Community Coalition Updates

The Champaign County Community Coalition had an event in Champaign this week as part of its outreach to neighborhoods dealing with gun violence. I cover that below. The organization also recently gave a presentation to the Champaign City Council (video available here). There was a great overview of the Coalition's history, goals, and related municipal actions assembled by City staff ahead of the presentation available here. For example, in these excerpts from the background section, there's an explanation of the City of Champaign's role in the coalition:

The City partnered with governmental partners and organizations to create a Community Coalition. The Coalition is a collaborative initiative involving governmental partners, community organizations, and members working together to address and solve community problems of mutual concern...

Since 2016, the Executive Committee Members annually meet to discuss and identify the strategic priorities for the upcoming year. The draft of the priorities is then agreed to by the Coalition partners for implementation and coordination of activities. Once these activities are identified and agreed upon, the monthly Coalition meetings are a coordinated approach to highlight activities and promote on-going dialogue with community stakeholders. The City of Champaign is the lead organization for the coordination of the Coalition and is responsible for the overall administrative responsibilities and daily coordination of all Coalition partners and activities.

Full update report on the Champaign County Community Coalition here. Another recent update on their CU Fresh Start program addressing gun violence interruption is available on the Cheat Sheet here.

There was a lot of local coverage of one of their recent community outreach events in the Willis Park area. Video segment available here from WAND. Below is an overview from yesterday's News-Gazette coverage:

Willis Park residents urge Champaign officials to shed some light on neighborhood
Pitch-black streets were among the biggest issues discussed by dozens of Willis Park residents who packed a neighborhood-safety forum Monday hosted by the Champaign Community Coalition...

Other sources of blight that were brought up included gun violence, rampant vandalism, and vacant homes...

Residents also said investments like youth centers, child-care facilities and mental-health services could help alleviate a lot of the burden placed on parents, the idleness of some young adults in the area and what neighborhood leaders have identified as a trauma-ridden community.

Champaign Police Chief Anthony Cobb said more neighbors have to be cooperative with police as they investigate crimes in the area. Without that cooperation, he said, it’s much more difficult and time-consuming to do an investigation, find the culprits and make arrests.

Full article available here. The News-Gazette also had an article previewing the meeting with additional information here.

MTD Terminal Updates and Survey

The local mass transit district is looking for feedback in a survey and is also planning to expand the primary terminal in downtown Champaign. From the Daily Illini:

The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is planning on expanding the Illinois Terminal to increase access by providing a more efficient service to connect both students and residents to educational buildings, as well as other necessary locations.

The expansion of the Illinois Terminal will include a 5,000 seat arena, about 175 to 200 hotel rooms and an ice arena, according to the MTD proposal.

Autumn Soliman, marketing manager for MTD, said this new proposed project will be beneficial for everyone who rides buses. The new expansion will also give customers a larger Amtrak waiting area and other patron accommodations. 

Full article here with additional comments by City of Champaign council members. Proposal link here.

Also in recent news, the MTD has been encouraging residents and riders to fill out a survey and give them feedback for their future services. From WAND:

The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District wants the public to share what the future holds.

The large-scale study called MTD Next is looking at the potential market for public transit service in the community, where current and future customers want to travel, ho the MTD is performing and how service can be improved.

Officials are hoping for responses from as many people as possible so they can get more recommendations from their customers.

The online survey is brief and is the first comprehensive study of its kind that the MTD has undertaken.

Link to that blurb here. The MTD on-line survey is available here. The News-Gazette had additional information about the MTD's efforts to gather information for their study earlier this month:

[MTD Planning Manager Jay Rank] said the study is set to be completed in August 2020.

In addition to the online survey, the MTD has also done an on-board survey of riders. It will also be looking at data from cellphone apps that show how people are moving about in the community, Rank said.

That information is being supplied by a private company and derived from cellphone carrier data, and the MTD won’t have any access to information on individual cellphone users and their movements, Gnadt said.

The study is being funded through an Illinois Department of Transportation grant.

More at that full article here.

UIUC Public Safety and Bias Incident Updates

There has been some handy local coverage highlighting new public safety data and comparing bias incident reporting over recent years. I have some excerpts from that below. They've also been covering quiet a bit of the debate and concerns about antisemitism on campus after an incident and letter sparked controversy over issues relating to Israel and Palestine.

Here's a quick list of context links for people interested in the incidents and responses that have stirred up debate and controversy locally:

• UIPD public safety data article from the DI
• Bias incident data over recent years from WILL
   
• News-Gazette coverage of resident hall adviser meeting that sparked controversy
• Daily Illini coverage of the fallout from that presentation, the Chancellor's letter and other recent antisemitic events on campus
• Protests over the Chancellor's letter from the N-G
• Coverage of the student government meeting revolving around these issues from the DI
• Student government meeting coverage, including resolution voted on from the N-G
   
• Recent reported incident of racial slurs being shouted from a truck waving Confederate symbols in campustown from Fox Illinois
• UIPD response to the Confederate truck incident from the DI

I'll be highlighting the UIPD public safety data and bias incident data from the first two links below. The other links are for those interested in the controversy and context. As even the short descriptions of the links imply, there is a wide variety of perspectives and passion on these issues locally. I leave it to the reader to weigh their own concerns about public safety, free speech, academic freedom, and the historical contexts locally and around the globe.

