Illinois Marathon to be continued as planned Saturday

Update: 12:30 AM Saturday April 27th

Illinois Marathon Race Officials shared an update that all of Saturday's events, including the 10K, Half Marathon and Full Marathon will continue as planned.

Race offiicals say, after talking with local and state law enforcement, they were able to pull together enough law enforcement staff need to hold a safe and secure event.

The first runners are set to step off south of the State Farm Center around 7 a.m. Saturday morning.

For more infromation aboutt the race, click here.

UPDATE 9:12 p.m. Friday April 26th.

A mass email has been sent to the University of Illinois community asking students, staff and faculty to avoid the area near Wright and Green Streets in front of the Illini Union until further notice.

That corner of campus has been the site of a demonstration by Pro-Palestinian students since Friday morning.

Chancellor Robert J. Jones stated that the "situation has escalated beyond a peaceful expression of opinion," and that the university will continue to "work to convince the demonstrators to end their activities and disperse voluntarily."

Click here to read the full message.

On X, the ACLU of Illinois called on the university to avoid escalating the situation if possible.

.@UofIllinois We understand police in riot gear are facing off with students protesting at University of Illinois . Armed police only escalate this situation and will put the safety of everyone at risk. We call on administrators to show restraint and use dialogue, not force.
— ACLU of Illinois (@ACLUofIL) April 27, 2024

Friday's Illinois Race Weekend 5K has been canceled, but Saturday's events are still scheduled to go on as planned. Race organizers hope to have a final decision by 5 a.m. Saturday.

Those who have signed up for the events should expect notification via app, email, social media and text messaging.

ORIGINAL STORY

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) — The 5K run scheduled for Friday evening as part of Illinois Race Weekend has been canceled due to escalating tension at the Pro-Palestine demonstration on the University of Illinois campus.

The PR Director for the event said that "all police assigned to our 5K course were reassigned to assist with the incident on campus."

Related Links

Race organizers hope to hold a 5K in the near future.

Four thousand runners had been registered for the race, which was mapped out to go through and around campus.

At this time, Saturday events are set to continue forward as planned. Runners signed up to participate in tomorrow's races can expect an update at 9 p.m. this evening.

Illinois students have been demonstrating between Alma Mater and the Illini Union since Friday morning in support of Palestine. On Wednesday, Dema Karim with the group Act Now for Palestine told WAND News that the students are calling on the university to divest from companies such as Boeing, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, acknowledge the loss of life in Palestine, and create a committee to address Arab and Muslim student affairs.

The University of Illinois Police Department released a statement that addressed the protests as well as an arrest that was made on Friday.

UIPD arrested one demonstrator who "actively attempted to prevent staff" from removing tents that were violating campus policy Friday morning.

"We respect the rights of freedom of speech and expression and remain committed to providing a safe environment for all members of our community," the UIPD statement read. "However, the university does not allow camping tents to be set up on campus property."