Champaign Police Review Subcommittee

An overview of the new police review subcommittee, created by the Champaign City Council, after it's first meeting (working with a mock case) was in the News-Gazette today. Members selected by Mayor Deb Feinen:

Chair: Emily Rodriguez
Vice Chair: Demario Turner
Regular Members: Alexandra Harmon-Threatt, Mike Ingram, and Melissa Keeble

From the full article:

The subcommittee of citizens was approved last fall, after city staff spent more than a year gathering public input toward establishing it. The group will provide input on Champaign Police Department-led investigations into complaints filed against police...

After a complaint is reviewed by the police department's Office of Professional Standards, information is sent to the subcommittee, which then meets publicly to decide if the review was proper and thorough. After that, Police Chief Anthony Cobb will make a final response to the complaint.

If the subcommittee determines that an investigation wasn't handled well, Cobb can instruct investigators to re-examine the areas of concern.

Subcommittee members were given a list of criteria at the meeting to help guide their review of investigations. It includes:

— Were witnesses and others with information about the incident contacted or interviewed? Were all of them interviewed, and if not, why not?

— Were interviews conducted in an appropriate manner and tone? Was the complainant allowed to reschedule his or her interview date? Were there appropriate attempts to get in touch with witnesses?

— Was investigation evidence sought, collected and maintained appropriately based on current police department protocol?

— Did the investigating officer follow up thoroughly if any new information or leads were developed during the investigation? And how did the officer utilize the new knowledge?

— Is there a factual and logical basis for the investigating officer's findings and conclusions? Do the findings and conclusions match information the officer presented? Do Joy and the officer agree with the findings and conclusions?

If needed, the subcommittee has subpoena power to obtain witness statements or other evidence to aid in its reviews. To prepare for its first meeting, the group was trained in policing basics.

Unit 4 Project Updates

Along with some great layout maps of the projects, the News-Gazette had some financial information on various Unit 4 projects right now:

Beyond the Blueprints: The all-new Dr. Howard Elementary
After Central ($87.1 million) and Centennial ($63.3 million), the most expensive Unit 4 project taxpayers green-lighted in 2016 is the $16.1 million demolition and construction of Champaign-Urbana's oldest active school building — Dr. Howard Elementary (est. 1910).

This week, the school board took a significant step in prepping for construction, which is slated to last from August 2018 to May 2020. It approved RATIO Architects' estimated budget for construction: $2,786,418 in indirect costs and $14,983,634 in direct expenses, including big-ticket items like demolition ($370,747), sitework ($819,496) and, with a price tag of $1,298,254, all audio-visual, IT, security, furniture and equipment needs.

These are the last few months that Dr. Howard students will occupy the building at 1117 W. Park Ave., with its funky layout and 'cafegymatorium,' as staff refer to the space where meals have been eaten, PE classes held and musicals staged. Come fall, everyone will move into the Columbia Center for two years leading up to the fall 2020 grand opening.

Layout maps at the full article here.

Champaign Council on Fire and Ambulance Services

Following up on previous discussions, the Champaign City Council has moved towards streamlining emergency calls. From the News-Gazette today:

Champaign council approves merging fire department, ambulance services
The Champaign City Council on Tuesday approved integrating local ambulance services with the Champaign Fire Department.

Noting how his department "sometimes pumps more oxygen than we do water," fire Chief Gary Ludwig proposed integrating with Arrow Ambulance and Pro Ambulance, which switch off working in Champaign every month.

Medical emergencies made up 62.71 percent of all Champaign Fire Department calls in 2017, according to a city staff report. Firefighters often act as first responders before an ambulance arrives with advanced aid equipment and transportation to a hospital.

The council's unanimous vote establishes a clear chain of command for 911 calls, with the fire department getting "overall scene command." Ambulance personnel will respond to an "incident commander" picked from the department, according to a city staff report.

Once arriving at the scene of a call, the command structure puts ambulance personnel in charge of all patient planning and decisions.

More at the full article here.

Chynoweth Cleared by HUD for HACC

So many acronyms. The Department of Housing and Urban Development that oversees the intergovernmental Housing Authority of Champaign County (more on the county cheat sheet here, the N-G here, and at the HACC website - still under construction) finally approved Urbana's appointment to the board. From the News-Gazette website today:

HUD: No conflict in Chynoweth's place on housing authority board
Cunningham Township supervisor Danielle Chynoweth has been cleared to serve on the Housing Authority of Champaign County's board, ending a months-long period of back and forth over her appointment.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's general counsel ruled this week that Chynoweth being on the board doesn't present a conflict of interest. Current HACC board members were concerned that such a conflict would impact its funding from HUD.

HUD's general counsel did say that Chynoweth should excuse herself from voting on issues directly affecting Cunningham Township.

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin, who appointed Chynoweth to the HACC board in December, said she was satisfied with the decision, which comes nearly three months after HACC board Chairman Larry Lewis sent a letter to the mayor on behalf of the board, saying that Chynoweth shouldn't serve because of a property-tax dispute between the township and housing authority.

Full article here.

Security Costs and More Unit 4 Property

There is a lot of public pressure and political movement on school security measures lately. Here's a quick breakdown of Champaign school security costs from the News-Gazette today:

There was also more property purchased in the various movements of materials and people as the district moves forward with various facilities projects:

Unit 4 OKs buying $1.5M warehouse
More than 1,000 tubs of science supplies and a need for more storage space has prompted Unit 4 to buy a $1.5 million building in north Champaign.

