League of Women Voters: Observer Reports

The last League of Women Voters meeting was a series of their annual Observer Reports. The reports are available from Urbana Public Television's YouTube channel here:

Here's a list of links to the government entities covered and the LWV reports on them:

• Champaign Public Library Board of Trustees and LWV report
   
• Champaign Park District Board and LWV report
   
• Urbana City Council and LWV report
   
• Urbana Plan Commission and LWV report
   
• Urbana School Board and LWV report
   
• Regional Planning Commission and LWV report
   
• MTD and LWV report
   
• Urbana & Champaign Sanitary District and LWV report

A couple highlights for people looking for appointment opportunities. The Urbana Plan Commission had a recent vacancy, though I don't see it on the Urbana Mayor's list of open commission seats here. I don't know if that means it has already been filled or just isn't listed yet. Another position will be opening up on the Urbana & Champaign Sanitary District, including its very controversial pay schedule, in June. Those seats are appointed by the Champaign County Board with more information on that here.

For more information on the League of Women Voters of Champaign County, visit their website and check out their annual meeting coming up this Saturday, May 4, 9:00am - 1:00pm, St Matthews Lutheran Church on Philo Rd., Urbana.

Boneyard Creek Spill and Cleanup

There was a hazardous material spill in the Boneyard Creek a couple weeks ago that was very quickly noticed and cleaned up. The contractor for the cleanup was released by the Illinois EPA on the afternoon of April 18th. All that remains is an absorbent boom to catch any potential residual materials. That will likely be collected this week according to the Champaign Fire Department today. WCCU had some initial coverage with photos and a video of the spill here. WCIA's initial blurb and update are available here with a video segment. WCIA had more details the next day here:

Crews say the diesel fuel spill into the Boneyard Creek came from a different source than originally thought.

Fire crews responded to a spill at the creek Monday afternoon. They originally thought it started at a construction site in Champaign where crews hit an abandoned tank.

They later found out that it came from a fuel oil tank in the basement of a building near Sixth and Daniel St. Officials say the oil began leaking into a floor drain believed to tie into the storm sewer.

The owner of the building has hired a hazardous material contractor. With the help of IEPA they started mitigation of the spill this afternoon.

WCCU had the latest update before today here:

Boneyard Creek declared safe after chemical spill
...
For days, crews have been cleaning up the Boneyard Creek in Champaign-Urbana...

The Urbana Fire Chief Chuck Lauss said most of the spill has been cleaned up and there isn't any danger to the public...

At the time of the leak, crews put absorbent booms in the water and quickly contacted the local wastewater treatment plant and the IEPA...

The chief said the water should be cleaned up in a couple of days with the spill traveling less than a mile.

Crews are currently using vacuum trucks to suck up the chemicals...

The spill started near Sixth Street and made its way toward Gregory Street.

That article and segment available here. Latest update, including contacts for further information, on the City of Champaign website here.

Urbana City Council and Traffic Stop Updates

In the last Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole meeting the Urbana Police Department had a presentation of their latest traffic stop data, including racial breakdowns on various types of stops and outcomes. The data is explained with different methods such as comparing racial breakdowns of census data of people who live here versus racial breakdowns of those involved in traffic accidents here. When compared to racial disparities in traffic stop data it's pointed out that roughly half of the drivers pulled over in Urbana are not residents of Urbana. While still not perfect, the police representative preferred the comparison to a few years of traffic accident data for racial disparities.

The presentation slides are here. Full written report here. The full report also has information related to the Fix-It tickets as it pertains to equipment violation stops and dog sniffs (indications versus contraband found). Video of the Urbana Police presentation is available here starting with public comments before the presentation begins at the 10:50 mark and lasted just over a half hour. Council questions began at the 45:50 mark.

There was also the annual report of the Urbana Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission with a lot of information on bicycle improvements and planning here.

The News-Gazette had an overview of the meeting in their coverage last week:

Urbana alderman pushes for trees as University Avenue project advancesAs the city council discussed the final plans for a housing development on University Avenue, Alderman Dennis Roberts advocated for beautifying the road with trees.

Last week, aldermen talked about a proposal from Green Street Realty to build a five-story, mixed-use building on two adjacent lots spanning from Harvey Street on the west to the edge of the property where Niro's Gyros now stands at 1007 W. University Ave. on the east.

Aldermen voted unanimously to move the development forward Monday...

In other business, Mayor Diane Marlin said Monday that she has directed staff to seek a third-party study of the intersection of Vine and Main streets downtown, where a woman was killed after being hit by a pickup truck earlier this month.

Following multiple questions and concerns directed at her office, Marlin had the public works department and Urbana police conduct tests on the traffic devices at the intersection, which they found to be functioning properly.

But Marlin said Monday she will still seek a third-party to look at the intersection and evaluate the functionality of the system.

Full article here. There was additional information about the planning from the Special Meeting page here, including an additional informational memo that spells out some of the specifics here. The News-Gazette also had coverage of a previous Urbana City Council meeting mentioned above:

Urbana council OKs plan for apartment building at Niro's Gyros site
...
But of all the proposals aldermen have reviewed over the past year, they had the fewest questions for — and were most happy with — one that could replace the Niro's Gyros restaurant on University Avenue.

On Monday, aldermen voted to move along a proposal from Green Street Realty to build a five-story mixed-use building on two adjacent lots spanning from Harvey Street on the west to the edge of the property where the restaurant now stands at 1007 W. University Ave. on the east. A special council session is set for April 22 for a final move.

