City of Champaign November Roundup

 

The search continues for a new Chief of Police with the City reviewing candidates along with various community stakeholders. The interim Chief of Police will be retiring in December and will be replaced with another interim Chief from within the Department. The News-Gazette had coverage:

On Thursday, the city announced that Matthew Henson — who had run the department since Aug. 6 and been a part of it for 20-plus years — would retire Dec. 16 to become director of the Coles-Moultrie County Emergency Communication Center.

City Manager Dorothy David said she’d appoint Deputy Chief Tom Petrilli, a 20-year Champaign police veteran, to succeed Henson next month...

Meanwhile, the search for a full-time replacement for Cobb continues. The city began accepting applications for the top job last month, with the goal of bringing in finalists in January and having the next chief hired in February.

That full article here. WCIA had coverage of interim Chief Henson's retirement announcement here. Other recent Champaign Fire and Police hires were mentioned in another recent article here. The City's annual awards ceremony highlighted other public safety officials and staff for their efforts over the year as well. Also from WCIA:

The City of Champaign recognized police officer Jeffrey Creel Wednesday for the courage and honor he showed on a day the city will never forget.

Officer Creel was the first of dozens to be recognized during the city’s annual awards ceremony.

The award recognized his actions on May 19. That morning, Creel responded to a call with his partner officer Chris Oberheim. It was something they did every day, but that morning, officer Oberheim was shot and killed while doing his job...

The Champaign Fire and Police Departments and METCAD were also awarded for their heroic actions during a house fire in April. The Neighborhood Services Department was awarded for teamwork when putting together the “Lovin’ U Neighborhood Tour”, and the Champaign Police SWAT team was awarded for its actions following a recent spike in crime.

Several other people and agencies were recognized during the virtual ceremony.

That full article here. Over this past weekend the News-Gazette highlighted the difficulties with hiring for the Champaign Police Department at the same time as cities across the country are facing spikes in gun violence, including Champaign and Urbana. Excerpt:

While the search continues for a new chief, the city is also looking for about 25 people willing to step up to support that person.

In the last two years, 28 officers with experience ranging from a few months to 28 years have left, many for retirement, others for different job opportunities. Two others died — one killed in the line of duty and another felled by cancer...

At a study session Tuesday, city council members will continue their discussion about how to streamline and improve the hiring process to get those vacant positions filled faster with the right people.

More at the full article here. There was an additional article on the years of experience leaving with some of the retirements in leadership positions here.

The News-Gazette had an update on the Garden Hills infrastructure work and plans:

Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen detailed on WDWS with Dave Gentry this Wednesday:

“We approved American Rescue Act Plan money toward (Garden Hills) infrastructure, it’s a long process when you’re talking about giant infrastructure projects,” she said. “We’ve put about $2 million toward engineering, we also put in additional money for the SLEEP program which is basically helping to pay for yard lights and video doorbells in houses to get some lighting and security in the neighborhood.”

The drainage improvement projects for Garden Hills include installing a new basin along a reconstructed Hedge Road — costing an estimated $22.7 million in total — and building additional storm sewer infrastructure, for approximately $17 million.

The city expects to spend $4 million to $6 million to install around 120 streetlights in the neighborhood with additional cameras.

More at the full article here.

There was more discussion on "tiny homes" as part of efforts to address the affordable housing crisis locally. From WCIA:

Some discussions were going on tonight at Champaign City Council, regarding accessory dwelling units, or ADU’s.

There was a presentation to council about possibly allowing the tiny homes. The council is debating approving ADU’s. They are essentially little homes that people build typically in their backyard.

The homes can also be attached to your main home. The ADU’s can be used to house grandparents or young adults, or be rented out to anyone, which could helping with affordable housing in Champaign. People who spoke during public comment had opposing views. One wants the ADU’s to be passed.

Full blurb and video segment here. Page 4-5 of the Study Session report had an overview of the long standing prohibition on ADUs locally:

Prohibition of Accessory Dwelling Units in Champaign. 42% of all the property in the City Champaign is zoned SF1, Single-Family Residential which is the most exclusive and restrictive zoning district. The district only permits one dwelling on a lot. The broad prohibition on ADUs does not extend back to Champaign's founding, or even the City's first zoning regulations from the beginning of the 20th century. Rather, the City of Champaign first chose to not allow ADUs with amendments to the Zoning Ordinance in the 1950s and then again in 1965, when many of the City's residential properties were downzoned from duplex or multifamily zoning to single family zoning. In 1988 much of the In-Town Neighborhood was downzoned from multi-family to single-family and two-family although there were provisions to continue to allow “Accessory Apartments.” Today that concept is still carried on by allowing a single-family home to be converted to two units and a duplex to be converted to three units. However, new freestanding ADUs are not allow in In-Town either under these provisions. 

These downzonings are situated within a broader national context, as cities around the country aggressively restricted ADUs and multifamily living beginning in the middle of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1930s, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Homeowners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) infamously began their implementation of redlining. This practice denied Federal mortgage insurance to properties in “hazardous” neighborhoods while subsidizing mortgages in neighborhoods deemed “higher quality.” The greater percentage of non-white residents in a neighborhood, as well as the number of duplex or multifamily properties, was the primary factor in determining a neighborhood’s quality for insurability purposes. The FHA actively encouraged cities to enact zoning regulations barring ADUs and multifamily buildings to promote homogenous neighborhoods of owner-occupied single-family dwellings. This essentially allowed local governments to mirror the practice of bank redlining through the public policy of zoning exclusions. This public policy has longstanding impacts on residents’ quality of life and equal access to housing choice and economic stability. Today many communities are seeking ways to reverse these long-standing policies that contributed to inequities. Incremental development provides one tool to help accomplish that goal.

