Champaign Public Library: Board of Trustees

The Cheat Sheet has never been able to cover much news coverage or do meeting write-ups for the area library board of trustees. It has generally been an overwhelming project just to keep up with some of the more prominent municipal and local government bodies in Champaign-Urbana (and at the County level too!) over the years. We've often had to do round up Cheat Sheets highlighting updates over several months to catch up on those! 

With our new collaboration with the League of Women Voters and the NAACP of Champaign County observer project, we will be able to share updates on far more meetings and more regularly.

Natalie Frankenberg is a LWV Observer who has been attending Champaign Public Library Board of Trustee meetings regularly for 15 years as of this month. This post links to those annual reports from April 2019, a two year 2020 and 2021 report, and her most recent multi-year report that covers meetings from April, 2021 through June, 2024.

  

The most recent report includes an explanation of how the Board of Trustees is appointed, its policy role, and other helpful details about when and where it meets. I've had links where appropriate:

The nine-member board meets on the third Wednesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. Since 2018, there is no scheduled meeting in December. Most of the meetings are held at the main library and twice a year they are held at the Douglass Branch. The meetings are open to the public and posted on the events calendar on the library website. All Library Board minutes, policies and annual reports are posted on the CPL website as well. Additionally, beginning in February, 2020, an audio link is included with the minutes on the website. 

Library trustees are volunteers appointed by the Mayor of Champaign and approved by the City Council for staggered terms of three years. Trustees may be reappointed. As of June, 2024, Trustees are Maryka Baraka , Katie Blakeman, Tricia Crowley, Michael Foellmer, Michael LaDue, Charles Lansford, Rajeev Malik, Minnie Pearson, and Chaya Sandler. During the years covered by this report, previous Trustees have been Deb Busey and Craig Rost. Foellmer is the City Council liaison to the Board, a position mandated by the joint governance agreement with the city. At the end of the June, 2024 meeting, Maryka Baraka and Tricia Crowley are retiring. They will be replaced by Daly Andersson and Charlisa Hart. The Board sets policy for the library and appoints the library director, who serves as the library’s chief executive officer.

In March, 2022, Donna Pittman, Library Director announced her pending retirement. The Board voted to move forward with an internal search first. In May, 2022, Brittany Michaels was selected as the new Library Director... 

The Board has representation, and acts as liaison, to the Champaign Public Library Foundation, Friends of the Champaign Public Library, and Douglass Branch Advisory Committee. Due to difficulty in obtaining a quorum, The Douglass Branch Library Advisory Committee convenes only if the need arises and there is a request by at least 2 members.

The current Library Director, Brittany Millington, it should be noted, previously went by Michaels, her maiden name, when she was the Library's Deputy Director, according to the News-Gazette. The paper also interviewed her in their "Beyond the Boardroom" feature in 2022 here.

I won't excerpt the entire reports here, but I will share a couple highlights from the most recent report and link the to the full reports below. From the 2021-2024 report:

In September, 2021, plans were introduced for “The Studio,” an 8000 square foot expansion planned in the lower level. This area will be for teens after school as well as community members of all ages evenings and weekend. The CPL Foundation committed $1 million for the $2.5 million project. The City Council voted to fund $1.5 million (City Council video of 2/1/2021 vote, agenda, bill).

Approval for construction was voted on November 10, 2022. The Studio officially opened the weekend of October 7-8, 2023. The Studio has tools like circuit machines, laser cutters, sewing machines, a recording studio, a 3D printer, just to name a few of the things available. 

Following the opening of The Studio, the CPL has new projects: the maker space at Douglass Branch, the lobby flooring, and updates to the 2nd floor. The CPL received a $50,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The funds will be used for the Douglass Branch maker project. Also contributing to the project, The Foundation raised $88,000 and The Friends of the Library pledged $50,000. The funding goal was reached.

The CPL Board has formed a Strategic Plan Steering Committee to develop a new strategic plan for 2025-2028. 

...

In the past the Library Journal awarded the CPL Star Library status. This recognition is based on number of visitors, computer use, checkouts, and other statistics. CPL has consistently received three-star rating ranks. Due to the pandemic and interruptions in reporting, Library Journal has decided not to issue data index or star designations this year, and it is unclear if they will in the future.

During the period of this report, the annual audit reviews were conducted by Lauterbach & Amen, LLP and the library continued to receive the highest rating.

Serving as the LWV Observer to the Champaign Public Library Board of Trustees continues to be an interesting experience and a privilege.

Full reports:

• Annual report from April 2019. 
  
  
• Two year 2020 and 2021 report. This report includes an overview of some of the interruptions and adaptations during the pandemic response.
  
  
• Multi-year report that covering meetings from April, 2021 through June, 2024.

City of Urbana Updates

 

There was a lot of City of Urbana news and City Council coverage this month. Below is a summary of that coverage, links to more information on new Fire Station placement, Florida Avenue path projects, Safer Streets proposals, and a whole lot more.

Starting with the most recent meeting, the News-Gazette looked at some of the nuanced drama in another extensive Urbana City Council meeting last week. From this week's "Meeting Minutes" feature.

