ford_county

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A wide range of topics in this week’s ’Bag: teal pumpkins, a Tuscola hotel, disc golf, a new use for an old school, new development on the edge of downtown Champaign, and future plans for the state’s fire academy that’s located just north of Windsor Road.

And, as usual, plenty of questions about area roadways: what it would take to extend Florida Avenue, how to request a new stop sign, whether cameras can be used to deter red-light runners, towing abandoned cars, whether it’s OK to cross a solid white line to get to a turn lane, and more.

Police escorts for team buses

“Police shut down Kirby at Prospect on a Friday night so buses carrying what sure looked like the Illini football team could make it to the Champaign Country Club for dinner without any delays. Is there some compelling reason to do that when our police departments are so short-staffed?”

Team escorts are provided by the UI Police Department. UIPD assistant chief Joe McCullough said, “As a university police department, it’s common for us to escort athletic teams, high-profile speakers, foreign dignitaries, politicians and other visitors who attract a lot of attention when they come to campus. Unlike full road closures, escorts only tie up an intersection for a few seconds, and it is the safest way to get them to…