Urbana City Council Updates 2/22

This week the Urbana City Council followed up on many of the Committee of the Whole items from last week's Cheat Sheet post. The main resolution passed by the City Council was affirming the council's priority on de-escalation policies in the Use of Force policy being worked on by the City, Urbana Police Department, and the community. From WICS:

On Monday night, the Urbana City Council passed a resolution that prioritizes tactical deescalation as a police response when appropriate...

The resolution was amended to require multiple reports a year on officers' use of force policy.

It also pushes the Use of Force Review Board to add at least one new member that must be a civilian.

Full article here. The News-Gazette had additional details and an explanation of the bill this week as well:

Its sponsor, Ward 1 Alderwoman Maryalice Wu, said the resolution isn’t meant to be an update to the use-of-force policy, which is in the process of being updated.

“The purpose was not to fully go through the entire use-of-force policy here,” she said. “The purpose is to say the intent of city council on how we want that direction of the use-of-force policy to move forward.”

The police department had planned to finish updating its use-of-force policy by Jan. 31 to qualify for certain federal funds, Chief Bryant Seraphin said last month, but after pushback from the local NAACP and ACLU chapters, it met with them and is still working on the update.

That full article here. The recommendations and drafts from the local ACLU and NAACP are available on the local ACLU website here.

Another contentious issue before the City Council was on clarifying the language of the Human Rights Ordinance to exclude the city from the current enforcement mechanism for violations which poses some longstanding conflicts of interest and logistical issues. The clarification would have still left enforcement for City violations of the HRO left to be determined, but the language was sent back to committee for further revisions. The language will be considered again at the next Committee of the Whole meeting on March 1st (agenda).

Meeting Writeup:

The meeting began with a presentation by Alderman Brown and a report in his capacity as chair of the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He laid out various options and recommendations for the Kickapoo Rail Trail path through Urbana and entertained questions along with the staff on what the details and timing would look like if approved. He will be returning with a resolution for the Council to consider in the near future.

Public participation was more contentious than usual. A lot of regular speakers took criticism from other public speakers upset at the the accusations and numerous complaints. Accusations of frivolous complaints, weaponizing complaint processes and at significant costs to the cities started out this portion of the agenda. The regular speakers for their part rebutted and counter-accused others of smears and conspiracy theories. Others accused the regular speakers of being variously ignorant or malevolent "trolls."

In the back and forth some speakers raised concerns about language exempting the City from enforcement of the Human Rights Ordinance, complications with an annexation item, and Use of Force policy details. Reverend Dr. Evelyn Underwood encouraged folks to embrace more love and kindness with each other and offered her appreciation of the work and consideration on the Use of Force policy by the City and various organizations.

The Mayor shared her presentation on the proclamation marking Supermarket Employee Appreciation Day. Council comments consisted of Alderwoman Hursey making a correction on the context of statement by her that was referenced in public input.

The Council passed its action items on the agenda except for the Human Rights Ordinance issue which was sent back to committee. The de-escalation resolution was passed with some minor language tweaks. The annexation approval included direction to City Staff for outreach for further annexation offers to the remaining unannexed portion of that neighborhood.

Consolidated General Election and Early Voting

The Consolidated General Election is Tuesday, April 6th, 2021. Early voting begins for everybody March 12th, (after the primary election results are certified). There are some folks who can Vote Early now if they weren't eligible to vote in a primary (outside of Champaign or Cunningham precincts). There is an explanation on Smile Politely here for Early Voting eligibility dates. You can also request your Vote By Mail Ballot here on the Champaign County Clerk's website.

The News-Gazette highlighted an extremely helpful election information resource and non-partisan candidate guide in today's paper here. It's put together by the Champaign County Voter Alliance in collaboration with the local League of Women Voters. From that News-Gazette coverage:

Want to know what Champaign City Council candidates are thinking ahead of the upcoming consolidated election? Wondering about the most pressing needs for the Urbana Park District?

...

Starting March 2 and continuing to March 11, the League is conducting a series of candidate forums on Zoom.

"The League has a really important role in today's democracy," said Trisha Crowley, president of the Champaign County chapter. "Being a nonpartisan organization, we talk with Democrats and Republicans and try to support our mission, which is to provide information to voters."

Full blurb here. More information at the League of Women Voters of Champaign County website here and links to the previous primary candidate forums here. The Champaign County Clerk has a simple list of the candidate's running on their website here: Meet the Candidates. Note that there are several write-in candidates who may be running in your local races at the bottom of the listed candidates! One Urbana Park District board candidate withdrew from the race already. From a letter to the editor in today's News-Gazette:

If you're like most people, you probably weren't even aware that we just had an election this week. Some only noticed when all the headlines and coverage exploded at once upon the election results themselves. It was a consolidated primary election for municipal offices and it had some painfully low turnout. From WCIA earlier this week:

5,127 out of approximately 68,000 eligible voters, that’s just over 7.5%, cast a ballot in Champaign County’s primary elections.

“This was actually lower for Urbana than it was in 2017,” County Clerk Aaron Ammons said. “It’s unsettling and it needs to change.”

...

“Unfortunately, turnout in the primary consolidated elections and general elections usually see this type of turnout in Champaign County,” Ammons said.

That full article here. The News-Gazette had more coverage on the turnout here. 

You'll likely be hard pressed to find anyone who likes the timing of these local consolidated elections. The candidate calendar is even more bonkers as the work to get on the ballot begins before the previous giant even-year general election is over. So why do we do it? Well, according to this twenty year old news story from the year 2001 (oof!):

Before 1982, each unit of Illinois government held its own election, where and when it chose. With consolidated elections, mandated by the state in 1982, elections are set in the same places on the same dates, rotating local races with general elections for county, state and federal government offices...

The goals of holding a consolidated election were to increase voter turnout and save money by doing it all at once.

"Neither has happened," [Whiteside County Clerk Dan Heusinkveld] said.

