Champaign Police: Coffee with a Cop and More

I attended last month's Coffee with a Cop event, held quarterly throughout the year by the Champaign Police Department. For those who are unfamiliar with how these events work, it's about as simple as going to the café where they're holding it and then ordering a cup of coffee. 

Photograph from Champaign Police

Their most recent event was held at Martinelli’s Market on the north side of Downtown Champaign. The clerk asked if I was with the event when I ordered my coffee which made it free for me. The City of Champaign's budget mentions this as part of its outreach budget (just see all the search hits for "coffee").

From there, one can approach any of the officers or department officials or simply have a seat with them. They're used to fielding questions and concerns regardless from a variety of perspectives (even critical ones). From WCIA's coverage of the event:

On Tuesday, some Champaign citizens sat down with not only a hot cup of coffee, but someone to talk to. It was the first Coffee With a Cop event of the year for the Champaign Police Department.

Champaign Police orchestrate these social gatherings at least once every quarter. The program is designed for officers and community members to interact and discuss concerns.

“It’s something that humanizes our officers; it builds relationships. A crisis is the wrong time to be handing out business cards, so establishing those relationships upfront is essential to the work that we do,” said Joe Lamberson, CPD’s Public Information Officer.

That full blurb here. For general information on the Champaign program, see their webpage on the City's website here. If you're interested in the next event coming up this summer, you can follow their social media feed on facebook or Twitter. I'd recommend signing up for the City of Champaign's Champaign Insider newsletter myself, but I follow a lot of local events. Either way you'll probably get at least a few weeks heads up on the next event's specific location and other details.

Like many outreach programs, you tend to get what you put into it. If you have serious questions and concerns, you can bring those with you. Folks may not always like the answers, but you might get some insight into other perspectives. If you're interested in seeing out the department uses its outreach resources, you can do that to. If you just want to have a friendly chat and offer your support or well-wishes, officers surely wouldn't mind that either.

Other Champaign Police Updates:

• Today is the last day for public input for the Champaign Police Department's ILEAP accreditation. More from WCIA coverage here. Additional information from the City's website here.
  
  
• Remember there are always police chief updates at the Champaign County Community Coalition every month, including crime and gun violence updates. Previous meetings are archived here.
  
  
• There was a reminder about the major factor that opportunity plays in property crime in this month's Champaign Insider. Remember to Lock It! Hide It! Keep It!
  
  
• Updates on the Champaign-Urbana Rising Star program and collaboration, including the Champaign Police.
  
  
• One of the questions I had answered during the event was on the return of the Citizen Police Academy program. This was a free outreach program offered through the Police Training Institute on campus. It was a popular initiative prior to the pandemic that allowed members of the public to get a detailed look at the local departments and training. Be on the lookout for updates as we approach the fall semester!

Unit 4 Special Meeting and Updates

 

Photos provided by Natalie Schneider

Heads Up! There is a Special Meeting of the Champaign Schools Unit 4 Board of Education next week on April 9th to interview applicants for the two vacancies on the same school board.  There were 26 applicants for the two vacancies according to the News-Gazette (WCIA coverage here). After our last Unit 4 updates in March looked at the controversies surrounding the district and the resignation of board vice president Jamar Brown, there was an addition resignation of another board member. From the News-Gazette last month:

For the second time in two weeks and a day, a Champaign school board member has resigned after serving less than a year in office.

On March 4, it was Jamar Brown, who said months of “mistrust, missteps and misinformation” had left him seeing “no value” in continuing.

Tuesday night, it was a similarly frustrated Mark Thies, who in a letter to board members and Superintendent Shelia Boozer said he’s come to realize ”that my vision is not aligned with the future direction and initiatives of Unit 4.”

That full article here including some details of Thies' resignation letter that mirrored Jamar Brown's concerns about a lack of respect and trust. WCIA had the full text of Thies' resignation letter here. WCCU had some responses from parents as well here. WCCU had an additional interview with board member Betsy Holder about her concerns with the district and a response from Board President Dr. Gianina Baker.

Next week there is a regular school board meeting scheduled on Monday evening, as well as an additional special meeting for interviewing applicants for the board's vacancy on the next evening on Tuesday.

More March Meetings:

Since our last update there was a March 20th special meeting to address the process of appointing people to the two open seats on the board (video here, agendas here). There was a number of public comments before the board president laid out that process. The timeline and other details were discussed and agreed to by the remaining board members. WCIA's coverage of that meeting is here. WAND's coverage specifically covered the citizen complaints and concerns about transparency here.

There was another regular meeting that was cancelled shortly after it began on March 25th. This caused a great deal of confusion for members of the public who found themselves locked out of the building. While the meetings begin at 5pm, there is a closed session at the beginning of Champaign board of education meetings to discuss employment and disciplinary issues. The main public portion of the meeting generally doesn't start until after 6pm.

The very beginning of the meetings, before entering the closed "executive session" is technically public, but it is generally not included in the meeting videos. Few (if any) members of the public show up for the brief call to order and vote to go into the closed session, which would also mean waiting for an hour or more in an empty room while the board meets privately.

The News-Gazette had coverage on the walk outs and confusion after the meeting.

Amy Armstrong said she’d asked twice in the past six days — once in a meeting, then again in a Monday morning email to President Gianina Baker — that the item calling for the special election of a new board vice president be tabled until the board was back to full strength.

When Baker declined to pull it at the start of Monday’s meeting, Armstrong walked out, followed by fellow member Betsy Holder.

With only three members left at the Mellon Administrative Center — Baker, Heather Vazquez and Bruce Brown — the meeting was called off for lack of a quorum... 

But with no meeting, there was no public comment session, leaving them to air their frustrations outside. 

That full article here. WCIA had similar coverage and explanation of events:

The seven-person board currently has two vacancies. With less than four members, the board cannot meet in order to be compliant with Illinois’ Open Meetings Act.