During a marathon committee-of-the-whole meeting that lasted every bit of four hours, one organization’s funding request was pushed back, another’s sparked a philosophical debate and a third brought some tension of its own.

In the middle of all three: Grace Wilken, the inquisitive, second-year Ward 6 representative, who dominated the night’s discussion, asking to be called upon 17 times and following up with questions on another 31 occasions.

That full article here. If you want to jump to the various discussions covered in the article, here is a link to the agenda packet and the list of videos for each agenda item's discussion here. The sound was very low on the videos, so you may need a device where you can really amplify the volume. There were also some public comments related to develop around the old Lierman Community Gardens (see agenda packet staff report page 185-7 of the PDF). Many of the comments revolved around previous desires to keep the community gardens and previous discussion on insurance costs highlighted by WCIA this past summer.

This week there will be both a Cunningham Township Board meeting and a regular city council meeting with some of the final votes on topics discussed at this past Committee of the Whole meeting.

Previous Meetings:

The News-Gazette's 9/30 "Meeting Minutes" feature had an overview of some of the agenda items passed at the regular City Council meeting earlier that week. general updates including fire station issues. Video of the Fire station scoping follow-up questions and discussion is available on the City's website here. For those who want to start at the beginning of the new Fire Station discussion the first presentation began here at the 8/15 Committee of the Whole meeting (summary in item 4 of the minutes) and continued here at the 8/22 regular City Council meeting (summary in item 12 of the minutes). Older WCIA coverage on the Fire Station locations here.

The 9/23 "Meeting Minutes" feature included coverage of the presentation and mayor's remarks on Florida avenue plans: 

The topic: the recommended offstreet, shared-use concrete path on the south side of Florida between Lincoln and Race Street, which a working group determined would “improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists” and fill in a gap that would create a nearly four-mile stretch of pathways.

That full article is available here in the News-Gazette's eEdition along with some data on local gambling revenues here. Video of the full Florida avenue presentation and Mayor's remarks are here with the Mayor's remarks starting at the 1 hour and 11 minute mark.

WAND also had preview coverage on the Safer Streets proposal along Florida avenue that was approved at the meeting. Discussion of the proposal (resolution number ending in -067R) was available under the video for the resolution ending in -066R (at the very beginning).

The 9/9 "Meeting Minutes" had an overview of study session items forwarded to the regular City Council meeting for a vote. It mainly highlighted the agenda items listed for the meeting here (minutes with more detailed summaries here).

The 8/26 "Meeting Minutes" had a lot of coverage and details about the Urbana City Council meeting. Excerpt:

Five things we learned from [Executive Director at The Urbana Free Library] Celeste Choate‘s fiscal-year-in-review presentation to the city council this week:

— Two-plus months since scrapping late fees altogether — and forgiving $70,363.13 in overdue fines accrued by 6,113 adults, 82 teens and 480 youths — library staff is “over the moon” at the response, Choate said: “We’ve already heard people coming in and saying: ‘I didn’t feel like I could have a card before because I was afraid of having fines.’ We have already seen that happening, and that’s very powerful for us.”

That full article is available here and covers a variety of topics from the library to homeless shelter collaboration with the City of Champaign, appointments, and more.

Earlier last month, the News-Gazette also reported that there may be the potential for another solar array in the old landfill location:

The city of Urbana may be poised to see an expansion of solar power being generated at its former landfill site.

The city is entering a lease option with global energy company TotalEnergies Distributed Generation USA that could lead to a second solar array being developed on the last unused acres at the 127-acre former landfill at 1210 E. University Ave....

The next step would be for TotalEnergies and the city to negotiate a long-term lease for the land, he said.

The presence of a second solar array at the old landfill is expected to take some time.

That full article here.

Other Urbana Updates:

• The News-Gazette's "Meeting Minutes" feature highlighted details of Urbana's search for a new Chief of police available here. More from the City's website here.
• Applications for ARPA funds to implement approved City projects and programs are open according to the News-Gazette. City announcement and links here. WAND coverage here.
• The News-Gazette also previewed Fire Prevention Week events in Urbana and Champaign here.
• WCIA had updates on the planned City Building remodeling.
• Smile Politely highlighted Urbana's upcoming leaf collection dates here.

City of Champaign Summer Updates

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.

Gun Violence

There were also some important updates on gun violence and efforts to reduce the problem locally. In the 8/12/2022 News-Gazette "Meeting Minutes" feature, there were updates on new City hires in the Department of Equity and Engagement as well as an update on local gun violence statistics from the Champaign Police Department (subscription eEdition).

More updates on local gun violence can be found with the monthly Champaign County Community Coalition meeting (latest Police Chief Updates just after the 28 minute mark in the video here, with CPD updates leading them off). The News-Gazette covered the topic of unruly late night gatherings raised in the update here. The News-Gazette had an overview of the July meeting updates here, that got into the details of the recent decreases in gun violence from the high spikes in recent years.

The News-Gazette had a detailed overview of their new Equity and Engagement Department here. WCIA had some updates on the organizations working together locally to reduce gun violence here. CU-CitizenAccess also had an overview of the City's gun violence reduction blueprint here. They also had a breakdown of the impact of gun violence especially on African American youth.

The University of Illinois Police Department is taking over some of the patrol duties in the Champaign areas of campus town to help alleviate the stress on the CPD's staffing shortage. Illinois Newsroom had more details about that agreement here. Excerpt:

Faced with a shortage of officers, the city of Champaign will pay $840,000 per year to the U of I  for the patrol services. 

U of I Assistant Police Chief Tim Hetrick said the new patrols will operate from Neil Street to the city’s eastern border at Wright Street, and south from Springfield Avenue to Windsor Road. He said two officers will be on duty for each shift...

The Champaign City Council voted last April to approve an intergovernmental agreement with the university to provide the patrol services for two years (with an option for a third).

WCIA also had additional coverage of the agencies assisting Champaign with downtown police coverage. More updates on gun violence and policing will be at this link on the Champaign County Cheat Sheet soon.

Homeless Shelter

There were City of Township updates on a year-round and less restrictive homeless shelter. The News-Gazette's "Meeting Minutes" feature on Friday 8/19/2022 had details of the approved plan, location, costs, and potential timeline. The paper had additional articles on some community opposition here and earlier proposal details here. Smile Politely had an editorial in support here. WCIA had a blurb on the Council voting to approve the measure here.

More

Back in July there was an update on some of the City Council drama as the News-Gazette reported the return of councilwoman Alicia Beck to City Council meetings after an extended absence. From their 7/29 "Meeting Minutes" reporting:

Beck said her extended absence was due to having to attend to “some personal family issues” related to her dad’s death earlier this year and she appreciated those who checked in on her.

Beck didn’t respond to multiple inquiries from The News-Gazette during her time away, which included five council meetings. Nor, apparently, did she read a July 13 story in which councilman Tom Bruno called the subject “kind of an awkward interpersonal hot potato.”

That full article here, which also highlighted the planned increase in traffic code enforcement in the area. There was additional criticism and coverage the following week in the 8/5 "Meeting Minutes" feature on the same issues.

Council member Beck denied following local news coverage and claimed she was going to donate half of her annual City Council member stipend in lieu of the absences. The long absence occurred after she admonished a victim of gun violence who made public comments at a City Council meeting. Given the News-Gazette's coverage and amplification of the public outcry before the municipal elections, I leave it to the reader to decide if she was just avoiding reporters questions. A previous Cheat Sheet post got into the context, details, and coverage of that incident.

WCIA also had some coverage of the meeting here and Beck's return to meetings here. 

Other July Updates:

• Champaign Public Library board meeting and re-elected board officers. From the News-Gazette eEdition here. The meeting documents are here, with the Directors Report being a good place to start for a general overview of Library updates.
• The Champaign Park District's Martens Center opening has been delayed.
• WCIA had coverage on the approval of a new building in downtown Champaign.

Other August Updates:

• That same "Meeting Minutes" feature had coverage of the City of Champaign City Council meeting that week, including approval for funding of the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail project.
• There were updates on the City Council's approval of honorary street signs for Bishop King James Underwood and Dawson Banks Sr. (click the names for additional information from previous News-Gazette articles). A brief overview was in the eEdition "Meeting Minutes on 8/12 here.
• This week's "Meeting Minutes" feature highlighted additional funding for 40 North (local arts) and the Mayor's experience with a CPD ride-along.

 

Other C-U Updates

 

A few news items this month that impacted the C-U local area and government bodies more generally than the usual individual City of Champaign or Urbana Cheat Sheet updates.

The leader of the Ford County militia group, that firebombed a Minnesota mosque and attempted to firebomb a women's clinic here locally in Champaign, pleaded guilty to various federal charges related to the local incident. Hari has already been convicted and sentenced for crimes related to the mosque bombing. From the News-Gazette last month:

Hari’s plea agreement in Urbana wraps up four years of work by government agents against the former Ford County sheriff’s deputy turned leader of a Muslim-hating militia group dubbed “The Patriot Freedom Fighters,” later changed to “The White Rabbits.”

[Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller] laid out for Long a summary of the Illinois case.

He said Hari’s leadership of the small band of followers, based in tiny Clarence in northern Ford County, wreaked havoc in several Illinois communities, including Champaign, Watseka, Mount Vernon and Effingham, and reached into Indiana...

The plan to firebomb the Champaign clinic fizzled — literally — when the PVC pipe stuffed with an ignitable powder did not catch fire. Morris admitted he broke a window at the clinic and put the homemade bomb inside. Hari had rented the truck that took the would-be arsonists to the office.

More at the full article here. As a previous Cheat Sheet post noted, the local attack preceded the end of surgical abortion services at that local Clinic, and the last of such services in Champaign County and much of the surrounding region.

In related law enforcement news, the intergovernmental METCAD agency that handles dispatch for many local and County government emergency services is dealing with staffing issues. From WCIA:

Vacancies are not unusual at METCAD 9-1-1, but they are unusually high right now at the dispatch center that answers all of Champaign County’s emergency calls.