Full article here. Changes would have to occur at the State level and it may be difficult to find agreement on what might actually increase awareness or interest... a better date? Better outreach? Better civics education? I leave that to the reader to decide.

Preliminary and Unofficial Primary Election Results

There are still some mail-in ballots that may be on their way in that could be counted, but here are the preliminary and unofficial election results for the Champaign and Urbana so far:

Champaign County unofficial results from the County Clerk website here.

The Champaign County Clerk also has an early listing for the April 6th, 2021 Consolidated General Election candidates here.

Illinois Newsroom had an overview of the Urbana, Champaign and Decatur races with a preview for the general municipal election on April 6th.

WCIA had a highlight of the Urbana Mayor's race here and other local race results listed here.

Smile Politely had informational blurbs up on individual races:

Urbana:

• Urbana Mayoral primary: Diane Marlin defeated Andy Ma, Dennis Roberts
• Urbana City Clerk primary: Phyllis Clark defeated Titianna Ammons

• Urbana Ward 1 primary: Maryalice Wu defeated Jake Fava
• Urbana Ward 2 primary: Christopher Evans defeated Erik Sacks, Christopher Hansen
• Urbana Ward 3 primary: Shirese Hursey defeated Deborah Liu
• No Ward 4 primary (early general election candidate information here) 
• Urbana Ward 5 primary: Chaundra Bishop defeated Meghan McDonald
• No Ward 6 primary (early general election candidate information here) 
• Urbana Ward 7 primary: James Quisenberry defeated Jared Miller

Champaign:

• Champaign Township Supervisor primary: Andy Quarnstrom defeated Rita Conerly

Urbana School Board Updates

At the most recent Urbana School Board meeting (agenda, video) there were updates on in person learning plans, a presentation on the district's Farm to School program, and the approval for a housing program in collaboration with Cunningham Township government.

First there was a presentation (jump to video) on the Farm to School nutrition program by folks from Sola Gratia and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. The presentation slides are available here. The program is now up on social media (facebook and instagram) and has a website here. WAND had coverage of the program earlier this month:

The project is a collaborative effort between Urbana School District 116, Sola Gratia Farm, and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, along with support from a USDA Farm to School Planning Grant.

It is being informed by school district members and other local partners. The organizations are launching this project in February and intend to spend the next six months soliciting ideas and planning, with implementation to begin in late 2021...

After piloting the project in Urbana schools, the coordinating team hopes to expand to involve the Champaign Unit 4 School District as well.

More at the full article here. Smile Politely highlighted the public input the program is requesting from the community with links to their survey and email here.

The Superintendent had a presentation (jump to video) on upcoming plans for in-person learning for District 116. The News-Gazette had coverage last week:

The Urbana school district is looking at ways to get more students in the classroom for the fourth quarter, particularly at the early-childhood and elementary levels.

Administrators will send out surveys to families of all elementary school students Friday, with the hopes of receiving commitments by March 1 from families of students who want to return to in-person classes....

At the middle and high school level, Ivory-Tatum said, the sticking point is lunch. Currently, the district has allowed back students who need extra support, which is decided at the school level. Ivory-Tatum said schools are reaching out to students who have been given the option to return but have not and are looking to eliminate barriers for those who can’t come at a specific time because they’re home with siblings or at work.

More information at the full article here. This presentation focused on the 4th Quarter. January's in person report was more in depth and covered the 3rd Quarter (jump to that report in the January 19th meeting). There was also a general COVID-19 Update at the February 2nd study session meeting (jump to that video here).

Most of the items on the agenda passed without controversy in the consent agenda. It's worth highlighting one approval, however: an intergovernmental agreement with the township to "assist in making adequate housing available to homeless families within the Urbana School District boundaries." WICS had coverage earlier this week:

On Tuesday, the Cunningham Township Supervisor's Office and Urbana School District drafted an agreement called the Emergency Shelter Program, providing resources and shelter to families in need.

"Right now this is a program that serves families that don't have another place to stay," Cunningham Township Supervisor, Danielle Chynoweth said.

Having had 26 households with 11 students go through the program informally already, it is a need they are ready to meet.

That full article here. Illinois Newsroom had even more coverage on the program earlier this month after February's Cunningham Township Board meeting (Cheat Sheet post on that meeting here).

The regular Superintendent's report included an overview of the winter teacher's institute and a thank you to local health care workers from Urbana Middle School students.

School Board member Dimit praised the social distancing and work of the people working in drama projects through the pandemic. He also praised local News-Gazette writer and Urbana High School student resource supervisor for his writing, insight and efforts.

Urbana City Council Clarifying the HRO

Tonight's Urbana City Council meeting (agenda) will likely clarify an ambiguity in the City's Human Rights Ordinance that has existed since its passage. There are also a couple resolutions supporting the FirstFollowers Reentry program's services and on prioritizing de-escalation tactics by the Urbana Police Department. Most of the discussion and details of the items on tonight's agenda were had at last week Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video).

WICS had a brief overview of that meeting here. WCIA had a bit of additional information in its preview of the Use of Force related resolution prior to the meeting here.

In other Urbana news, the Urbana Poet Laureate is looking for public input and has a listening session Wednesday of this week. More information and links on that from Smile Politely here. Tom's Mailbag also had a couple Urbana related questions and answers on things like public and private sewer and septic systems and historical buildings here.

2/17 Meeting Writeup:

The meeting originally set for 2/15 was rescheduled due to the winter storm last week. It began with a presentation by Scott Allen of the Citizens Utility Board and Allen Max Axelrod, a local activist trying to stop utility shutoffs, especially to vulnerable populations. During the Q & A it was explained that there is an effort to get support from local governments throughout the state to help put pressure on the governor and relevant state agencies to put a stop to the shutoffs. The Mayor highlighted a local program through the Regional Planning Commission offering rental and utility assistance to Champaign County residents who qualify.

