June Local Government Updates

[Update 6/11/2026 at 8:17am: The Alternative Response Task Force meeting today (6/11) was canceled and rescheduled for June 25, 2026 at 3:30pm (see notice here). It's listed as a "Focus Group Session" and will likely be scheduled at the IMC again.

There were also delays and movement on a couple of the Urbana City Council items mentioned when this report was written last week. The UPD engagement center at Sunnycrest was approved, and the apartment development in the West Urbana neighborhood was postponed until next month.]

There is a separate post highlighting some of the local Juneteenth events, as well as some other event information for June and in general here. 

Issue highlights:

Gun Violence: There have been numerous incidents of gun violence in recent weeks. The Police Chief Updates at the June 10th Community Coalition meeting will likely be the best source for more general updates. That meeting starts at 3:30pm, but will also be available online as early as the next day at this link.

Homelessness: Both the City of Champaign and the CSPH (Champaign County Continuum of Service Providers to the Homeless, operating out of the Regional Planning Commission) are developing strategic plans on the issue. The CSPH process involves the national consulting firm Homebase and is working towards “a community-wide plan to achieve functional zero homelessness by 2028.” 

A draft version of the City of Champaign’s Homelessness Prevention Blueprint was included in the Study Session report on May 26th (starting on page 32 of the report here). The City’s planning already includes a proposal for a new “homelessness and community services manager” position. The position and its duties are expected to evolve, with decisions on permanently funding the position after the initial three years. I’d expect the final vote(s) on the finalized blueprint to happen with the Fiscal Year 2026/27 budget votes this July.

Aging Care: There will be a public hearing on an application by Advocates for Aging Care for 120-licensed skilled nursing beds, as part of its efforts to address the local need. The hearing will be held at the Savoy City Council Board Room (611 N. Dunlap) on Tuesday, June 9th from 1:00-4:00 pm. Those wishing to submit a letter of support must submit them no later than June 20th. AAC's flyer is information, regardless of your views on the topic (click to enlarge):

Champaign County Health Care Consumers has a lot of additional information on the project being proposed and discussed at this Public Hearing here. 

Municipal and other Local Government:

City of Champaign: See the highlight on the homelessness blueprint above. There is additional information on the homelessness blueprint and public input efforts at the Engage Champaign website here. The C-U Reparations Coalition will be attending city council meetings in both Champaign (6/16) and Urbana (6/15) this month. They will be pushing for the cities to support establishing and funding a Champaign County Reparations Commission for African Americans. Like many modern reparations movements, the efforts are aimed at education and addressing harms that are often far more local and recent in nature.

There were positive updates, both organizational and financial with the City of Champaign Township and the Strides Center earlier this week (that video presentation is available here). The Council also recognized Gun Violence Prevention Week with a proclamation highlighting local organizations and organizers attempting to implement the gun violence prevention blueprint.

City of Urbana: Chaundra Bishop has passed away. Last month’s report noted that she had resigned for health reasons related to her extended battle with cancer.

There will be a vote at the next City Council meeting for the final approval of 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).

There has been a controversy about a possible apartment complex project in a West Urbana neighborhood. Smile Politely has had a couple articles on it, including one that took a stance in favor of supporting the project and another opposed. Local officials like Danielle Chynoweth have come out publicly in favor of the project as a necessary step towards addressing the general housing shortage and its impact on affordable housing as well. Alderman Christopher Evans has posted a four part opposition on social media (example from Smile Politely comments on facebook here: part 1 of 4).

The next stakeholders session of the Alternative Response Task Force will be June 11th at the IMC from 3:30 to 5pm.

MTD: Last month’s report pointed out that the C-U MTD board will redo its annexation votes for areas that would allow a link for local bus routes to Carle at the Fields in Southwest Champaign. There appears to have been 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 will be new Annexation Public Hearing on Monday, June 22nd at 5pm, held at Curtis Road Church of God in Champaign

Unit 4 Updates for 2025 So Far

The last few months of Unit 4 School Board meetings have continued to be contentious with a great deal of frustrations aired on process and personalities. This was especially pronounced through the local elections where five seats were being filled (three seats for a four-year term, and two seats for a two-year term). Three of the current board members, including President Baker, were not running for re-election. 

Two seats were already set for an election due to being vacancy appointments, including Mark Holm's (who was running as an incumbent). Sam Bank's seat was vacant and unfilled since his resignation 12/15/2024. WCIA had coverage of his resignation here. The News-Gazette also had an article on the three recent Unit 4 resignations here.

The News-Gazette has local election results here. This post begins with a couple general highlights so far in 2025 and then some brief highlights and related news coverage links for the meetings thus far.

Approval of the Agenda

One of the changes for Board of Education meetings heading into 2025 was the removal of the "Approval of Agenda" from the meeting agendas. This resulted in an extended back and forth about whether the Board was adhering to Robert's Rules. This occurred at the beginning of the 1/27 meeting. Statements from the former Board parliamentarian Vazquez, Board President in her dual role as Board President and Parliamentarian, argued that the Board wasn't required to have it and that it had to be removed to avoid arguments like they were having now. Members Armstrong and Holder took issue with the removal, at least without a more formal statement that Board was suspending the use of Robert's Rules.

The discussion ended with the understanding that the Board is not required to follow Robert's Rules and the President has the ultimate authority per the Board's Policy's to suspend Robert's Rules:

Rules of Order

Unless State law or Board-adopted rules apply, the Board President, as the presiding officer, may use the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, as a guide when a question arises concerning procedure.

The Board President, or a majority of the Board may suspend use of Robert's Rules at any time.

This appeared to satisfy the initial question of whether Robert's Rules was being suspended in the affirmative. It may lead to more questions about whether that suspension was permanent for all meetings going forward as the "Approval of the Agenda" has not been on any agenda since. This will likely be addressed by the new board when it is seated after the election is certified.