On Monday night, the Champaign school board approved a purchase agreement with the seller of a warehouse located at 806-808 Pioneer St.

The science tubs are now stored in the gym at the Columbia Center on North Neil Street. But as students and staff at Dr. Howard Elementary prepare to use that building as a temporary school for the next two academic years, the district had to figure out where to move the tubs...

The purchase is the second seven-figure building the district has agreed to buy the past two months. On Feb. 12, the school board approved the $3.4 million purchase of an office building at 502 W. Windsor Road to house various district administration and teaching staff.

Full article here. 

Urbana Council On Cell Phone Driving and Taxes

The News-Gazette had coverage of the Urbana City Council meetings last night, including some news for folks who may be prone to using their cellphone while driving, annoyed by it, or lost loved ones due to it:

Grant to help fight distracted driving locally
The Urbana City Council on Monday gave its initial approval to accepting a grant for extra police enforcement for distracted driving. The $6,300 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation would pay for Urbana Police Department overtime shifts between April 16 and 30.

The shifts would specifically be for finding and ticketing distracted drivers, mainly ones occupied by cellphones.

UPD Lt. Robert Fitzgerald said each ticket would be distributed in a way that educates people about why the extra enforcement is happening, as well as the injuries and deaths that have occurred in Urbana due to distracted drivers.

Full article here. In a follow up on the distributor tax issue with local breweries (more here):

In other business, the council also gave its initial approval to eliminating a 1.5 percent food and beverage tax on beer kegs brewed in Urbana and sold wholesale to distributors.

Darin Riggs, co-owner of Riggs Beer Co., discovered Urbana is the only city in the area with that tax. He talked with city staff and found the tax ordinance was written before Urbana had local breweries.

Riggs said that, if approved, the elimination wouldn't save his business any money, but it would reduce the tab his distributors pay by a small amount.

Urbana City Council and Brewery Tax Issue

There's an Urbana City Council meeting tonight in two parts (general Urbana meeting information and brochure). A special meeting of the City Council (agenda here) and the Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda here) that includes this item. The News-Gazette highlighted a local brewery tax issue they plan to resolve. Excerpt:

Tax on local brew sold from tap up for repeal
The city council will vote tonight on whether to eliminate a tax affecting distributors who buy kegs from Urbana breweries...

Darin Riggs, co-owner of Urbana’s Riggs Beer Company, said the tax was brought to his attention before discovering that nearby cities don’t have it. So he went to city staff and asked about it.

“Before we opened, there were no other (beer) breweries in town,” Riggs said. “This (tax ordinance) was written just for retail stores.”

City staff then drafted the vote proposal that Riggs said will put Urbana in the same lane as other local breweries.

Full article here. (link will be updated)

Last Hope for the Burnham Mansion?

In further drama on the Burnham Mansion (overview article here), it appears there may be one last plausible effort to save the building from being destroyed in the Central High School renovations and expansion. From the News-Gazette website last night:

UPDATE: Unit 4 talking with a potential Burnham Mansion buyer
The President of the Champaign Unit 4 school board said the latest plan to spare Burnham Mansion from the wrecking ball is further along than previous bids.

Chris Kloeppel said a person, who he's not identifying, approached the district with a proposal to purchase and relocate the building.  Now, the school district will release a request for proposals to give other buyers a chance.

Kloeppel said the mansion would have to be moved by the summer to keep plans to expand Central High School on track.

Full article here.

Aviation Program Becomes Permanent

In local news that intersects area education, transportation, and economic issues, the News-Gazette highlighted a local aviation program's new status.

Institution of Aviation Program becomes permanent
After three years as a grants-funded program at Parkland College, the former University of Illinois Institute of Aviation will become a regular academic program and institutional department at the Champaign based community college.

The Parkland board of trustees Wednesday night unanimously approved making the change during a meeting at the Institute of Aviation in the old Willard Airport terminal south of Champaign.

More funding and other details in the full article. (link to be updated)

Urbana Administrator Forum

[UPDATE: the News-Gazette had a more detailed followup today on each of the Administrator candidates here.

At a forum this week in Urbana, the four finalists in the running to be Mayor Diane Marlin’s first city administrator laid out their plans for the position. Here, in their own words, is why they believe they’re uniquely qualified for the job.

Full article here. (link will be updated)]

Videos of the event are available here at the Urbana Public TV facebook page. The first video begins at about the 8:30 mark.  Additional information on the administrator search here  and the four finalists, including resumes, here. From the News-Gazette coverage:

Four finalists lay out plans for economy
The four finalists for Urbana’s city administrator job laid out their plans for economic development and city marketing before a small crowd on election night.

Boosting Urbana’s economy was Mayor Diane Marlin’s top campaign priority last year and remains relevant now, with the city’s 2017-18 budget including cuts, employee separation incentives and a 0.5 percent increase to the food and beverage tax.

All four candidates — Urbana Finance Director Elizabeth Hannan, Groton (Conn.) Town Manager John Burt, Arlington (Va.) Deputy County Manager Carol Mitten and Maryland management consultant Angel Jones — touted their experience and ideas for helping municipalities deal with economic hardship.

Full article here.

Election Results

For those who can't wait until tomorrow, you can track the election results as they come in from these sites:

Statewide races: 
https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/illinois-primary-election-2018-results-analysis-live-updates/
or
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/20/us/elections/results-illinois-primary-elections.html

IL13 and IL15 Congressional: 
https://elections.suntimes.com/results/illinois-u-s-representative-congress/
or
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/20/us/elections/results-illinois-primary-elections.html

County and Local:
http://www.illinoishomepage.net/election-results
or
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2018-03-20/live-primary-18-local-results.html

or

Detailed County results at Champaign County Clerk Unofficial Results.