Plans call for retail space on the first floor and 76 apartments with 124 beds on the other four. And it will be one of three projects in the area with the potential to increase the population along two blocks of University by about 1,700 people.

That full article here with additional information about the planned project.

Refugees and Local Sanctuary City Status

Earlier this month, WCIA had a video segment that highlighted the potential increase of refugees to the area due to the Trump administration wanting to divert asylum seekers to "sanctuary cities" like Urbana. The term "sanctuary city" can mean different things depending on the legal situation of any particular city and even more dramatically from ideological points of view. USA Today attempted to give the subject a  fair overview here. The News-Gazette highlighted a local organization helping refugees settle in the Champaign County area today:

Newly renamed, relocated Refugee Center seeing increase in clients
...
The local organization providing services to immigrants and refugees in Champaign-Urbana, newly renamed The Refugee Center, has been serving growing numbers of people, according to Executive Director Lisa Wilson.

The growth is likely linked to immigrants already in Champaign County who are letting friends, family members and others in their native countries know they're feeling welcome where they've resettled, she said...

In the last 12-month period, from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, The Refugee Center served 2,100 people in more than 540 families, Wilson said.

From July 1 to Dec. 31, 2018, the number of clients the center served had grown by 17 percent, she said.

The Refugee Center has seen a large influx in the community of immigrants from Guatemala, along with an increase in unaccompanied minors from several countries, Wilson said.

Founded nearly four decades ago, The Refugee Center provides refugees and immigrants help with translation, assistance pursuing citizenship, tutoring for children, connections to social services and assistance adjusting and resettling...

Most immigrants coming to Champaign County are settling in Champaign-Urbana, Rantoul and Savoy, she said. Many looking for affordable housing wind up living in mobile-home parks, she said.

More information at the full article here. More information about The Refugee Center from their about webpage:

The Refugee Center was created in 1980 by Vietnamese refugees as a way to help other newly arrived refugees acclimate to American culture and provide commonly needed services.  Since then, The Refugee Center has expanded its scope to assist all refugees, immigrants, and political asylees, regardless of country of origin.

Support for the Center comes from community members' contributions, Champaign County United Way, the Champaign County Mental Health Board, private grants and donors, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement...

The Refugee Center serves and advocates for all immigrants—regardless of their background or status—through translation and administrative services, education, and advocacy.

We open the door to new community members, help them get settled in Central Illinois, and encourage our community to understand and embrace its new members.

More at their website and facebook page.

Garden Hills Updates

The mayor of Champaign recently met with residents of the Garden Hills Neighborhood about their concerns and upcoming improvement plans. WCIA had coverage, including a video segment here (Update: with a followup with the mayor this morning here). WCCU also had coverage that touched on the upcoming SLEEP program improvements as well here. The News-Gazette had a recent article that had a nice overview of the SLEEP program's details:

— Eligible for free improvements are homes in the area bordered by Bloomington Road on the north, McKinley Avenue on the east, Bradley Avenue and Mimosa Drive on the south and Mattis Avenue on the west.

— The city will provide up to $5,000 worth of safety improvements per qualified household, according to Jennifer Carlson, Champaign's neighborhood services programs manager. Safety items can include such things as new windows, yard pole lights, home exterior lights, new window and door locks, house numbers, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, labor for landscape improvements and video doorbells.

— The safety upgrades are being provided free at owner-occupied homes where the owners meet certain household income limits, and they're also available at rental homes in this area if the landlords are willing to foot half the cost, Carlson said.

— The Regional Planning Commission and Ameren Illinois are partnering on the energy-efficiency upgrades, with Ameren funding such improvements as energy-efficient thermostats, air sealing, ventilation, insulation and energy-efficient furnaces, water heaters and air conditioners.

— Homeowners must also qualify under income guidelines for the energy-efficiency improvements, but both qualified owner-occupied and rental homes can get these improvements free, according to Kristol Simms, Ameren Illinois' director of energy efficiency strategy and innovation.

A lot more information at the full article here and the city's webpage on the program here. The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission is also a partner on the project and had a news release about the collaboration with the City and Ameren here.

This is following up on a previous Cheat Sheet post on Garden Hills Fights Neglect. An excerpt from that post:

WCIA had a recent video segment which contrasted the darkness of the neighborhood compared to other local neighborhoods and the need for initiatives like SLEEP (Safety, Lighting, Energy Efficiency Program information here). Here's a couple screenshots (click to enlarge):

That post with a lot of additional information and links available here.

Election Turnout Analysis

 

Detailed election data from the Champaign County Voters Alliance showing precinct trends and more information from their latest meeting below (jump here). The News-Gazette had additional followup (see previous post here) from Tom Kacich's column Sunday comparing other counties and looking at election costs again:

Champaign County's puny 13.27 percent turnout for this month's local government election wasn't that much different than in other nearby counties.

Macon County, where there was a three-way race for mayor of Decatur, had a countywide turnout of 14.4 percent. Kankakee County's turnout was 12.8 percent. Madison County's was 11.8 percent. In McLean County, the turnout was 13.2 percent. Bloomington, which has a separate election commission, had a 9.37 percent turnout.

Danville, with a four-way race for mayor, had a 26 percent turnout, but the rest of Vermilion County was well below that.

Champaign County's was lower than comparable elections in recent years primarily because of the lack of a competitive mayoral race in Champaign. This year's election — led by incumbent Mayor Deb Feinen versus perennial candidate Azark Cobbs — drew just more than 7,000 voters in the city. That was far below the more than 12,000 who voted in a four-way race for mayor in 2015 (along with a school district tax increase referendum) and the 8,000-plus who voted in a two-way race between Don Gerard and Jerry Schweighart in 2011.