Staff members are often working 12-hour days, sometimes five or more days a week and it’s taking a toll, according to METCAD operations manager Betsy Smith.

It’s not far removed from the trend seen at local law enforcement agencies, and although they’re not officially recognized by state and federal government as first responders, Smith described those fielding initial emergency calls as the first, first-responders. What police, firefighters and EMS see, they hear.

That full article here. One METCAD employee is also being recognized for his work on a tough 911 call.

The new health inspection system was covered by Illinois Newsroom:

The new system started in January 2019 and uses a different evaluation system than its prior scoring system to pass or fail a restaurant. Sarah Michaels, environmental health program director, said the old scoring system was outdated. 

Before the new inspection system went into effect, a restaurant would be scored on a 100-point scale, with additional points deducted by the number of violations and the type of violations cited. A restaurant would fail with an adjusted score below 36 and would be shut down if it scored below 0. 

Both the new and old inspection systems are based on series of risk factors related to foodborne illnesses imposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Model Food Code. The five risk factors inspectors look for are improper holding temperatures, inadequate cooking, contaminated equipment, food from unsafe sources and poor personal hygiene.

That full article with a lot of additional information here. 

The mayors of both Champaign and Urbana marked the first . More on that from Smile Politely here, and more information at the Champaign County Cheat Sheet's Health Update post earlier this month.

Other C-U Local news stories:

There were Cheat Sheet updates specifically for the City of Urbana here and the City of Champaign here this month. Below are news stories that impact the governments or services across both cities:

• The director of the Champaign Public Library is retiring June 1st, according to the News-Gazette.
• Smile Politely highlighted the upcoming UC Books to Prisoners book sale in April here.
• Tom Kacich on the dwindling revelry around "Unofficial St. Patrick's Day" from Tom's Mailbag.
• The Illinois Marathon will be limited this year to shorter races according to Smile Politely.
• FirstFollowers had an event on its H3, Harm Healing & Hope initiative briefly highlighted by WCIA. For folks interested in more information, their website has an informational page here and video of their August 2021 presentation to the Finance Committee of the Champaign County Board is available here.
• Smile Politely had an interview with DeShawn Williams about his BlackVest project.

UIUC Updates

 

This post includes some recent updates from last month's U of I Trustees meeting, pandemic updates, winter storm updates, and more. WCIA had an overview of the latest U of I Trustees meeting here, with updates afterward. Excerpt:

University of Illinois trustees at their main meeting Thursday gave final approval to tuition, fee, and housing rates for the 2022-2023 school year.

Trustees heard comments from Interim Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs Avijit Ghosh, repeating much of what he told a committee meeting Wednesday about why the hike is necessary...

U of I President Tim Killeen at Wednesday’s meeting said the decision came after “extensive conversations” and was “not taken lightly” by top school officials. Trustees did not shoot down the proposal on Wednesday, but some urged the administration to continue to explore financial aid opportunities.

That full article here with links to the proposed tuition, fee and housing rates. WCIA also had an additional blurb on the U of I trustees' approval for the library renovations. Excerpt:

The Undergraduate Library will be completely gutted soon. They’ll start construction to turn it into a new facility. The archives, special collections, and rare books will be moved there.

Some of the university’s oldest documents need to be stored in climate-controlled rooms. so the updated building will help preserve them and open up new teaching spaces...

The main library on campus will also be redesigned. The money will primarily come from donors, endowments, and a deferred maintenance fund.

Full blurb with video segment here. There was a similar blurb by WCIA here.

The Daily Illini had coverage of the University's recommendation and distribution of KN95 and N95 masks with the new Omicron variant:

The University began handing out one N95 mask per person for free at the start of the spring semester. 

These masks are being recommended and provided now because the Omicron variant is more infectious and N95’s are available...

The masks were reserved for the health care system, but now they are available to everyone. 

That full article here. University staff were also in the news over their vocal concerns about pandemic safety measures with University guests and students. More on that from Illinois Newsroom here.

Illinois Newsroom had an overview of the mental health access issues on campus, including shortages of mental health workers. Excerpt:

Despite a growing need for mental health services in the community, the director of the Counseling Center at the University of Illinois says the resources remain underfunded and understaffed.

The University offers numerous services for mental health and counseling, but many students have complained that they’re ineffective and inaccessible, and with the rise of COVID-19 the Counseling Center has been left with not enough licensed counselors to match the needs of the students on campus. 

[Director Carla McCowan] hopes to hire more counselors to help meet the demand from students. According to the International Accreditation of Counseling Services, the nationally accepted ratio of students to counselors is 1,000-1,500:1, excluding trainees and interns, in order to best meet needs.

That full article is available here with a lot of additional information.

Other University news:

• WCIA had coverage on the passing of former UIUC dean Clarence Shelley.
• The recent severe winter weather caused classes to go remote again according to the Daily Illini. More recent Cheat Sheet winter weather updates here.
• The Illinois Student Government condemned a recent visit by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to campus on the first day of Black History Month, put together by college Republicans. From the Daily Illini.