Vote today!

Today is the March 20th, 2018 midterm Primary Election. More information including free rides at the Cheat Sheet of Champaign County as local County office races are on this year's ballot.

Quick links:

If you haven't voted already today is the March 20th, 2018 Primary. Voting locations and sample ballots can be found at the County Clerk website here. If you still need to register, information on Grace Period Registration offered at all voting locations is here. Candidate information on the Cheat Sheet has been organized in this post. Check out the Champaign County Voters Alliance Candidate Guide for more information.

Urbana Property to Habitat for Humanity

Following up on the initial approval of sale from this earlier post. From last night's Urbana City Council meeting coverage in the News-Gazette:

Habitat for Humanity: Urbana OKs property sale
Group plans to turn acquired lot into housing

The city council on Monday signed off on selling city-owned property on Harvey Street for it to become affordable housing.

Located at 909 N. Harvey St., near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and King Park, the house was sold to Habit for Humanity of Champaign County.

The sale is part of a city goal of “providing decent affordablehousing opportunities for low- and moderate-income households,” according to a city council report.

This development will add onto the 48 single-family homes Habitat has built in Urbana’s King School, Woodland Park and East Water Street neighborhoods.

The full article, here, goes into more detail about the block grant involved.

Housing Authority Transparency?

The Housing Authority of Champaign County meetings aren't very accessible to the public, especially many in the community to whom they serve. For those with disabilities or tight work schedules or children who get out of school around the 3 o'clock on a Thursday meetings are difficult enough. But currently they are not televised, nor are any recordings hosted on their website to allow public access to their proceedings. The Urbana Mayor would like that to change. From yesterday's News-Gazette:

HACC meetings on TV?
Mayor wants sessions online, broadcasted

The Housing Authority of Champaign County may start broadcasting its board meetings after Mayor Diane Marlin urged the group to improve its transparency.

In both Champaign and Urbana, public meetings of city and township councils, boards and commissions are televised and provided on city websites. The HACC board doesn’t do that, and Marlin said the city is looking into having Urbana Public Television intervene.

It likely won’t be ready for the next board meeting on March 22, but Marlin said UPTV (channel 6) could eventually air footage of the meetings after they conclude and provide the videos online.

Full article here.

Neil Street Corridor Beautification

The News-Gazette had details on the winning beautification plan for Champaign's Neil Street Corridor from I-74 to downtown.

Neil St Corridor On the Road to a Revamp
...
One part beautification project, one part safety initiative, the plan unveiled this week is set to be discussed in-depth at a March 29 public hearing. From there, it will be tweaked as needed and sent to Champaign’s plan commission and city council for review.

Plans are for the $100,000 facelift, which was approved last year, to be implemented long term over the next several years. Ratio Architects is spearheading the project...

Design features include the following, according to the report: — Improving the intersection where drivers exit from I-74 onto the corridor.

• Widening the parkway and having street trees throughout most of the corridor.
•  Adding Neil Street access to Hazel Park.
• Reducing curb cuts and promoting rear alley access through most of the corridor, on the side a block away from Hickory Street.
• Creating multi-use trail space.
• Commercial land use in lots by the I-74 exit.
• Adding mid-block crosswalks near the beginning and end of the corridor.

Some design elements are intended to reduce speed:

“Reducing the number of lanes, reducing lane widths and then adding crosswalks, streetlights, street trees ... those are physical cues for people to slow down,” Marino said.

Specifically, the design includes going from four traffic lanes to three for a bulk of the corridor, in addition to making the two-way traffic between Columbia Avenue and Washington Street into a one-way southbound.

“Three lanes will potentially improve safety and ... slow down traffic while allowing the same amount of traffic volume to go through the corridor,” Marino said.

The selected plan will be discussed at a public hearing March 29th and likely voted on by the City Council around May. Hearing date and location:

The March 29 public hearing will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Herriott’s Rents, Tents and Events, 1420 N. Neil St. (map)

Details of the plan will be discussed and altered through the City of Champaign's Plan Commission (meeting times and information):

The Plan Commission acts in an advisory capacity to the City Council. It discusses and reviews various land-use and related issues. It also considers preliminary and final subdivision plats, zoning changes, and annexation agreements.

The Commission consists of seven members and two alternates.  All are appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council. Each member is appointed to a three-year term.

Weekend Early Voting and Primary

REMINDER: Voting has begun! Early voting is happening this weekend too:

Brookens Administrative Center: 1776 East Washington Street, Urbana
Saturday, March 17: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Sunday, March 18: 9:00am - 4:00pm

All other Early Voting Locations (list of locations)
Saturday, March 17: 10:00am - 1:00pm
Sunday, March 18: 1:00pm - 4:00pm

This is the last week of Primary Voting! The official election day is this Tuesday, March 20th, 2018!

Grace Period Registration is available at early and regular polling locations. More information here. Sample ballots are available here.

Cheat Sheet Candidate Information here. Updates on Judicial candidates and Smile Politely interviews of County Clerk candidates too!

VOTE!!!