From the article on UIPD safety statistics:

The University Police published the Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, Thursday in order to increase transparency around campus.

The publishing of this report falls under the requirement of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Police and Campus Crime Statistics Act and contains statistics from 2016-2018 on crime and fire-related incidents on campus as well as campus policies on safety-related activities.

In an effort to make the report more user-friendly and transparent, the most recent report was published as a website instead of a PDF document, with more navigation functions and greater accessibility for different screen sizes.

In a statement, Police Chief Craig Stone said the report was being released not just to comply with federal law, but to create a more informed campus.

Full article here. UIPD press release at their blog here and report website here.

WILL had recent bias incident data, including a chart examining the recent increase in bias incidents reported on campus with a breakdown of the type of incidents:

University documents show that reports of bias incidents, which would include swastikas, have increased dramatically over the last five years. The U of I defines these reports as being motivated, at least in part, by hostility or prejudice toward a person or group of people because of their perceived race, ethnicity, religion, gender and sexual orientation, among other attributes.

Reports of bias incidents more than doubled between 2013 and 2018 — with 62 total reports in the former year and 128 in the latter.

Reports of religious only bias incidents also soared during the same time period — with five reported in 2013-14 school year compared to 22 reported in 2017-18. During the 2017-18 school year, 16 incidents were classified as anti-Semitic, and 14 were categorized as anti-Islamic in nature. Prior to 2017-18, reports of swastikas were categorized as "unclassified" rather than anti-Semitic, and reports from prior years do not include a breakdown of religious bias incidents by denomination.

Full article with additional information and links here.

Update 11/8: Another recent incident was in the news about a week after this was posted in the Daily Illini here.

Parkland Workforce Training Program

Parkland has a new program intended to provide workforce training access to underserved populations in its district. From the Daily Illini earlier this week:

Parkland College begins workforce equity training
Parkland College recently started a program that works to “provide free, short-term training to underserved populations in the college’s district,” according to a press release. The goal is to prepare residents to transition into careers in high demand that also pay family-sustaining wages.

Fifteen community colleges, Parkland College being one, were chosen to partake in the total $18.5 million WEI. The grant period is from October 2019 to September 2020.

The program, Support for Workforce Training, focuses on helping over 150 residents transition within a year or less. An Illinois Workforce Equity Initiative grant of $1.5 million was donated in efforts to point to historic underrepresentation of African Americans in these high-demand, well-paying careers. Because of this, African Americans were required to comprise 60% of the people in the SWFT program.

The initiative will provide tuition and fee waivers for training. In addition, employment barriers, higher education-access barriers, and local workforce gaps will be addressed. Eligible participants will also be able to receive services such as academic mentoring and counseling.

More at the full article here and the press release here. The website for applicants is available here (includes a map and contact information to the SWFT office at Parkland): https://www.parkland.edu/Main/Apply-Now/SWFT/

A quick overview from the press release itself:

Along with providing tuition and fee waivers for training and stipends to help tackle higher education-access barriers, the initiative will address local workforce gaps and employment barriers in an effort to prepare skilled workers to move into employment upon program completion. Participants who are eligible for the program also will receive wraparound support services, such as academic counseling and mentoring.

Students may select from 22 Parkland College degree or certificate programs in four technical career categories: construction and manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and distribution, and business and IT services. Career options vary widely and include industrial maintenance and welding; office assistant, Microsoft Web, and Google IT professionals; phlebotomy and pharmacy technicians; practical nursing and CNA; and truck driver CDL and highway construction, among others. Most programs can be completed in a year or less.

Those eligible for the incentives may include incumbent workers, unemployed persons, members of underrepresented minority groups, those receiving SNAP benefits and other need-based aid, recently incarcerated persons and ex-offenders, those receiving housing assistance, and others demonstrating financial need. 

Full press release here.

CU Fresh Start Updates

First a reminder of what CU Fresh Start is from their web page:

CU Fresh Start is a community-led, focused effort to deter gun violence. This approach gives individuals with a history of violent, gun-related behaviors a choice to put down the gun and move in a different direction. If they choose to stop shooting, offenders will receive help to access community services and resources. If they continue to engage in gun violence, they will face swift and certain consequences.

WILL had a recent detailed article explaining the program and its evolution here. Excerpt:

In the past, a person had to already be on probation or parole for gun-related crimes to be eligible for CU Fresh Start and receive the individualized support to program provides to find housing, jobs, mental health or addiction treatment, or anything else a person needs to get their life back on track.

Now, anyone 18 and older is eligible to apply, or refer someone else, as long as they don’t have pending criminal charges.

Champaign Community Relations Specialist Mary Catherine Roberson said the goal is “to be able to get them support services they need before they have to enter the criminal justice system.”

Forms will eventually be available online for agencies or individuals interested in referring someone to the program.