The low turnouts have raised anew concerns about the cost of these nonpartisan, consolidated elections. It's too early to calculate the cost of the election in Champaign County but it's worth noting that the county clerk's office has a budget of $130,000 just for election judges and workers. Divide that sum by the unofficial total of 17,014 who cast ballots and you have a cost of something like $7.60 per ballot cast.

More at the full article here. Cost concerns were raised previously in his Mailbag feature last week From the Cheat Sheet: C-U Local:

Tom Kacich touched on this past municipal election in last week's Mailbag and an article yesterday. The Mailbag questions had to do with the additional costs of expanding voting access under the new Clerk, which will be certain to be of interest to future candidates running for the seat:

The county operated eight remote early voting sites (in addition to the Brookens Center) in this election, the first one run by Democratic County Clerk Aaron Ammons. That's up from the six (plus Brookens) that were open in the 2015 consolidated election, run by Republican County Clerk Gordy Hulten.

There also were six days of remote site early voting this year, up from three days four years go.

Ammons estimated that the cost of providing early voting this spring was about $9,700, which includes salaries for election judges, facility fees, parking costs for judges on campus, fuel and staff costs to deliver election equipment and other assorted costs...

The cost of providing early voting in 2015 was estimated by Hulten at less than $5,000.

More at the full Qs and A here, including the County Clerk's view of the value of the expenditure.

It's hard not to see this as an early indicator that the next County Clerk race will have a vigorous debate on election budgets versus ensuring that money makes voting accessible to everyone that wishes to exercise the right. Low turnout elections will cost more per ballot, but there are probably few Democrats wanting to save money and rely on the assurances of Republican County Clerks that their constituencies will have reasonable access to the polls. From a previous Cheat Sheet post with one of the first changes by the new Democratic County Clerk:

One early success appears to be working with the University to have student voting in a larger and more accessible first floor area of the Illini Union in future elections (including the Pine Lounge for this election). The previous County Clerk had assured the County Board that better spaces were neither available nor necessary to accommodate student voters prior to the election which resulted in long lines down winding staircases. Whether the changes will be enough to prevent bottlenecks in 2020 remains to be seen.

The recent Champaign County Voter Alliance meeting (during this week's extra day of winter and snow) included a more detailed break down of voting trends by precinct (in the Appendix on page 4):

The purple cells are ones with higher ballots cast than 2019. The white cells are lower ballots cast than 2019. Orange precincts are campus ones. 

If I average ballots cast extending back to '03, then 12 more precincts qualify as having above average turnout (the teal colored ones below).

More details and information at the full meeting notes here, including what was discussed at the meeting itself with those able to make it.

No Superbug Cases in the Area

If you've seen some of the headlines about a superbug in Illinois, it has been in the Chicago and St. Louis area so far, but no cases locally as of yet according to WCIA:

"There have been more than 150 cases of this superbug in northern Illinois.

No one has been diagnosed in central Illinois, but the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is keeping an eye on the situation."

Full article with some basic information on the fungus and prevention here. WILL has a much more detailed explanation of the outbreak in a radio (audio only) interview with experts here. From the description:

You may have heard about a rare, but potentially life-threatening fungus that has infected more than 150 people in the state. In fact, while it is rare, Illinois has experienced the most cases in the country behind only New York. It’s called Candida auris, and what makes it so potentially deadly is that it’s often resistant to drug treatment. We should be clear that the majority of the state has not seen any cases of this happening. By far, most of the cases have been in and around Chicago. There have also been three reported cases in St. Louis.

We're joined by Dr. Ngozi Ezike. She is the new director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and she explains what this fungus is and whether healthy people need to be concerned. Dr. Rachel Rubin is also with us from the Cook County Department of Public Health.

More at the program webpage here, including links to the audio.

MTD "The Yards" and SafeRides App Updates

A couple MTD updates on "The Yards" downtown development and a new SafeRides app below. The MTD Board of Directors approved the scope of the Illinois Terminal expansion as part of "The Yards" planning in downtown Champaign. From the News-Gazette last Thursday:

The board will also be asked to say yes to the scope of MTD's share of this project, which would include it covering $25 million of the $200 million-plus overall cost...

The Yards is being undertaken as a partnership between the MTD, city of Champaign and private developers, and so far that includes plans to expand the MTD's Illinois Terminal building and to add new retail and office space, apartments, a hotel and athletic arena.

The MTD already took a step forward by signing a contract with a consultant last month to get its part of the project through the pre-construction phase.

The MTD's share will include an expansion and renovation of the terminal, an expansion of bus platforms and coverage of part of the cost of a mixed-use facility with parking, retail and commercial space. Another 24,248 square feet would be added to the approximately 50,000-square-foot terminal building, which would remain four stories and expand to the south, Gnadt said...

The MTD anticipates entering into an agreement with the private developer, Core Spaces, and also receiving a decision on federal grant money this year.

Construction is expected to start next year and run through 2023, according to the MTD.

Full article with more information here. Previous update on MTD and "The Yards" here and specifically about their previous grant applications falling through and plans moving forward here. The information packet for the meeting described the vote to approve or not like this:

1. Approval of the presented scope for Illinois Terminal Expansion and The Yards project. This will allow the District to move forward on the planning process with the project partners. 
2. Do not approve the presented scope for Illinois Terminal Expansion and The Yards project. This would stall progress on the District’s renovation and expansion of Illinois Terminal and passenger platform. If improvements are not made to Illinois Terminal, the District will not have the ability to respond to the adjacent development, causing safety and accessibility concerns. 