Local Unemployment Rates Drop

Republicans will probably credit Trump. Democrats will probably point to years long trends that started with Obama. Some wonky independents will probably say that economic forces generally beyond presidential purview are at work while everyone tries to take credit for the good news. No matter where one gives credit, there is good news all around. From the News-Gazette last night:

January unemployment down in C-U, Danville over 2017
The unemployment rates in both the Champaign-Urbana and Danville metro areas continued to drop in January compared with a year ago...

In the Champaign-Urbana metro area, 1,400 jobs were added over the year, including 1,000 in government; 600 in education and health services; 200 each in leisure and hospitality and professional and business services; and 100 each in durable-goods manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and utilities, information, and financial activities.

Meanwhile, retail trade lost 700 jobs, while manufacturing of nondurable goods and wholesale trade each lost 100...

Across Illinois, the unemployment rate dropped across each of the 14 metro areas, and jobs increased in 11 of those.

Full article here.

Urbana HRC Censures Suburban Express

From the News-Gazette's coverage of last night's Urbana Human Relations Commission meeting (more on the Urbana HRC):

Suburban Express censured
Group weighs in on ‘China’ ad months after controversy

Urbana’s Human Relations Commission approved a statement Wednesday condemning Suburban Express, a local private transportation company, for an advertisement

last December widely considered to be racist.

The statement comes more than three months after Suburban Express released the ad, which listed its benefits, including, “Passengers like you. You won’t feel like you’re in China when you’re on our buses.”
...
It follows a subpoena for company records issued in December by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, which Suburban Express has complied with. The attorney general’s office is still reviewing those documents for any violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act, which says that public accommodations cannot be denied to someone based on certain factors, including race and national origin.

“No update at this point,” said Annie Thompson, the attorney general’s press secretary...

The commission’s statement encouraged anyone who may have been discriminated against to report it to the Champaign Community Relations Office, since Suburban Express’s office is in Champaign, or to the Urbana Human Relations Commission.

Full article here.

Area Schools and Universities Won't Punish Walkouts

With student walkouts happening and some parents and students wondering if participating could affect college competition, local Universities announced it would not hurt their applications. From the News-Gazette today:

Local schools, universities on board with today's planned student walkout
Higher-education officials across the state took to Twitter in recent days to reassure students who choose to leave school for today's national walkout that any punishment received won't affect college admissions.

The University of Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan joined institutions across the nation in letting students know their admissions packets would not be viewed any differently should they be disciplined for protesting peacefully.

"Future Illini: We support students engaging in dialogue that further informs their worldview," the UI said in a tweet. "Non-academic disciplinary action as a result of participating in peaceful protest won't affect a student's admission decision."
...
The statements came after students across the nation — including many in Champaign, Urbana and surrounding communities — pledged to walk out of their schools at 10 a.m. today and remain outside and protest peacefully for 17 minutes. They'll do so in memoriam of the 17 people who died in the Feb. 14 shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school and in protest of congressional inaction regarding gun laws.

Officials in the Champaign and Urbana school districts have reassured students that, if they conduct themselves peacefully, there will be no severe punishments, including suspensions, if they choose to walk out.

Full article here.

Honorary Street One Step Closer

Follow up from a previous post on a Champaign honorary street designation. From the News-Gazette today:

Street honors for Perry win preliminary OK:
Another vote needed for final approval

The city council on Tuesday gave initial approval to designating an honorary street for Bishop Robert Perry of the Grove Street Church of God in Christ.

The change would place “Bishop Robert L. Perry Jr.” street signs at the end of each block of Grove Street between Fifth and Sixth streets, in addition to four commemorative signs. Perry has been pastor of Grove Street Church for a few decades.

Tuesday’s unanimous council vote is one the group doesn’t cast often — honorary street designations are limited to four per year and last for 10 years. This is the first being considered in 2018.

Full article here.

Park Board and Soccer Lights

The Champaign Park Board has a meeting tonight that includes a discussion for practice lights at Dodds soccer field. From the News-Gazette:

Champaign park board to vote on deal for lights at Dodds soccer field
Soccer matches could be played under the lights at Dodds Park by the end of April.

On Wednesday night, the Champaign Park Board is expected to vote on an agreement with Illinois Futbol Club that will pave the way for lights to be put up at one of the soccer fields at the park.

Under the agreement, the club will spend $176,842 to pay in advance for 10 years of leases at the soccer field.

The park district will then use that money to put up the lights at Field 8, one of those next to the concession stand.

Park District Executive Director Joe DeLuce said the district will spend another $80,000 use the poles being installed at Field 8 to put in additional backlighting at two adjacent fields.

While the backlighting will not provide enough light to hold games on those fields, DeLuce said there will be enough for those two fields to be used for practices...

The park board's meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Bresnan Meeting Center, 706 Kenwood Road, C.

Full article here. Snippet from an additional N-G blurb today on the IFC check:

Charter School Hearing

There was an update on the Charter school application in the News-Gazette today. Previous posts on the charter school: arguments for and against. Application news and data behind the recent push here. All charter posts here. From the N-G today:

Public hearing slated on charter school proposal
The Unit 4 school board will hold a public hearing about a newly proposed charter school in less than a month.

Under state law, the district had 40 days from the time founders of the North Champaign Academy submitted their application, which happened on Feb. 26, to add this event to the schedule.

“We anticipate the hearing date will be April 9, 2018 and we will formally notify the applicants in writing about this date and of the protocol for this process,” President Chris Kloeppel said at Monday night’s school board meeting. “Within 30 days of the hearing, the board will make a determination.

“We anticipate that decision will be made on April 23, 2018.”

