City Names Street “Chabad Way,” Recognizing Chabad at University of Illinois’ 20-Year-Anniversary

When the 4,000 or so Jewish students who call the University of Illinois home walk down Armory Ave. in Champaign, Illinois, they’ll notice a new sign up among the fraternities and sororities that dot the street. 

That’s because the City of Champaign’s City Council recently voted to rename the stretch of Armory Ave. that runs past the Chabad House to “Honorary Chabad Way,” recognizing the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life and Living at U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, directed by Rabbi Dovid and Goldie Tiechtel. 

In the years since it was founded, the Illini Chabad Center, as it’s often referred to, has grown in leaps and bounds. Back in 2017, they opened a hospitality house for students and their families, and more recently, they opened university-affiliated Jewish student housing with a full kosher meal program as they recently purchased and moved into an expansive new building on Armory Ave., right on fraternity row.  

“We are honored by this recognition and look forward to many great things ahead,” said Rabbi Dovid Tiechtel, “We are excited to welcome back the thousands of students to campus and Chabad way. As we enter our third decade, look out for many more amazing things to come! We are just beginning!”