In the meeting a vote against was described as letting the surrounding community go forward with decision making on the project without MTD playing a role in those decisions. The vote passed unanimously in roll call vote. Update: More coverage (including before footprint and after maps) at the News-Gazette here and Smile Politely here.

The Daily Illini had information on MTD's new SafeRides app last week as well:

The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District has recently released a SafeRides app for the campus community, which can be used to request a SafeRide. However, students are still able to order a ride through the SafeRides number.

The purpose of SafeRides is to provide safe transportation to students who are traveling alone when there is a lack of other transportation methods, such as buses.

Riders can now search “MTD Connect” in both Apple or Android stores and download the app for free. After downloading the app, users must create an account to use it. The app allows individuals to submit their preferred destination address, which functions similar to how one would do with Uber or Lyft.

“The app removes the guesswork from booking a SafeRide. By entering an origin and destination, the app pulls the geographic data of the boundaries and the fixed-route service to determine SafeRides eligibility,” Soliman said. “Users do not need to call to ask if a SafeRide is available. They can simply enter their address and, if eligible, their van will be on its way with a trackable ETA at their fingertips.”

More at the full article here. 

Champaign Human Relations Commission April Meeting

The City of Champaign's Human Relations Commission had a meeting earlier this month (that you can catch on CGTV's website here). Here's a basic description of what the commission is and when it meets from their webpage on the City's website:

The Human Relations Commission is responsible for the promotion of equal rights and opportunities in the City.  It is responsible for the enforcement of the City’s Human Rights Ordinance and serves as the hearing board for complaints of violation of the Ordinance that cannot be conciliated by staff.  The Commission also advises the City Council on human rights and equal opportunity issues.

The Commission consists of nine members that are appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the Council.  Each member serves a three-year term...

Meetings are held on the 1st Monday of each month at 5:30 pm in City Council Chambers, 102 N. Neil St., Champaign.

Directions and basic information on attending a meeting, in person or via the web in this previous post: Attend a Meeting - Champaign HRC.

The April 1st meeting focused primarily on outreach efforts to let the community know about the commission and its work. At the recent disABILITY Resource Expo they received a lot of feedback from people unaware of the commission and how it might be able to help them (e.g. if a non-resident experiences discrimination in Champaign). The commissioners brainstormed outreach ideas with social media, local website, and attending more public events. Rachel Joy Community Relations Manager and Compliance Officer with the City Staff pointed out various ways the City helps facilitate outreach and how they can help even more.

Charles Young used the public participation time to point out that the News-Gazette is happy to work with local government officials to highlight events and other information.

Earlier in the meeting, commissioner Robin McClain highlighted the landlord meeting with City Council members and others about the reentry housing issue in Champaign. More on that meeting here. Excerpt:

The issue has been raised throughout the community and local government in relation to criminal justice reform. They often highlight the role housing access has in recidivism as well as housing being a basic human need and one of the biggest obstacles for people reentering communities from the criminal justice system. Recently it was mentioned in the City of Champaign's Human Relations Commission during the Champaign County NAACP's report on criminal justice reform. It could also be a hurdle for the Champaign County Housing Authority's efforts in reforming reentry housing in the area, mentioned in January's Champaign County Reentry Council meeting that works with government agencies and organizations in criminal justice and reentry issues.

The rock and the hard place of this debate is the basic human need for shelter and the community's desire for safety. It's complicated by our community's continued problems with segregation, racial disparities in mass incarceration at every step of the criminal justice system (including local public school discipline), and the history of housing discrimination throughout Illinois.

You can hear various arguments for and against going back to the original language of the Human Rights Ordinance at the previous Champaign City Council study session on the issue here (video link here). The landlords generally argued safety of residents and being able to ask questions of renters for their own liabilities. The folks on the other side arguing for basic human rights issue and pointing to the previous language which mirrors Urbana's current rules.

More at the full Cheat Sheet post here. Commissioner Elmore expressed his frustrations on the reentry housing issue at the 18 minute mark of the March Human Relations Commission meeting here.

Champaign Costco and Housing Update

This week there were a couple updates on subjects of a past and upcoming study session of the Champaign City Council. The study session on the reentry housing issue is still to be determined and discussed below. This week the Council had a study session on Costco coming to the Marketplace Mall location with tax incentives. From Wednesday's News-Gazette:

Excitement rules day at Champaign council's study session on Costco proposal
It was all giddy smiles and excitement at Tuesday's city council meeting as members discussed the prospect of a Costco coming to the area, a move some feel will be "a shot in the arm for Market Place Mall" as well as a regional economic driver for the area.

After Tuesday's study session on the issue, Costco consultant Ted Johnson said the wholesaler and Brookfield Asset Management — which owns Market Place Mall — are finalizing the purchase agreement for a new lot that includes the former Bergner's department store, its parking lot and two fields that front Neil Street.

Johnson said Costco hopes to finalize the agreement by the end of April, finish construction documents by May 15 and then make a project submission to the city in July. With the current agreement, Brookfield is supposed to start demolishing Bergner's in August or September.

More at the full article here. WILL had a good summary of the tax incentives in their updated coverage:

A sales tax revenue-sharing agreement with Costco won the unanimous support of Champaign City Council members Tuesday night. During a study session, council members endorsed a proposal to share $2.75 million in future tax revenue with Costco, if it builds on a site at Market Place Mall...

The proposal, as outlined in a memo to city council members, calls for Costco to be reimbursed with $2.75 million in sales tax revenue during a period of up to ten years, if it’s built at an “infill” location at the mall. That would cover most of the estimated $2.9 million in extra cost to Costco, if it were to build at the mall instead of a greenfield site.

The proposal projects that the store would generate a total of $7.1 million in total sales tax revenue within its first six years of operation. Sharing revenue with Costco would leave approximately $4.3 million in sales tax revenue for the city of Champaign.

More at that full article, including an audio segment here. WCCU also had coverage with a video segment here.


WCIA had an article and video segment on the reentry housing issue yesterday with a study session on that subject still to be announced.

Former felons may face fewer questions when looking for a home. It's part of an effort by the city council to help people through the application process, but some landlords think repealing part of the Human Rights Ordinance would do more harm than good...

Right now, landlords can ask possible tenants about felony convictions, but it could change. Vidovic says she's asked before and it gives her a better idea of what happened. But, that doesn't always happen.

Lawyer Yulanda Curtis says she's helped people who have been in this position and they weren't given the chance to explain. Instead, landlords would flat out refuse their applications...

Vidovic says, since she's been allowed to ask about the crimes, she's been able to help house former criminals and, in some cases, give them extra help.

"If I'm allowed to continue to ask the question, not only might I rent to her, but I might donate things for her and her family to make things a little easier."

But, Curtis says giving landlords a chance to ask at all keeps people in the same cycle.

"This is not supposed to be a perpetual punishment, our criminal justice system. We're supposed to punish these people and release them out into society."

Full article and video segment here. From an earlier Cheat Sheet post on this subject and landlords meeting with the City Council about it:

The issue has been raised throughout the community and local government in relation to criminal justice reform. They often highlight the role housing access has in recidivism as well as housing being a basic human need and one of the biggest obstacles for people reentering communities from the criminal justice system. Recently it was mentioned in the City of Champaign's Human Relations Commission during the Champaign County NAACP's report on criminal justice reform. It could also be a hurdle for the Champaign County Housing Authority's efforts in reforming reentry housing in the area, mentioned in January's Champaign County Reentry Council meeting that works with government agencies and organizations in criminal justice and reentry issues.

The rock and the hard place of this debate is the basic human need for shelter and the community's desire for safety. It's complicated by our community's continued problems with segregation, racial disparities in mass incarceration at every step of the criminal justice system (including local public school discipline), and the history of housing discrimination throughout Illinois.

You can hear various arguments for and against going back to the original language of the Human Rights Ordinance at the previous Champaign City Council study session on the issue here (video link here). The landlords generally argued safety of residents and being able to ask questions of renters for their own liabilities. The folks on the other side arguing for basic human rights issue and pointing to the previous language which mirrors Urbana's current rules.

The proponents of the broad protections against discrimination believe the landlords can ask questions that don't depend on data and results from a system that is discriminatory and disparate on race. Landlords argue that it's not discrimination on their part to rely on the government's own results. Where one draws the line on technical legality and ethics in support or opposition to changing the law on this issue can certainly differ, however. In putting the responsibility for any further racial disparities perpetuated in housing by relying on discriminatory government mechanisms, the issue becomes a bit of a Milgram's Experiment.

A rich versus poor angle also pops up, as wealthy criminals who can afford their own home and even be landlords themselves, are protected from discrimination on the same issue. While arguably that circumstance applies to a select few people, the proponents of ending the discriminatory language argue that's exactly the point. 

More at the full Cheat Sheet post, including links to local coverage here.

City of Urbana Roundup

In this Urbana roundup there was news on a fire detector program, a public meeting Urbana school parents on bullying and response, and a couple highlights from this week's City Council meeting.

The News-Gazette highlighted smoke detector safety Saturday in a couple articles combined on their website. One highlighted a tragedy stressing the life and death circumstances of ensuring your smoke detectors are functioning properly. The other highlighted an Urbana Fire Department program to help the community with smoke detectors:

Urbana Fire Marshal Phil Edwards said firefighters from each of the city’s four stations go out every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m., to check single-family, duplex and triplex residences...

Firefighters knock on doors and offer to inspect detectors and replace batteries or the whole detector if necessary. If no one is home, they leave literature telling the residents how to contact the fire department for a free smoke detector.

“We make sure to let them know it’s advisory, not punitive,” Edwards said.

Urbana’s program runs every Saturday through the end of October, but residents are free to call the fire department any time during the year if they need a new smoke detector.

“Every year, we get about 200 to install. We may have 25 left. There are times when we only have five left,” Edwards said.

More at the articles on the website here.


There was a recent public meeting of parents of children in Urbana schools concerned about the administration and bullying. From WCIA this past Saturday:

Several people talked about what they've experienced. Two USD teachers and other staff came to encourage parents to report things to the district and share their perspective. But Hernandez said that's not enough if the school district doesn't do what's expected of them.

She took her two daughters out of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School. She says, "They allowed my daughter to be sexually assaulted and allowed her to be bullied and nothing has been done about it."
...
Hernandez says the principal and school staff would not show her the incident reports. WCIA reached out to the superintendent about this. He had no comment...

Employees said the administration isn't being held accountable in discipline situations and not enough is being done. Other parents talked about their concerns too but didn't want to go on camera. Even though Hernandez pulled her kids out of the school, she still demanding a change for the sake of other student's safety...

WCIA also reached out to the principal involved in this. She hasn't responded yet.

More at the full article here.


The News-Gazette had an overview of this week's Urbana City Council as well:

Urbana council OKs 2 efforts to increase homeownership, affordable housing
Aldermen voted Monday on two measures they hope will show the city's commitment to increasing homeownership and the availability of affordable housing.

In the first vote, aldermen approved ceding authority to issue $4.4 million in private activity bonds to the Illinois Assist Mortgage Credit Certificate program and the Illinois Housing Development Authority, both agencies that have past investments in Urbana and have historically provided competitive interest rates and down-payment and closing-cost assistance...

Aldermen also approved a $20,000 agreement with Rosecrance Inc. to finish a two-year rental-assistance program that helps pay for an individual's housing costs while they pursue training, education or other career opportunities. The money will allow Rosecrance to continue assisting 10 households in the city.

In other business, the city's efforts to bring a solar farm to an old landfill may take a step forward Wednesday if the project is one of the winners of the Illinois Power Agency's contract lottery for renewable-energy credits for solar farms...
The problem has been securing funding and incentives for the project, which SunPower hopes will happen Wednesday. If not, the city and company will continue to apply for other incentives and find other ways to finance the project.

More at the full article here.

Unit 4 Roundup

A few Unit 4 items from this past week on Unit 4's facilities sale tax, a "reunification drill" and students pushing to change Unit 4's dress code. Last week's Tom's Mailbag had an explanation of what the school district's 1% sales tax is used for:

The Champaign school district has received about $7.5 million a year over the last three years from 1 percent countywide sales tax, according to Tom Lockman, the district's chief financial and legal officer. "Proceeds from the countywide sales tax can only be used by school districts for school facility purposes," said the district's spokesman, John Lyday. "Unit 4 used revenue from the countywide sales tax to renovate seven of the district's elementary schools (Booker T. Washington, Bottenfield, Carrie Busey, Garden Hills, Kenwood, Robeson and Westview).

"In February 2010 the district sold bonds for the renovations using sales tax revenue as a source to pay debt services on the bonds. The sales tax revenue continues to be more than is needed to service the bond debt which allows the district to pay for other facility needs such as roof replacements, parking lot pavement, boiler replacements, etc.

"Decisions on spending priorities are made by the Unit 4 Board of Education. A 10-year capital improvement plan was prepared when the countywide sales tax was enacted. With the scope of the referendum projects now better defined, an updated capital improvement plan is being developed for board review and discussion in the coming months."

The full Q and A here.


Unit 4 had something they called a "reunification drill" covered in yesterday's News-Gazette:

South Side students shuttled to State Farm Center in Unit 4's first 'reunification drill'
...
Reunification drills — like the one practiced recently by South Side Elementary students and families and scheduled to be repeated the next two years elsewhere in Unit 4 — are another way schools can prepare for the worst.

In a letter to families prior to last week's drill, South Side Principal Bill Taylor explained that emptying the elementary school, loading students onto buses and transporting them from the school to State Farm Center was part of Unit 4's effort to practice "how to handle an event, like a major storm, that could require temporary relocation of students from their home school to another safe location."
...
South Side's drill was meant to be a model for the district, so other administrators from Unit 4 campuses were also invited to watch.

Their notes, as well as those from the Champaign police and fire departments, will help the district's Crisis Team debrief later this month.

Thomas said that would include discussing "ways to improve the drill."

He said similar drills will be held for students at two other schools the next two years — a middle school in 2019-20 and a high school in 2020-21 — on dates to be determined.

More information at the full article here.


WCCU highlighted a continuing student effort to make Unit 4's dress code more equitable. The students addressed the Unit 4 school board Monday during its public participation (at 4:18 mark in the video here). The WCCU article and video segment here:

More than a dozen Centennial High School students said it should be up to them to determine the way they dress.

The girls are also part of a group called "Empowered."

These students said the current dress code uses discriminatory language that students feel promotes racism, sexism and isn't 100 percent inclusive to all...

Students want the district to follow Evanston Township High School's dress code policy. They even have a petition with more than 750 signatures...

On Thursday, these students will present more material and research to the Disciplinary Equity Advisory Task Force, which can revise the student code of conduct and that includes the dress code.

More at the full article here. According to Unit 4 the presentation to the DEA Task Force will be occurring in the classroom with the DEA's chair in attendance. There is no DEA meeting scheduled Thursday.


There were also a couple recent articles on contract bidding for Unit 4 referendum work yesterday and today on the News-Gazette website here and here related to that same Unit 4 board meeting.

City of Champaign Roundup: Costco and Election Numbers

There were a few City of Champaign government items over the weekend from the City Council's upcoming study session on Costco coming to town and a couple on local election costs and results.

First, tomorrow Champaign's City Council will have a study session on the potential new Costco at Marketplace Mall. From the Study Session report (available here on the agenda):

The purpose of this Study Session is to present City Council with a request by Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) for a development agreement to share retail sales tax revenues. The agreement would facilitate the opening of a new Costco retail store at 2000 North Neil Street next to Marketplace Mall. The agreement would reimburse Costco $2.75M from retail sales tax revenues generated by the business over a period of up to ten years, with the option to extend to a maximum term of fifteen years.

Tom's Mailbag had an overview this week in a "sneak peek" article:

The Champaign City Council has a development agreement with Costco on its study-session agenda for Tuesday night. A 150,000-square-foot store would be built on the site of the old Bergner’s department store at Market Place Mall, which is slated for demolition. The two-story store occupied 154,000 square feet.

If the council approves the agreement at a later regular meeting and Costco completes its negotiations with mall owner Brookfield Properties, construction of the store could begin next spring and the store could be open in late 2020 or early 2021...

The city projects that the Costco would bring in $7.1 million in sales-tax revenue during the first six years the store is open. It would employ 150 to 225 people. The starting hourly rate for a Costco cashier is $14 an hour, although the average employee earns $22.50 an hour. 