City of Champaign Updates

 

WCIA had some additional coverage and updates on the City of Champaign's Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint (more on that in last month's Champaign updates Cheat Sheet post here and gun violence updates here). Excerpt:

We’ve reported about the new $6.2 million plan, called the “Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint.”

However, investing in early intervention and restoration of under-served communities as a way to reduce crime is not new. In fact, the plan was tailored after two out-of-state programs with a successful track record.

We took some time to learn about those to get an idea of what’s to come in Champaign and the lessons other cities learned along the way.

That full article here with video segments. Smile Politely's editorial board had an overview of the blueprint and their take on its various parts. WAND had coverage of the city's end of the year data on gun violence in 2021:

Champaign police data includes the following; 

259 shooting incidents in 2021, a 37% increase from 2020.
142 shooting incidents with property damage, a 19% increase from 2020. 
77 individuals struck by gunfire, a 35% increase from 2020. 
16 homicide victims by gunfire, a 60% increase from 2020. 

That full article here.

A Champaign firefighter was now recovering at home after injuries in a recent fire had sent him to the ICU. From a brief update according to WCIA:

A firefighter who was hurt during a house fire on Wednesday has been released from the hospital.

A spokesperson for the Champaign Fire Department says they will continue recovering at home.

The fire happened on Flora Drive, off of Springfield Avenue. Officials say the firefighter’s self-contained breathing apparatus mask became dislodged and the firefighter breathed in smoke-filled air.

Full blurb here. More on the fire and injury from the News-Gazette here.

Two Champaign Police officers were recognized by the Fraternal Order of Police for their actions and efforts surrounding the death of Officer Oberheim in the line of duty. From WCIA:

The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge recognized two Champaign-area police officers for their roles during and following the shooting that claimed the life of Officer Christopher Oberheim.

Creel was recognized for his actions on May 19, 2021 after he and Oberheim were shot while responding to a domestic abuse call. Despite being seriously wounded, Creel returned fire toward the suspect who shot him, killing the suspect. The FOP Valor Award was presented to Creel for “his heroic actions and high degree of courage under fire.”

Wright was recognized for supporting his fellow officers in the aftermath of Oberheim’s death. Upon learning of the shooting, Wright took the day off without pay and, at his own expense, delivered coffee and breakfast to every agency investigating the shooting. The FOP Fraternalism Award is presented to an FOP member whose leadership inspires others and brings positive change.

Full article here. Monticello's plans for an Oberheim park in honor of the fallen officer and Monticello resident had a recent preview on their facebook page. Coverage from WCCU here. Background on the Monticello park plans and the Oberheim foundation involvement from the News-Gazette here and WAND here.

More Champaign city news:

• Illinois Newsroom had a brief overview of the City of Champaign's LIFT program in cooperation with Unit 4.
• The deadline for Chief of Police applications was extended according to WCIA.
• Illinois Newsroom highlighted a CU Citizen Access article on the drop in underage drinking enforcement.
• The Champaign Public Library plans to expand its teen area. From WCIA.
• A brief update on repairing the suspected DUI damage to water control structure in Champaign from Tom's Mailbag last week. WCIA had coverage of the incident where the car ended up in the retention pond near Green and Locust streets here.
• The City Council appears to be in support of a new five-year agreement with Visit Champaign County and its efforts to bring tourism and other economic development to Champaign according to the News-Gazette.
• The Champaign Park District is offering scholarships for recreation programs according to Smile Politely.
• The Champaign Park District's Executive Director was profiled recently in the News-Gazette.
• A local developer and community booster, Craig Rost, passed away. WCIA had coverage 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.

Urbana Updates: City Council and News

This post includes a preview of upcoming Urbana government meetings, a vote on a resolution committing the City of Urbana to end structural racism, an overview of the last City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, and some other Urbana related news.

Tomorrow's February 8th Urbana City Council meeting (agenda) will likely be voting to approve the Alderwoman Shirese Hursey's resolution to commit the City to end structural racism and achieve racial equity. There are also a few appointments on the agenda, including an interim public works director and a FOIA officer. 

Prior to the City Council meeting there will be the monthly Cunningham Township meeting (agenda here). An intergovernmental agreement with the school district will be voted on to fill the gap in emergency shelter for student families experiencing homelessness (text of resolution).

Other Urbana News:

• The local NAACP branch and ACLU chapter are working on language for a new Use of Force policy for the Urbana Police Department.
• Urbana is looking for applications and nominations for the next Poet Laureate: Smile Politely had an interview with the current Poet Laureate Ashanti Files. Calls for nominations are in these Smile Politely links to the notice and update. The City's Poet Laureate page is available here and the nomination / application form is available here.
• The Urbana Free Library's efforts to serve the community during the pandemic were highlighted in Smile Politely. 
• WCIA had coverage of the proposed resolution on structural racism that also highlighted an initiative by the Champaign County Historical Archives for "chronicling racial and social justice movements in Champaign County."
• The lottery for the municipal ballot order was held in Urbana this week.
• The News-Gazette had an update on Urbana's Enterprise Zone which tallied new project cost heights and expects a busy 2021.