As proposed, the charter school would be located at 1400 W. Anthony Drive, target low-income, low achieving students in Champaign and be funded largely by Unit 4. 

Other Unit 4 updates from the same N-G article:

In other news Monday:

— After agreeing to spend $3.4 million on a building that will house administrative staff and others, the board signed off on a $51,487 communications system for 502 W. Windsor Road. That cost covers a Toshiba IPedge system, including installation and warranty...

— The Windsor location was also part of another bid approved Monday night when the board OK’d a $51,597 bid to outfit several district buildings with network and wireless equipment from information technology company CDW-G. Other buildings that would receive the new equipment include the district’s transportation, administration, curriculum and Columbia centers...

— Summer grounds workers can expect a boost in pay after board members approved raising laborers’ wages from a “no longer competitive” rate of $9 per hour to $13 per hour...

 — Staff at Franklin Middle School will be the beneficiaries of $85,214 worth of professional development and resources from Northern Illinois University after the board approved the financial agreement.

The district plans to use funding from a five year $9.6 million magnet grant to pay for the services NIU would provide, including multi-day training at a STEAM retreat in July as well as planning and observation visits for Franklin teachers.

Full article here.

Urbana Sells to Habitat for Humanity and Airport Report

From the News-Gazette coverage of last night's Urbana City Council meeting (agenda here, video here):

Council gives initial OK to land deal with Habitat

The Urbana City Council on Monday gave its unanimous, initial approval to selling city-owned property on Harvey Street to Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County. The property is at 909 N. Harvey St., near Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and King Park. Habitat for Humanity plans to build an affordable housing residence on the site.

This sale now goes to another council approval vote to be finalized. If it is, it will save the city about $450 per year in maintenance costs incurred by the Community Development Block Grant, according to a city staff report.

The airport report (direct video link here) showed the highest traffic in a decade:

In other business, the city council received an update on Willard Airport from Gene Cossey, its executive director.

Willard added its second airline, United, last June, and Cossey said it hasn’t taken anything away from the airport’s American Airlines flights. That and the addition of some more American flights helped 2017 become “a record year over any other years we’ve had since 2007,” he said...

2017 also saw a new Willard website where flights can be booked directly and the addition of an Einstein’s Bagels — the airport’s first concessions offering since about 2000, Cossey said.

Coming to the airport this year is an automated parking system that aims to speed up the parking process.

Full article here.

Unit 4 Purchase Scrutiny

[UPDATE: The N-G editorial board is still peeved:

It would be unrealistic to expect public officials to appreciate being called to account in that manner. But it’s completely realistic to hope — even expect— the responsible parties learn something from it. But if board member Kathy Richards is representative of the board and administration, it’s disappointingly clear that Unit 4 has learned nothing. In a post on Unit 4’s website that was headlined “A Matter of Public Record,” Richards doubled down on duplicity by contending the district’s handling of this matter was above board and open to public scrutiny. Any suggestion to the contrary, she said, is inaccurate and unfair. To make her case for forthrightness, Richards refers readers to a Unit 4 webpage where visitors can review video of a Nov. 12, 2017 meeting.

Video link here. Oddly they go on to describe that the issue was made public, was described as part of the project and its use. It seems they're taking issue with the agenda item not having a longer description? I don't know. I'm guessing this mole hill will need a Sherpa to guide us soon enough.] 

The News-Gazette had harsh words for the Unit 4 School Board over the quietly acquired property mentioned in this previous post. From today's Sunday Editorial in the News-Gazette:

Opaque Unit 4
If this measure was expected to slip by, it didn’t. Now, having invited suspicion, school board members and district officials unsurprisingly find themselves under suspicion as to their motives.

Were they, as it appears, trying to downplay a bigdollar acquisition in the aftermath of passing the huge property tax increase needed to finance the school improvement plan? With property tax bills scheduled to come in the mail within a few months, was the district trying to insulate itself from criticism about its spendthrift ways?

Nothing, district officials say, could be further from the truth. The district’s lawyer said the $3.4 million purchase was a routine expenditure that is “not a part of the referendum” and not particularly noteworthy because the money to pay for it comes from the district’s building and maintenance fund. That claim doesn’t hold water. The new building will be used to house Unit 4 employees working out of the Columbia Center. The district needs Columbia to house students moved from Dr. Howard Elementary School so Dr. Howard can be torn down and a new Dr. Howard built in its place. So the purchase of 502 W. Windsor Road is not as separate from the referendum as the district asserts.

Further, a $3.4 million spending proposal, no matter which fund the money comes from, is sufficiently large to justify an explanation...

Unfortunately, this kind of administration/board complicity is not new. It’s common for administrators to turn — or try to turn — board members from watchdogs into shills.

Elected school board members need to remember that they are the public’s representatives, not tools of the administration.

[originally posted 3/4/2018 at 7:46am]

How to Get a Stop Light

The News-Gazette had some basic information on how one goes about getting a stop-light from local government when the traffic gets to be too much.

Stopping Traffic: Costs, vehicle numbers among factors in stoplight decisions

When an intersection becomes too busy for stop signs, cities turn to the manual.

That is, the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

“We follow the procedures strictly in that manual,” said Craig Shonkwiler, an assistant city engineer for Urbana.

The manual lays out nine factors that cities should study when considering adding a stoplight, including traffic volume over different times, pedestrian traffic, school crossings and whether it’s near a railroad crossing.

“We’ll go out and measure the traffic over periods of time and also look at the pedestrian use,” Shonkwiler said.

However, stoplights being warranted at an intersection doesn’t mean they will be added.

