seasonal problem that we fight after every winter with these oil and chip roads.”
Regarding the Savoy portion, Village Administrator Christopher Walton said that the public works department would “inspect the village’s section of roadway in this area. If there are any immediate safety issues, we will work to resolve them as soon as practical.”
Street projects this year
“I’m wondering which streets are already planned to be repaved this year. A couple are in horrendous shape: Springfield Avenue from Wright Street east to Race Street in Urbana. And on campus, Fifth Street north of Springfield is in tatters.”
That’s a lot of work regarding a lot of work. Here’s the story in Champaign:
Next month, said public works spokesman Kris Koester, the department will ask for council approval of two improvement projects:
— Fourth Street from Daniel Street to Armory Avenue
— Western Avenue from Kirby Avenue to Sangamon Avenue.
He noted that in February the council approved the extension of “complete street Features” on Bradley Avenue between Duncan Road and Staley Road. This project will extend the complete street features present on the interstate overpass out to Staley Road. The improvements are consistent with the Transportation Master Plan vision for the corridor and will include the following:
— Resurfacing of the asphalt pavement from Bluegrass Lane to Staley Road.
— Widening and paving of the shoulders on Bradley Avenue from Bluegrass Lane to Staley Road, including marking the shoulders for bike lanes.
— Concrete pavement repairs at the intersection of Bradley Avenue and Bluegrass Lane.
— Curb and gutter modifications to allow for the extension of bike lanes to Duncan Road.
On March 15 the council approved bituminous overlay projects. They are generally focuses on arterial and collector class asphalt street improvements due to the higher traffic volume on these streets.
“This year’s project will focus work on the Downtown streets not completed as part of the 2021 project. Work will include milling and resurfacing, repairs to the underlying pavement as needed, manhole and valve adjustments, sidewalk and curb repairs, construction of ADA compliant sidewalk ramps, and new pavement markings,” he said.
The following streets will be resurfaced in 2022:
— Randolph Street from Church Street to Stanage Avenue (4,700 feet)
— State Street from University Avenue to Stanage Avenue (4,300 feet)
— Park Avenue from State Street to Randolph Street (450 feet)
— Clark Street from Prospect Avenue to Randolph Street (3,500 feet)
— Cottage Court from White Street to Springfield Avenue (600 feet)
— Vine Street from Neil Street to Hickory Street (250 feet)
— White Street from State Street to Randolph Street (450 feet)
— William Street from Randolph Street to Neil Street (400 feet)
— Stanage Avenue from Randolph Street to Neil Street (400 feet)
— Hessel Boulevard from Randolph Street to Neil Street (350 feet)
Finally, seal coat work will be focused the southeast one-third of Champaign this year. About 7.8 miles of pavement will be treated on nearly 30 streets.
Here’s what is happening in Urbana, according to Public Works Director Tim Cowan, with projected timelines:
— Lincoln & Springfield Resurfacing (University to Green Street) – September 2021 to June 2022 (in progress)
— Race Street Resurfacing (Washington to California) – April 2021 to Aug. 15, 2022
— West Windsor Road Resurfacing (Race Street to Wright Street extended) – July 2022 to October 2022
— Philo, Colorado, and Anderson Resurfacing – March 2023 to October 2023
“The majority of the Springfield Avenue section between Wright Street and McCullough Street is in our 5-year capital project slated to be resurfaced in fiscal year 2025 at this time,” Cowan said.
