The Associated Press today reported on a unique approach to sentencing taken by Champaign County Municipal Court Judge Susan Fornof-Lippencott.

According to the AP, 24 year-old Andrew Vactor, a member of the Urbana University basketball team, was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo this summer. 

Judge Fornof-Lippencott offered to reduce Vactor's fine to $35 if he spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. 

The judge said the idea was to force Vactor to listen to something he might not prefer, just as other people had no choice but to listen to his loud rap music.

"I think a lot of people don't like to be forced to listen to music," she said.

Vactor's classical music experience, however, lasted only about 15 minutes, a probation officer said. 

It wasn't the music, according to Vactor, he just needed to get to basketball practice.  "I didn't have the time to deal with that," he said. "I just decided to pay the fine."

The judge also has taped TV shows for defendants in other cases to watch on topics such as financial responsibility. As she sees it, they get the chance to have their fine reduced "and at the same time broaden their horizons."

Seems fitting in a university town.