“It still is a judgment,” Shonkwiler said. “Every situation you have to evaluate and make a call on.”

One of the biggest factors affecting these judgment calls is cost.

Full article here.

Willard General Update

The Urbana City Council will host a Willard representative who will give details on our area airport. The News-Gazette blurb today:

Willard Airport update on agenda
URBANA — The city council will receive a briefing about Willard Airport on Monday night, almost a year after United Airlines joined American in flying out of Savoy.

Mayor Diane Marlin said a Willard representative will discuss flight data and give a general update.

Willard saw a 12 percent increase in departing

passengers last year, according to Executive Director Gene Cossey.

That increase was aided by the 16,896 departing passengers on United flights last year, he said.

[UPDATE: From the News-Gazette coverage of last night's Urbana City Council meeting (agenda here, video here). The airport report (direct video link here) showed the highest traffic in a decade:

In other business, the city council received an update on Willard Airport from Gene Cossey, its executive director.

Willard added its second airline, United, last June, and Cossey said it hasn’t taken anything away from the airport’s American Airlines flights. That and the addition of some more American flights helped 2017 become “a record year over any other years we’ve had since 2007,” he said...

2017 also saw a new Willard website where flights can be booked directly and the addition of an Einstein’s Bagels — the airport’s first concessions offering since about 2000, Cossey said.

Coming to the airport this year is an automated parking system that aims to speed up the parking process.]

The Other Arena Proposal

There was news earlier this week about a potential Ice Arena in downtown Champaign that got the nod in a recent story over another location. Today the News-Gazette has a story about that proposal that the developer is trying to keep alive. He points out a previous feasibility study:

Developer sticking with hockey goal

Despite a feasibility study recommending downtown Champaign be where a potential Division I Illini hockey team play its games, Fox Development Corp. is still holding out hope for its proposed site on St. Mary’s Road.

“We still believe that we have a lower-cost option, both in terms of construction costs and already having drainage and utilities on site,” Fox Development CEO Andrea Ruedi told The News-Gazette on Friday.

Fox’s plan included a 5,000-seat hockey arena attached to a community sports facility with another two ice rinks, along with an expansion of the conference center at the I Hotel.

FDC completed its own feasibility study in November, which favored its site over the downtown location proposed by developer Hans Grotelueschen, but never heard back from the stakeholders involved, Ruedi said.

Full article here. Previous post on the downtown Ice Arena study here.

New Champaign Honorary Street

Coming up at the Tuesday, March 13th City of Champaign Study Session (March calendar):

Honor for local pastor on meeting agenda
A longtime church leader could be getting an honorary street name in Champaign.

Bishop Robert L. Perry Jr. has been pastor of Grove Street Church of God in Christ for more than 34 years, according to his nomination papers.

The honorary street designation is a topic on the agenda for Tuesday’s city council study session. It would be the first such sign approved since Alison Krauss was honored on West Hill Street between Elm and Prairie in 2015.

The home for Perry’s sign would be Grove Street between Fifth and Sixth streets, near his church at 501 E. Grove...

Honorary street signs stay up for 10 years in Champaign. There are currently 39 honorary streets in the city.

More information in the full article.

Champaign Toys R Us in Peril

From the News-Gazette business section today (general info on local store):

Toys ‘R’ Us prepping to liquidate U.S. holdings
Toys “R” Us Inc. is making preparations for a liquidation of its bankrupt U.S. operations after so far failing to find a buyer or reach a debt restructuring deal with lenders, according to people familiar with the matter.

While the situation is still fluid, a shutdown of the U.S. division has become increasingly likely in recent days, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Hopes are fading that a buyer will emerge to keep some of the business operating, or that lenders will agree on terms of a debt restructuring.

The toy chain’s U.S. division entered bankruptcy in September, planning to emerge with a leaner business model and more manageable debt. A new $3.1 billion

loan was obtained to keep the stores open during the turnaround effort, but results worsened more than expected during the holidays, casting doubt on the chain’s viability.

Champaign and Housing Discrimination

Smile Politely had an article about the Racial Justice Task Force's housing recommendations yesterday. Specifically it argued that, unintentionally or not, the exemption for renters with a criminal conviction in the City of Champaign's Human Rights Law has a disproportionate effect by race. It argues this is because it plays off of racial disparities present in our criminal justice and economic systems. From the article:

For some reason, in 1994, we decided that instead of disallowing discrimination based on any prior conviction, instead, we should disallow discrimination based on any prior conviction if the convicted person is five years clear of the offense (and any incarceration that might have resulted thereof). Again, it might seem innocuous; after all, we don’t want violent or drug felons living in our nice neighborhoods, right?

Did you catch yourself nodding along? If you get caught with a baggie of weed in Illinois (10 grams), that’s a misdemeanor. Get caught a second time, that’s a felony. Some very nice people in very nice homes in very nice neighborhoods have 10 grams of weed at home right now. They just haven’t been caught.

Who’s likely to get caught? Well, based on national and local statistics for policing, Black people. What we know from national studies is that while minorities don’t commit crimes at a rate greater than that of Whites, Blacks and Latinos are much more likely to be detained and searched (and with flimsier justification) than Whites. What section 4.5 amounts to, in effect, is housing discrimination not targeted at “crime” so much as it is at minorities.