More details here. The News-Gazette had some preliminary takes by City Council members here. WCIA had an additional article with video segment on the possible CostCo here.

Tom Kacich touched on this past municipal election in last week's Mailbag and an article yesterday. The Mailbag questions had to do with the additional costs of expanding voting access under the new Clerk, which will be certain to be of interest to future candidates running for the seat:

The county operated eight remote early voting sites (in addition to the Brookens Center) in this election, the first one run by Democratic County Clerk Aaron Ammons. That's up from the six (plus Brookens) that were open in the 2015 consolidated election, run by Republican County Clerk Gordy Hulten.

There also were six days of remote site early voting this year, up from three days four years go.

Ammons estimated that the cost of providing early voting this spring was about $9,700, which includes salaries for election judges, facility fees, parking costs for judges on campus, fuel and staff costs to deliver election equipment and other assorted costs...

The cost of providing early voting in 2015 was estimated by Hulten at less than $5,000.

More at the full Qs and A here, including the County Clerk's view of the value of the expenditure. Kacich also looked at the City of Champaign election results yesterday here and attempted to divine voters' support for the status quo:

Feinen's was the biggest victory margin for a Champaign mayor in at least 40 years, save for 2007 and 2003, when Mayor Jerry Schweighart ran unopposed.

The support for incumbents continued to the race for the three at-large city council seats where Tom Bruno, Matt Gladney and Will Kyles were re-elected by comfortable margins. The No. 3 finisher, Kyles, secured about 300 more votes than the fourth-ranked candidate, former Champaign County Board Chair Pattsi Petrie.

Support for the three at-large council members wasn't as uniform as it was for Feinen — Petrie and challengers Jon Paul Youakim, Andrew James Christensen and Michael LaDue each won several precincts — but Champaign voters clearly preferred the incumbents and the direction that the city is headed.

More at the full article here. It's hard to argue with the mayoral results below (top race). The other City Council seats, however, had a complicated split in a vote-for-three pile of candidates (bottom race):

The top three (Bruno, Kyles, and Gladney) got more votes than any other candidate and that's what matters in the end. But supporters of the opposition candidates would certainly see the vote totals of the incumbents versus the opposition differently.

• With 9,537 incumbent votes to 9,273 for opposition candidates they'll see a more even split just along those lines. 
• They'll note that the more liberal candidates split the vote among five opposition candidates and one incumbent endorsed by the Champaign County Young Democrats too.
• And they'll look at that pile of over 3,000 undervotes making it even less clear.

The incumbents won, so the status quo was maintained. Whether one can divine that as the message of the voters depends on how hard one wants to squint at the numbers this way or that way.

Electronic Recycling Event Registration

Registration for Champaign County's (various collaborating localities include Champaign and Urbana) electronic recycling event next month has begun. WCIA had a very short blurb on it today:

It's time for spring cleaning, which means getting rid of those old electronics piling up in the garage.

Online registration opens Monday at 8 a.m. for an electronics recycling event. It will be on May 18th at Parkland College. This event is for people who live in participating communities around Champaign County.

More information from the event's website here.

What day can I start registering for this event? 
The registration is now open. Select one of the available 15-minute time slots above and be sure to fill out ALL of the required information.

When is the next collection date?  
The next collection event will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2019.

Is there a place for me to bring electronic items year-round for recycling? 
Yes, there are several free year-round local recycling options (with the exception of most TVs).

Who can participate in the Spring 2019 event?
At this time, Champaign County plus 18 cities and villages within the county have agreed to participate in helping to support this Residential Electronics Collection event; therefore, if you are a resident of one of the following communities in Champaign County, then you are eligible to register to participate in this event:  Bondville, Champaign, Fisher, Gifford, Homer, Ivesdale, Ludlow, Mahomet, Ogden, Rantoul, Royal, Sadorus, Savoy, Sidney, St. Joseph, Thomasboro, Urbana, and Unincorporated Champaign County.

More at the website here.

UIUC: Beer and Background Checks

There were a couple news items related to University governance this week on athletic beer sales and a followup on the report of the expanded background checks in hiring. The News-Gazette laid out the basic beer sales guidelines Tuesday:

On tap: Beer sales coming for many Illinois athletic events
...
The Division of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Tuesday morning it will add beer to public concession options in general seating areas at Memorial Stadium and State Farm Center beginning in the fall of 2019...

The DIA will have policies in place to enforce as part of a complete alcohol management plan.

Those polices include:
...
-A limit of two beers purchased at one time per legal ID for stands in the east/west side and horsehoe at Memorial Stadium.

-Limit of one beer purchased at a time per legal ID in the north stands, where students traditionally sit

-Sales would begin when gates open at football (90 minutes prior to kickoff) and basketball (60 minutes prior to tip)

-Beer sales would end at the end of the third quarter during football games, while monitoring night games for a time to to be determined. During basketball games at State Farm Center, sales will end at a predetermined time after halftime. At baseball games, beer sales would be suspended after the middle of the seventh inning, and for softball games, after the middle of the fifth inning.

More at the full article here. The paper went into some more of the reasoning and expectations for the changes at a followup article on Wednesday here. The following excerpt seemed to hit the high notes:

"But we've found when researching this that Year 1, you have some operational costs. Everybody thinks there's going to be a windfall, but ... that's not necessarily the case right away."

And he said the bigger revenue increases should come from getting more fans in the stadiums...

Part of the revenue increase will go toward paying for more security at games, even though UI officials expect alcohol-related incidents to decrease...