City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting 2/1:

Most of the public comments at the COW meeting (agenda, video) revolved around support of the proposed resolution committing to end structural racism, but also to demand substantive action towards that goal. Speakers included local ACLU chapter president Carol Leff and Cunningham Township Supervisor Danielle Cynoweth as well as several City Council/Township Board election challengers. 

Mayor Marlin read a proclamation for Black History Month and gave updates on the area COVID situation. Updates included the news that cases of one of the more contagious variants have been detected locally and updates on the health district's vaccination efforts.

It was pointed out that C-UPHD is still the best contact for questions and information on vaccinations. Alderman Brown noted the continued importance of social distancing and masks as there are still many vulnerable people waiting to be vaccinated in the months ahead.

The presentation and discussion of the resolution on structural racism began around the 1:24 mark in the video (jump to link). There appeared to be broad support for the resolution. The resolution passed with only some grammatical edits suggested for the final resolution to be voted on at the next City Council meeting. The News-Gazette had coverage of the meeting and the discussion:

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

“It’s an important first step,” said Ward 3 Alderwoman Shirese Hursey, who co-sponsored the resolution.

Full article available here. 

Council communication at the end of the meeting included some concerns and questions about leniency for ticketing vehicles while the pandemic continues and continuing utility shut offs mentioned in public comments. City Administrator Carol Mitten said she would look into and follow up on the concern. 

May City of Champaign Updates

The May meetings started off with a 5/5 meeting of the City of Champaign Township (video, agenda). There's a quick overview of the Township government on the Cheat Sheet here taken from the official website here. The cities of Champaign and Urbana both have coterminous Township governments with City officials serving as the Township board for the City of Champaign Township and Cunningham Township respectively.

The Township Supervisor Andrew Quarnstrom gave a shortened presentation of Township budget. The budget is up for public view on the website here and on display by the City Building doors and Township Supervisor's Office doors. There were some modest increases due to increased demand for services and expected demand increases going forward due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Township Supervisor noted that the Township annual meeting is postponed for now. They've transitioned to remote case management and canceled in-person meetings. The office has partnered with Cunningham Township (Urbana), the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission (RPC) and the United Way for additional support programs. The United Way is reimbursing some Township spending as part of that partnership. From the News-Gazette last month:

The local United Way and the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois have set up their own COVID-19 Relief Fund, which has already distributed $20,000 to City of Champaign and Cunningham townships for housing assistance and $6,000 to Champaign, Urbana and Rantoul schools for home-learning supplies.

They are expecting an unprecedented need with housing and are applying for additional grants towards addressing those needs.

After the Township meeting adjourned the May 5th City Council meeting began (video, agenda). The Emergency Order was renewed. The agenda items passed, but there was a little technical hiccup on the video links jumping ahead by one, so if you're looking up a particular item, make sure to listen to the bill numbers being discussed.

After those items a few Council members took a moment to thank various staff and highlighted some of the challenges they face during the pandemic to keep the City functioning. The City Manager used her time to have Planning and Development Director Bruce Knight give an overview of City efforts to address the coronavirus pandemic impact including:

• outreach and Zoom meetings with local businesses for relief and reopening coordination in cooperation with the Champaign County EDC and Visit Champaign County.
• helping distribute face masks for local businesses
• building a local plan around the governor's 5 phase regional reopen plan
• planned business survey on the horizon to get feedback on how they're being impacted by the coronavirus to better support them
• City of Champaign is also taking the lead on developing and refining a regional reopen plan with other governments in the region.

One issue he pointed out was encouraging students to report their residence as their campus address as opposed to their permanent home address if they live out of town. I've been wondering exactly how that would work since a lot of tax dollars and revenue are directed according to that census data. If a large portion of the campus population reports their residence elsewhere, that could have long term revenue impacts to Champaign-Urbana.

The May 12th Study Session (video, agenda) dealt with the single topic of the Proposed Budget Overview. The City Manager explained that the health emergency was expanding into a economic emergency. She explained that the City will need to change and redefine its work to deal with the reality of the coronavirus situation. The includes the reality of likely historical revenue shortfalls.

The presentation explained a two-tiered approach towards dealing with the upcoming budget realities:

• Starting with a balanced budget at the Fiscal Year beginning July 1st.
• Engaging with the public and employees on budget cuts going forward

Some of the potential cuts were listed around the 4 minute mark of the video including funding reductions in the following areas:

• Infrastructure
• Vehicles and Equipment
• Economic Development
• Personnel Costs (including pay freezes for department heads, unfunding non-emergency vacant positions, and the elimination of merit based pay increases for non-union employees)

These steps were described as necessary, but not taken lightly or without regard for the impacts they will have on the community and City employees. Finance Director Kay Nees then continued the presentation. She compared the usual budget process with what they're facing with the coronavirus impact. She highlighted projections that may be a best case scenario assuming the stay at home order continues through may with a slow opening from June to August.

Decrease in revenue assumptions for Fiscal Year 2019/20 were projected at 5.1% or a decrease of $5.3 million. The decrease for FY 2020/21 is initially projected at 7.3% or a decrease of $7.8 million. Sales tax is 43% of the City's revenue and where it is very vulnerable to coronavirus related impacts.

Healthy reserves have been maintained by the City in past practices, so the City of Champaign may be in better shape to take the brunt of the impact than other local governments. Specific proposed budget reductions and their impacts included:

• $1.28 million reduction to the transfer from the General Fund to the Capital Improvement Fund therefore reducing available funding for capital projects planned in the 10-Year Capital Improvement Plan; as a result some projects may be delayed to future years, have the project scope reduced or be cancelled altogether,
• $382,694 reduction to the transfer from the General Fund to the Vehicle Replacement Fund resulting in the delay of nonessential major vehicle purchases in FY 2020/21 and extending the life cycles of 86 vehicles by one year,
• $1.14 million reduction in salary and benefit costs by holding current vacant positions open through July 1, 2021 which will have service impacts and require Departments to realign departmental priorities and goals for the coming fiscal year based on available staff. This amount includes holding 2.0 FTE Police Officers vacant/unfunded which were added with the passage of the Food & Beverage tax increase,
• $113,333 reduction of personnel costs by unfunding the Pay for Performance program for Non-Bargaining Unit (NBU) employees for one year, which would delay employee progression through pay grades, and a
• $50,000 reduction to Economic Development budget resulting in less funds available for new or underbudgeted economic development incentives.

These details and more can be found in the report available here. The Council approved guidance to the staff for the two-tiered approach. Their comments were appreciative of the work involved with staff that were freezing their own salaries as their workload increased. The overall town was somber. Council member Gladney noted that it was a sad time, but that we will be in a better place again someday.

In the remote audience participation there were concerns read from Emily Close hoping to get answers about the City's FOIA process and the status of the person in charge of handling access to documents for the public. She expressed frustration at not being able to get an answer on retirement or a successor for the position.

The 5/26 Study Session was canceled due to graduation and too many schedule conflicts for a quorum, but was instead added after the 5/19 regular City Council Meeting below.

The 5/19 regular City Council Meeting (video, agenda) had some interesting Council Comments before approving agenda items and adjourning into a Study Session. Council member Brix commented on recent shootings and community reactions online. She spoke against normalizing the violence even as the coronavirus overshadows our lives. She highlighted police and community response in additional patrols, visibility, and the City's Neighborhood Services engaging in Zoom discussions and getting community input. She implored residents to contact the police or CrimeStoppers if they "see something, say something."

The Mayor highlighted her concerns with the County government's Fiscal Year 2018 audit that is required for a lot of social services funding through the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission (RPC). She stated outright that this was a crisis and warned that funding sources were writing to say that funding was in jeopardy if they did not have the needed financial audit information.

She pointed out that this could put upwards of $37 million in jeopardy for programs like Head Start, energy efficiency, social service programs, transportation planning (CUUATS), and more. She asked residents to contact their County Board members to ensure the audit gets taken care of in a timely manner before funding is lost. She also highlighted the upcoming 5/22 RPC board meeting would have the outside auditor speaking during public comments and taking questions. That RPC meeting video is available here. His presentation and the Q & A covering this topic are at the beginning of the meeting video.

The County Auditor passed along a message that the necessary work will be done in time and that funding is secure:

Thanks for reaching out. RPC and I are in close communications and my office has worked every day throughout the lockdown. My new deputy and I have placed the 2018 CAFR on the Auditor website; the external auditor’s opinion is coming very soon...

The cognizant agency for RPC is Illinois’s Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The Accountability Officer has alerted Champaign County that we are not yet in compliance and to please do so—but also that enforcement procedure are delayed due to COVID.

There is no “stop-pay” letter that gives you 45 days. The 2018 audit will beat any such warning, let alone the stop-pay date.

The outside auditor at the RPC meeting encouraged people to pester and pressure the County government to ensure they have all the information and support they need from the Treasurer and Auditor's office to complete their work. Many of the local government leaders on the RPC board expressed ongoing concerns at the 5/22 meeting.


At the 5/19 Study Session after the regular Council meeting there was a presentation (video, written report) by the Library Director, Donna Pittman. The coronavirus had changed the presentation from what she had hoped to present. She went over many of the planned events and budget concerns that have arisen since the pandemic struck. There was also some discussion about the logistical issues with returning materials safely given the equipment involved and the staff proximity. If you ever get the opportunity to take a tour of the Champaign Public Library again, they take "sorting" seriously:

The second Study Session topic was a presentation by Bruce Knight on the Capital Improvements Plan and adjustments due to projected revenue declines. He made comparisons to the "Great Recession" where the City was forced to delay and cut projects due to budget constraints. He noted that the City had just caught up from those delays and cuts after the "Great Recession" in the last couple of years.

He noted that there is more potential bad news and the City may have to revisit the Capital Investment Plan when the impact of the coronavirus is better known versus current projections. The City Council directed staff to include both the revised Library and CIP budgets into the overall budget proposal.

City of Urbana Updates

There's been quite a bit of news related to Urbana government lately. There was a new superintendent for Urbana schools (update here). There was financial pressure from property tax issues threatening historic buildings of the UI Greek system houses (more at this UIUC post here). But on issues more directly related to City of Urbana government I have City Council updates on the budget along with links on liquor, the Landmark hotel, lawsuits, and a library survey.


Urbana City Council Roundup:

The May 13th Committee of the Whole (preview coverage) and May 20th City Council meetings were both covered in the News-Gazette and culminated in some spending cuts and attempts to increase revenue. From yesterday's paper:

Urbana planning range of cuts in effort to fill $2.5 million budget deficit
...
Now, for the third year in a row — with a goal of cutting $500,000 — the city announced Monday that it would be continuing to make cutbacks, revenue increases and other changes to deal with the $2.5 million structural deficit in the next fiscal year, which starts in July.

That means a staffing reduction of about 5.25 full-time-equivalent employees from the current budget, in addition to five others over the past two years, putting the total at 10 full-time employees let go since 2018. That's about 4 percent of the city's workforce coming from police, public works and executive departments, City Administrator Carol Mitten said.

Funding for the Urbana Free Library will also be reduced by $59,100 — its proportionate share of the city's $500,000 expenditure reduction goal.

As for revenue increases, the city is in talks to raise its package liquor tax in an effort that is projected to generate about $220,000 a year, and an increase in late fees for unpaid parking fines will generate about $72,000 a year.

More at the full article here. WILL had additional coverage here. Some of the issues such as the liquor tax and procedures for the Council approving planning developments in coverage ahead of the Committee of the Whole meeting here. After that meeting there was additional coverage of some of the nuance of the liquor tax and an explanation of some of the funding for assistance programs. Here's an excerpt on the City and Champaign County Health Care Consumers collaborating:

In other business, Cunningham Township Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth told aldermen about the social-services agencies that have applied for Consolidated Social Service Funding money this year.

That $225,000 pool is intended to provide grants to nonprofit organizations that sponsor social services for Urbana residents and combines funds from the city, township and federal governments.

The committee tasked with finding appropriate organizations to receive the funds considered several criteria and implemented a scoring system. The top scorer, which requested $28,000, is Champaign County Health Care Consumers...

Jakobsson said the organization provides help for people who are still "falling through the cracks," adding that it is there "to provide either material help or informed advice for navigating this system."

And it's a complex system, Chynoweth said, that the township currently doesn't have the expertise to deal with in addition to its other missions. She said Health Care Consumers "is an example of an organization where we refer people to on a daily basis," as it is the primary entity that helps people apply for government programs like LINK.

More at that full article here. The Mayor's office has been making news with the Landmark Hotel and potential new buyer. The News-Gazette had more on that last week:

Urbana's Landmark Hotel may finally have a buyer
...
Spiritos has also signed a letter of intent with the city of Urbana to redevelop the hotel at 210 S. Race St. into a boutique Hilton Tapestry-branded hotel.

"I started working with the city when I got the property under contract," Spiritos said Thursday.

Spiritos and Yuan declined to divulge the sale price, but the letter of intent with the city states that the maximum price for the land is $1 million...

Under the letter of intent signed Thursday, the city would reimburse the developer at least $5.2 million through its central tax-increment-financing district once the $16.8 million project is completed.

With interest on the expected 10-year bond, Marlin said the total cost to the city could be about $6.5 million.

More at the full article here, including more details about the possible sale, contract, incentives, and a history of the Landmark's previous history of sales falling through. Additional coverage at WILL here.

In an ongoing legal dispute with the City of Urbana and Stark is going to court. From Tom's Mailbag last week:

The dispute between the city and Stark Excavating Inc. has gone to Champaign County Circuit Court before Judge Jason Bohm. The city alleges a breach of and default on its contract with Stark. It wants "an amount sufficient to properly fix or remove and replace all of the cracked and defective concrete pavement" installed by Stark...

The city alleges that Stark breached the contract in several technical aspects of concrete work, such as the failure to ensure that dowel bars — short steel bars within concrete — were correctly installed and lubricated, to use a mechanical spreader for placing concrete and to ensure that the concrete "haul time" did not extend beyond specified time limits...

Urbana claims that because of defective work, "the expected lifespan of the reconstruction work performed by Stark on Windsor Road will be significantly shortened" and that the city will incur substantial costs repairing or replacing the concrete. It claims it has been damaged in excess of $2 million.

In its response Stark "admits it conferred with the city about pavement cracking but denies both that the cracking was excessive or the product of Stark's work. The city, although conferring with Stark about the pavement cracking, never definitively ordered Stark to repair or replace cracked panels."

More details, including a history of the dispute and more information on the claims of both parties here.

On the Urbana Free Library Survey (available here):

A survey asking patrons and others how they use the library and how satisfied they are with its various collections, programs and services is available online and at the library through May 27.

The library's previous strategic plan has expired, and the survey is intended to provide officials with public input for a new plan.

Full blurb here. Survey here.