The two members, Amy Armstrong and Betsy Holder, walked out of the meeting after Armstrong objected to the agenda since it contained an item for electing a new Vice President. Jamar Brown, who served as vice president, resigned from the board earlier this month.

Only three members were in attendance after Holder and Armstrong left. With no way to continue, the meeting was cancelled.

That full article here. According to at least one of the school board members that walked out on social media afterwards: the doors had been unlocked for the public at 5pm and members of the public were inside when the initial open session was called to order. There appears to be questions as to what exactly the quorum rules dictated if the meeting began with a quorum, but no longer had one afterward. For example, could there have been public comment, even if there weren't enough members present to vote on action items. A hurdle there would be whether or not they could even approve the agenda to get to that point.

Other Updates on Unit 4 Controversies:

• Illinois Public Media had an updated (as of April 1st) overview of the Unit 4 controversies here.
  
  
• The News-Gazette had coverage of the lawsuit surrounding the transfer of Booker T. Washington STEM Academy Assistant Principal Rebecca Ramey here. She claims that it was retaliatory, specifically against her wife's criticism of the Superintendent. Coverage of Unit 4's response and denials of the claims here.
  
  
• One of Unit 4's Deputy Superintendents will be returning to the Urbana school district for an administrative position there, according to the News-Gazette. The article notes that this is the latest in a number of recent moves from Champaign schools to Urbana's District 116.
  
  
• The News-Gazette published its own criticisms and opinion on the Unit 4 controversies in an editorial on March 16th.

City of Champaign Updates Into March

This post covers City Council Meetings in February and early March, updates on police training, possible local Post Office changes, surveillance expansion, downtown planning and much more.

City Council 3/5 Meeting:

Heads up: there won't be a City Council meeting this upcoming Tuesday, March 12th, according to the City Manager. This is likely due to the Mayor and other council members unable to attend. At the March 5th meeting the Mayor noted that she will be out of town and other members are likely to be attending a public input event about the Champaign U.S. Post Office review. More information on that review at the USPS website here. Excerpt relating to public input:

Public input will be considered as part of the review. A public meeting will be held to share the initial results of the study and to allow members of the local community to provide their feedback and perspectives on the Initial Findings of the MPFR. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 12, 6:00 PM at the YMCA of the University of Illinois, 1001 Wright St, Champaign, IL 61820. A summary of the MPFR will be posted on about.usps.com at least one week prior to the public input meeting. 

Members of the local community may submit comments at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mpfr-champaign-il.

The News-Gazette had coverage of the local pushback on potential changes or reduction of service locally. WCIA had additional coverage here.

The only action item that received any significant comment or discussion at the March 5th meeting was the approval of Champaign Police Department and Fire Department training agreement with the Public Safety Training Foundation and their massive training facilities outside of Decatur, Illinois. The Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center is a part of those facilities.

Lt. Aaron Lack of the Champaign Police and the Mayor described the breadth of the facilities there, including an "indoor city" with furnished office building, bars, an Amtrak train car, and other simulation facilities. On the fire training side there were also unique facilities for issues such as grain bin rescues on site. There's no cost to the City from the center itself although travel costs and per diem expenses are a factor. The time would be part of the 10 hour training time allotted in current officer pay as opposed to any overtime costs.

For those interested in the massive funding that went into those facilities, Howard Buffett's police training philanthropy in the Decatur area and his Police Safety Training Foundation, ProPublica had a breakdown of some of the foundation financial numbers. The Mayor also highlighted that the facility allows public tours and can facilitate organizations to visit and check out the center. She visited as part of a delegation from the Illinois Municipal League recently.

City Council 2/20 Meeting:

The News-Gazette had an overview of the February 20th City Council meeting in their Meeting Minutes feature here (agenda, video). Excerpt:

Phase 1 of Champaign’s Neil Street Plaza project is a go after the city council voted to formally accept a $500,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Construction on the first phase is scheduled to start this summer and expected to conclude sometime in 2025. It will involve extending the plaza by about 200 feet and renovating One Main Plaza, at the corner of Neil and Main streets, including the installation of a performance stage equipped with power and wiring for sound and lighting equipment.

That full article here. There was a study session after the regular meeting going over the Downtown Plan Update (report, video jump to link). Smile Politely had some additional information and links related to the Downtown Plaza project here.

The approval of 72 new cameras as part of the expansion of the Automatic License Plate Reader program and contract with Flock Safety. The item passed unanimously without comments from by the council or any audience members (jump to video). Unlike previous ALPR devices, the new camera systems will allow real-time monitoring and additional surveillance capabilities. From the staff report on the council bill:

PSC Boxes and Expansion of ALPR Technology. Council approved the expansion of the ALPR program and the implementation of the PSC program on December 12, 2023 (CB 2023-209). Eighteen PSC boxes were directed to be built and placed at major intersections throughout Champaign. Each PSC box, if approved by Council, will be built by Police Department staff and will have four different cameras per box for a total of seventy-two (72) cameras to complete all 18 boxes. Two cameras are dedicated to the ALPR license plate capture, with licensing contracted from Flock, and will cover all four directions of the intersection. 

The tilt zoom camera will enable real-time monitoring of any ongoing situations in the intersection. The 360-degree camera will record all activity at an intersection and will provide the Police Department with a better investigatory tool for crashes and ongoing criminal investigations. The PSC boxes are cost-effective and efficient because they are built in-house and only require one box per intersection. The City utilized a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to purchase the 72 cameras.

Previous City staff reports on surveillance expansion noted that these cameras are in addition to other expanded surveillance by the city. This also includes a recent purchase of a new surveillance van with remote capabilities described as a "Premier Surveillance Platform" with a Command Center and Tech Center. From the November 10th staff report:

The Department employs body-worn cameras, in-car cameras, mobile camera trailers and four investigative pole cameras.