The public comments afterward raised concerns about application process and barriers that could create for some residents, especially those in the most desperate of situations. There were also concerns raised about the language in the Human Rights Ordinance and the need for the language to apply to the city. The language of the de-escalation and transparency resolution was criticized as insufficient to prevent past tragedies.  There were comments in support for funding and collaboration with the FirstFollowers reentry program as well.

The staff report included an update on the local Emulsicoat Inc facility. Data from the company and the Illinois EPA is being collected to help the council better understand the materials and safety issues involved. There is also going to be City Council training for current and prospective City Council members coming up soon. Starting on March 1st from 6-7pm there will be public meetings where the public may watch while candidates and incumbents participate in the training prior to City Council meetings.

The Mayor and Council member Brown highlighted some ways to get information out to the community on the RPC rental assistance program, including meeting with FirstFollowers and utilizing the list of big and small landlords registered with the City.

The presentation and discussion on the FirstFollowers funding is available here in the City Council video. There is a brief overview in the resolution document here. Excerpt:

First Followers is requesting funding for the Welcome Home Program to assist persons exiting the prison system. Many leave the prison system with few resources to help successfully reenter into the community. The Welcome Home program provides a safety net to provide support and resources to individuals returning to this community during the COVID crisis. The program anticipates serving twelve people through December 31, 2021.

The funding is coming through a small portion of the COVID related Community Development Block Grant money the City has received. From a post last year on CDBG block grants and jargon:

Some of the jargon and acronyms can get mind numbing on coronavirus relief funding that the federal government included with the CARES Act. The mechanisms that already existed for federal dollars to reach local programs were used to avoid re-inventing the wheel. So, in local government meetings, you'll hear Council members rattle of terms like "CDBG-CV funds." You probably don't need to know that it's referring to additional COVID-19 related spending in addition to the usual federal Community Development Block Grants. I didn't even like typing that last sentence. It's federal relief funding due to the pandemic.

Regular CDBG pop up a lot in city budgets outside of pandemic issues. For a general idea of how that federal money normally works its way to local government budgets, check out this link on the Illinois Department of Commerce page. 

The discussion on the resolution prioritizing de-escalation and transparency in the Urbana Police Department was discussed here in the Council video. It's worth noting that this is primarily direction and guidance to the Mayor, city staff, and police leadership on their expectations in policy. It specifically states the City Council's priority for de-escalation in the upcoming Use of Force policy changes and additional transparency in the UPD more generally.

The discussion on the Human Rights Ordinance, its application to the City Government, and how that might be enforced was a bit more complicated and is available here in the video. There was a presentation by the City Administrator Carol Mitten attempting to clarify the two issues involved. In a previous presentation at the January 19th COW meeting, there was a dispute about whether the options suggested by the Human Relations Commission were properly presented by the City Administrator.

At this meeting the Council decided to more narrowly tackle the clarification of the Human Rights Ordinance language. While the City Council members all agreed that the City must abide by the requirements of the Human Rights Ordinance, they are still looking for workable enforcement mechanisms. Part of the issue is the logistics of the City, or boards serving under the City's authority, attempting to enforce the ordinance against the City if it is in violation. 

The mechanisms to ensure an independent and fair hearing could be prohibitively expensive or leave potential conflicts of interest. One idea proposed was an intergovernmental agreement with Champaign that has a similar ordinance and Human Rights Commission structure. While clarifying the HRO language, the mechanism to enforce the protections is still left to be resolved.

At the end of the meeting Alderman Roberts had some updates on the Urbana sister-city program relating to Thionville. There is work being done towards a French/English exchange where Americans could practice their French and the French could practice their English. There was also a musical collaboration project in the works.

There were also some final thanks to the city staff and public during the winter storm, helping each other out, and clearing snow. Alderwoman Wu noted that the 217 area code will soon be one of two local area codes, so people may have to update their phones to include the area code if they haven't already.

Champaign City Council and Gun Violence Programs

There is no Champaign City Council meeting this week due to it falling on election day for the Consolidated Primary Election. Early voting has already begun (News-Gazette coverage, County Clerk early voting information) and there is more candidate information on the Cheat Sheet here.

Last week's Champaign City Council meeting (agenda, video) included a Study Session (report, video) focused on local programs attempting to address gun violence and the equity issues in Champaign neighborhoods. WCIA had an overview of the meeting afterward:

City and community leaders met Tuesday night to address a rise in gun violence in Champaign.

Officials reported in 2020, there were 189 confirmed shooting incidents, up from 100 in 2019. There were 57 shooting victims in 2020, compared to 34 in 2019. There were 9 gun-related homicides in 2020, up from 2 in 2019.

The cities of Decatur, Peoria and Urbana also shared their shooting data with Champaign. All of them also saw an increase in shootings and shooting victims.

That full article here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage the next day:

In addition to various efforts with community organizations, [Community Relations Manager Tracy Parsons] said the Community Coalition has also partnered with the Community Data Clinic at the University of Illinois to collect data and evaluate the various initiatives in place...

“Whatever we’re doing, we need to be doing something else, because it’s not working,” said council member Clarissa Fourman, who suggested a gunshot-detection system and encouraged more engagement with the First Followers prisoner re-entry program and more community-developed programs. “We need something new.”

That full article here. The full Study Session report is available here and goes into detail about local responses to gun violence, beginning with a brief summary on the first page going through recent years. On pages 3-5 there is breakdown of local gun violence data and comparisons. Following that is a deep dive into current programs, updates, and work going forward. There was a correction on one graph in the Study Session report versus the presentation given at the Study Session. The "Confirmed Shooting Incidents" were higher in Peoria (Council Member confirmed this in the Q&A time with the Deputy Chief). Here is the corrected graph from the presentation: 

Meeting Writeups:

The regular City Council meeting (agenda, video) began on time. The Council Bills on the agenda were all quickly approved and without controversy. Public participation included a University student proposing game day liquor changes to encourage tailgating and alcoholic beverages at Grange Grove. He proposed setting age limits at the bars from 19 to 21 for those days. He also suggested offsetting bar owner concerns by allowing space for them to serve drinks at Grange Grove as well. The Mayor is also the City's liquor commissioner. Council member Fourman encouraged her to look into the proposal towards the end of the meeting.