Meanwhile, a number of ADUs remain scattered across Champaign to this day. Many of these were built prior to their prohibition and are allowed to continue as legal nonconforming uses. A few were likely constructed illegally and have never been the subject of a zoning enforcement action. Still other residential construction and renovations have resulted in the conversion of garages, basements, and other spaces into areas that do not meet the legal requirements of a separate dwelling unit (separate kitchen and restroom facilities) but can nevertheless function somewhat as such, depending on how residents use the space.

That full Study Session report along with a lot of other current local issues is available here. Video of the City Council Study Session and presentation is available here.

In other Champaign related news, the Champaign Park District and the City are collecting donated winter clothing. More information from Smile Politely here.

Unit 4 Updates

This month's Unit 4 update post only has a few recent news items related to the district. For more information and updates please see the Unit 4 Board website for recent and upcoming meeting topics. Recent school board meeting videos are available here. For the most recent district announcements and highlights, check out their facebook page here.

Higher substitute teacher pay was approved last month, putting Unit 4 in closer competition with Urbana and other area districts. From WCIA:

A lot of school districts in central Illinois are in need of substitute teachers. One district just voted to raise the pay to hopefully bring in some subs. The Champaign School Board voted to raise pay for substitute teachers. They hope this will be an incentive to get people to work for them.

The pay for a regular substitute teacher will now raise from $110 to $140 dollars per day. Half days will change from $55 to $70 dollars per day. Experienced substitutes or retired Champaign teachers will receive a bit more than regular subs per day.

Full blurb here with comparisons on pay with other districts. More coverage from Illinois Newsroom here.

The News-Gazette's recent Tom's Mailbag column addressed the school bus driver shortage locally:

Champaign like most every other school district in the country is still experiencing a shortage of drivers, said Stacey Moore, the chief communications officer for the Champaign Unit 4 school district.

"This has impacted the length of time that students are on buses. Since July, our transportation department has routinely updated routes and eliminated situations that would lengthen the time for routes to be completed. However, because we are facing driver shortages of this magnitude, any disruption will put an additional strain on our system and lengthen travel times," she said.

"It is also worth noting that many school districts across Illinois have resorted to cancelling school and eliminating after school opportunities (including sports), while Unit 4 has been able to keep our schools and after school opportunities open for our students.

More at the full Mailbag article here.

The LIFT program, mentioned in our City of Champaign updates last month, got its official start last month. From WCIA:

LIFT stands for “Leading Individuals and Families to Transformation.” [Deputy City Manager Joan Walls] and other city and school district leaders have said it’s all about lifting up students and families that have been marginalized, something that the numbers show has particularly impacted schooling, and social and emotional health, for Black children in Champaign.

LIFT staff has identified 69 families who would benefit most based on data, like attendance records, grades and behavior, according to Angela Ward. She is Champaign Unit 4 School District’s Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Engagement...

When the city unanimously approved the program in May, it was discussed alongside gun violence solutions. Ward said LIFT was not created to react to the violence.

Instead, she described it as “a proactive approach to finding, who are the people who are struggling to be their best selves? And, how can we get in front of that?”

Full article along with video segment available here.

Local College Updates

 

 

This post mainly has updates related to the University of Illinois governance this month. The UI Trustees were in the news regarding the budget. WCIA had an overview:

The University of Illinois Board of Trustees announced Thursday that it approved a plan to allocate more money to help students and faculty at all three U of I campuses in the state.

The board approved a request for more than $683 million in operating funds for the fiscal year 2023, which is 10 percent higher than the current year’s budget. The request is the first step in the annual budget process and will be submitted for consideration by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the governor and the Illinois General Assembly...

The budget request also includes more than $673 million in capital funds that would pay for new buildings and renovations while also addressing deferred maintenance at the three system universities.

That full blurb here. A detailed look at the budget request from the Trustees meeting is available here. The Daily Illini had a recent overview of funding, salaries, and tuition issues with the University's budget here. Previous University news release and overview on the budget is available here.

The News-Gazette had an extensive and detailed look at the renovations coming to the former Undergraduate Library and the future plans for library space on campus here. Excerpt:

The last time the library checked in with staff and students, designs were still in the conceptual stage: the university was still exploring if all the elements would fit into the Undergrad Library space, Teper said.

Now the question isn’t an if, but how the collections will fit into the space and what the layout will look like aesthetically.

Officials have formulated preliminary plans on where the library’s student services and study locations will be distributed across campus by fall of 2022.

Full article here. The latest UIUC library news blurb is here with links to a page for updates here.

WCIA also had coverage on a local "student patrol" on campus hiring:

The Division of Public Safety at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is seeking to fill multiple positions on its Student Patrol unit.

Officials said the unit is made up of students who are interested in serving the campus community and keeping their peers safe.

According to officials, Student Patrol Officers will engage in several critical community safety services on campus, including SafeWalks, which provides free walking safety escorts to students who need to travel on campus at night.

More information and links at that full blurb here.

More local College and government related updates:

UIUC:

• The Old Feed Mill building was demolished. From WCIA.
• There was a protest last month for higher wages for University service workers covered by Illinois Newsroom.
• UIUC is not currently requiring proof of a booster shot for vaccine requirements according to WCIA.
• The Beckman Institute is looking for volunteers for a brain study with MRI scans. More at Smile Politely here.

Parkland:

• The Illinois Community College Board highlighted the need for its tech worker apprenticeship program. From WCCU.

Urbana City Government

First off, it's worth noting that longtime activist and recent Urbana City Alderman Erik Jakobsson died this month. The News-Gazette had a long article with comments by those who knew him and some of his public work here.

The big news item for Urbana City government this month involved gun violence and Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology as a tool to help police solve some of the cases. The News-Gazette had an overview of the recent town hall meetings last week, including comments for and against the technology and concerns about how it may be used or abused. The content of the presentations was very similar in both town hall meetings, but had varying public questions and input (October 28th Town Hall video available here, the 29th here).

The News-Gazette article also noted some Urbana council members present:

Council members who were present Friday included Chris Evans, Maryalice Wu and Shirese Hursey.

Only Hursey was willing to express her support for the technology.

Evans said he is still gathering research and Wu said she wanted to see the final policy.

“I’m not a ‘no,’ but I’m not a ‘yes,’” Wu said.

The full News-Gazette article is here. More on the ALPR issue in both Champaign and Urbana from the News-Gazette here. WCIA had extensive coverage on the subject here. Excerpt:

Chief Seraphin said the ALPR’s cost about $2,500 per unit nd about $250 to install. He says he hopes they can install around 20 throughout Urbana.

Urbana got this idea after watching it work for surrounding cities. Rantoul recently caught a suspect by using the ALDR’s. Decatur also has them.

Mayor Marlin also said the University of Illinois Police and Champaign County Sheriff’s Office are looking into installing them as well. Chief Seraphin and the mayor said this would be helpful to work together with the surrounding areas.

That full article here with video segment. WCIA also had coverage of the first town hall on ALPRs put together by the Urbana Police Department and the Champaign County Branch of the NAACP who was advocating for the measure. This follows previous discussions by the City of Urbana on dealing with the vast increase in gun violence locally. WCIA also had coverage of the University of Illinois Police Department and co-responder model updates in Champaign County here.

The News-Gazette also had some updates on the pilot program between the Urbana Police Department and Rosecrance, a local mental health services provider, for responding to mental health crisis calls and alternatives to jail for certain non-violent scenarios.

Plans for the crisis co-responder team call for a Rosecrance social worker and an Urbana police officer who has a master’s degree in social work to follow up on calls for service related to mental or behavioral health crises, Marlin said.

The Urbana officer to work on this team will have a new title — behavioral health detective — and since she will be redeployed from her current police job, there will be no new city money involved, the mayor said.

Urbana Police Lt. Corey Koker, who is overseeing this program for the police department, said the police-Rosecrance response team will be focused on public service and will have its own dedicated office and resources.

In follow-up response visits, the team will try to connect people in crisis to available community services that can help them, he said.

That full article is here. WCIA also had coverage on this topic here.

More government related news from Urbana:

• Urbana schools offering more pay to deal with a substitute teacher shortage from Illinois Newsroom.

• COVID testing in Urbana schools from Illinois Newsroom.

• The City won an AARP challenge grant for a public arts initiative. Link from Smile Politely.

City of Champaign Updates

The City presented Garden Hills with its updated infrastructure plan for the neighborhood, including an accelerated plan for dealing with the flooding issues there. WCIA had coverage of the meeting and plans here. Excerpt:

The City’s Public Works Department went to the garden hills neighborhood meeting. They presented an infrastructure plan neighbors have heard before. Crews would fix drainage problems, add street lights, sidewalks and more.

“The focal point of the project is a detention basin on the south side of the railroad tracks in Garden Hills to alleviate the flooding issues in the neighborhood in the community,” Chris Sokolowski, Assistant Engineer with the City of Champaign’s Transportation Department, said.

The neighborhood has dealt with flooding for years. Any strong rain will flood streets, but a big topic at the meeting was the urge for street lights and sidewalks. People say its a safety necessity.

Full article with video segment here. The City Council also got updates on Bristol Place plans moving forward according to the News-Gazette. More details on that from the Study Session report here.

The City of Champaign also moved forward with Automatic License Plate Reader technology as a tool to help with recent increases in gun violence and prosecuting related cases. From Tom's Mailbag last month:

"During their study session meeting on Oct. 5, the city council gave preliminary approval to install Automated License Plate Readers and other technology in areas experiencing an increase in criminal activity. If formally approved by the council in November, this equipment could help police identity vehicles driven by people engaged in criminal activity and fleeing the area."

Full Mailbag article available here. More on the ALPR issue in both Champaign and Urbana from the News-Gazette here. Previous Cheat Sheet post on Champaign's ALPR discussions here.

There was a generally positive financial forecast presented to the City Council in a recent study session. That report is available here.

There was also a study session report on implementing an improved crisis response policy for non-violent mental health calls. That report is available here.

More recent news from the City of Champaign:

• Private security and costs at Champaign public schools from Illinois Newsroom.

• Illinois Newsroom on Centennial High School building back community in the wake of gun violence at the school and in the community, as well as with the pandemic interruptions.

• A Champaign City Council member spoke on a recent suspected road rage shooting in Champaign with the News-Gazette and also with WCIA.

• Thursday Night Live has returned to downtown with coverage from the Daily Illini.

• The City is partnering with the LIFT program and launching a trauma informed care initiative today at the Novak Academy according to Smile Politely.

• The Parade of Lights is looking for volunteers and support. Links and more information available at Smile Politely here.

Local Health Updates

This post covers availability of the COVID vaccine for children and other recent local health news. A recent uptick of COVID cases on campus is covered under the Campus News post on the local Cheat Sheet here.

COVID vaccines for children are becoming available locally. From the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District's facebook post on the subject:

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Is Now Available for Children

Community vaccination clinics available by appointment for children aged 5-11

CHAMPAIGN, IL – The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD), in partnership with Carle Health, OSF HealthCare, Christie Clinic, Promise Healthcare, and the University of Illinois Urban-Champaign, are organizing community clinics for va Pfizer COVID-19 cunation for children aged 5-11 years.

According to a press release from the US Food and Drug Administration. U.S. (FDA), “In the USA. U.S. , COVID-19 cases in children aged 5 to 11 make up 39% of cases in people under 18 years old. According to the CDC, approximately 8,300 cases of COVID-19 in children aged 5 to 11 resulted in hospitalization. As of October 17, there have been 691 COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. U.S. in people under the age of 18, with 146 deaths in the age group of 5-11 years.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years old is administered as a two-dose series, 3 weeks apart, but is a lower dose (10 micrograms) than that used for people aged 12 or older. (30 micrograms).

iHotel & Conference Center – 111 St. Mary’s Road, Champaign

• No walk ins allowed; schedule online at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054CA8A82CA5F94-511

• Friday, November 5 from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• Saturday, November 6 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Kohl’s Plaza – 1901 N. Market Street, Champaign

• Appointments will be available soon via MyCarle and Carle.org

 Carle community vaccination clinics will feature many of the care providers in the Carle Pediatric and Family Medicine areas or are especially trained to administer the vaccine to children.