Investigative cameras are typically deployed during long-term investigations involving felony crimes and are never utilized to identify, capture, or enforce minor offenses. These cameras are placed on a public right of way in locations experiencing violent crime. Video evidence gathered from these cameras is utilized in the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes.

Additionally, in 2021, Champaign Police purchased a mobile video trailer as an additional resource for the department to proactively deploy for the safe management of large-scale community events. This trailer can also be rapidly deployed in response to unexpected incidents that may pose a significant threat to public safety.

WCIA also highlighted the City's annexation and approval of solar panels at an animal rescue facility at that same meeting (go to link of video of the consolidated bills passage). There was an opportunity for public input on the annexation of the property into the City earlier in the same meeting. There was additional coverage looking for public input to name the Moore’s Rescue Ranch's "cat lounge" here.

The News-Gazette coverage also noted that there will be a nationwide search for a new Public Works Director for the City after Khalil Zaied announced that he has to leave the position and move out of state due to private family matters.

City Council 2/6 Meeting:

WAND had coverage of the City's $2 million settlement related to the death of a tow truck driver who died while assisting City personnel at an accident scene. That article also links to additional News-Gazette coverage here.

Other City Government Updates:

• There are a couple public input opportunities on the city's Annual Action Plan that "outlines local affordable housing and community development needs and identifies strategies for addressing them." There are public input opportunities coming up March 21st and 26th meetings at the City Building as well as online input options on the City's website here.
  
  
• The Illinois Department of Commerce has designated North First Street as a cultural district. This will open up more funding opportunities for the city towards projects in that community, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• C-U Citizen Access had a follow up article on the lack of any new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) or building permits after the City Council approved zoning changes to allow them. The article has an overview of the topic, links to previous articles and concerns, and more.
  
  
• The City's Human Relations Commission had a presentation from the local Pixan Konob’ interpreters collective and their efforts to assist interpreter needs by local services and agencies in Champaign County. This includes indigenous Mayan languages often used by immigrants from Guatemala and Southern Mexico, for example (agenda, video). There's an overview of the group from their presentation to a County Board finance study session back in 2021 here.
  
  
• The News-Gazette reprinted a C-U Citizen Access article on concerns among Garden Hills residents in Champaign on the overwhelming number of liquor and gambling establishments in their area. The article goes into detail and maps some of the licensing around the neighborhood.

Unit 4 Controversies

 

This post has the latest updates on the controversies surrounding Unit 4 and recent meeting coverage from February and early March with the Board of Education. See also our previous Cheat Sheet post on Unit 4 updates over the past several months. It covers many presentations on programs that are working (and possibly expanding), transportation challenges, and Illinois State Board of Education and other data on test scores and various achievement gaps.

Booker T. Washington Leadership Change:

There are a lot of unknowns, speculation, and rumors about what may or may not be happening to the school administrators at Booker T. Washington school. News-Gazette Editor Jeff D'Alessio laid out some of the challenges in reporting on the subject in an WDWS interview (about 45 minutes into the Penny for Your Thoughts podcast), especially when the district refuses to comment on personnel matters. 

The one thing D'Alessio seemed sure about is that a decision for a leadership change has been made by Unit 4 at BTW. The BTW Principal, Jamie Roundtree, has now hired an attorney over the issue, according to WAND. Vice Principal Rebecca Ramey is the other BTW administrator caught up in the possible leadership change.

Rallies and Clashing Views on Superintendent:

The February Board of Education meeting was preceded by a rally outside of the administration building in support of Booker T. Washington school administrators believed to be being removed (at least from that particular school). Coverage of the rally and concerns is available from the News-Gazette, WCCU, and WAND respectively. 

Supporters of Superintendent Sheila Boozer derided the rally as part of efforts to remove the current Superintendent as opposed to the stated goals of protecting BTW administrators. A local social media group appears to have been the target of some of the complaints. Links to a separate Change.org online petition criticizing and calling for the firing of the Superintendent were also shared there.

Imani Bezzell, a long-time local activist and supporter of reforms at Unit 4, led the public comment portion of the meeting off with a passionate defense of the Superintendent matched with a condemnation of the rally goers. She stated up front that she arranged to have unlimited time with the school board. The microphone typically switches off shortly after the 3 minute clock runs out and the camera shifts away from the public speaker's podium back to the board. When this occurred for Bezzell the Board President, Dr. Gianna Baker, had the the microphone turned back on and the camera angle turned back to the Superintendent's supporter.

This caused some confusion and anger as later speakers (including administration critics) were admonished by the board parliamentarian and some of the Superintendent's supporters in the audience for going over their time later during the public comment period. While some government bodies may, with a vote, "suspend the rules" to allow longer speaking time for public participants, the Unit 4 board rules allow the board president to unilaterally make such an allowance, even for a single individual (see Unit 4 Policies section 2:230).

The meeting video is available here, with Unit 4 school board agendas and related documents available here. It was another long meeting with a couple of important presentations in the middle again. Here are the video timestamps:

• Superintendent's Report began the meeting.
  
  
• First Public Comment began at 14:25.
  
  
• Appointment of Director of Custodial/Grounds intro, approval, comments at 1:07:00.
  
  
• Reports:
• Operation Hope report at 1:11:40.
• LIFT report at 1:48:50.
  
  
• New Business / Action Items voted on at 2:41:40.
  
  
• 2nd Round of Public Comment began at 3:13:15.
  
  
• Board comments at 3:25:30.

Contentious March Meeting:

The first Unit 4 meeting of March (video, agenda packets) also had more contentious moments and (the public portion) ended with the resignation of board member Jamar Brown and some heartfelt statements on that by other board members. WCIA had coverage specifically of that resignation here. The board is responsible for filling the vacancy in the next couple months. WCIA had a short blurb on the district's statement on the resignation and filling the vacancy here.