Other public comments raised concerns about continued water shutoffs in the area and wanting action from the city to put an end to it. Two other comments revolved around police reform. One highlighting the intimidation and attacks suffered by reformers relative to the safety of speaking out in support of police. Anthony Tassone of pitched a pilot police reform program with his company GreenKey and Amazon for body camera analysis that would also help offset some costs.

There was general support for all the hard work that went into clearing snow by city staff with some extra praise from MTD relayed by the Mayor. The City Manager noted that next Tuesday is an election day and there will not be a City Council meeting scheduled.

Study Session:

Tracy Parsons, a Community Relations Manager for the City of Champaign and also the facilitator for the Champaign County Community Coalition led the presentation on local gun violence and community response along with Champaign Police Deputy Chief Matthew Henson and Mary Catherine Roberson, a City Community Relations Specialist (report, video). As noted earlier in this post, there was a correction on one of the graphs from the report in the video presentation itself (confirmed in the Q&A section).

Discussions noted the difficulty in addressing gun violence, especially watching the increase locally and across cities in Illinois and the country again. There were many technical questions about what we can truly know about a shooting, from the suspected shooter(s) or why the shooting happened in Champaign as opposed to somewhere else. Council members Brix, Kyles and Fourman encouraged more collaboration with First Followers.

Jamar Brown introduced himself during the public comments as the new chair of the Countywide Coordinating Committee. He has been part of the CU Fresh Start program to interrupt gun violence locally. He pointed to a need from community members for a commitment of time, manpower and energy to deal with these problems.

Local activist Haki Shabbazz (who sometimes also introduces himself as Drake Materre) chastised the City Council for failing to listen to community members and activists that have been pushing to dismantle structural racism. He raised concerns about adding investment and manpower into a system of policing and surveillance that he believes only ensures the disparities in our system.

Mike Emery, Law Enforcement Coordinator for the US Attorney in Central Illinois praised the Community Coalition and its adaptability in programs and in comparison to his work across the State and in other counties. 

Local municipal candidates also made public comments. Rita Conerly, on the Democratic ballot for the Supervisor's race in the current primary election talked about her experience and work in Garden Hills. She raised concerns about the way policing is done by outsiders to the neighborhood and called for more radical and intentional changes. She also called for the Council to be more inclusive of radical voices and voices of the impacted communities.

Of all the Council Comments, Council Member Clarissa Nickerson Fourman were the most direct and urgent. She explained how she lives in the middle of these gun incidents. She hears the gun shots and her constituents call her from the floor during shootings. She called for more dramatic action, gunshot detection systems, and the end of gatekeeping important voices out of the discussion and collaboration.

The Council gave unanimous direction to the city staff to continue supporting the Community Coalition and its programs on gun violence.

C-U Candidate Forums - UPDATED

Early voting has already begun for the February 23rd Consolidated Primary Election and there is a lot of information available on the candidates available now. Below are links to a non-partisan candidate guide, candidate forum videos, and election information on how to register, early voting options, etc.

Non-Partisan Candidate Guide from the Champaign County Voters Alliance in cooperation with the League of Women Voters of Champaign County.

The League of Women Voters of Champaign County (along with the local NAACP and the News-Gazette) have several Candidate Forum videos on-line for Champaign and Urbana municipal candidates.

Urbana Alderman Candidate Forum videos:

• Urbana Ward 1
• Urbana Ward 2
• Urbana Ward 3
• Urbana Ward 5
• Urbana Ward 7

Other Consolidated Primary Election candidate forums:

• Urbana City Mayor

WILL and Illinois Newsroom had additional Urbana Mayoral coverage of the Democratic primary here and here. The News-Gazette also had an overview of the Urbana Mayoral candidates here.

• Urbana City Clerk
• Champaign Township Supervisor

There were also two People's City Council candidate forums so far:

• On Ending Chronic Homelessness: 

The discussion focused mainly on eradicating homelessness and included questions and responses from the public. Write-in candidate for Champaign City Council District 3 Justin Micháel Hendrix facilitated the meeting. Incumbents Jared Miller (Urbana City Council Ward 7) and Clarissa Nickerson Fourman (Champaign City Council District 1) participated. WCIA had a short overview:

They all agreed homeless is something that can end and that having a roof over your head is a fundamental to human life.

“Estimates show that Champaign County had over 5 thousand vacant rental units in 2019. Whereas Champaign County counted 140 hut homeless community members in 2020,” Hendrix said.

Some of the suggestions included permanent housing — not just shelters. They also said access to resources for jobs and other necessities could help.

That full blurb is available here. The conversation referred to a Cunningham Township report that had a lot of data on local housing, affordability, and poverty available on the Township website here.

• On Defunding the Police on 2/4:

WCIA also had coverage of that event here.

They’re a group of activists who were involved with Champaign County’s anti-racist coalition. Many took part in protests, demonstrations and community outreach projects over the summer.

Thursday night’s Q&A focused on defunding the police and its implications...

Their next discussion will take place on February 18th. In that discussion, the council will discuss ideas on how to tackle domestic violence in the city.

Full WCIA article and video segment here. Video of the event is available on facebook here. The Daily Illini had additional coverage here.

• The third People's City Council event was on Closing Gaps in Domestic Violence Survivor Support and available on the Central Illinois News facebook page here.

Smile Politely asked the Urbana candidates their thoughts about improving and enforcing the nuisance laws in Urbana here.

General election candidate forums are already in the planning stages. Update on that in the News-Gazette here. 

Voting Information:

The Champaign County Voters Alliance has a helpful page for voters here. The Champaign County Clerk has official election information here.

Currently the only Early Voting location is at Brookens Administrative Center (Maps!). Other Early Voting locations will be opening closer to the election on February 15th. All Early Voting locations and times available here.