• Starting this Saturday, weekends of November:

Saturdays, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

o Domingos, 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

• Vaccine appointments will be available at primary medical care locations at a later date.

...

OSF HealthCare:

• Appointments will be available at all primary medical care offices and can be scheduled via osfhealthcare.org/vaccine

 .

Pharmacies:

• Visit www.vaccinefinder.org

 for appointments available at local pharmacies.

Keep in mind that additional vaccination options may be available through the child's school(a).

You can find additional information about COVID-19 vaccines at: https://www.c-uphd.org/covid-vaccinations.html

Smile Politely had a quick list for vaccine for children here. More from the News-Gazette this week on the health department, schools, and others offering the vaccine:

Carle Health is also offering vaccine appointments for kids from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sundays this weekend and every weekend next month at its location at Kohl’s Plaza, 1901 N. Market St., C. Those can be made through the MyCarle patient portal and at Carle.org.

Carle’s clinic will be staffed by pediatric and family-medicine providers trained to administer vaccines to children. It will also be offering appointments to get kids vaccinated at primary-care locations at a later date.

OSF HealthCare is also offering vaccine appointments through primary-care offices at osfhealthcare.org/vaccine.

More at that full article here. Illinois Newsroom had an article previewing the children's vaccine news earlier in October here.

Illinois Newsroom had coverage of absences during the pandemic with links to the latest State "report cards" that allows folks to look up individual schools and district information. Excerpt:

Learning did slow last year during pandemic school – especially for the state’s most vulnerable students...

“We need to recognize that for our Black and Hispanic children, remote learning was not very effective, particularly for English learners. When they are in their community environment, or they’re in their home, they may or may not be utilizing English as much as they would have if they were in a school setting,” says State Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala.

English and math proficiency rates did decrease across all grade levels for Illinois students as a whole, according to preliminary testing data from the spring.

The differences between 2019 and 2021 were starkest among young English learners. For third through fifth grade English learners, sometimes half as many students were at grade level as before the pandemic.

Full article here. The State's annual report card website link is here.

Carle is splitting from Aetna's Medicare insurance coverage. From Illinois Newsroom:

Medicare is a federal insurance program for those ages 65 and up or who have certain disabilities. Many Medicare recipients choose to supplement with private insurance, like Aetna, to cover prescription drugs or lower their out-of-pocket cost.

[Bridget McGill, an Urbana resident,] received a letter in the mail from Aetna about two weeks ago informing her that the company’s Medicare Advantage will no longer be accepted at Carle Foundation Hospital. This means that the hospital will go out of the company’s network and her costs for hospital and doctor’s visits will go up.

That full article here. Carle was also in the news for its collaboration with the University on cognitive research with new MRI technology. More on that from the Daily Illini here.

Campus Updates and Microreactors

 

The News-Gazette is reporting a recent uptick of COVID infections on the U of I campus in today's newspaper, partially due to the colder weather and more indoor activity.

After a month-and-a-half of negligible spread on the University of Illinois campus, COVID-19 cases have ticked up again in the last week.

In the seven-day stretch that ended Tuesday, there were 94 cases detected on campus— four more than the previous three weeks combined. Most of them — 76 — were among undergraduates.

According to UI epidemiologist and Associate Professor Rebecca Smith, an uptick around Halloween weekend was entirely expected, but the holiday isn’t the only suspected variable.

More at the full article here in the News-Gazette eEdition. Just about a month and a half ago, the Daily Illini was reporting that cases were decreasing after an initial surge in the beginning of the fall semester. More on area health care news and COVID vaccine information here.

With the pros and cons of adding microreactor research at the University being debated locally, it's worth highlighting a program at Parkland's planetarium tomorrow explaining the topic. From Smile Politely:

Parkland’s Staerkel Planetarium is hosting the James B. Kaler Science Lecture Series at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, November 5th. Dr. Caleb Brooks, associate professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois, is giving a lecture called "Rethinking Nuclear Power: Small Systems, Big Potential." 

Lectures are $2, and capacity is limited to 60 people. 

You can learn a little more about nuclear microreactors in two recent articles (for the current plan and against the current plan). 

That full blurb here. More information at the lecture series link here.

More recent campus news:

• UIUC building and dining workers protesting ahead of contract negotiations. From the News-Gazette eEdition today.

• The impact of disinformation on rural areas, including the impact of the pandemic, being studied at the University.

• U of I Senate meeting and rumors of a Quad Cities expansion, coverage from Illinois Newsroom.

• Jewish local historical archives being established at the University according to the Daily Illini.

• Illinois Public Media announces its collaboration with the Department of Journalism in the "Illinois Public Media Student Newsroom." More at Smile Politely here.

• There will be a pop-up Holocaust museum on campus next week in line with the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht. More information from Smile Politely here and the Hillel Center event page here.

Automatic License Plate Readers and Gun Shot Detection

 

Both Champaign and Urbana have recently jumped on the issue of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), gun shot detection systems and additional cameras. The News-Gazette had coverage earlier this week on both cities plans to implement new systems:

Automated license-plate readers could potentially be in use in Champaign and Urbana by the end of the year to help police fight escalating gun violence.

The Champaign City Council endorsed leasing and launching the new technology at a study session Tuesday, but approval of a contract won’t happen until an upcoming council session expected to take place in November.

The Urbana City Council on Monday was asked to approve a budget amendment to go ahead with the plate readers, but aldermen opted to delay action until they see a final policy on how they will be used.