WCIA also had a write-up and overview of the March 4th meeting here. Excerpt:

he Champaign Board of Education hosted its bimonthly meeting on Monday. Among other things, the board discussed liability insurance, construction bids and the purchase of outdoor digital marquee signs for schools.

However, the meeting was marked with a heated discussion between two members and came to a shocking and emotional end when a board member resigned...

The board deliberated on lowering an insurance limit for parents and guardians who have to take their children to school due to unreliable bus service. An agreement allows for parents and guardians to be reimbursed for any expenses related to this transportation as long as parents and guardians have auto insurance that pays no less than $100,000 for bodily injury and property damage...

However, the proposal did not pass after a deadlocked vote.

That full meeting write-up here. The News-Gazette also had coverage of the resignation and meeting:

A meeting that opened with Superintendent Shelia Boozer’s customary slideshow, ticking off all the reasons why “it’s a great day day in Unit 4,” ended with one board member expressing disappointment in what she called the district’s “lack of transparency,” another announcing his resignation less than a year after being elected and a third questioning her own future...

“After my first term, I dubbed that experience as ‘the best thing that I’d never wanted to do,’” Brown said. “Unfortunately, the second time around, I cannot say I’m having the same experience. This time around has been filled with mistrust, missteps and misinformation. During this time, the school board has taken much criticism over many different topics from various stakeholders. Some of it was warranted, some of it was not and there’s even some that’s been self-inflicted.”

That full article here. Another excerpt from Jamar Brown's resignation from WCIA:

"The district’s decision to not maintain a level of humility, compassion, and adjustability has forced us to focus on adult-orient issues instead of student’ centered ones that could help raise reading and math scores and comprehension, the ones that ensure that every child in our district is seen, heard and respected and the one where we asses ourselves to make sure we have the right people in the right position where they can thrive and in turn pass that along to our students. So because of this, I no longer see value in continuing in this capacity. So please accept this as my resignation from the Champaign Unit 4 Board of Education effective today, at the conclusion of open session."

This meeting was originally rescheduled from the end of last month due to a lack of quorum (enough members able to attend to carry out official board duties). During the school year the board typically meets on both the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. This added to some concerns by one side of the insurance liability issue (that failed in a 3-3 tie vote) that the long delayed item was voted on when one of the supporters of changing the policy was absent.

Other Unit 4 Updates:

• One of the participants in the BTW school campus shooting incident was sentenced, according to WCIA.
  
  
• There was additional WAND coverage of support for BTW administrators at a recent PTA meeting there.
• The News-Gazette had a round up of average teacher salaries in area school districts.
  
  
• Unit 4 statement on the death of local child and education advocate Devon "Big Wayne" Turner from WCIA coverage.

Election Updates

A reminder that early voting has already begun for the March 19th, 2024 primary election. There are local, state, and federal races on the ballot from precinct committeepersons to presidential delegates. This post has an update on write-in and other candidates you may see on your ballot in Champaign County. You can see your sample ballot at the Champaign County Clerk's website here.

This post follows up on a previous election update that included a link to the League of Women Voters candidate forum for Democratic candidates competing to get on the general election ballot for County Coroner in the fall. 

Write-in and Other Candidates:

Tom Kacich had an overview of some write-in candidates folks may find on their ballot within Champaign County for federal and State races (depending on where they fall in those federal and state districts). The Champaign County Clerk's website has a list of the write-in candidates here if you can't access the News-Gazette article:

• United States Representative 15th District - Kevin A. Gaither (Democratic)
• Illinois State Representative 102nd District - Adam Niemerg (Republican)
• Illinois State Representative 102nd District - Edward "Ed" Blade (Republican)
• Illinois State Representative 102nd District - Jim Acklin (Republican)
• County Board District 8 - Latrina Peete (Republican)
• Precinct Committeeperson City of Champaign 12 - Latrina Peete (Republican)
• Precinct Committeeperson Cunningham 23 - Ronald Vlach (Republican)

You'll notice that there a few local government races with write-in candidates on your ballot too, but only if you live in those particular districts. You can look up which districts you are in and get sample ballots for either party's primary races on the Clerk's website here. There is likely a non-partisan ballot available for folks who live in the Northern Piatt Fire Protection District, where there is a referendum question outside of the party primary races.

The VoteChampaign non-partisan voter guide (a project in collaboration with the local League of Women Voters) has information, questionnaire answers and links to more information on contested races within Champaign County. The Republican primary ballot for a representative in the Illinois 13th Congressional District is contested.  We only cover local government on the Cheat Sheet, but there is other local coverage of federal candidates. For example, the Daily Illini had an overview of the Republican federal congressional primary candidates and and an interview with one of them recently for the 13th District here. Arguably the top contested race at the county level in this primary is on the Democratic ballot between two candidates vying for the coroner's office.

Precinct Committeepersons:

People may notice a number of precinct committee races on their ballots, including a handful contested on both the Republican and Democratic party ballots. These local party positions help choose a party chair and have votes in how the local county parties operate. The major parties tend to be "big tent" organizations with internal competing factions and ideologies.

County Board member Jeff Wilson was on the WDWS program "Penny For Your Thoughts" yesterday (2/29/2024) explaining the importance of these committeeperson seats and how their votes are weighed when voting on a party chair or other local party decisions. This applies to both major parties in Champaign County. The countywide precinct committeeperson makeup can determine if a local party apparatus aligns with certain candidates or more conservative, liberal, or moderate ideological views.

Later in that same interview, Wilson also commented on local election integrity. He addressed a caller's concern that the local system was rigged and argued that people should volunteer to be election judges and watchers to watch how the process works. He pointed to the chain of custody procedures and bipartisan collaboration in the process to ensure votes are fairly processed and counted.