The Champaign County Voters Alliance has a Candidate Guide in collaboration with the local League of Women Voters available here.

The County Clerk's office has several helpful links on its website:

• My Voting Information
• Meet the Candidates (note there are some write-in candidates this election)
• Vote by Mail Ballot Request
• My Registration Status

Sample ballots are available here. There is additional candidate information for voters on the County Clerk's unofficial Meet the Candidates page.

[Originally posted on 1/23/2021 at 1:21pm. Updated with additional candidate forum information and links 2/7/21 at 10:56am and 2/20/21 at 3:59pm.]

UIUC Updates

This post covers numerous recent news items and updates on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign related to policy and government. There's a separate Cheat Sheet post on recent news and updates on the University of Illinois Police Department and public safety here.

At the recent Board of Trustees meeting, a tuition freeze was approved. From Smile Politely:

The Board of Trustees announced last week they would be freezing tuition rates for incoming in-state freshmen and non-resident undergraduates for the 2021-22 academic year...

The board also approved small increases in room and board fees.

Full blurb here. Full news release from the Board of Trustees meeting here. President Tim Killeen reiterated the need for additional aid last week, noting that the pandemic may end up costing the University system half of a billion dollars altogether:

Killeen and other university presidents in Illinois sent a letter last week to federal legislators seeking more aid as a new COVID-19 relief package is being debated...

In the first relief bill passed in March, the UI got about $66 million, about half of which went to emergency financial aid for students.

In the second bill passed in December, the UI got about $95 million, with a third of that going to emergency financial aid, Killeen said.

Full article at the News-Gazette here. Presidents of other universities have also joined in calls asking for debt relief.

There were a couple updates on renewable energy on campus. The new solar farm on campus is up and running. From the News-Gazette last week:

The new 20,000-megawatt-hour solar farm at the northwest corner of First Street and Curtis Road went online last week...

In addition to the 7,000 megawatt hours generated by the first solar farm on Windsor Road, the new one will help the UI meet the 25,000-megawatt-hour goal set in its Climate Action Plan.

Solar Farm 2.0 features “bifacial” panels, which take in energy from both sides and rotate with the sun to maximize output.

Full article here. Tom's Mailbag also had some additional information on the embedded solar panels on the new Sidney Lu Mechanical Engineering Building on campus and answered other questions on the University's various renewable energy projects here.

There were some updates on future education opportunities to prisoners. From WCIA:

Federal financial aid to prisoners has been restored. The U.S. Department of Education now has until 2023 to reinstate Pell Grant access to people who are incarcerated.

The grants were previously banned in 1994. Pell grants are typically awarded to low-income undergraduate students.

“We would like to see a lot more universities and colleges across the state, both public and private involved in providing higher education in prison, and Pell Grants can make that much more feasible for those institutions,” UIUC Criminal Justice Rebecca Ginsburg said.

Full blurb here. Illinois Newsroom had more coverage on the issue nationwide here. The pandemic is still limiting UIUC's education outreach to incarcerated individuals. From the Education Justice Project main page: 

We have suspended programming at Danville Correctional Center, and all events and activities on campus and in the community. The suspensions are indefinite, but will almost certainly be in place throughout 2020. Please stay posted.

EJP students completed the Spring 2020 semester via correspondence. They received grades, course credit, and “good time” credit as normal. We plan to offer correspondence courses again in Spring 2021.

In a recent Cheat Sheet update on local libraries, we highlighted a couple events with UC Books to Prisoners as well.

WAND had coverage of a recent winter firefighting training event at the University's Illinois Fire Service Institute:

The 26th Annual Winter Fire Training Event brought in first responders from around the Midwest to better their skills. Most of the participants are Volunteer Firefighters from smaller counties...

First responders take in classroom courses throughout the event and then apply that knowledge into their hands-on training. Classes such as saving a family from a burning home or forcing their way inside a locked door. "They can utilize their skills and hone their skills in that environment the same environment that they'll respond to, in their community,” [Director, Tom Shubert] says...

Each year, IFSI trains over 60 thousand first responders. In 2020, the number dropped to 52 thousand because of COVID-19. But IFSI is hoping the numbers increase in 2021. 

Full article here.

There was also some new doppler weather equipment for . From WCIA:

Some students at the U of I will now have the opportunity for hands-on field training. The Department of Atmospheric Sciences is getting a multi-million dollar mobile radar.

The Doppler on Wheels will allow students to collect data on rain and wind systems. The doppler is basically a radar on a truck. This then allows students to research tornadoes, hurricanes, and winter weather.

The contract also comes with three other vehicles, which includes three weather balloon launch systems and several other features.

Full article from WCIA here. Additional coverage from the News-Gazette yesterday here.

The University's plan to handle Native American imagery released last December was discussed in the local Smile Politely editorial section:

Nevertheless, it’s important that the U of I has a blueprint, even a flawed one, to move toward that more inclusive future. Though some of the components of this report genuinely induce eye-rolls, there are plenty of promising proposed changes. You can find a link to the entire report here. There are many points of discussion in the document, but we’ve narrowed down three main ideas worth highlighting below.

More at the editorial here. Full University Native American imagery implementation plan here.

UIUC Public Safety and UIPD Updates

[UPDATE: An additional news item from today honoring a former officer with the CSSO and UIPD  via WAND:

University of Illinois police honored an officer's memory Friday after his death. 

Officer Anthony Carpenter, 59, served with the Champaign County Sheriff's Office and U of I police for 26 years in total, according to an obituary posted in The News-Gazette. He passed away suddenly on Feb. 7 at his home. 

Full article here. 

There have been numerous public safety related news items and updates for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the last few weeks. This post covers updates on the University police department, university police reform demands (locally and nationally), some various legal issues and efforts to combat cyberstalking and pandemic party violations. 

The University of Illinois Police Department received one of the top accreditations for a police department. From WCIA:

The accreditation means that the department has reached top industry standards. The Tier Two accreditation comes from the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program.

