Reminder: 2026 Midterm Elections in Less than 90 Days! For county government updates (including news on indictments, nursing home beds, homelessness strategies, and more) please see our latest Champaign County government updates here.
City of Champaign:
The City of Champaign is working on its own local “Homelessness Prevention Blueprint.” The proposed draft from June is available here starting on page 32 of the PDF. There was also a recent Study Session on Housing Needs Analysis and Strategy, with the final draft of that available here.
There is an ongoing campaign to get City support and funding towards a Champaign County Reparations Commission. This is being led by the Champaign-Urbana Reparations Coalition.
There is also a growing organized opposition to Flock and other AI based surveillance systems in the area, with the City of Champaign’s systems a major focal point. You may have already seen an increase in signage, social media posts, and local articles in opposition to the systems around town.
Illinois Public Media had coverage of the completed improvements in the Garden Hills Neighborhood involving drainage and Hedge Park. Phase 2 of the Neil Street Plaza project will begin soon. The City passed its Fiscal Year 2026/27 budget at the June 16th City Council meeting. The C-U Reparations Committee started what is to be a monthly advocacy for the City to support a reparations commission for Champaign County at that same meeting.
The City Council also extended an additional year of funding for the Strides low-barrier shelter. This is in collaboration with the City of Champaign Township who operates the shelter, but does not have sufficient revenue for those operating costs.
City of Urbana:
The News-Gazette had an overview of the new surveillance approval process approved by the Urbana City Council this week. That article highlighted Councilor Shirese Hursey’s opposition. Her full remarks are available from the meeting video here.
Dr. Stephanie Renae Stewart-Cockrell was appointed to the vacancy in ward 5 at the June 22nd Council meeting. Grace Wilkins announced her upcoming resignation last month. It’s unclear when she will make the decision final. She was at the most recent City Council meeting on August 3rd, in spite of earlier reports that she was likely to step down towards the end of July.
There had been some audio issues with the City Council meetings and there had been an announcement that council, board, and commission meetings would no longer be livestreamed due to those issues. This issue was resolved with a work around by the time this had been reported, however. The city is continuing to livestream the same meetings and recordings are still available a few days after each meeting (usually with some helpful sound adjustments for the quieter parts).
The City Council also extended an additional year of funding for the Strides low-barrier shelter. This is in collaboration with the City of Champaign Township who operates the shelter, but does not have sufficient revenue for those operating costs.
City of Urbana:
The News-Gazette had an overview of the new surveillance approval process approved by the Urbana City Council this week. That article highlighted Councilor Shirese Hursey’s opposition. Her full remarks are available from the meeting video here.
Dr. Stephanie Renae Stewart-Cockrell was appointed to the vacancy in ward 5 at the June 22nd Council meeting. Grace Wilkins announced her upcoming resignation last month. It’s unclear when she will make the decision final. She was at the most recent City Council meeting on August 3rd, in spite of earlier reports that she was likely to step down towards the end of July.
There had been some audio issues with the City Council meetings and there had been an announcement that council, board, and commission meetings would no longer be livestreamed due to those issues. This issue was resolved with a work around by the time this had been reported, however. The city is continuing to livestream the same meetings and recordings are still available a few days after each meeting (usually with some helpful sound adjustments for the quieter parts).
There was a presentation on the proposed Philo Road Ahead Initiative at the June 8th City Council meeting (video link here). C-U Citizen Access had detailed coverage of the initiative and properties at issue.
There was a great deal of coverage, back in June, over a proposed landmark designation of the old Urbana Civic Center and its possible future use as an MTD transfer station. The landmark designation proposal failed, and the MTD appears to be moving forward to apply for federal funding for the transfer station project. A June 17th News-Gazette article had a helpful overview of the issues surrounding the decision and numerous links to related articles and opinion pieces.
The debate over a proposed apartment project in a West Urbana neighborhood had raised concerns about disparities in zoning, planning, and investment. This particular item was pushed to July 13 for further discussion and a vote, which passed. There was a large focus on protecting the “character” of neighborhoods, which has some historically problematic ties to previous segregationist policies and rationalizations locally. An example from a 1939 Champaign County Realtor's ethics guide, for example linked character to maintaining racial and ethnic purity of neighborhoods:
There was a great deal of coverage, back in June, over a proposed landmark designation of the old Urbana Civic Center and its possible future use as an MTD transfer station. The landmark designation proposal failed, and the MTD appears to be moving forward to apply for federal funding for the transfer station project. A June 17th News-Gazette article had a helpful overview of the issues surrounding the decision and numerous links to related articles and opinion pieces.
The debate over a proposed apartment project in a West Urbana neighborhood had raised concerns about disparities in zoning, planning, and investment. This particular item was pushed to July 13 for further discussion and a vote, which passed. There was a large focus on protecting the “character” of neighborhoods, which has some historically problematic ties to previous segregationist policies and rationalizations locally. An example from a 1939 Champaign County Realtor's ethics guide, for example linked character to maintaining racial and ethnic purity of neighborhoods:
The language was softened to a "colorblind" wording after World War II, though the actual policies remained effectively unchanged for decades longer.
There is a very preliminary draft report for the Alternative Response Task Force. It was discussed at the June 25th Stakeholder Meeting. It was noted repeatedly that this preliminary report is still missing several sections expected to be in the final report.
The City Council approved the “community engagement and violence prevention office” at Sunnycrest Mall. The News-Gazette had a brief overview of the concept and the opposition by two Aldermen. There was an Urbana Police presentation at the March 23rd City Council Meeting on the proposed office and team (video of that presentation here).
Other Local Government Updates:
There is a very preliminary draft report for the Alternative Response Task Force. It was discussed at the June 25th Stakeholder Meeting. It was noted repeatedly that this preliminary report is still missing several sections expected to be in the final report.
The City Council approved the “community engagement and violence prevention office” at Sunnycrest Mall. The News-Gazette had a brief overview of the concept and the opposition by two Aldermen. There was an Urbana Police presentation at the March 23rd City Council Meeting on the proposed office and team (video of that presentation here).
Other Local Government Updates:
- METCAD: C-U Citizen Access raised concerns about ambulance response times in Champaign County compared to the Eight-Minute Standard.
- MTD: The C-U MTD board had to redo its annexation vote for areas that would allow a link for local bus routes to Carle at the Fields in Southwest Champaign. There was a technical violation of state law that prohibits meetings on election day (one of the public hearings for the annexation fell on the day of the March primary). There was a new annexation Public Hearing on June 22nd. The board approved the annexation at its June 24th meeting.
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