Early Voting has Begun | March 19, 2024 Primary

 Early voting has already begun for the March 19th, 2024 primary election. VoteChampaign and the League of Women Voters of Champaign County have a non-partisan candidate guide available to look at all of the contested local races. It also includes a list of contested and uncontested races you may find on your ballot in Champaign County here. Sample ballots are available from the County Clerk's website under My Voter Information here.

For a list of Early Voting locations, times, dates, and mail-in ballot information and more, see the County Clerk's Many Ways To Vote webpage.

The primary election generally pits candidates of the same party against each other to be on the general election ballot later that year. There are likely to be more contested elections between nominees of each party in the November 5th general election. The big local contested race in this primary is between two Democratic candidates for Champaign County Coroner: Laurie Brauer and Seon Williams.

The League of Women Voters had a candidate forum with both Democratic candidates last week:

The VoteChampaign / LWV non-partisan candidate guide also had questionnaire answers from both Laurie Brauer and Seon Williams.

Precinct Committeeperson candidates probably do not get enough attention in local political coverage. They play an important role in organizing each party's get out the vote activities and voting at county level political party meetings. This is why some county parties may seem more extreme or moderate. It can also play a role in which internal party factions / ideologies control nominees appointed to vacancies.

The vacancy issue has been especially critical with local Democratic Party politics on the County Board with many younger and up and coming candidates being elected recently. When a younger elected official moves to a new home, even within the county, they often find themselves in a new district. If their career takes them elsewhere, even to other county positions, the Party plays a primary role in nominating who will replace the seat previously held by that party (under current rules).

Unit 4 Updates

This post covers some of the more recent months of news and meetings for Unit 4 and its Board of Education. It breaks down some of the longer meetings, such as the nearly 5 hour meeting with reports on the AVID program and Unit 4's "Report Card" data from the Illinois State Board of Education. It also has a breakdown of the nearly 3 1/2 hour meeting that focused primarily on the transportation department and its sheer lack of capacity to fulfill its mission.

We'll start with the most recent meeting and transportation updates, move on to the October ISBE Report Card data, and finally to November and the new call for "drastic" changes to the Unit 4 school assignment system.

Other news coverage and related items are at the end of this post. This post does not get into recent rumors of retaliation against the administration of Booker T. Washington STEM Academy or the petition to fire the Superintendent for that and other issues. There will likely be a follow up post after next week's school board meeting when we can get more responses, confirm what did or did not happen, and get more information.

Transportation and the 1/29 BoE Meeting:

This meeting was certainly informative on the transportation department. I certainly feel up to date on the issues they have been facing now and over the last several years. It got into a lot of details of the new team's work over the past 2-3 years, for example. (video here, agendas available here, transportation presentation slides here). The News-Gazette had coverage of the transportation presentation. Excerpt:

It’s all hands on deck in Unit 4’s Transportation Department, but bus delays and cancellations are inevitable with the district down 21 drivers.

Administrative staff are filling in as daily drivers in the ongoing struggle to get kids to school on time and, as of this semester, the department has decided to avoid cancellations as much as possible in favor of delays...

The district needs more bus monitors too — 27 more, to be exact — but Walker said the focus has been more on drivers since that’s who they need to get buses on the road.

That full article here.

Throughout the presentation and board comments afterward, there was a lot of criticism for the community for complaining, shame parents for being upset, and outright dismissing people demanding solutions. On the positive side, I think they showed strong support for their transportation team that simply does not have the capacity to do what is being asked of them or their mission: to get kids to school and on time.

There were pretty clear hints on the policy side that this all seems to be leading to the "drastic" changes suggested in prior board meetings. For some this raises fears of returning back to "neighborhood schools" while still not addressing the historical ramifications of segregation in Champaign.

Superintendent Boozer highlighted plans of bringing back "The Promise Zone" program towards the beginning and the end of the meeting. She touted it as being data driven and targeted solutions as opposed to cookie cutter solutions. Informational slide from her remarks (click to enlarge). 

The old Citizen4 blog still has an archive of Unit 4 information and coverage over previous years of debates and challenges, including the previous push for "The Promise Zone" as a sort of implementation of activist Imani Bezzell's "Great Campus" concept from roughly a decade before (e.g. mentioned in this 2006 News-Gazette article).

That Citizen4 blog post also has links to previous Promise Zone materials (video link of the presentation to the February 2017 school board meeting (presentation begins at the 21 minute mark of the video, presentation slides, list of principles, overview, etc.) that may be instructive on what the concept once was, though not necessarily how it may be attempted this time around. This doesn't appear to be related to the similarly named HUD program, or at least no connection I have found yet.

There was a financial audit report between the public comment and the Transportation report for anyone interested in that (the full audit report, overview, and supporting documents available on the agenda page).

The meeting was nearly 3 1/2 hours long, so here's a quick list of highlights and approximate timestamps to help people with limited time navigate the meeting videos (part 1 and part 2):

• The meeting began with the usual updates, good news, and boosting student achievements.
  
  
• At around 14 minutes Superintendent Boozer highlighted "The Promise Zone" as program they will be bringing back to use data to direct targeted intervention (e.g. on low scores, absenteeism, etc.). This was touted as a way to address the district's severe achievement gap among African American students.
  
  
• At around 22 minutes was the single public comment of the meeting (there were none in the second opportunity towards the end of the meeting). There was concern about the "drastic changes" proposed at a previous meeting and a lack of follow up. The speaker argued that the public hadn't heard anything since or seen any related agenda items. There was also criticism of the Superintendent's blaming of teachers and a demand for accountability.
  
  
• After a bit of a technical delay the extensive Transportation report began at about 1 hour and 6 minutes. The introduction covers the main points about a lack of capacity to meet its mission. They acknowledge that they only get about 80% of the kids to school and on time.
  