Full article here. Cheat Sheet posts with previous updates and news on CU Fresh Start are available here. WILL also had coverage of the most recent "call in" with details on how they currently work. Excerpt:

CU Fresh Start held its sixth “Call-In” Thursday, attempting to set a new path for young men in trouble for gun-related offenses in Champaign-Urbana. At the same time, local officials say they’re looking at ways to expand the program’s reach.

Modeled after programs used in Boston, Minneapolis, Peoria and other cities, CU Fresh Start takes an interventionist approach, warning young people in trouble of the dangers and legal consequences of gun violence, while offering help with education, job-training and cutting through legal red tape.

Thursday’s Call-In, like previous ones held over the past three years, took place in Champaign. Nineteen young men, a larger number than in previous Call-Ins, came in for the event. Their names were not released, and the invited audience, including local officials and reporters, were told not to disclose the names of anyone they might recognize. The audience was present only for the first part of the program, which featured speakers ranging from local prosecutors to mothers who had lost sons to gun violence. After that, the men went to another room for one-on-one discussions, after which they would decide whether to continue with the program.

That full article here.

Champaign Police Review Board Reforms

The City of Champaign's Citizens Review Subcommittee (Cheat Sheet post with an overview of its origins and purpose here) has recently proposed reforms to improve the process going forward. This is a follow up to a previous Cheat Sheet post where these reform ideas were initially presented to the Champaign Human Relations Commission available here. These ideas were presented at that meeting with some initial reaction by the Champaign Police Department's Chief Cobb and Lt. Ramseyer (video here — CPD presentation at 13:30 , CRS presentation at 17:30). As a reminder, the Citizens Review Subcommittee is a subcommittee of the city's Human Relations Commission (more on the bureaucratic organization here). The News-Gazette had an overview of that meeting and the proposals here. Excerpt:

Two years since it was first seated, the Champaign Citizen Review Board, chaired by University of Illinois doctoral student Emily Rodriguez, has come up with four recommendations on what can be done to "improve community-police relations" and make the complaint process easier and more transparent.

The subcommittee called on Champaign police to take four steps:

— Eliminate the current 30-day limitation on filing complaints.

— Fold mediation opportunities into the complaint hearing process.

— "Humanize" the complaint filing process by creating an anonymous option and adding complaint filing sites.

— Invite the complainant's participation and feedback after the process.

Full article available here with additional information (Cheat Sheet meeting write up here). A lot has happened since the reform ideas were initially presented to the Champaign HRC in June. The Citizen Review Subcommittee discussed the recommendations with Chief Cobb at their August meeting (video available here, overview in the minutes available here). The News-Gazette had coverage of that meeting with Chief Cobb here. with many of his initial thoughts and Q & A with subcommittee members:

The city’s top cop has several concerns but no solutions about proposed changes to the way citizens file complaints about police officers.

Champaign police Chief Anthony Cobb appeared before the citizen review subcommittee this week to address recommendations the 2-year-old, five-person commission made in late May. The chief left the meeting agreeing to work with members of the group but not ready to sign off on any of the four changes to the process they had suggested.

That full article here. The recommendations and attention has raised concerns among some City Council members. From the News-Gazette earlier this month:

Some on Champaign council questioning Citizen Review Subcommittee's role as police chief reviews recommendations
...
Among Fourman’s issues with the group’s recommendations is the elimination of a time limit on filing a complaint.

That, she said, “is not going to work in the citizen’s best interest,” given that body-camera footage is deleted after 90 days, unless it’s flagged...

According to the ordinance that established the subcommittee, it has a role in promoting “thoughtful policy recommendations and ongoing outreach” in addition to its duties as an “unbiased review board.”

But like Fourman, Stock questions whether the subcommittee is overstepping its bounds.

That full article here. Attempts to resolve the City Council members concerns led to a rift between council members concerned about recommendations that tread into policy and subcommittee members who consider recommendations a clear mandate of the subcommittee passed by the council itself. From the News-Gazette last week:

The Champaign City Council on Tuesday unanimously supported a request to clarify the role played by its commissions and subcommittees — spurred in part, according to one council member, by the lack of respect city staff have been shown by some of the groups.

The request put forward by council member Clarissa Nickerson Fourman during a study session followed critical comments by members of the Citizen Review Subcommittee during the public-participation portion of Tuesday’s meeting.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Emily Rodriguez used that time to say she is “eager” to give the council more information on suggested reforms to the city’s police-complaint process, while also voicing concerns about recent council comments that her group was overstepping its mandate.

Rodriguez said her subcommittee is merely abiding by the 2017 ordinance, passed with unanimous consent, that established the group.

“The CRS is part of the legacy of Kiwane Carrington,” Rodriguez said, referring to the 15-year-old victim of what was deemed an accidental police shooting in 2009. “The CRS is not only within our mission to issue recommendations, but we would not be fulfilling our mission if we did not do so.

That full article here. The News-Gazette had further coverage the next day with further reactions by Council and subcommittee members and next steps. The issue will likely come to a head again in a City Council Study Session approved at that meeting:

Feinen said the study session could happen as soon as three months from now.

“When we do have that meeting,” the mayor said, “we’re going to reach out to the boards and commissions so they can read the study and appear if they want to.”

More details at that full article here.