The Champaign County Board, the City of Champaign Human Rights Commission, and the Champaign County Racial Justice Task Force have all called for the repeal of section 4.5. Champaign City Council member Alicia Beck (District 2) has proposed a study session to begin the process of repealing the offending text in section 4.5, and council members Will Kyles (at large) and Matthew Gladney (at large) have signed on. Two more signatures are needed to effect the study session.

Full article here. It has contact information for City of Champaign Council members. More information, including maps to look up your district and representative here. County Clerk tool to look up your districts and representatives here. Or click on the map below to find your district directly: 

What might not be so obvious is that the exemption applies only to renters who tend to be lower income than home owners and landlords themselves. In other words if you can afford to own the property then you're protected. In fact you could legally discriminate against renters convicted of the same crimes as yourself.

Proponents point out that ending this exemption brings Champaign and Urbana laws closer in sync and would still allow vetting of lessees by landlords. It simply wouldn't allow for blanket bans that only take into account convictions of specifically just those people who can't afford to buy property.


More information:

More on the Racial Justice Task Force here.

More on the recent Champaign County Board vote to urge the City of Champaign to change the ordinance here: Committee of the Whole and RJTF Recommendations

CU Indivisible's statement on the RJTF recommendations: CU Indivisible and RJTF Recommendations 


Related: Housing Authority of Champaign County rules

The RJTF Housing recommendations also included changing a similar issue at the HACC.
Housing Recommendations

1. The Housing Authority of Champaign County should change its eligibility policies to provide fair housing rights to all applicants with criminal conviction records except when U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rules require a public housing authority to reject an applicant due to criminal record.
2. The Champaign County Board should urge the Housing Authority of Champaign County to change its policies as described above.
3. The Champaign City Council should repeal Section 17.4-5 of the city code.
4. The Champaign County Board and local law enforcement officials should urge Champaign City Council members to repeal Section 17.4-5 of the city code to help reduce recidivism and racial disparities in the criminal-justice system.

Quick Overview of the Housing Authority of Champaign County here: New Housing Authority Director

Urbana Selling Old Urbana Tire Again

From the News-Gazette this morning:

Urbana seeking developers for vacant downtown block
Urbana’s hoping the third time’s the charm for a property it’s owned since 2011.

Urbana issued a request for proposals Thursday for the block north of its City Building and across from the federal courthouse, previously occupied by Urbana True Tires.

The city bought the tire shop’s property at 202 S. Vine St. in 2011 for $400,000, completing its purchase of the block, and continued to lease it until 2014. Altogether, the city spent about $950,000 to buy the properties on that block.

After two previous plans fell through, Urbana is now hoping developers can turn that block into a residential mixed-use, multi-story residential or high-density townhome development, though all proposals will be considered.
Full article here.

Hockey Arena Dreams

 

A new feasibility study is sure to stir up some dreamers and naysayers on a new sports arena in downtown Champaign to house the UI Hockey team, if it can graduate to Division I. From the News-Gazette this morning:

UI hockey feasibility study recommends downtown facility
Division I hockey currently has 60 men's teams and 35 women's teams.

Illinois isn't among those schools, but a new feasibility study released on Thursday indicates growing enthusiasm for the sport's potential addition to Illinois.

But the Illinois athletic department isn't prepared yet to add hockey as a varsity sport at Illinois.

"This will only happen if the DIA can successfully fund the program and receive needed support from various campus and community stakeholders," the department said in a release...

The study recommends the development of a new facility on the location proposed in downtown Champaign. The Illinois athletic department agrees with this recommendation "and will begin focusing its planning efforts on the downtown location."

Local developer Hans Grotelueschen proposed the downtown facility last summer, with cost estimates between $90 to $150 million for the new facility.

More in the full article.

Clearing Bristol Place

The News-Gazette also had an update on a Champaign revitalization project:

Champaign almost done clearing Bristol Place for new development
The last pieces of the north-central Bristol Place neighborhood are being swept away for a low-income-housing development that is slated to break ground in May.

Bound by Roper Street on the north, Bradley Avenue on the south, Chestnut Street on the east and Market Street on the west, Bristol Place was torn down by city government throughout 2017. The affordable-housing complex being built in its place is part of an effort to revitalize the area.

Kerri Wiman, director of the city's neighborhood services department, said the neighborhood's last property was recently demolished.

More information in the full article.

Urbana Admin and Transparency

The News-Gazette editorial board commended Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin for making good on her promise to bring back and fill the city Administrator position. They did have a couple grumbles however on the process:

An open process
Search processes like these too often are conducted

in secret, on the grounds that many job candidates don’t want to be publicly identified as being interested in leaving their jobs to go somewhere else.

That can certainly be true. But other government job searches have shown that identifying finalists doesn’t lessen the quality of the applicant pool.

In fact, openness can benefit the process because, after all, sunshine is the best disinfectant. Let the public see how the finalists interact with citizens and stakeholders. Spread the word about who they are and see what, if anything, develops.

There’s no question that making the right hire is difficult, no matter how much effort goes into the process. Just look how often the seemingly ideal applicants turn out to be disappointments.

So, in that context, the more information that’s gathered the better.

Just one thing, though. Urbana officials could have been more selective scheduling the public forum for the four candidates. They picked the evening of March 20, primary election night in Illinois.

It also mentions the meet-and-greets (more information here) scheduled March 19-20 in addition to the public forum on March 20th in the full opinion.

Public Forum information: 

The City of Urbana will hold a candidates’ forum for the City Administrator finalists on Tuesday, March 20 at 6:00 p.m. at the ILEAS Training Center, 1701 E. Main St, Urbana, IL. Members of the Urbana community are strongly encouraged to attend and participate. The meeting will also be broadcast on UPTV (Comcast Channel 6) and available on the City’s website. Additional updates will be provided on this page.