  
• Around 1 hour and 54 minutes in is the Q&A with the board.
  
  
• Around 2 hours and 58 minutes in the board moved on to news business and the rest of the agenda if you're interested in pavement and roofing repair projects.
  
  
• The last round of board comments starts around the 15 minute mark of the second video. Most of that involved descriptions of the Board visits to Unit 4 school campuses, although there were some remarks about issues discussed earlier if folks are interested (e.g. the liability requirement on reimbursements or Superintendent Boozer touting "The Promise Zone" once again).

ISBE Report Cards and the 11/13/2023 Meeting:

The nearly 5 hour November school board meeting did not have public participation at either the beginning or end opportunities. During the communications section, Board President Baker expressed her regret for her previous remarks and assured the public that she wants to hear from them. She stated her belief that she should also be held accountable and will try to re-earn the trust of those who felt dismissed. The rest of the meeting was almost entirely composed of reports.

There was a detailed explanation of the Property Tax Levy, how that impacts the amount of taxes people may end up paying on their homes, how the burden is split between commercial and residential properties, and assessment value processes. If your property's assessed value went up, you may pay more taxes, even though it's likely that the tax rate itself will drop slightly. 

The Tax Levy report begins at roughly 25 minute and 40 second mark of the meeting video. Page 3 of the PDF presentation has a helpful chart of the "Life Cycle of a Property Tax Bill" from the school district's perspective. The Kathy's Mailbag feature in the News-Gazette also recently discussed property tax levy questions.

The mathematical acrobatics of tax levies versus tax rates can baffle even those familiar with the multi-step process from estimates, to statutory limits, to final figures. Previous Cheat Sheet post on Tax Levies versus Tax Rates here.

There was a report on hiring and vacancies around the 49 minute mark.

There was a long presentation on the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program staring around the 1 hour and 16 minute mark (AVID presentation slides here). Kids from the program talked about their experiences, including the eye-opening experience of visiting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in New Orleans recently. The AVID program exists across schools in the district to connect kids with the tools and skills towards the college and career opportunities it also highlights. It's difficult to quickly sum up, so I recommend watching the presentation if you have the time.

After that and starting around the 2 hour and 12 minute mark was the presentation on the ISBE report card data, technical overview of what that data means, some analysis, and breakdowns. It was split up over a couple hours to answer 3 "Essential Questions" beginning with how ISBE determines school designations (presentation slides here with lots of helpful graphs of the data).

The second section dealt with what the data tells us and began around the 2 hour and 47 minute mark. The presentation mainly focused on the ISBE Report Card data, but not entirely. The presenters also included additional data compiled by the ECRA Group comparing the district to 6 other Illinois districts with similar size and demographics that painted the district's struggles in a more flattering light. They showed the district closer to state averages in most categories than those similar districts, which were struggling even more in many other categories than Unit 4 (e.g. slides 27, 28, 35, and 40). 

The third part focused on the district's work towards its strategic plan and the years long process of seeing results from many of the newer initiatives in the data. The Q&A portion began around the 3 hour and 49 minute mark. The board had a variety of concerns and technical questions that took up most of the rest of the meeting. One glaring issue throughout the presentation that raised concerns was the continuing achievement gap, especially for Black, Multilanguage Learners and others.

The rest of the agenda was quickly finished after the 4 hour and 36 minute mark and was wrapped up in less than 10 minutes (consent agenda, some final announcements / communications, etc.).

December BoE Meeting:

In the opening communications of the 12/11/2023 meeting, Superintendent Boozer had an overview of the E-Learning Emergency Days in case of expected inclement weather (at exactly 11 minutes into the meeting video here). This policy became a point of contention in January when the district announced an E-Learning day after many kids had already boarded busses or were on their way to schools. The slide from the presentation related to this policy notes that "the Superintendent will announce the possibility of an E-Learning Day as soon as practical (but no later than 2:00 p.m. the day before). This will provide time for staff to gather resources and prepare accordingly. It will also allow families to make necessary arrangements."

This policy was not followed and staff and families were caught off guard when the possibility and reality of an E-Learning Emergency Day was announced that morning after kids were on their way to schools. From WCIA coverage:

Parents at both Urbana and Champaign schools were stopped in their tracks when the districts sent out a call to move to E-learning around 7 a.m.

Thomas-Stagg has two boys in Champaign schools. She said it wasn’t just the fact that administrators called off in-class learning, but her son’s computer was still at his school, making E-learning a tough ask...

“So many of the teachers that I know were already at school and were preparing for the day,” Thomas-Stagg said, “and then had to figure out, do I have to go back and get my kid from preschool?”

That full article is here. Adding to the frustration, many interpreted the Superintendent's email explaining the reasons for the E-Learning day as blaming the teachers for being unprepared. The News-Gazette also had coverage in its Meeting Minutes feature discussing where districts get their weather information to make these kind of decisions.

Towards the end of the Superintendent's presentation, at the 29 minute and 25 second mark, she took a moment to highlight some specific concerns. The topic was on the ongoing transportation shortage, cancellations, and delays. She acknowledged the hardships to local families and assured them that the district is pursuing solutions and doing everything possible. She also addressed technical concerns about the transportation reimbursement program for parents and insurance liability costs.

This discussion included an important explanation by Linda Matkowski, Chief Financial Officer at Unit 4, is that the transportation reimbursement is not the same as an employee's tax free mileage reimbursement, but as a 3rd party contractor where it's considered taxable income.

This became an extended conversation about district transportation and ended with Board Member Heather Vazquez suggesting that the district reevaluate the school assignment process and Superintendent Boozer embracing starting a process to look towards "something drastic" in that regard. Later she reiterated that it may take "something very drastic" to the school assignment system. Vazquez stated that the Board understands that it is drastic, but also timely.