A committee reviews 180 pieces of criteria. This includes four areas: administration, training, operations, and personnel. Professional assessors are brought in to monitor them. U of I police chief Alice Cary says the process takes months...

The department was awarded a plaque for their accomplishment. This is their third time receiving this since 2012. They were actually the first university police department in the state to do so.

Full blurb and video segment here. WAND had additional coverage and information here. The UIPD was also in the news over staffing changes and an Illinois Newsroom series on university police departments and the current push for police reforms. 

• Part 1: A Debate Over Defunding The Campus Police Takes Root At The University Of Illinois
• Part 2: Finding Common Ground Between Abolitionists And U Of I Campus Police
• Panel Discussion: Campus Safety and the Role of the Police at the University of Illinois

There is a lot of additional information, audio segments, and data available at both links. WICS had coverage on the UIPD's new crisis outreach coordinator and related programs:

During her time at the U of I, [University of Illinois Police Chief Alice Cary] has introduced several different services under C.O.A.S.T., including a Behavioral Health Unit called R.E.A.C.H., which stands for Response, Evaluation, And Crisis Help.

They've hired a mental health specialist to team up with officers to assist with mental health calls.

"The officers go and defuse the situation with the social worker to assess the situation for that individual and be the conduit so to speak to get the individual the right care," Cary said.

Megan Cambron is the new crisis outreach coordinator going to those calls, and Tuesday was her first day in the office.

Full article here. More on C.O.A.S.T. and R.E.A.C.H. at the UIPD website here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage on the program and on therapy dogs working for the department and how they can assist in mental health crisis situations here.

There was also some local news coverage on UIUC's "party patrols" to help limit pandemic guidance violations as students returned to campus. From WCIA:

The University of Illinois is re-instating their Party Patrol for the spring semester. Student officers and campus police will focus on shutting down parties overstepping Covid-19 guidelines.

The Party Patrol waits for a noise complaint or party tip. Then student patrol officers are sent as the first warning.

Patrick Wade with the university says usually that’s enough, but in some cases, if the party host doesn’t shut down the party, then the police will come to break it up. The party thrower can then get three different tickets.

Full article here. With the pandemic and the overall dwindling of the Unofficial St. Patrick's Day celebration in previous years, officials are currently not expecting much activity relative to previous years. The News-Gazette had coverage and the reasons for those predictions here.

The ongoing cases related to accusations against a former University Professor Joseph Petry have had updates. The University failed to stop Petry's lawsuit against them:

Petry filed a lawsuit in June in the Illinois Court of Claims accusing the UI of violating his resignation agreement, in which he agreed to step down and the UI agreed to stop investigating him.

But after he resigned, the UI hired a lawyer to complete a confidential investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Petry.

That full article here. There was also more strange developments relating to the accuser that has been enveloped in her own legal issues and drama:

A former University of Illinois student at the heart of a dismissed sexual-harassment complaint against a former professor has been criminally charged with filing false police reports related to separate incidents involving a former boyfriend.

The charges against Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, 23, of Skokie were filed in mid-December, just a couple of weeks after Judge Roger Webber acquitted her of intimidation and aggravated unlawful restraint involving the same former boyfriend, who had been investigated by police based on her accusations...

“I would say it’s very, very clear there’s a lot of lying, criminality, obfuscation and digging deeper and deeper into a hole,” Champaign Detective David Monahan said at Farrell’s sentencing hearing in December...

Farrell was sentenced in two different cases to three months in jail and 30 months of probation for intimidation and criminal damage to property, which he admitted committing against two of Naqvi’s ex-boyfriends.

That full article here. It's difficult to excerpt and capture how fully bizarre the situation is.

The University also received a grant for responding to sexual misconduct issues. From The Daily Illini:

A grant awarded to the University’s Women’s Resources Center will be used to create a campus response team for sexual misconduct and to focus on cyberstalking, a growing concern of the COVID-19 pandemic...

The funding will be used to support the center in hiring a leader for this project for the next three years. The person hired will establish the University’s first Community Coordinated Response Team against sexual misconduct, composed of a number of strategic partners both on and off campus, Colomé said. 

Some of these services and respondents include the Women’s Resources Center, Carle Foundation Hospital, Title IX coordinators, and law enforcement, if the victim chooses to involve them. Colomé said this will allow respondents to have an increased knowledge as to which services are available to survivors. 

Full article here.

Library Updates

 

This post has updates on the Urbana Free Library, the Champaign Public Library, and other area library news updates.

The Urbana Free Library's adaptation and services during the pandemic were highlighted in Smile Politely a couple weeks ago. Excerpt:

Staff first utilized existing assets to adjust to the new, remote operations and reach into the community as needed. The library’s 3-D printer and a sewing machine were lent out to help produce personal protective equipment for local healthcare workers. Drawing on a rapidly assembled system, the library began offering curbside pickup shortly after the building closed. Patrons could call staff members working from home to get reference help over the phone, and staff continued to provide email reference services. To accommodate increased pressures on patrons, it was decided that all fines and fees would be waived, patrons’ cards would no longer expire, and the number of digital items allowed to be checked out at one time was increased...

New initiatives emerged quickly. An eCard system was established. Software was purchased for the curbside pickup service to make that process more streamlined for patrons and staff. Eager to continue to offering programs, library staff prioritized learning how best to use platforms such as Facebook live and Zoom to begin offering online story times as soon as possible... 

The Books & More! Bundles Service also provides community members of all ages with a wide variety of librarian-curated resources upon request, with items available at Curbside Pickup. The library has also responded to the need of Urbana residents to have access to WiFi by making an increased number of mobile hotspots available for check-out. Purchased by the Urbana Free Library Foundation and a UC2B grant, these hotspots are an invaluable resource to community members.

Full article here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage on changes as both the Urbana and Champaign public libraries are opening up to a limited degree under loosening pandemic restrictions.