Sam Banks Vacancy Appointment:

There was a bit of process towards a possible appointment for the vacancy created by Sam Banks, including public candidate interviews for Joseph Abrisz, Q’keomi Clemmons, and Kelly Ransom. WCIA had coverage of the candidate interviews here. The News-Gazette also covered the deadlock on the Board to move forward with the appointment process from there. 

The process of the appointment would normally go to the Regional Board, but according to the Regional Superintendent the upcoming election made the appointment such a short term prospect, that he viewed it as more disruptive than simply waiting for the election results. None of the applicants interviewed for the vacancy appointment ran in the recent election.

2025 Meeting Highlights through March:

As of this posting, there are meeting minutes available for all of the Board of Education meetings through the end of February 2025. Other meeting highlights so far this year (all agendas and meeting documents are available here on BoardDocs):

March

3/24 meeting (video) had appointments for the assistant principals at Central HS. The News-Gazette had coverage of that here. There was a long presentation on the English language curriculum for grades 6-12 (following up on previous curriculum for earlier grades). This will be voted on at the next Board meeting. President Baker took the opportunity to comment about her experiences on the Board and airing a long list of grievances against a couple other board members.

3/10 meeting (video) included the approval of a "Special Education Student Settlement Agreement," although there didn't appear to be any public details on this yet. There were a number of public and board comments related to the upcoming election, support for the Superintendent and accusations against Amy Armstrong and Betsy Holder.

February

2/24 meeting (video) included the appointment of the new principal at Central High School. The News-gazette had coverage of that moment and some of the remarks by Dr. Montia Gardner which included her family history and struggles. Public comments were related to the election again and included two candidates for Unit 4 Board of Education seats: Al Molina and Tony Bruno. President Baker noted the decision by the Regional Superintendent not to attempt a short term appointment process with an election coming up to fill the vacancy and most of the other seats in a few weeks. 

2/10 meeting (video) included an appointment for the district's Special Education Administrator: Jacquelyn Teague. WCIA had coverage of that appointment here. A couple of the public comments raised concerns of an appointment prior to the Special Education audit that may have recommendations on what roles this new position should take on.

At this meeting, the board also appointed a Campus Level Administrator for the International Prep Academy and renewed the American Institute for Research Contract which comes with State funding.

2/3 meeting (video) mentioned above included Board vacancy applicant interviews, with a deadlock on selecting one for a short term appointment prior to the upcoming election.

January

1/27 meeting (video) mentioned above included the dispute over the removal of "Approval of the Agenda" from the meeting agendas starting this year. Public participation included support for the Superintendent and concerns about immigration raids on school grounds.

There were reports on the fiscal year 2023-2024 audit by the outside auditor Baker Tilly (full report here, financial report, with a helpful overview on pages 4-7 of the PDF, here) as well as a presentation overview of the district's capital and maintenance plans and a chart of its needs list.

Starting on page three of the meeting minutes, there is a helpful overview of some of the other agenda items voted on at this meeting, including the Centennial softball field renovations, the demolition of a district owned house near Franklin, and a couple items related to the 2024-25 ISBE Discipline Improvement Plan. The News-Gazette had coverage on a couple of these items here. WCIA had some background on a Title IX (discrimination) complaint related to the softball field renovations.

Board communications rehashed some of the discussions and disagreements about the use and disuse of Roberts Rules. The Superintendent expressed frustration at the amount of questions and requests from board members and concerns about "gotcha" questions. She openly asked whether a couple board members were trying to run her out of the district. An extended discussion among board members and various arguments ensued. The News-Gazette highlighted some of the back and forth in its coverage of the meeting here.

1/13 meeting (video) was the first meeting without an Approval of the Agenda item on the agenda. There was a discussion by the board on selecting a process to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Sam Banks. The board was split on whether a short term appointment was the best option with the upcoming elections. They agreed to a timeline and process, including public interviews of applicants. The News-Gazette had coverage of that portion of the meeting here. WCIA had a shorter blurb here.

There was a discussion of capital and maintenance plans prior to approving projects on the agenda. The conversation led to an agreement for a presentation and vote on the projects afterward at the next meeting, although not before an extended bit of arguing on motivations and intentions for the delay. The News-Gazette had coverage on that delay here.

There was also a lot of discussion and clarifications prior to votes related to the district's legal bills passing unanimously. 

Unit 4 Updates and SpEd Audit

This post covers the latest news on the district's upcoming Special Education audit and the settlement agreement that led to it. It also looks at some of the controversies on how we got here. Tonight's Board of Education meeting also includes an item to discuss reorganization again. That and other updates are discussed below.

 

SpEd Audit:

The biggest news out of Unit 4 this month was the Special Education (SpEd) Audit Agreement being approved by the board. WCIA had coverage earlier this month at the August 20th special meeting:

After a settlement, the Champaign School District will undergo an audit of their special education programs.

The audit will be done by Dan Cates, a former superintendent with expertise on special education, with oversight from attorney Neil Takkif.

The Board of Education approved of its authorization at their special meeting Tuesday night, with four members voting for the settlement including the audit and three members abstaining.

Julie Duvall, the CU Autism Network executive director, said the district needs to be transparent and able to handle tough conversations in order to improve their special education programs. She also said SPED students and their families should be able to weigh in on the audit and eventually see the final results.

That full article and video segment here. Some key details of the audit are now publicly available on the district's website in tonight's school board agenda packet:

The audit shall specifically address the following areas for the school year of 2023-24 and first semester of the 2024-25:

a. Continuum of special education placement options and appropriate determinations of LRE for students, including provision of supplementary aids, curriculum, and services to ensure ability to participate in regular education to the extent practicable;

b. Special education programming compliance with age range requirements and class size requirements;

c. Adequacy of special education transportation and supervision, including means of transportation and average travel times for students, and student safety;

d. Special education personnel staff development;

e. Special education personnel substitute qualifications and training;

f. Related services adequacy;

g. Facilities adequacy for special education programming;

h. Special education records maintenance and information confidentiality compliance;

i. Coordination with private providers for special education students;

j. Administrative oversight of special education best practices;

k. Hiring policies, practices, procedures, and training for special education personnel,

l. Parent communication and coordination of special education services, and

m. District Title I spending plan

Dr. Cates shall submit an initial report by March 1, 2025, but that final completion of the audit may extend as Dr. Cates finds appropriate to complete the full scope of the audit. At the conclusion of the audit, Dr. Cates will publish a public report on best practice findings and recommendations and will provide the public with a presentation on these findings at a board meeting. The District has permission to facilitate a dedicated webpage of Dr. Cates’ findings.

Dr. Cates shall review the implementation of recommendations within two years of his final report and will produce a written document and public report regarding the District’s implementation of final audit recommendations or lack thereof.

This is from "Exhibit A" (starting on page 7 of the PDF file) of the Cate's agreement executing part of the settlement approved last month by the Board of Education. 

Previously, there have been some prolonged fights over board agendas revolving around items and "agreements" being added that appeared to be in conflict with the actual settlement terms. For example, if one compares this to the bizarre "agreement" from last month, one can now see that it did not reflect the full scope of the settlement terms.

In hindsight, with more of the details of the actual agreement public and confirmed, it raises serious questions about why incomplete and apparently erroneous executing agreements kept being put on the agenda... for a settlement that was still in the process of being approved.

My questions to the board leadership, district, and administrators involved in the process went unanswered. It is unclear if there is a reasonable explanation for what might be charitably seen as "bad optics," or if this indicates a more deliberate attempt to torpedo the settlement agreement during the process. 

I also received no response about growing public concerns that the district's legal team is being weaponized for factional or political ends. This is a concern that predates these public facing documents and board actions with the settlement agreement, including by one of the board members themselves.

Details of the public portions of the final agreement were difficult to find until this month. While the settlement agreement has been approved, the individual contracts related to it still have to be approved. Prior to this, almost everything occurred within closed "Executive Session" portions of school board meetings. Board member Betsy Holder explained her view of the agreement and when the public portions of that agreement will become available:

In a somewhat unprecedented settlement situation, a family in the community sacrificed their own personal and monetary settlement interests on behalf of their child in exchange for the terms of this audit moving for district wide change to help the entire SPED community. I am cautiously optimistic that this is the start of a path moving forward. This is not a forward facing document, but once it is executed it will be available via FOIA. It will govern the terms of the contracts with Dr. Cates and Neil Takiff.

This is a comment from a public social media post and a generally positive review of the board's actions and behavior at the previous special meeting. Social media posts and friends of the family have appeared to confirm that the family at the heart of this complaint and settlement was board member Amy Armstrong. It's not clear why other board members (Baker and Vazquez) abstained from voting for or against the settlement too. 

It passed 4-0-3 (for / against / abstentions) with the support of Bruce Brown. who had generally been aligned with Baker and Vazquez on other contentious issues before the board lately.

Reorganization Discussion:

During the controversy of how new members would be appointed to the Board of Education in light of two resignations, there was talk amongst board members about reorganization after the appointment process played out. This was complicated at the time by the fact that one of the resignations was by the board vice president Jamar Brown. A previous Cheat Sheet covered some of the controversy about elected a new vice president prior to having a full board to vote on the issue. The News-Gazette had an article about the walk-outs and quorum denying tactics surrounding the issue at the time.

Eventually the Board voted to make board member and board parliamentarian Heather Vazquez also the Vice-President of the board. 

More recent discussions about board reorganization have also been heated, with the Board President and Vice President accusing a newly appointed member of attempting a takeover, with designs on becoming the new Board president himself. Other arguments have revolved around whether reorganization was part of the detente that ensured a quorum and the vote for Vice-President while the board was still dealing with two vacancies earlier in the year.

Those recent discussions mostly took place at the contentious August 12th Board meeting around the 1:28 mark (agenda packets available here, video here). Banks, for his part denied any desire to become the president and explained that he felt misrepresented. A distinction was made between the president, who had been voted on by a previous full board and the decisions made about other board officers during vacancies. 

There have been arguments about whether the law and district policy allow for reorganization. I can't speak on the merits of the legal arguments, but others have noted other similar scenarios throughout the state over the years. It may come down to how a majority of the board decides to proceed and then whether anyone chooses to take the disagreement to court. I'll leave it to the reader and the lawyers to draft their own opinions and legal interpretations, however.

July Meeting:

The News-Gazette coverage had some brief highlights of the July meeting here. The censure drafted by the President and district lawyers appears to have been dropped from the agenda (and I haven't heard it raised again since). 

The July meeting (video here) began with a discussion and debate about the agenda as well, also revolving around disagreement on reorganization. The board began Executive (closed) session without approving the agenda (having failed the initial vote). This did not make any sense to me at the time, as going into Executive Session is an item to be carried out on the agenda itself.  The board came out of closed session and immediately returned back to approving the agenda.

The second agenda discussion added to confusion about whether they were passing an agenda as amended by the president (although there did not appear to be a motion or vote to amend it first). The removed item was 6. E. the appointment of a parliamentarian alone (as opposed to a broader reorganization of the board officers). The board then returned to Executive (closed) session after resolving the agenda issue. 

The public portion of the Board of Education meeting finally began at 6:42pm and adjourned at 8:37pm. The News-Gazette overview mentioned above was concise about the arguments raised during this meeting. The discussion about a "risk management committee" began around the 1:19 mark of the video and went on for about 40 minutes. President baker was opposed to the idea, while member Banks assured this was about ensuring the Board of Education has the information it needs and that there's nothing "nefarious" about the proposal.

Board communications began with a statement by Heather Vazquez admonishing people to not simply refer to board members by their surname, e.g. Baker as opposed to Dr. Baker. Communications got heated again towards the end after member Holder took issue with her husband being brought into the board's disagreements. She accused some of trying to interfere with her livelihood and work clients.

There was a brief special meeting earlier in July that was just to confirm recent hires in a timely manner. This is pretty common for school districts that generally only have one regular meeting in July (as opposed to two during school semesters). Agenda packets can be found on the district's website here.

Other Unit 4 Related News:

• A critical perspective on BTW after the previous school administrators were removed by the district, from the News-Gazette. There was also an update on the litigation by the former Assistant Principal Rebecca Ramey here.
  
  
• The board president wrote another column on navigating school board policy in the News-Gazette. Board member Bruce Brown wrote an opinion piece hoping the board could focus on the needs of the district and students. A Unit 4 graduate and now Unit 4 parent wrote an opinion piece calling for reorganization.
  
  
• There was an article in the News-Gazette explaining the growing costs of MTD bus service for the district.
  
  
• Tonight's meeting will also have a presentation on the the Affirmative Action / Equal Employment Opportunity audit on diversity and hiring goals within the district. The report showed positive gains in diverse employment goals by the district and is available here. There were other hiring updates in the news last month here and here.
  
  
• There was a general update in the News-Gazette on area Student Resource Officer collaborations between police departments and school districts, including cost figures for Unit 4.
  
  
• A former Unit 4 Board of Education member was caught up in the arrests of campus protesters. There were several arrests over the summer related to the protests that occurred on the University of Illinois campus during the Spring 2024 semester. Updates on those charges and concerns about the "mob action" law being used is available on the County Cheat Sheet page here.
  
  
• A 13 year old student appears to have been charged with the recent threats to district schools, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• There appeared to be some ongoing delays with late registration according to WCIA.
  
  

Urbana City Council Updates

Looking forward to next year's municipal elections, Mayor Marlin will not be running for a 3rd term according to Illinois Public Media. This post, however, is more of a round up about current business before the board and recent news coverage. It's been a while since our last City of Urbana Updates earlier this year.

The Daily Illini has a had a great deal of meeting coverage on what we've missed (agendas, minutes, and video links available here on the city website):

• March 18th City Council Meeting: Coverage of the compromise ceasefire resolution, public comment, and text.
  
  
• March 25th City Council Meeting: Included debates about plastic bags and potential taxes on their use at stores.
  
  
• Tuesday April 9th Cunningham Township Annual Meeting: which included its own referendum, including one on the Gaza conflict.
  
  
• May 27th City Council Meeting: Coverage of the City's financial plan and discussion of the role of social services in it. More on this meeting's dispute on appointments was covered in the News-Gazette and highlighted later in this post below.
  
  
• June 3rd and June 4th Committee of the Whole Meeting. The most recent City Council meeting was a Committee of the Whole meeting that was overwhelmed by public opinion on police hiring and alternative responder model issues. The meeting was continued the next day after it had initially gone on for a few hours. The first day of the meeting made it through item F. 6. (the police staffing presentation) before it was recessed. More coverage on those issues later in this post below.

Redistricting:

As with other local government bodies, the latest Census information has led to a new proposed ward map for the Urbana City Council as well. From Illinois Public Media:

Starting with the spring 2025 municipal elections, the new map will set boundaries for the next decade for the seven wards represented by the seven aldermen and alderwomen on the Urbana City Council...

The Census lowered Urbana’s population count from 41,250 in 2010 to 38,336 in the new Census, a population drop of about seven percent. Marlin says the decrease in population translates into a roughly $750,000 decrease in state and federal tax revenues coming to the city every year.

Marlin says the lower census count is not due to an actual decrease in Urbana’s population, but to a pandemic undercount of University of Illinois students. She argues that this is evident in the census data, which shows the greatest population losses in and around the University of Illinois campus. Students dominate the population in that area, and many of them went off campus during the time the census was taken, because it was also the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

That full article here. The City's web page for the ward map details is here.

Police Budgets:

One of the more hotly contested aspects of the budget has to do with the City's long term plans with policing, crisis intervention, and alternative approaches to police calls for certain situations. Previous consulting recommendations focused primarily on more traditional staffing needs for the Urbana Police Department. From Illinois Public Media:

The national consultant hired by the city of Urbana has released its first report evaluating the police department. In this report, BerryDunn, a national consulting firm, recommends hiring more police officers, which would cost the city millions and involve raising taxes. 

According to the report, more than 64% of calls for service don’t involve criminal activity. Those calls, activists argue, don’t need a police response. Instead, many residents want Urbana officials to establish alternative responses for these calls, involving domestic violence experts, social workers and mental health professionals.

That full article is available here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage earlier this month here and a more recent update from last week. Excerpt from that update:

The latest report from a multi-phase review of the city’s public-safety services said the city stands to benefit from developing alternative methods for how its police and fire agencies respond to calls for service.

The “Essential Calls for Service Report” from BerryDunn, a national consulting firm the city hired in 2023, determined that expanding supplements to the Urbana Police Department’s response model — like telephone units, online reporting services and co-response teams — could help free up officers to answer more urgent calls and provide appropriate resources for those in crisis.

The assessment ties into the first phase of BerryDunn’s review, which recommended that Urbana police hire seven sworn officers and six non-sworn community-service responders, a potential 22 percent increase in the agency’s staff levels.

That full article here.

[Update 6/10/2024: The News-Gazette had even more coverage on this issue in today's paper here. It covers last week's City Council meeting and some of the disagreement on the police portion of the budget. Excerpt:

Police department officials presented proposed staffing increases as part of last week’s budget discussions, which started Monday night and continued into the wee hours of Tuesday after the council voted to take a recess due to the late hour.

Boone said he is requesting the following new positions, which are currently included in the city’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025:

• One deputy chief to oversee operations
• One training sergeant
• Three patrol officers
• Two non-sworn community service responders
• One social worker “in support of alternative response models”
• Three community engagement officers]

More Budget Items:

The City of Urbana, unlike the City of Champaign, appears set to absorb the loss of the State grocery sales tax revenue, according to the News-Gazette. The City Council will also be looking at its financial plan, with approval of that plan coming up at their June 24th meeting. Excerpts from the Daily Illini:

According to the proposed budget, investments will be made in public safety and public works, such as 911 services like fire, EMS and police, as well as city infrastructure. Other investments will be used to support the mayor and city council’s strategic goals. 

In addition, the budget proposed a local motor fuel tax rate increase, with all tax revenue to be dedicated to transportation infrastructure improvements.

The budget also proposed investments into research of the connection between the maintenance of housing and community well-being and occasionally crime. Council members also seek to increase funding for nuisance abatement, or the elimination of harmful property conditions.

That full article with a lot more additional information and links here.

Appointment / Reappointment Disputes:

Disputes about appointments continued to plague the Council. People familiar with the Urbana City Council will be very aware of a years long crusade to remove City Manager Carol Mitten from city government by more openly left-wing board members and public commenters. From the News-Gazette Meeting Minutes feature:

Things took a turn for the awkward at this week’s city council meeting after Alderwoman Grace Wilken, as she did in 2022, motioned that Mayor Diane Marlin‘s recommended one-year reappointments be voted on individually and not lumped together.

Chris Evans took it from there, reading from lengthy prepared comments all the reasons he wasn’t supporting the appointments of City Manager Carol Mitten, who was sitting just down the table at the time.

That full article here.

More City of Urbana News:

• Kathy's Mailbag answered a question about ambulance contracts with the City.
  
  
• The News-Gazette had some updates on the fire station projects back in April.
  
  
• Urbana joined other local government bodies in supporting a program to expand flight service out of Willard, according to the Daily Illini back in March.

Unit 4 Updates: Board Appointments

The Regional Office of Education appointed two new members to the Unit 4 Board of Education to fill two vacancies due to resignations. This was after months of disagreements on the process with the remaining board members. The News-Gazette had an overview of the process and the appointed officials last week last week:

The retired CEO of the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club and a local business owner who ran in the last election will fill the two vacant seats on the Champaign school board.

Regional Superintendent Gary Lewis brought an end to a monthslong saga Friday when he announced the selection of Sam Banks and Mark Holm to fill the seats vacated in March by Jamar Brown and Mark Thies.

They’re short-term positions, expiring in April, when the seats currently held by board President Gianina Baker, Heather Vazquez and Bruce Brown will also be on the election ballot.

That full article here (and some previous coverage of the Regional Office's process here and here). Illinois Public Media had similar coverage here and WCIA also had brief coverage on the new appointments.

A lot has happened since our last Unit 4 update in early April. At that time we had a Cheat Sheet post laying out the controversies heading into the local appointment process. That process fell apart as disagreements arose between two board members and a three member majority of the remaining (five of seven) Unit 4 Board of Education members. There was an initial meeting establishing some details of the appointment process, but that fell apart when the remaining process details were decided by the Board President without an additional public meeting of the Board.

The dispute resulted in the minority members using the parliamentary tactic of blocking a quorum to delay the process so that the Regional Office of Education would have to take over the process. From the News-Gazette last month:

The saga that has been the Champaign school board since two members resigned in frustration two weeks apart in March is about to enter a new phase — a do-over in the effort to find replacements for Jamar Brown and Mark Thies.

As was expected and is mandated by state statute, Regional Superintendent of Schools Gary Lewis — not the five remaining members of the Unit 4 board — will assume control of the process starting Monday, which will mark 60 days since Brown stepped away.

That full article here with a lot of additional information on the disputes. Some of the clashes appeared to go beyond process and policy and into the personal. The News-Gazette reported on the Superintendent's correspondence that the disagreements arise from "sheer hate," while others point to her remarks as exemplifying the leadership issues they're taking issues with.

There has been heated debate among local activists, especially many within the local Black community, about the role of white supremacy and racism in the criticisms of the Black women leaders of Unit 4 as Superintendent and the Board of Education president. This has been especially directed at the Unit 4 Families for a Smarter Solution group that formed during the last Unit 4 "Schools of Choice" reorganization proposals. Some local media has viewed the group as having both valid concerns, but also some arguably problematic ones. Another local media outlet has depicted the group as anti-desegregation or anti-equity, which appears to be strongly disputed within the group's facebook page.

There is a local history of school segregation and reactionary politics against reforms and desegregation efforts here, but the degree to which the past is replaying a role in the current situation, I leave to the reader to determine. One can find much agreement, at least in principle, on many of the desegregation and equity goals among the opposing factions (both on the Board and their constituents).

There appears to be a general consensus that the district is facing ongoing and persistent problems that pre-date the current Black leadership of the district, but there is a dispute about how much opposition is reasonable versus a racial double-standard. 

The newly appointed school board members will be sworn in at the next Unit 4 Board of Education meeting on June 10th.

Cell Phones:

The News-Gazette also highlighted various local and area policies on cell phones in schools. It also published a variety of views on the issues and complications involved with setting a cell phone policy in public schools as part of its Meeting Minutes feature. An excerpt from the article from a local Unit 4 parent and activist, Rita Conerly:

As a mom, having my older kids carry a cellphone to school is important to me for several reasons.

Firstly, it provides a means of communication in case of emergencies or unexpected changes in plans. Secondly, it allows me to stay in touch with them throughout the day, ensuring their safety and well-being. Additionally, having a cellphone can facilitate learning by providing access to educational resources.

That full article here. This follows a previous Meeting Minutes article looking at the district cell phone policies last month here.

Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint Funds:

There was a bit of an update last month on the City of Champaign's additional ARPA funding to the school district to collaborate on programs looking to deal with gun violence and its underlying causes from WCCU:

In 2022, Unit 4 was offered over $526,000 through the blueprint to fund their own gun violence prevention programs. But in September of 2023, the City of Champaign shared that the Unit 4 school district turned down the money. Unit 4 at the time said they turned down the money to focus on academic and social emotional support.

That changed shortly after a shooting right next door to Booker T. Washington Elementary School this fall. The shooting left parents asking Unit 4 why they had not taken money for gun violence reduction from the City.

In December of 2023, Unit 4 ended up taking money from the Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint, though for a lesser amount than the original contract. The original contract gave the Unit 4 school district $526,620 to use towards gun violence reduction programs. However, the new proposal with a $91,000 reduction brings the district's new total to $435,000.

That full article here. WCCU had a recent article on ongoing concerns about gun violence near Booker T. Washington school here.

Other Unit 4 News:

• With Champaign Police staffing issues slowly being rectified, Unit 4 has approved a new contract for School Resource Officers for next school year, according to the News-Gazette. 
  
  
• The former principal of Booker T. Washington school, a central figure in recent board divisions and accusations of retaliation by the district administration, is now at Rantoul Schools, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• Three Novak Academy students receive Resilience Scholarship, from the News-Gazette.
  
  
• The News-Gazette also reported on the CU Schools Foundation presenting this year's Mann-Hankel Award.
  
  
• There was a Meeting Minutes feature comparing various graduation costs for local school districts.
  
  
• There was a Kathy's Mailbag question that looked at the evaluation process for the Superintendent of Unit 4. The Board President also had a recent "My Turn" piece in the paper on what the school board does. That article elicited a response from the local NAACP president.
  
  
• There have been a number of concerns about Special Education students, their needs, staff issues, and more at recent Unit 4 school board meetings and in public criticism on social media. WCIA had an overview of these concerns in a recent article here. One of those stories was highlighted in the News-Gazette Guest Commentary last month.
  
  
• Promise Healthcare received grant funding towards establishing a health center in collaboration with Unit 4 schools, according to the Daily Illini back in April.

C-U Gun Violence Updates

This post provides additional information and links about the latest gun violence updates in Champaign-Urbana. It covers more on the recent Unit 4 shooting and its role in the City of Champaign's Violence Reduction Blueprint (following up from the City of Champaign updates here). There are also various updates on the work of the Community Coalition and general gun violence news, information, and updates

For general gun violence updates, the Champaign County Community Coalition typically has a monthly meeting where the local police chiefs give an update on shooting incidents, arrests, and other information. There wasn't a September meeting, so the most recent updates are available from the August 9th meeting (video here, with the police chiefs updates starting just after the 25 minute mark). The News-Gazette had coverage of the meeting and the sit down with the new Urbana Police Chief Larry Boone. Also:

Parkland College police Chief Troy Daniels highlighted recent active shooter training for the department and said that a main focus going forward would be emergency planning and preparedness.

That full article here. The next Community Coalition meeting is scheduled for October 11th at 3pm. You can get agendas or view previous meeting videos at their website here.

A lot of the recent news on local gun violence has revolved around Unit 4's most recent shooting on a grade school campus and its stated inability to use nearly a half million dollars of the City of Champaign's violence reduction funding over the last year.

An overview of the City of Champaign's Violence Reduction Blueprint is available on their website here. There was a Cheat Sheet post highlighting some aspects, coverage and links here. A more detailed and intricate description of the funding requirements through the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) is available in the original City Council Study Session staff report here. It begins explaining some of the restrictions and requirements that come with the federal funding on page 28. Excerpt:

"Because the City is proposing to use federal ARPA funding for these programs, the City will need to enter into a subrecipient agreement with existing partners and additional agencies identified through the RFP process outlining the rules that must be followed. The City will be responsible for monitoring the subrecipient to ensure compliance. For those areas in which responses to RFPs are not received, City staff may need to implement the outstanding components in-house."

That full report here. The City Council's frustration was pointed out in a previous Cheat Sheet post last week with links to local news coverage as well as some preliminary public response from Superintendent Shelia Boozer:

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...

“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 same News-Gazette article also had updates on Unit 4's metal detectors being expanded to middle schools in addition to the two high schools. Excerpt:

The district will implement the same metal detectors that Central and Centennial students, staff and visitors have passed through every morning since January 2022 — Evolv Express’ dual-lane models — at Edison, Franklin and Jefferson middle schools, Unit 4 spokeswoman Stacey Moore confirmed to The News-Gazette on Wednesday.

“A definitive timeline will be shared at a later date,” Moore said.

That full article here. WAND had additional coverage on the Superintendent's response to the City of Champaign City Council criticisms:

She said the district has been using the $32 million of COVID funds to address trauma and violence in their own way.

This includes providing for the lighting project near Garden Hills Academy, and enhancing security cameras throughout all campuses.

"Unit 4 is an educational institution. I just want to remind we are an educational, not a law enforcement agency. Our number one job is to educate the students in our district," said Dr. Boozer.

That full article here.

A lot of the local response to gun violence hopes to address root causes. In that vein, the Champaign County Community Coalition hosted a Black Mental Health & Wellness Conference this past weekend. Illinois Newsroom had coverage here. Excerpt:

About 200 people attended the day-long event. Before the workshops started, guests could learn about resources and programs from representatives at Carle Health, the Unit 4 School District and the Housing Authority of Champaign County. 