The decrease in incidents is expected for two reasons: less binge drinking during tailgating, and fewer attempts to smuggle alcohol into the stadiums, Kaufmann said.

A decrease has happened at other schools, including when Ohio State added beer at football games in 2016. UI Police Chief Craig Stone was working at OSU at the time and "felt there was a pretty smooth transition," Wade said.

That full article here.


There was also some Daily Illini coverage on the recent report on expanded background checks in University hiring. This comes after News-Gazette coverage of the same here, which we highlighted in a post of UIUC updates last month here. The DI coverage also had an overview of the report data and also a basic overview of how the background checks system works:

Job offers are dependent on successful completion of the background check process. They are utilized for both job applicants and individuals who are already employed by the UI System transitioning into positions that are “security sensitive and critical,” according to the report.

“The 25 offers withdrawn represent .2 percent of the total number of background checks conducted (13,066) in the 12-month reporting period. An offer may be withdrawn if the criminal conviction has a nexus to the duties and responsibilities of the position sought,” Painter said in an email.

A “finding” in an individual’s record does not mean the applicant will not be hired, according to the report.

The Hiring Risk Assessment Review Committee reviews the records of the applicants who possess a criminal background, considering elements such as their prior work history, the length of time since conviction, as well as whether there is a connection between the conviction and the job they applied for.

The committee then makes recommendations on final hiring decisions for faculty, both specialized and tenured, and a designated senior administrative officer makes the final decision.

More at the full DI article here and a previous Cheat Sheet post here.

City of Champaign Roundup

There were a few various local government news items for the City of Champaign this week relating to the City government, funding for a Park District aquatic center, and an asbestos scare at a Unit 4 school. On downtown, the News-Gazette highlighted some recent closings and matched that with future optimism of new business:

Downtown Champaign in midst of transition game
In the last few months, Bacaro, Radio Maria, Destihl, 51 Main and Memphis on Main have either closed or announced plans to move from downtown.

But One Main Development CEO Dave Jones isn't concerned.

"When something closes or changes, it gives everyone pause," he said. "But if you take a step back and look at everything in the larger picture, it's not really a concern."
...
Once Bubin Properties completes its mixed-use development at the old News-Gazette press building across the street at 48 E. Main St., and if and when The Yards project is completed on the south end of downtown, Nudo expects the east end of downtown to thrive...

The Yards is a $200 million project that would include an expansion of MTD's Illinois Terminal, a new hockey arena, a 175-room hotel, convention space, and 154,000 square feet of retail and office space.

The city of Champaign has been in discussions with the project's developers about what they'll ask of the city, and city planner T.J. Blakeman said the project is tentatively scheduled to appear before the city council sometime this spring.

More at the full article here. The Park District

Champaign Park District still working on funding for pool at Martens Center
While the Champaign Park District gets ready to proceed with the new Martens Center at Human Kinetics Park, officials remain uncertain as to whether to include a pool in the new facility.

The district's director of development, Laura Auteberry, said the decision on including a pool could hinge on how much additional money can be raised for Martens, which will be built at 1501 N. Market St.

Auteberry said more than $10 million has been raised for the Martens Center, led by a $4 million gift from Rainer Martens, the founder of Human Kinetics Publishers, and his wife, Julie.

In addition, the Champaign Park District has made a commitment to provide $2 million for the center.

"While the $10 million is sufficient to build the community center, it doesn't allow us to create a center with many of the amenities the community would benefit from, which has a projected cost of $14.5 million," park district Executive Director Joe DeLuce said. "If construction began today, we would lose the planned aquatics area."
...
People, businesses and organizations interested in making contributions to the aquatic center may contact DeLuce at 217-819-3821 or joe.deluce@champaignparks.com.

Full article here. WCCU had a video segment here and a transcript blurb excerpted below:

Students at Central High School are able to return to their classrooms after an asbestos scare.

Last week, Unit 4 School District said they found traces of asbestos in some of their material used to hold windows.

They were submitted for testing.

Those results stated that two of the classrooms were negative, but a third had "unacceptable limits".

Unit 4 said they applied a process of negative pressure to clean the entire area.

Now, all three classrooms are clear for students to use.

 This was a followup of a previous segment alerting that students were moved as a precaution here.

Election Result Links

There was a lot of coverage of election results, including the County's unofficial results here. The News-Gazette had their visual results here. WILL had text results here. Incumbents generally held on during some historically low turnout, even for a municipal election. From the News-Gazette Wednesday:

New Champaign County clerk's only problem in first election: Too few voters
Preliminary results indicate turnout was down Tuesday in Champaign County compared with similar local consolidated elections.

Just over 17,000 ballots were cast Tuesday, or 13.27 percent of the 128,000 registered voters in the county.

Four years ago, 21,839 ballots were cast, or about 19 percent, and eight years ago, 20,890 ballots were cast, or about 17 percent.

In 2007, 18,897 people voted, or about 16 percent.

More on election day hiccups and logistical issues dealt with by the County clerk at that full article here. WCIA had some turnout comparisons with area counties here. This election process began within weeks of the massive turnout of the 2018 midterm, with candidates having to file shortly afterward for this election. In political cycles there are often ebbs and flows of enthusiasm. I'll leave it to the reader to stare at midterm versus municipal turnout fluctuations over the years to see if they can unlock the secret. The News-Gazette also had stories on individual races:

• Champaign City Council and Mayor
• Champaign School Board
• Champaign Park Board
• Urbana School Board
• Urbana Park Board
• Parkland Trustees

The paper also had coverage of election day with the Mayor and the crazy schedule running for a local office can entail here.