Automated license-plate readers, which can be placed in stationary locations such as traffic lights, exit ramps and street poles or attached to squad cars, are high-speed cameras that can quickly take photos of plates with a specific time and date, according to Atlanta-based Flock Safety, the company that would act as contractor for both cities.

That full article here. In a recent Champaign City Council study session report, they go into detail about the systems and why the believed they are necessary for the City to implement now:

In preparing this report for the possible deployment of ALPRs, City of Champaign Police administration thoroughly reviewed the previous 5 years’ worth of gun violence data as well as the associated crime mapping information. Administration also identified and closely evaluated the neighborhoods that have most frequently been affected by gun violence. That data, and the associated crime mapping information, was ultimately shared with a Flock Safety representative whose sole job is to review crime data, to review crime mapping information, and to evaluate City and neighborhood maps to formulate a plan for ALPR deployment. The recommendation to deploy 36 ALPRs was developed by Police in consultation with the Flock representative based upon this crime data analysis. This number of ALPRs is being recommended to provide adequate, baseline coverage of the neighborhoods most frequently affected by gun violence during the initial deployment of ALPRs. 

The general approach to determining deployment locations was to focus on placing ALPRs around the neighborhoods most frequently affected by gun violence, not within them. ALPRs are readily visible devices, and deployments are planned throughout the City. Preliminary deployment plans are focused on arterial streets and the routes most likely to be traveled by those who are committing acts of gun violence; furthermore, specific ALPR locations will not be finalized pending Council direction.

A City map which provides general deployment location information is included for Council review and appears at the end of this report as Attachment B.

Full study session report with proposed use policy and a summary overview on the history of gun violence and responses over the years here. For a more critical take on the technology, check out Bill Bell's opinion piece here.

Urbana is considering a similar policy with gun shot detection systems as well. From WCIA a few weeks ago:

Chief Seraphin says these will help identifying cars before and after crimes and also help if witnesses are afraid to speak up or do not remember what they saw. They say while they know in the long term they need to work on other factors that contribute to gun violence. Right now, they are in crisis mode and working on a quick solution...

Chief Seraphin said the ALPR’s cost about $2,500 per unit nd about $250 to install. He says he hopes they can install around 20 throughout Urbana.

Urbana got this idea after watching it work for surrounding cities. Rantoul recently caught a suspect by using the ALDR’s. Decatur also has them.

Mayor Marlin also said the University of Illinois Police and Champaign County Sheriff’s Office are looking into installing them as well. Chief Seraphin and the mayor said this would be helpful to work together with the surrounding areas.

That full article is available here. The City of Urbana also has additional information on their website here with a link to a video presentation on the topic at the City Council.

There will be two townhall meetings later this month co-hosted by the local NAACP branch and the Urbana Police Department to address questions and concerns about the systems. They will be held at the Vineyard Church (facebook, website). This will be updated with event links and/or updates once they're up:

• Thursday, October 28th : 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Vineyard Church, Urbana 
• Friday, October 29th : 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Vineyard Church, Urbana

September Roundup

 

 

As folks can certainly tell, we're still very much behind and finding it impossible to keep up with all the recent changes, pandemic related issues, and news coverage. In some ways there's more local government information easily accessible and available than ever. Unfortunately the pandemic also really affected availability and shook up everyone's lives. Hopefully we'll be able to get back up to a regular schedule of coverage again soon. Here's a quick C-U Local Roundup of news and issues:

The pandemic had also interrupted and delayed a lot of local plans for police reforms. One pilot program for crisis intervention appears to be getting off the ground now in Urbana with plans to expand to Champaign and elsewhere later. From the News-Gazette:

Plans for the crisis co-responder team call for a Rosecrance social worker and an Urbana police officer who has a master’s degree in social work to follow up on calls for service related to mental or behavioral health crises, Marlin said.

The Urbana officer to work on this team will have a new title — behavioral health detective — and since she will be redeployed from her current police job, there will be no new city money involved, the mayor said.

Urbana Police Lt. Corey Koker, who is overseeing this program for the police department, said the police-Rosecrance response team will be focused on public service and will have its own dedicated office and resources.

In follow-up response visits, the team will try to connect people in crisis to available community services that can help them, he said.

That full article here. WCIA had additional coverage here.

Long term plans for improvements in the Garden Hills neighborhood appear to have been approved to get a boost in their schedule with additional funds. From the News-Gazette earlier in September:

The morning after the Champaign City Council unanimously endorsed speeding up long-needed lighting and drainage work in the Garden Hills neighborhood, city staff members were already meeting to get those initiatives underway, Communications Manager Jeff Hamilton said Wednesday...

The council has directed staff see if the city’s $25.2 million in funding from the most recent federal coronavirus relief act can be used for the projects. If that allowed, the city would devote about half of that funding to Garden Hills — $5 million toward the much larger costs of drainage improvements and $6 million to $8 million for lighting projects.

That full blurb with additional details here.

For more information on local gun violence and responses, I strongly encourage people to check out the Champaign County Community Coalition and their meetings. Each meeting has updates from the local police chiefs and presentations on local programs and efforts to address the violence and underlying needs of the community.

Other local news links:

• Urbana violence reduction updates from WCIA.
• Champaign policing hiring changes to fill vacancies more efficiently.
• Buy Black Chambana is promoting Black owned businesses in Chaampaign-Urbana. The Daily Illini had coverage of one of their recent events here.
• Illinois Newsroom had an interview with the Champaign fire chief on 9/11's impact on him personally and on firefighting in general here.

Urbana City Council June Updates

A big update on learning about how the Urbana City government works is that the City Council training materials are now up on the City website here. We'll be adding that to the Urbana City government information page here. 

There were Urbana City and Cunningham Township budgets passed, with links and further information below. The big fight for the City Council in June was over appointments. The mayor was adamant about wanting a smooth appointment and reappointment process. There was concern that City Council members might turn the process into an inquiry where applicants may face a barrage of public scrutiny again. From the News-Gazette a couple weeks ago:

Mayor Diane Marlin says she will not allow city council members to use a longstanding reappointment process to derail the careers of police command staff or other veteran city employees.

Last week, Marlin pulled from the agenda the normally routine reappointment of 19 city employees in six departments, including police and fire, after learning that “at least one council member intends to ask for certain people to be treated individually” instead of being voted on as a group...

Marlin was referring to the grilling that police Chief Bryant Seraphin received last year in the wake of Aleyah Lewis’ April 2020 arrest following a report of shots fired. Several officers were accused of using excessive force on the 21-year-old, who refused to comply with their commands.

More at the full article here, including the unusual nature of Urbana's appointment process that goes beyond the typical heads of departments, but other mid-level staff as well. The appointment discussion at the last City Council meeting is available here in the meeting video. With very limited and general council comments the appointments passed with just one no vote by Council member Grace Wilken. The mayor explained that there had been constructive talks with Council members about getting through this particular appointment vote smoothly and it had been expected to go through prior to the meeting.

In other Urbana City Council related news:

• A follow up article with Council member Shirese Hursey on race issues in Urbana a year after an interview as part of the News-Gazette's "Being Black in America" series in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests.
• Concerns about street conditions and highlighting the Capital Improvement Plan.
• WAND had a brief video segment on policing concerns before the City Council.
• A petition for more cameras and security in Ward 3.
• Curbanas: an adaptation for outdoor seating and Urbana businesses.

The City of Urbana's proposed Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget is available here and Capital Improvement Plan here. The approval of the budget was explained in this staff report and passed at the June 28th City Council meeting along with an amendment to the previous budget.

The Cunningham Township Town Board passed its budget and it is available here.

So far the Urbana City Council meetings have continued with remote participation with the Zoom meeting app. It appears likely they will return to in-person meetings soon, according to a News-Gazette article with updates on the Champaign City Council in-person meetings as well.

Urbana City Council meetings have had an overwhelming number of public participants and lengthy meeting times. The public input is generally over concerns about policing, transparency, mental health and criminal justice reforms. In the meeting videos with zoom, there is a clock on the screen for participants to watch their time. This graphic in the search preview can help quickly locate these sections of the meetings for navigating to or around these parts of the meeting, depending on what you're searching for.

Meeting agendas and video links:

June 7th City Council Meetings:

• Public Hearing on the Budget: agenda, video.
• Special Meeting on appointments: agenda, video.
• Committee of the Whole: agenda, video.

June 14th Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:

• Town Board Special Meeting (closed meeting): agenda, video.
• City Council Meeting: agenda, video.

June 21st Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:

• Town Board Announcement: hearing/meeting moved to June 28th (agenda/video).
• City Council Public Hearing: agenda, video.
• City Council Committee of the Whole: agenda, video.

June 28th Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:

• Town Board Public Hearing: agenda, video.
• Town Board Meeting: agenda, video.
• City Council Meeting: agenda, video.

April and May Urbana City Council overviews are still in progress, but will hopefully be up in the next couple weeks.

City of Champaign June Updates

The Cheat Sheet is playing catch up on local government news this month, as sometimes happens. It takes a lot of time and effort for people to attend meetings or catch up with the videos, dig through local news coverage, and follow up with various passing or failing votes. The process of catching up can be useful to anyone wanting to get up to date on a local government body, however. There is a post at the Champaign County Cheat Sheet on the process of catching up on using the County Board as an example that could be helpful. Depending on your time limits, it can be a cursory search for local news coverage or the deepest dive.

The City of Champaign government had a busy month this June. Some of the local news coverage highlights include:

• Honoring fallen officer Christopher Oberheim who was killed in the line of duty responding to a domestic violence call in May. This was the City's first in-person meeting since the early days of the pandemic.
• In coverage of the same meeting, the delay in City fine increases was once again delayed.
• Looking for public input and proposals on how to spend the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the City will be receiving for pandemic related relief.
• A meeting was filled with "Back the Blue" activists demanding more support for law enforcement from the City Council and Mayor. More background here. More coverage from WCIA including a video segment here. Video of public comments at the Council meeting is available here.
• City facilities will be reopening due to changes in the pandemic situation. 

An overview of the ARPA fund details is available in a Study Session report from earlier this month here. Video of that Study Session, presentation and discussion is available here. The Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget and 10 year Capital Improvement Plan were approved at the June 15th regular meeting. There was public input and Council discussion on the budget vote during the meeting available here.

The June 22nd Study Session involved drainage issues and improvement projects along the Boneyard Creek. As the Study Session report and maps make clear, drain issues and investment choices around them have a high impact on historically Black neighborhoods in town (click to enlarge):

Recent heavy rains and flooding in Garden Hills, in which there are also drainage improvement plans over the next several years, are an ongoing reminder of past policy ramifications.

Links to City Council meetings and Study Session videos, agendas, and reports.

• June 1 regular City Council meeting: agenda, minutes, video.
• June 8 Study Session on ARPA funding: report, video.
• June 15 regular City Council meeting: agenda, video.
• June 22 Study Session on Boneyard Creek improvement projects: report, video.

Updates on April and May meetings are still a work in progress, but hopefully will be up and linked here soon!

March City of Champaign Council Meetings

The March City of Champaign government meetings covered some pretty serious topic this past month, including a study session on food insecurity, free pantry regulation and enforcement during the pandemic, approving the City's Annual Action Plan, and supporting services for the most vulnerable in our community.

The March 2nd meeting began with a brief monthly City of Champaign Township meeting (agenda, video). Along with some brief updates the Town Board approved the annual township meeting agenda. There were no public comments during this portion of the meeting.