Local NAACP on Charter School Application

The News-Gazette had the Champaign County NAACP response to the recent charter school application and response to that response by proponents of the North Champaign Academy in the full article. Excerpt of the NAACP's response:

NAACP, others not fans of charter school proposal
Concerns about draining the Champaign school district’s resources have some community members skeptical about a proposed charter school aimed at improving academic progress in low-income and low-achieving students within the district.

Founding members of the proposed North Champaign Academy said they are concerned with data from the Illinois State Board of Education, which reported that 52 percent of black Unit 4 third-graders were performing below standards in the reading category in 2017. The charter school, they said, could help reduce that number within the district since it could specifically focus on the needs of low-income and low-achieving students.

But if the Unit 4 school board decides to approve the proposal, it would mean that the district would have to cover the cost of each student’s attendance at that school — what’s called a per capita tuition credit. And since the NCA’s proposed focus is “at-risk” students, the organizers’ application states that “NCA is seeking 125 percent of the PCTC for school operations.”

So, if the school served 100 students, founders wrote in the proposed budget submitted to the school board, it would mean an annual investment by the district of $1,484,725 — or $14,845 per student, per year.

Champaign County NAACP President Minnie Pearson reiterated the national organization’s current stance on charter schools in an interview with The News-Gazette, saying a 2016 resolution of a moratorium on that model of school remains in effect.

“What I can say in my stance as a president of the NAACP is that I do not support charter schools at this time,” said Pearson, a retired Unit 4 teacher. “The research shows they drain resources from the public schools. Many public schools continue to outperform charter schools.”

According to the NAACP’s national office, the moratorium would last until at least these four standards were met:

— “Charter schools are subject to the same transparency and accountability standards as public schools.”

— “Public funds are not diverted to charter schools at the expense of the public school system.”

— “Charter schools cease expelling students that the public schools have a duty to educate.”

— “Charter schools cease to perpetuate de facto segregation of the highest-performing children from those whose aspirations may be high but whose talents are not yet obvious.”

For more information from both advocates, see the full article here. Previous posts with charter news here.

Champaign Mayor on the Radio

The DWS Morning show had Champaign Mayor Feinen yesterday. Topics included the reason for the Bradley bridge renovations and the IDOT issues delaying the Kirby renovations. Full interview here.

She also commented on the Regional Planning Commission Youth Assessment Center move. Feinen pointed out that she is a member of the RPC as one of the City of Champaign appointees. She says the YAC is moving to a "bigger, more appropriate space." Johnathan Westfield a former police officer is the director now. Direct jump to that portion here.

Champaign Council and Bradley Bridge Update

First the Bridge:

Following up on a recent post here: The Champaign City Council approved the Bradley bridge project last night. Older News-Gazette coverage of the local dispute over whether to do the Kirby bridge or the Bradley bridge first here. From today's News-Gazette:

Green light for bridge project
The Champaign City Council has approved replacing the Bradley Avenue bridge across Interstate 57 to make it safer for travelers, especially pedestrians and cyclists.

The Illinois Department of Transportation will replace the bridge as well as renovate its approaches and improve the surrounding area. The project, which will cost the city $619,395 received unanimous council approval and two resident statements of support Tuesday night.

Construction is slated to begin in 2019, when the two lane bridge will turn 56 years old. Two 11-foot traffic lanes will be created, according to a city staff report, in addition to a 6-foot bike lane and 6-foot sidewalk on each side...

 In the past couple of years, some neighborhood groups have urged the city council to negotiate with IDOT to prioritize or move up Kirby bridge renovations — slated for 2023.

But Sokolowski said IDOT won’t budge after evaluating both bridges and determining that the Bradley work is more urgent.

In the meantime, the city lowered the Kirby Avenue bridge speed limit to 35 miles per hour and added flashing lights for pedestrians and cyclists.

Meeting Notes:

The City Council Meeting itself (agenda here) was fairly brief (~15minutes) even with a few minute delay as the Township meeting finished up closer to 7:05pm. The City Council members are the same as the Township Board so it began immediately afterward.

The City Manager introduced Kelly Foster as a new Champaign Police Department Administrative Assistant who will be working for the Chief's office.

Previous minutes were approved. There was no correspondence and no public hearings. All four Council Bills passed 8-0 with a roll call. The Bradly bridge bills (027 and 028) were the only ones that received public comment, but no council comment.

Jim Simmons spoke in support of the bills. He explained the overpass was dangerous to pedestrian and bike traffic, but also vehicular traffic. It needs repair and expansion sooner rather than later. A suggestion that this summer would be nice got a chuckle.

Tim Speelong(?) argued that the Bradley bridge renovations were more badly needed than the Kirby bridge. He had an anecdote about his 12 year old fearing having to go back over the bridge to get home and the realization that the only other path home would go over an equally unsafe bridge further away.

During Audience Participation for general issues a supporter of the Graduate Employees' Organization (GEO) strike and attempted to dispel a half-truth about a restriction on new programs. He noted that the context was to ensure that changes didn't undo contracts and other protections for student employees. He pointed out that his tuition waiver is protected, but it wouldn't be for new students. He's doing this not for himself but for them. This is to support the community and those who come next.

There were no additional Council or City Manager comments. Vouchers and payroll both passed with a voice vote (all yays, no nays).

They adjourned at 7:21pm.