The Daily Illini had an overview of the Champaign Public Library's limited opening last week as well:

The Champaign Public Library has been offering curbside pickup of library materials, electronic resources and online webinars since it closed last March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In accordance with the decrease in the region’s COVID-19 positivity rate, the library opened for grab-and-go service on Feb. 1 and will continue to offer virtual educational programming.

Patrons can now browse and check out books at the library and use computers for an hour per day. People can still make use of the curbside pickup option or request a book bundle for children and teens, where librarians gather a personalized set of books for pickup...

Patrons can access ebooks, movies, music and other e-resources through the library’s website using apps such as Libby and Kanopy. The library also offers virtual programming nearly every day of the week for children, teens and adults.

Full article here.

Other Local Library News:

Smile Politely highlighted two upcoming public webinar events at the University's Grainger Engineering library on AI and quantum computing:

The research enterprise of The Grainger College of Engineering, driven by our faculty, staff, and students, has transformed the world. Join Dean Rashid Bashir and our expert faculty to learn how our AI and quantum research is being practically applied in our ever-changing world. These webinars will include faculty presentations and a live Q & A.

Full article here. More information on the events at the Grainger facebook event page here.

WICS noted that the Urbana Free Library was one of many libraries across the state to receive a bit of additional funding for COVID related expenses.

Libraries could apply for up to $500 each to address the proper handling of library materials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This money can also be used to purchase cleaning supplies and PPE, such as masks and acrylic barriers.

Full article here.

CU Books To Prisoners still has a couple days left of its current book drive. The Graduate Employees' Organization was in the news for teaming up with organization for that book drive. From the Daily Illini:

The Graduate Employee Organization’s mutual aid society is holding a book drive from Jan. 24 until Feb. 14 to support Urbana-Champaign Books 2 Prisoners, an organization dedicated to providing books to incarcerated individuals in Illinois.

Books 2 Prisoners is an Illinois based project which provides books to incarcerated individuals for free via mail and county jail libraries...

Drop off locations include the Orchard Downs main office, GEO Office, School of Information Sciences at Illinois, IMC and Common Ground Food Coop.

Full article here. Smile Politely had a list of other locations here as well. More information at the CU Books to Prisoners website, including an upcoming Virtual Auction and Raffle.

City of Urbana Updates

This post follows up on last week's Cheat Sheet post on the Urbana City Council introducing a resolution committing the City to ending structural racism and achieving equity, an overview of the City meetings, and some other Urbana news updates. At this week's regular City Council meeting (agenda, video) they approved that resolution with some minor changes. The From the News-Gazette earlier this week:

The four-page resolution calls out the city for a history of Jim Crow laws, White supremacy, segregation and racial oppression...

Hursey, whose father, Paul Hursey Sr., became the first Black elected official in Urbana in 1964, said she worked with city staff to craft the resolution and research the history.

“The City hereby rejects the institutionalized legacy of racism and white supremacy that is our history and afflicts our community today,” the resolution states.

Full article here. A draft version of the resolution is available here prior to some of the edits made in the amended version as passed. The edits were generally clarifying of the language as opposed to any significant change in the meaning of the resolution itself. The changes were discussed and approved towards the end of the City Council meeting. Alderman Bill Brown read the amended changes for the public record prior to the Council vote (video of that reading here).

Prior to the regular City Council meeting there was a Cunningham Township meeting (agenda, video) Public comments mirrored those in the later Council meeting in demanding more support for action towards ending structural racism and other goals of the resolution. Local candidates in municipal races raised some concerns with current Township office holders in public comments as well. The Supervisor and Assessor gave updates and defended their work. The Township Board also approved a couple resolutions, including one dealing with the Township's collaboration with the Urbana School District for providing emergency housing services.

Beyond the resolution on structural racism there were a few appointments approved as well as a presentation on the Comprehensive Plan and a website for public outreach and input via the Imagine Urbana project (jump to video). Illinois Newsroom had additional coverage of the Imagine Urbana project here.

There was also a short presentation on the same at the Champaign County Community Coalition this month (available at the 1:13 h:m mark of the video here). The only appointment that appeared to have any contention was the FOIA officer, Ross McNeil. Some activists in the public have had concerns and complaints about the City's FOIA process and have demanded more transparency. There was a description of the FOIA process for the city. Alderman Miller was the only no vote on the appointment, which was approved.

Public comments again got a bit heated as recriminations appeared to be coming from online messages and comments from local activists and candidates and City officials on a listserve and other online activities or collaboration. A representative from the Edgar County Watchdogs criticized depictions of them in that correspondence while local activists appeared to distance themselves from accusations of collaboration with that group.

Other Urbana Updates:

Raised in the City Council meeting, although without wanting to call it an "outbreak" per se, it was noted that Public Works was experiencing delays due to positive tests and quarantined staff. From WCIA earlier this week:

You may need to give yourself some extra time while driving this week. Public works departments are working to clean up snow on the roads, but one city is facing some challenges.

The Urbana Public Works Department had to send about half their staff home because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

“We can continue to get the work done, just not quite as fast as we typically could,” Urbana Public Works Department’s Vince Gustafson said.

Full article here.

FirstFollowers Reentry program will be going to the Urbana City Council next week looking for additional support similar to their collaboration with the City of Champaign. From WCIA:

FirstFollowers’ re-entry program helps formerly incarcerated people smoothly transition back into their communities...

Right now, there is only funding for the program in Champaign. Next week, the group will ask Urbana City Council for the same support, so they can help individuals in both areas.

Full blurb and video segment here. More at the FirstFollowers website here.

The Urbana Farm to School project was also in the news. From WICS:

There's a new Farm to School project in the Urbana School District and officials want the community to weigh in.

The project aims to bring agriculture education opportunities and fresh, locally grown foods to Urbana schools.

Those coordinating the project want to help tailor it to the needs of students and staff in the district.

More information at the full article here. Smile Politely also had some additional links and coverage in a blurb here, including highlighting opportunities for public input:

Those wishing to provide input can do so via survey, or by emailing cufarmtoschool@gmail.com. Parents and students who would like to be a part of the steering committee can reach out via email as well. 

