Mid-July City of Urbana Updates

Tonight's Urbana City Council meeting will have a presentation on a rental assistance program with the Regional Planning Commission, an update on the Imagine Urbana Comprehensive Plan, and two resolutions on rental assistance programs.

The agenda also has a discussion on the task force being established to look at alternative responder models for calls that would now normally go to the Urbana Police. This follows up on the discussion from last week at the 7/8 City Council Meeting (jump to video link).

Mayor Race Updates:

The Urbana Mayoral race is still uncontested for current Champaign County Deputy Chief Treasurer Deshawn Williams. The News-Gazette had coverage of Urbana City Council Alderman Quinsenberry's decision to not enter the race:

Quisenberry is currently the alderman in Urbana’s Ward 7 and the executive director for student affairs technology at the University of Illinois. He previously served on the Champaign County Board.

In late 2022, he told The News-Gazette that he was interested in running for mayor but said Tuesday he had a change of heart after thinking it through...

Unlike most mayoral offices in the area, Urbana’s is a full-time, salaried job.

That full article here. Quinsenberry told WCIA that he got to know Williams in the process of considering his own run and came to believe that Williams is a "great candidate."

Budget and Police Budget:

Most of the Urbana City Council news coverage this past month focused on the police staffing, alternative responder models, and budgeting for the same. From the News-Gazette's coverage of the budget vote a few weeks ago:

One police budget vote down, one extended conversation about alternative response models for police, fire and medical calls to go.

After weeks of debate and discussion — and two-plus hours of public comment Monday night — the Urbana City Council voted 6-2 to adopt a fiscal budget ordinance that included a slimmed-down version of what Police Chief Larry D. Boone asked for at the start of the process...

[Mayor Diane Marlin] said a “collaborative community stakeholder task force” will be formed — including community members, representatives from community organizations and first responders — which over the next year will “explore options for alternative response … not just focused on police alternative response (but) fire and medical, as well.”

That full article here. The News-Gazette had coverage on the task force being established to look at alternative responder models in Urbana. WAND had coverage of the final vote here and an overview of the compromise plan here with a comparison to the original plan. WCIA had a short article on the development of the task force for alternative responder models here. 

WCIA also had coverage of the original budget vote (without the police funding) last month here.

There were a number of opinion pieces, including from the Chief of Police himself, on the staffing and budget issues:

• Urbana Chief of Police Boone on his frustrations and the needs of the department in a News-Gazette "My Turn" column.
  
  
• The News-Gazette's criticism of many on the Urbana City Council in an editorial last month.
  
  
• The News-Gazette had coverage of some of the different perspectives between the Chief and Aldermen on the council here.
  
  
• The News-Gazette also had coverage of the initial proposal presented by the UPD and reactions by various Aldermen on the City Council here.

The Urbana Police Department has also been posting updated crime and gun violence maps on its facebook page. WCIA had coverage of some of the maps released last month here. The most recent maps release from last week is available here.

Urbana City Council Meeting Write Ups:

The Daily Illini had write ups on Urbana City Council meetings throughout June and early July as well: 

• 7/1 City Council Meeting (Committee of the Whole) coverage (video, agenda packet) which included preliminary votes on Hope Village funding and a number of other items. See Hope Village coverage below. There was a brief Public Hearing with some concerns about the Hope Village project here.
  
  
• 6/24 City Council Meeting coverage (video, agenda packet) which included the original Budget vote (without the police budget).
  
  
• 6/17 City Council Meetings coverage (continued to 6/18) (Special, Public Hearing, and Committee of the Whole (part 1 and part 2) video links, with all agenda packets available here) which discussed budget issues, zoning issues, and redistricting. There's a great deal of public participation in all three meetings, available in the video, generally focusing on criticisms of the proposed police budget. 
  
  
• 6/10 City Council Meeting coverage (video, agenda packet): which included a vote on the Youth Services Grant Program and Mayoral appointments.

Hope Village Updates:

The News-Gazette also had an update on the Hope Village timeline:

A spokesman for Hope Village said that construction is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2025 and the project "aims to be ready for residents in early 2026." It was previously estimated that the community would open in 2024...

Hope Village is a collaboration between Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC), Carle Health and the University of Illinois. The city of Urbana has allocated $850,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the endeavor...

According to the project's website, Hope Village will be a community of tiny homes that offer housing for adults in the Champaign-Urbana community who are "most at risk of homelessness and are medically fragile." The project is being built on farmland south of Federal Drive in Urbana and north of Champaign's Carver Park neighborhood.

That full article here. WCIA had similar coverage of the Hope Village updates here.

Continuing a Long Meeting Rules:

Kathy's Mailbag had an overview of the rules dictating public notice when a meeting is continued to the next day. This has been the circumstance for many Urbana City Council meetings as they tend to run long more often than most (the June 17th and 18th meetings above, for example):

When a meeting is “properly noticed,” and the business cannot be completed within the time constraints allowable for a meeting of that body, