City of Champaign Updates: Heading Into Fall

[Update 9/29/2023: this week's Goal Setting Study Sessions were held at the City View room of the new Illinois Terminal. The staff report itself lists the status of key projects starting on page along with a lot of additional information. I still have not found videos posted of the meetings held on 9/27 and 9/28, however. Meeting minutes with a brief overview of both meetings are available here.] 

There weren't very many Cheat Sheet updates over this summer, but as we head into fall I'll be posting some round ups on what happened and what's coming up at various local government bodies. In Champaign the news revolved around budgets (including funding for a "Premiere Surveillance Platform" fan), redistricting, and ongoing efforts to thwart gun violence.  

The City of Champaign is still in their redistricting process (with a few of the proposed maps still being considered available - pages 8-19 of the PDF). The News-Gazette had an article explaining the 7 proposed maps (at the time) and the reasons for the redistricting due to updated Census information. The Daily Illini had some coverage back in July explaining the process, public engagement via the new Engage Champaign website and more here.

The Engage Champaign website has a page specifically on redistricting with links to the proposed maps (narrowed down to five being considered by the Council at the bottom of the page). There's also a variety of explanations on the why, how, and tentative timeline for redistricting. It includes contact information for technical questions (e.g. City Attorney) and more.

There was a recent update on the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint (Study Session Report here, Study Session meeting video here). The local news coverage appeared to focus on some frustration on the part of City Council members with Unit 4. From the News-Gazette last week:

The school district was one of multiple organizations funded by the city through the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint to carry out various programs aimed at addressing the root causes of gun violence and supporting impacted families of victims.

But the district spent none of the $526,620 it was awarded for year one tasks, according to a lengthy outside evaluation report to the city council.

The school district was on track to receive more than $1 million over two years, but the extent of its upcoming participation and how much funding it will receive for year two have yet to be determined, according to city Community Development Manager Jorge Elvir.

That full article here. The Superintendent of Unit 4 was quoted in a News-Gazette article today (on adding metal detectors to middle schools) responding to the criticism:

Boozer said the district’s decision not to use the city funding it was granted access to was based entirely on not having the “proper personnel” in place to execute a multipronged plan that included launching Saturday school in neighborhoods impacted by gun violence and a “Parent Academy/Parent University” aimed at reaching 100-plus parents and families from historically marginalized populations.

Boozer drew a comparison to the city not having enough officers on staff to continue the district’s school resource officer program, leading Unit 4 to hire an in-house director of security and safety and bring in an outside firm.

“It’s my sincere hope that the outrage and disappointment that some of our community members have aimed at this school district will be properly directed to the root cause of violence that continues to plague our community,” Boozer said. “We’re not the center of it, but we’re trying to do our part.”

That full article here. There will be a follow up Cheat Sheet post specifically on local and area gun violence coming soon. The concerns about gun violence and schools is likely only to get more pointed with the recent news, e.g. from WCIA, that five youths were recently arrested related to a shooting near a local school. One 11 year old child was found with two guns, ammunition, and magazines, including a 50 round drum magazine in his backpack. News-Gazette front page picture and caption today:

Below are more City of Champaign government and other local news updates. Down the list you'll find coverage of various city budget items, including the surveillance van coverage.

Other City of Champaign Government News: 

• The News-Gazette reported that the search has begun for a replacement Champaign Fire Department Chief after Chief Gary Ludwig's abrupt resignation 2 months ago.
  
  
• The City of Champaign Township had updates on its Strides low-barrier shelter in the 8/4 News-Gazette (e-edition link appears broken): 
  
  
  
• The News-Gazette had coverage of the 8/1 City Council meeting, along with some announcements on why there'd be fewer meetings due to a lack of agenda items in August.
  
  
• There was some speculation back in July on "The Yards" project possibly getting new life with new investors, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• The News-Gazette also noted that the City Council passed funding for new police camera systems (explained in this article previewing the vote here) in its 7/14 eEdition "Meeting Minutes" section. The link doesn't appear to be working, but it stated that the item "passed unanimously, without council comment" along with approving FEMA grant funding for firefighting equipment and modifying the local human rights ordinance to match State law on pregnancy protections.
  
  
• Coverage of the June 20th City Council meeting in the News-Gazette included the passage of the City budget and the approval of a new surveillance van. The van was described as a "Multi-Purpose Vehicle" in the agenda, but also as "Premier Surveillance Platform" with a Command Center and Tech Center in the manufacturer's specifications. Those specifications are available on the Cheat Sheet twitter page here. There was also a bonus for the City Manager as part of the resolution on updating City employee salaries.
  
  
• Last month the Daily Illini highlighted the fact that residents can apply to be part of the hiring process for local Champaign Police officers.

Other City of Champaign News:

• New work with the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail at Skelton Park, according to WAND. Additional information at WAND here and the Heritage Trail website here.
  
  
• Last month the Champaign Park District highlighted upgrades to the Douglass Park basketball courts. From the News-Gazette. There were other Douglass Park upgrades approved back in June as well.
  
  
• Community effort to take on reckless driving in Champaign, from the News-Gazette.