The embrace of moving forward with a new process of making drastic changes to the school assignment system comes less than one year after the turbulent reorganization approved earlier in 2023. The News-Gazette had coverage of that approval in January 2023 here. 

After rounds of fierce feedback from parents who feared sudden disruption, the district changed course. The firm came back to Unit 4 with a proposal that would move few elementary students next year, instead of 64 to 79 percent of them.

The Unit 4 board unanimously approved the new assignment scenario at Monday’s meeting, which will take effect in 2023-24. 

“I think if we had done any other scenario right now it would’ve felt like we were doing this to the community, and not with,” board member Gianina Baker said after the vote.

The consultant company that helped craft that process, Cooperative Strategies, still has an overview of that process. It is still online and available here with other informational links. Unfortunately, the last Unit 4 Cheat Sheet post was way back in the middle of that process (although it provides a bit of a snapshot of some of the turbulence).

The December school board meeting also followed up on November's ISBE Report Card discussion at the 3 hour and 9 minute mark of the meeting video. That previous meeting had run extremely long (nearly 5 hours in the public portion) and there were more questions. If you're interested in more follow up Q&A of that presentation it's available.

The News-Gazette's coverage of the nearly 4 hour long December meeting is available here.

Other Unit 4 News and Updates:

• The Assistant Principal of Central High School had an opinion piece in the News-Gazette on the primacy parental involvement in educational outcomes.
  
  
• The CU Schools Foundation recognized impressive Unit 4 alumni, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• The News-Gazette also reported on Central High School students that have started a petition against digital hall passes over surveillance and other concerns.
  
  
• The News-Gazette had updates on the metal detectors now on-site and being installed at local middle schools in their 1/12 eEdition. This follows other coverage of security upgrades in the wake of the BTW shooting incident here and metal detector expansion here. The December BoE meeting included a presentation and approval of the Raptor Visitor Management system (around the 2:48 mark of the video).
  
  
• There was a second proposal for ARPA funding from the City of Champaign towards programs in Unit 4. This followed the initial proposal falling through due to a lack of staffing to follow through on taking advantage of the previous City of Champaign "Blueprint" funding. The News-Gazette and WCIA both had coverage of the second attempt of the district to use that funding. I'm hoping the next Unit 4 post will have some updates on this.

City of Urbana February Updates

A lot of recent coverage has been over a possible ceasefire resolution regarding the conflict in Gaza and the approval of the Hope Village tiny homes project. This post starts off with crime updates (with rates continuing to decline) and the new chief of the Urbana Police Department calling for increased crime analysis, technology, staff, and funding to prepare for the next cycle of crime.

There are two City Council meetings tonight: a rescheduled City Council meeting (agenda packet) and a Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda packet). With municipal governments, the Committee of the Whole is usually the first step of introducing and discussing resolutions. If there's agreement those resolutions are moved forward for final approval at a regular City Council meeting at a later date (ensuring time for public input and other statutory requirements). 

Crime Updates:

There's a broader look at gun violence in Champaign-Urbana and Champaign County in our Gun Violence Updates post from last week here. The News-Gazette had an update on Urbana's crime situation a few weeks ago:

The Urbana Police Department reports seeing a one percent decline in violent crime in 2023 compared to 2022, as well as a nine percent decline in property crime...

But Boone, who was sworn into office in July, noted that Urbana’s downswing is part of a national trend in which a pandemic-era uptick in crime across the county is now subsiding...

Whether it be adding more sworn staff, civilian analysts or license plate readers, the Urbana Police Department will need funding from the city if it is going to update its operations into the state Boone said it needs to be.

That full article here. Urbana PD presented an crime update to the Urbana City Council in early November (jump to video). A graph from that presentation shows similar drops as in Champaign and national trends:

More charts and data are available on the UPD's facebook page here. WCIA had an overview of the crime statistics here. Below is more information and coverage about the December City Council meetings where police funding was a primary topic, especially for public comment.

The News-Gazette's continuing series on local guns being allegedly "lost" or "stolen," has included some examples in Urbana from unlocked vehicles and realizing they were missing from their cars and homes.

Calls to Support a Ceasefire Resolution:

The News-Gazette covered some of the public input for and against a ceasefire resolution by the Urbana City Council at the 1/8 City Council meeting:

Over the objection of Mayor Diane Marlin, this week’s Urbana city council meeting included a 14-minute presentation and brief Q&A calling for a ceasefire in the Middle East.

And then came the two-hour public comment period, during which one of Marlin’s reasons for not wanting the item on the council agenda at all — the divide it would cause in the community — played out.

Of the 35 residents of Urbana (and several from Champaign) who stepped up to the microphone to let their opinions be heard, nine objected to the city passing a formal resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, many agreeing with Marlin’s contention that “this is not city business” and noting that a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas militants.

That full article here. There was additional coverage of the public input that continued into the 1/16 Committee of the Whole here.

Without wading into the debate on the ceasefire resolution itself, I would like to highlight the arguments on the role of the city government presented at these meetings. Generally, those in support of the resolution took a broad interpretation of the City's role as a representative body and democratic institution. While often admitting that the City lacks the authority to change foreign policy, it can take a symbolic position on matters important to its constituents. They point to varying precedent of the City in doing so.

Many in opposition to the ceasefire resolution took a narrow view of the City Council's role to focus on issues more directly related to City business. They point to the Council's own statement of purpose and a litany of other conflicts, foreign policy issues, etc. the Council has remained silent on. They viewed the community as too divided for the City government to take a stand in the name of the entire community, regardless.

There were folks on both sides of the ceasefire resolution who suggested room for compromise on the language, including Rabbi Alan Cook (1/19 News-Gazette coverage, video) and Allen Axelrod (in a 1/21 Letter to the Editor).

Hope Village "Tiny Home" Approval:

From 1/3 News-Gazette Coverage:

After one last impassioned round of objections by some residents of Champaign-Urbana’s oldest African American subdivision, the tiny-homes-for-the-homeless project known as Hope Village is a go.

At Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Urbana aldermen signed off on the final development plan and subdivision plat for the first-of-its-kind development of permanent supportive housing in north Urbana for people who are medically fragile and chronically homeless to live and get the help they need...

Like during December’s marathon meeting, those who spoke out against the project Tuesday focused on the disruption it will cause in the neighborhood, given that the access road in and out of Hope Village will be Carver Drive, one of the subdivision's main roads.

That full News-Gazette article on the 1/2 meeting here and coverage of the 12/18 meeting here. WCIA had similar coverage of the 1/2 meeting here and the 12/18 meeting here. From the News-Gazette's December coverage highlighting the interests at odds on this project location:

“I’ve lived in this community 50 years and every single effort to provide housing for homeless people has been met with bigotry,” said former council member Esther Patt, director of the Champaign-Urbana Tenant Union. “The completely irrational belief that once a person becomes homeless, they become bad. Lousy neighbors.”

“We’re not a piece of dry mucus to be flicked off your fingers at your will — and will not be treated as such,” said Jacqueline Curry, who spoke of north end residents’ desire to “be heard and not ignored” about the impact the project would have on the Carver Park neighborhood.

There's both a unfortunate local history of treating homeless as a threat and also ignoring the Black community's voice in matters of community investment, planning, and more. Finding another viable location in Urbana for a project like this may be difficult or even impossible because other neighborhoods have more power to block it (or for the City to even risk suggesting it). Likewise the stigma of homelessness may also play a role that cuts across other divisions. It may be worth looking at how to quantify and address both issues going forward.

Police Funding:

Earlier in December the City Council heard proposals from the new Urbana Police Chief about additional funding to hire more officers and other matters. From Illinois Public Media's coverage:

Urbana Police Chief Larry Boone asked the Urbana City Council Monday night to amend the budget to hire four additional police officers.

The Council deferred the decision until a national consulting firm hired by the department releases a report with staffing recommendations...

In 2020, The Urbana Police Department, in collaboration with nonprofit C-U at Home, Rosecrance Behavioral Health Services, Carle Foundation Hospital and other Champaign County law enforcement units planned to create a program called One Door Crisis Response System, a co-responder model in which trained crisis workers would partner with police to provide care to people experiencing mental health crises. 

However, the program was never launched. Administrative conversations about One Door stalled in early 2021, partially due to a lack of coordination among agencies as well as uncertainty about funding, according to reporting from Invisible Institute in 2022.  

That full article here. The ongoing theme from activists is a demand for more funding for social services, programs, and solutions beyond more policing and jailing. The News-Gazette had an article previewing the meeting that included an overview of the Chief's spending proposals here.

The News-Gazette also had an editorial defending the new Chief against what they considered anti-police "vitriol," while not taking a stance on his funding proposals yet. They pointed to an upcoming study that may be worth considering before the City Council makes a decision on those.

Back in November, IPM had an article highlighting the BerryDunn study and the trend towards mental health and other professionals to handle certain situations where armed officers may be less ideal. Excerpt:

“We’re coming to understand that police departments may have taken on responsibilities that aren’t necessarily best suited for police response,” [BerryDunn law enforcement consultant Michele Weinzetl] said. “In some cases, it may be that the police shouldn’t go to it at all.” 

Many police departments are dealing with unprecedented vacancy rates and tightening budgets, which cause them to struggle to keep up with call-for-service workloads, according to BerryDunn’s website. 

However, the Urbana Police Department’s budget has been increasing steadily each year — rising over $2.5 million between 2021 and estimates for 2023. 

That full article here. This is in addition to other community collaborations that Chief Boone had also proposed such as the "clergy patrol" (ride-alongs with clergy members) and working with landlords and improving living conditions, mentioned in the News-Gazette back in November.

Other City Government News:

• There was a presentation to the City Council on the Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report at the 1/16 Committee of the Whole meeting (jump to video). They highlighted what amounts to the executive summary beginning at page 14 (page 20 of the PDF).
  
  
• WCIA had a blurb announcing that the City of Urbana has begun its own process of redistricting City Council districts based on the 2020 Census data. As Illinois Public Media reported earlier in January, this redistricting won't be affected by any potential second Census count if one happens in Urbana. That would likely only impact funding for programs based on Census population counts.
  
  
• Community comes out to City Council meeting in support of a skate park in Urbana. The Daily Illini coverage includes the discussion on whether the Urbana Park District would be the first step towards implementing that idea. The News-Gazette had its own coverage of the skate park supporters in its Meeting Minutes feature here.
  
  
• Former Deputy City Clerk Darcy Sandefur was appointed to fill out the remainder of retiring City Clerk Phyllis Clark. More on Clerk Clark and her retirement in the News-Gazette here.
  
  
• The Daily Illini had coverage of the City of Urbana's portion of a IDHS grant to Champaign County to help provide support for asylum seekers.
  
  
• The Daily Illini had coverage of the 9/25 City Council meeting: Urbana City Council talks pride, streetlights and more. It noted the approval of funding the rebuilding of fire stations (a more detailed look at that grant and the approval process from the agenda packet starting on page 133 of the PDF). The News-Gazette and WCIA both had articles on the debate on possible better or more appropriate uses for this specific grant funding.
  
  
• Since our last update (it's been a while) there have been more delays with the Hotel Royer project at the site of the old Lincoln Hotel in downtown Urbana. The News-Gazette had updates on delays in June and July, and a City Council extension in its City Council coverage in its 8/4 and 9/1 Meeting Minutes article. WCIA had coverage of tax issues surrounding the project in November here and more delays in December here. The News-Gazette delay coverage in December pointed out that it looks like the first reservations aren't available until the end of June this summer.