The regular March 2nd City Council meeting (agenda, video) began immediately after the town board meeting. A few appointments were approved including:

• Lonndon Blake to the Human Relations Commission
• Davon Prude as Youth Commissioner to the HRC 
• Medra Seals to the Citizen Review Subcommittee (a police review board)

Later, in general public comments, former Citizen Review Subcommittee chair Emily Rodriguez (now County Board member) highlighted some of her frustrations trying to effect change within the City's board and commission bureaucracy. Her comments were a condensed version of her fuller detailing of her experience and frustrations on the subcommittee. Excerpt:

We have a public participation problem- not due to a lack of community interest, but active suppression from the Council. Today, I look at three years of my work and know that even if I rally residents to speak up in public participation opportunities for change the City Manager and Mayor will (a) find some way to justify inaction, (b) use official communications to gaslight and confuse, and then (c) pacify residents with a listening session or 60-second presentation at a Community Coalition meeting.

Her full statement is available online here. Another commenter raised ideas on police reform tried in Berkeley and a gun culture paradox in America. Other agenda items passed unanimously without controversy.

The March 9th Study Session (study session report, video) began with a staff presentation on food insecurity and local programs to address it in Champaign. A lot of the presentation focused on more traditional food pantries and programs before getting to the pop-up free pantries around town. The study session report describes the City's legal complication with those:

Most programs discussed in this report are being operated in compliance with existing City codes. Some of the mini pantries are located on private property and appear to be in compliance with the City’s Municipal Code. However, some of the mini food pantries that have emerged during the pandemic appear to be in violation of one or more sections of the Municipal Code. Three of the seven mini food pantries are fully in compliance with the City's codes, while four of the mini pantries are in violation of the City's prohibition of unattended property on the ROW.

It goes on to list the specific code issues that are at issue:

For example, the Municipal Code does not allow for the placement of unattended personal property in the right-of-way (ROW). Signs accompanying the mini food pantries on the ROW are also in violation of the Zoning Ordinance. Mini food pantries on the ROW or on private property also have the potential to be in violation of the nuisance section of the Municipal Code. Examples of potential nuisance violations include perishable food that begins to rot, food containers infested with insects, discarded food containers from on-site consumption of food items, and indoor furniture or mattresses left outside as a donation.

After some technical questions by City Council members, the public weighed in (jump to link) on the report and presentation with a large number of people in support of allowing the free pantries to continue either with a code change or enforcement exemption. Many volunteers and pantry creators commented about the importance, need, and continued use of the pantries by their neighborhoods. They argued it filled a gap in food insecurity programs where many people otherwise might fall through the cracks. They gave examples of how some people may have time constraints, transportation issues, or face other restrictions to meet their needs.

There were also numerous comments in favor of current and expansion of community gardens. Other comments focused on structural racism and how they believe that is playing a role in the scrutiny of the free pantries. Some raised concerns about police being called to enforce code violations on issues involving vulnerable communities as opposed to traditional code enforcement methods used in majority white neighborhoods.

Council comments were generally supportive of ensuring the free pantries could operate safely and figuring out some way of ensuring that the City isn't opening up a Pandora's box of future code violations unrelated to food pantries. Council member Fourman stressed the need to address the lack of investment in neighborhoods that have become "food deserts" and concerns about using police to intervene with food pantry use and code issues. Member Gladney noted that when the City wants to incentivize investment, it has been able to incentivize investment when it had the will to do so.

Deputy Mayor Bruno took an opposite tact and criticized public commenters who view these and other problems as part of systemic and structural issues with our community and nation's history of white supremacy. He specifically took issue with the assumption of bad motives of City Council members and City staff. He accused them of "virtue signaling," a term activists often use to disparage folks who use a cause to make themselves look good, rather than actually doing impactful work.

The Council agreed to give staff direction to taking a more active role in food insecurity and a temporary moratorium on code enforcement for the the code issues surrounding the current free pantries while the City is under the pandemic emergency order.

Many of the public comments that came during the general comment period at the end of the meeting took issue with Bruno's statements. Some responded to his criticisms with explanations of the structural issues at hand and possible solutions. Local activist Allen Max Axelrod took the opportunity to continue to advocate for people still facing utility shutoffs as he has been doing at public input opportunities at local government bodies throughout the pandemic.

The March 16th regular City Council meeting (agenda, video) passed a number of non-controversial items as well as the naming of a portion of Chester Street in downtown Champaign as "Black Lives Matter Honorary Street" (Council Bill and information here). Council member Fourman reiterated that this small measure is is a slap in the face compared to what the City should be doing. Council member Beck said she supports the measure, but also reiterated her belief that this small step is severely lacking compared to the substantive changes needed. Mayor Feinen said she echoed those statements. The Bill passed along with the other items on the agenda.

Public comments ranged from traffic concerns around around a bus stop, support and criticism of policing locally, and advocating for those facing utility shutoffs, trauma and mental health support (including police themselves).

The March 23rd Study Session (report, video) dealt with the Annual Action Plan and the budgetary issues that go along with that. From a previous Cheat Sheet post explaining the concepts around the Annual Action Plan:

The Annual Action Plan is a document mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that outlines local affordable housing and community development needs and identifies strategies for addressing them. The plan identifies activities that the City expects to undertake through direct action or through the provision of funding to other entities. In addition to outlining housing and community development strategies, the Annual Action Plan includes the City’s application for the federal grants received from HUD. These grants, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), fund the majority of the affordable housing and neighborhood improvement programs provided by the City. The City of Champaign receives CDBG funding directly from HUD and HOME funding through the Urbana HOME Consortium.

After the presentation on the there were public comments from people advocating for vulnerable community members, including organizers from CU at Home and First Followers Re-entry Program and a couple other local activists. Council comments were also supportive of initiatives with homelessness and reentry. Council member Kyles highlighted programs that deal with youth and workforce development as well.

The Council gave direction to staff to finalize the Annual Action Plan (draft is included in the study session report in Appendix B) and direction for funding the CommUnity, homelessness and reentry program funding.