Participants had the opportunity to attend four out of eight different workshops throughout the day. Workshops informed participants on a myriad of mental-health-related topics, such as how to recognize racialized trauma, understand mental health, manage grief, build a healthy Black community and utilize community resources. 

That full article here. The Trauma Resilience Initiative and Karen Simms can be found collaborating throughout local government and organizations to addressing the trauma behind and caused by gun violence in the local community. 

The News-Gazette continues to have coverage of firearms entering the black market from area homes and vehicles. Click to enlarge the News-Gazette graphics from those articles:

 

At the end of 2022 the News-Gazette had an article on similar reports on firearms "lost" or stolen that year. There are also older articles showing this persistent trend of legally purchased or owned firearms entering the black market through loss or other crimes (e.g. this one on Urbana lost firearm reports here).

There was an update on the shooting and related charges of Champaign Police Officer Christopher Oberheim, but also the history of the gun used to kill him. The News-Gazette reported how that gun used in that murder entered the black market from a legal dealer through a straw purchase:

[Ashantae Corruthers] pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Hawley on Thursday to conspiracy to defraud the United States by buying and transferring a gun to Darion Lafayette, the 24-year-old man who shot Officer Oberheim on May 19, 2021, and by conspiring with Mr. Lafayette and co-defendant Regina Lewis, 28, of Normal to cover up that purchase and transfer by falsely reporting to Indianapolis police that the gun had been stolen.

Mr. Lafayette, who was fatally shot by Officer Oberheim’s partner, now-retired Officer Jeff Creel, after he fired at and hit both officers, was not legally able to buy a gun because he was a convicted felon.

He persuaded Lewis, his cousin, who also had a felony conviction, to get Corruthers to buy the gun at an Indianapolis gun store, which she did legally in November 2020.

More at that full article here.

More Gun Violence News:

• The Daily Illini covered the annual Security and Fire Safety Report, including campus crime data.
  
  
• C-U Citizen Access had updates on shooting data in both Champaign and Urbana here, with maps, graphs and a lot more information.
  
  
• Latest Champaign Police shooting data with a monthly comparison back to 2020 from the 9/15 News-Gazette Meeting Minutes feature.
  
  
  
  
  
• The City of Champaign City Council had a Study Session with an update on the Violence Reduction Blueprint. The corresponding staff report also had a plethora of shooting data and maps starting on page of 27 of the PDF file here.

UIUC and Parkland Updates

 

On public safety and law enforcement issues on campus and in the area, see the Area Gun Violence Updates Cheat Sheet post on our County page. The UIPD's preparation for arriving students was also mentioned in coverage by WCIA.  

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

The Daily Illini is reporting that there has been a tentative agreement with the University on the contracts for food and building workers on campus. The union's members are currently voting on whether or not to approve the agreement according to its website. The News-Gazette had additional coverage and details here as well as commentary piece from the union side here.

Last month the News-Gazette reported that the "University of Illinois System has pledged to hire 300 new faculty in the next three years." It included some Urbana-Champaign campus specifics:

Meanwhile, UIUC’s student-faculty ratio has climbed. In the fall, instructor-student ratio ticked up to 21 to 1, highest in the Big Ten, according to the universities’ Common Data Sets.

In fall 2011, the UIUC’s faculty-student ratio was 18 to 1. The Illinois budget impasse from July 2015 to August 2017 cost the UI system several hundred million dollars, and faculty hiring lagged. Back in the March 2019 UI trustees meeting, the UI System announced plans to hire 916 tenure-system faculty over the next five years, including 448 new positions. But that was put on hold once the pandemic hit.

Student applications for next fall are moving “steadily in a positive direction,” Killeen said, and officials anticipate enrollment being on par with last year. The Urbana campus received a record 47,593 freshman applications last year.

That full article here.

The News-Gazette also had coverage on the process of replacing the outgoing Provost:

The UI is seeking faculty nominations for the provost search committee that is advising Chancellor Robert Jones. Seven to eight faculty members will consult with Jones as he picks the successor for Andreas Cangellaris, four-year provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs...

After 25 years at the UI, Cangellaris is moving to northwestern Saudi Arabia, where he’ll begin his term as founding president of NEOM U: the flagship university of the country’s $500 billion developing megacity, Neom.

More at the full article here along with some preliminary updates on COVID guidelines. The interim provost was Bill Bernhard according to reporting earlier this month. Quick answers on "what is a provost" available from the Provost's Office website here.

More on COVID guideline updates from WCIA here. WCIA also had some recent campus COVID and Monkeypox updates. As of this article there were no student Monkeypox cases, although there is a high risk level with close quarters living and activities.

Other UIUC Updates:

• Some brief Board of Trustees meeting highlights from the News-Gazette's 7/22 "Meeting Minutes."
• Updates on new deans in the 7/8 "Meeting Minutes" and another article on the retirement of the law school dean of students here.
• The News-Gazette reported earlier this month that "a Pakistani politician and University of Illinois business instructor was arrested last week in his home country on charges of sedition." 
• The 9/22/2022 Board of Trustees meeting here will have information on the "new tenure and promotion process" according to the News-Gazette.
• The News-Gazette also had the UIUC Chancellor's updates on the Health Innovation and Visioning Committee.
• WCIA highlighted the new Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative Pilot Program. More news and links for that program from the University's website here.
• Parking meters will be removed from campus, according to WCIA, in favor of mobile apps and other alternatives.
• A former UIPD officer was sentenced for misconduct related to using police resources to track women he was interested in. The News-Gazette had coverage on that and other allegations of sexual assault earlier this month here.

Parkland College Updates:

The News-Gazette was reporting an increase in enrollment at Parkland after a previous decline last month:

At least part of an enrollment boost may be the result of more finely-tuned marketing Parkland has undertaken to reach prospective students with an interest in Parkland and to communicate better with those students, he said.

Parkland also this past spring continued a freeze on its tuition rate for the 2022-2023 school year starting with the summer semester, which may also have had some effect, according to Ramage.

On top of all that, a struggling economy tends to have a positive impact on enrollment, he said.

That full article here. 

Parkland also distanced itself from a referendum question the Urbana City Council had put on the upcoming ballot. More on that at the Urbana City Council cheat sheet post this month here.

More Parkland Updates:

• The News-Gazette had an interview with Parkland's President who will be retiring at the end of the year.
• WCIA has recently highlighted training and education programs in highway construction, electric vehicles / automotive, and aviation.
• WCCU featured Parkland College as it relates to new state legislation on mental health services on campus.
• More opposition to former Champaign Police Chief R.T. Finney teaching community policing at Parkland college came from President Minnie Pearson of the local Champaign County branch of the NAACP. Recent defenses of Finney came from his wife in a letter to the editor and an interview with the News-Gazette's Jim Dey. There were protests against retaining Finney at Parkland earlier this summer. WCCU's coverage included a general response from Parkland after that protest here.

School Board Updates

 

 

The News-Gazette "Meeting Minutes" feature on 8/12/2022 included a breakdown on substitute teacher pay across local and area districts here. There's already an update to that breakdown for Tuscola CUSD 301. As one of the lowest paying of the districts, it has increased their substitute pay shortly after this article. Last month there was also an overview of area school construction, including a couple Champaign and Urbana updates here.

There was also a News-Gazette article highlighting the 5 year anniversary of the "Evidence Based Funding" legislation to address school funding inequities. It goes into a lot of detail about where it has fallen short, the impact of the pandemic, and where it may have helped.

Champaign / Unit 4:

There was some intergovernmental drama between the City of Champaign and Unit 4 on the feasibility and/or appropriateness of hosting varsity games at Champaign Central High School's McKinley field. From the City of Champaign Cheat Sheet post this month:

Whether or not varsity football games may be played on McKinley Field  appeared to dominate the attention on local government this past month. A lot of the controversy stems from the fact that during the referendum to "keep Central central," promises were made to the neighborhood that the improvements to Central High School wouldn't include such events. The News-Gazette had a lengthy overview of the situation here and some of the arguments being made here.

More on that and City of Champaign updates on the Cheat Sheet here. The Superintendent was also interviewed and discussed the topic with News-Gazette coverage here. 

There was also a general update on Unit 4's 2016 referendum projects and cost overruns in this week's "Kathy's Mailbag" column:

The original budget for the construction projects was approximately $208 million. “With early supply and labor shortages, unforeseen conditions at the various sites, and the decision to build a new International Prep Academy K-5 elementary building, the overall project cost increased to approximately $273 million. Each requested increase to the construction budget was carefully reviewed, and publicly discussed at various committee and board meetings. The recommendations from the Referendum Oversight and Finance Committees were brought to the board for final approval.” [Unit 4 spokesperson Stacey Moore] said Unit 4 was fortunate to be able to issue new bonds “during historically low interest rate periods...

Unit 4 has wrapped up the majority of the 2016 referendum-approved construction projects to upgrade facilities at South Side Elementary, Dr. Howard Elementary, Centennial High School, Edison Middle School, International Prep Academy Elementary and Central High School. In addition, the referendum provided for renovated athletic facilities at McKinley Field, Tommy Stewart Field and Spaulding Field. Moore said the district’s final project to be completed is the new Central North Fields, which will be ready for use in the Spring of 2023. 

More on that and other local topics at that full article here. 

More Unit 4 Updates: 

• The News-Gazette's weekly "Meeting Minutes" feature on 8/19/2022 included an overview of the Affirmative Action / Equal Employment Opportunities report for 2020-21. The full report is available here and the presentation is available in the Board Meeting video here, just after the 29 minute mark (Agenda packet for the 8/8/2022 and other meetings here).
• More Unit 4 board meeting coverage is available from the 8/12 "Meeting Minutes" (subscription eEdition link) with an overview of training, hiring, and other spending issues addressed.
• The 8/5/ "Meeting Minutes" feature included updates on Central High School projects and other referendum project price tags here.
• Updates on the lower cost of the contract with the MTD for bussing due to recent district changes. From the 7/15 "Meeting Minutes."

Urbana / District 116:

The school board member fired over a "spy pen" pleaded guilty after years of legal wrestling with the States' Attorneys office about an appropriate level of remorse or acceptance of guilt. The News-Gazette had a great deal of background information in addition to the lack of jail time for the misdemeanor plea deal. Of all the strange Urbana school district drama this case dips into, there was one additional "spying" part of the story that appeared to be legal, if not shady in its own way:

However, three days before the board meeting, Kevin Erlinger, a district teacher and information technology coordinator who was among those critical of the administration’s hires and Byndom, testified that he found in Byndom’s personal email an order confirmation from a company called “SpyGuy.”

Erlinger testified he found it while installing software updates on district computers and brought it to the attention of a board member rather than his own boss or the superintendent.

That full article here. More on other legal fallout from the district's attempt at diversification and restorative justice methods at this Cheat Sheet post here. That led to a legal settlement according to WCIA.

More Urbana Schools News:

• The News-Gazette's weekly "Meeting Minutes" feature on 8/5 included an overview of the school board meeting. It included some staffing, promotion, and Thomas Paine Elementary maintenance updates. Masks will likely be strongly recommended, but not required "during periods of high [COVID-19] transmission." There were also some updates on vaccination requirements and other COVID related policies.
• School officials hoping for a sense of normalcy after COVID from the News-Gazette.
• WAND had coverage of the further expansion of the CU Farm to School project.