For bird watchers and budding scientists, the Urbana Park District is hoping some Urbana residents will help them in their bird counting this weekend. From Smile Politely:

February 12-15 is the national Great Backyard Bird Count, and Urbana Park District is encouraging you to check out the birds right outside your window, and add your observations to the conversations. From the website: "Simply watch birds for 15 minutes or more, at least once over the four days, February 12-15, 2021, and tell us what you see!"

Full blurb here. More from the Great Backyard Bird Count website here. Urbana Park District's information page here. Excerpt:

You can be a citizen scientist from the comfort of your own home! By counting birds you see from your windows or in your yard, you will help scientists collect important real-time information... 

Share photos of your sightings with the Anita Purves Nature Center and Urbana Park District on social media!

City of Champaign and Police Reform

[UPDATE 2/12 @5:02pm: next Tuesday's February 16th Study Session report is now available on the rise in gun violence with local data and community programs and efforts to address the problem. Agenda is available here. The Study Session report is available here.]

Following up on last week's Cheat Sheet post on the Champaign City Council that also previewed this week's police reform study session (report, video, and topic-specific public comments link). This post has news and additional coverage from that study session as well as some related news. From WICS coverage:

The department has spent much of the last year communicating with the public through discussions and listening sessions about how the roles of police departments should change in the future.

During the listening sessions, Champaign Police said they heard a lot about the role that law enforcement should play, as well as the trust and training involved when it comes to becoming a police officer.

Community members also pushed for better education of officers and transparency from the department.

That full article here. The Study Session report includes a lot of additional information about the local historical context and documentation from the public input events. Last week's Cheat Sheet post had highlights with page numbers. Members of the public and the Council often referred to Dr. Travis L. Dixon's participation and final report (on page 21, Attachment A) during Study Session meeting itself. Dr. Dixon summarized some common concerns and discussions. As an example:

Several community members used common slogans such as “defund the police.” Once we drilled down on exactly what this meant, several community members advocated for police NOT being the first responders for a number of calls. These calls include issues dealing with mental illness, domestic violence, and homelessness. Instead, community members called for the allocation of funds to social workers or other specialists who are trained to intervene in such issues. In terms of the specific reform suggested, police would be present only as a back-up in case the call became violent or dangerous.

He went on to note pilot programs locally and elsewhere in the United States towards those concerns:

Both the city of Urbana and the U. of Illinois police department are developing pilot programs which attempt to institute similar approaches to these calls. In addition, a number of programs have been instituted in other municipalities that might serve as a model for this. These include: Cahoots in Eugene, Oregon (https://whitebirdclinic.org/what-is-cahoots/) and PERT in San Diego, CA (http://www.comresearch.org/pert.php). I would strongly encourage city leadership consider implementing something along these lines in the City of Champaign.

More in the full report here, with Dr. Dixon's report beginning on page 21. The News-Gazette had more coverage here. Excerpt:

After holding listening sessions and study circles last year on policing, Champaign police Chief Anthony Cobb laid out a plan Monday for the city council that would see the addition of community-service officers and a collaboration with Urbana police on its One Door pilot program for emergency mental-crisis calls...

And Cobb said the community-service officers would be civilian employees who coordinate with patrol officers to respond to “non-criminal, nonviolent maintenance and quality-of-life calls.”

Several council members said they liked the One Door program and the idea of community-service officers but suggested avoiding “officer” in the title and wanted more clarification on how they would operate.

Full article available here. Public comments and Council comments also went further to suggest there be more options looked into for social workers and access to services before law enforcement contact in situations where their role may not be ideal. There were discussions about how the response system, including METCAD, might be adapted to dispatch the appropriate services matched to the situation (e.g. a social worker as opposed to a squad car for certain wellness checks).

There were also concerns raised about waiting on other programs, such as the City of Urbana One Door pilot program as opposed to being proactive in Champaign towards reforms. Discussions got into the weeds on current training and the limits of training (timing and results), metrics to measure success, and various escalation scenarios.

There were two public comments sections, one that was topic-specific of the Study Session here, and one that was open to general comments here. In the first section there were several local activists as well as the Chair's of the City's Human Relations Committee and the new Chair of that body's Citizen Review Subcommittee for police complaints (latest updates on their meetings on the Cheat Sheet here). President of the local NAACP branch, Minnie Pearson also spoke positively of the "work in progress" towards police reform locally while reiterating some serious concerns, such as protection of children in custody after a disturbing incident in national news.

The meeting stayed overwhelmingly civil in spite of some serious and passionate disagreements on the subject. There was a moment where the meeting went a bit off the rails (jump to video) as Deputy Mayor Tom Bruno explained the complications in a way that even he described as disparate. The examples ranged from communist East Germany, a pretextual stop of a prostitute on a bicycle without a bell, to the effectiveness of the extremely controversial "stop and frisk" program.

Reactions ranged from bewildered and laughing members on the Zoom camera to a pointed criticism by council member Fourman. She noted that the data for the "stop and frisk" program revealed that it wasn't effective for addressing crime or criminal behavior, but extremely effective in pitting police against vulnerable communities.

Related News:

In yesterday's Champaign County Community Coalition meeting (agendas, video), CPD Chief Cobb noted that there has been a bit of a reshuffling of the leadership staff in the wake of 's retirement (WCIA coverage on that here). The CPD's organizational chart is available here (from the police divisions page) and staff page here (with some updates still pending).

The Community Coalition facilitator, Tracy Parsons, also noted that next week the City of Champaign would be getting updates on various programs and initiatives addressing local violence. He invited community members to attend. He said it would be dealing with community violence, C-U Trauma and Resilience Initiative, Community Violence Response Task Force, and reentry programs.

[UPDATE: next Tuesday's February 16th Study Session report is now available on the rise in gun violence with local data and community programs and efforts to address the problem. Agenda is available here. The Study Session report is available here.]