General public comments included an argument for reparations, building off the initiative in Evanston (Smile Politely had a recent editorial promoting such an argument). The Mayor made a statement in support of the local Asian and Asian-American community in light of the recent attacks in Atlanta, Georgia and other increase in crimes that appeared to target Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the United States. The meeting ended after a closed session on an employment matter.

The next Champaign City Council meeting will be Tuesday April 13th (it was announced that there would be no City Council meeting on Tuesday April 6th due to that falling on the local election day).

March Urbana City Council and Cunningham Township Meetings

The Urbana City Council had longer meetings this month, even when compared to their usually lengthy meetings. In addition to longer City Council meetings themselves, there were also a couple Cunningham Township meetings and two City Council training sessions before some of those meetings. Most of the meetings were nearly or beyond four hours in length altogether. I'll try to be far more brief in these overviews.

Public Participation across all of the meetings included concerns about utility shutoffs, rental assistance available, police reform and alternatives to policing for mental health and other public needs. There were also concerns about the Human Rights Ordinance language clarification still leaving a need for an enforcement mechanism and ongoing concerns about the background check policy in light of the HRO requirements. There was also support for the City supporting and collaborating with the First Followers Reentry program and the Champaign County Health Care Consumers organization.

The March 1st Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video) mainly involved an extensive conversation about the planned development at 602 South Lincoln Avenue (next to campus within the WUNA neighborhood). The developer said he wasn't interested in continuing the process after the City Council voted to hold the issue over for another Committee of the Whole meeting. The board decided to move the issue on to the regular City Council member to see if any council members concerns could be addressed by that time.

Further amended clarifying language for the Human Rights Ordinance was moved forward as well, but still lacked a solution on how the City might be held to the HRO standards. Council member Jared Miller used his time in council comments at the end of the meeting to assure the public that this is not the end of the HRO discussion and the other issues would be addressed.

The March 8th regular meeting (agenda, video) included additional public participation with a large number of residents opposed to the 602 South Lincoln development, petition signatures, and endless criticism of the aesthetics and interpretation of the development guidelines. Council members Brown and Colbrook appear to be the only council members who believe the conditions were met. Colbrook appears to be the only member who had a positive opinion of the aesthetics and building materials. The harshest criticism from council members and the public used the expression, "butt ugly." The development failed to pass.

The rest of the meeting involved an approval of the clarifying and amended HRO language, considering some zoning variances, and then approving appointments. The appointment portion got a bit strained as one of the appointments involved promoting an officer directly involved in the Aleyah Lewis incident. The appointments were approved with Alderman Miller voting against James "Cory" Koker to Lieutenant in the Urbana Police Department.

The March 15th Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video) began with the first City Council training session available to the public and allowing participation from current City Council members and candidates. City Administrator Carol Mitten said that a webpage will be set up with all the training sessions for future use. The training session at this meeting was an overview of the City's executive department (jump to link).

After the training session there was a presentation of the 2020 BPAC Annual Report by the Alderman Brown, who is also the chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. Public participation included some criticism of the promotion of an officer involved in the Aleyah Lewis incident and the continued lack of an enforcement mechanism against the city to follow its own Human Rights Ordinance.

The mayor, who is also the current chair of the Regional Planning Commission raised serious concerns about the County government's finance issues and how they may impact RPC grant-based programs and funding for the City. She and the Mayor of Champaign backed an RPC letter to the County Board asking that they fulfill their obligations so critical programs aren't put in jeopardy (more on that in the March County Board coverage here). The mayor announced there would be a presentation on the work on the Use of Force policy and the discussions she described as productive in crafting the new language.

Two items that were moved forward for City Council approval involved support and collaboration with the First Followers Reentry Program and the Champaign County Health Care Consumers organization.

The discussion items on the agenda included the status on the One Door pilot program. Updates included a collaboration with the City of Champaign and a phase-in start as opposed to a comprehensive start to the program. The phased in process can begin sooner, but won't include some alternative responses that don't involve law enforcement. There was also an extended conversation on how much law enforcement funding actually prevents crime as opposed to alternatives that got fairly heated.

There was also a discussion on the appointment process, which in Urbana involves a great number of positions that cities normally make part of a contractual hiring process. There were complaints about the increased scrutiny and public pressure on appointed positions. There were some disagreements on what constituted healthy public interest and simply being too much of a nightmare to recruit people into the confrontations and accusations. The meeting was already running very long so the background check discussion was pushed to the next meeting.

The March 22nd regular meeting (agenda, video) began with another City Council training session, this time with an overview of the organization and funding of the Urbana Free Library. It was at this meeting that the City Administrator noted that these training sessions would all be made available organized on a webpage for future use. Public participation included ongoing concerns about utility shutoffs. There was also concern raised by Meghan McDonald who argued that the pro-police voices during last week's discussion on reforms and deterring crime cut off or otherwise tried to shut down other perspectives. She highlighted the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon as a potential model to look at.

The mayor noted that the County Board voted to approve emergency funding for the Regional Planning Commission and working towards completing the required finance reports. They're still trying to determine the overall impact of the County's delays.

The Criminal Background Checks discussion (jump to link) began with a presentation and overview of current policies. The overall discussion got into some really nitty gritty issues of legal obligations, language, and precedent for anyone wanting to take a deep dive into the various perspectives.

The Cunningham Township Board had a regular meeting (agenda, video) on March 8th. Township Assessor Wayne Williams reported instead of the Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth who was ill that day. There was an issue with lost data after moving data from the server. By the time the loss was discovered they weren't successful in retrieving the information from backups. The data isn't completely gone, but it will have to be reentered, which he described as tedious work. 

There was also a special meeting on March 22nd (agenda, video) setting the agenda for its April 13th annual meeting, which has to be in-person as it is for the electors, or voting residents, of the township essentially coterminous with the City of Urbana. There was no public participation at either Township meeting.

The Urbana City Council meets next on Monday April 5th.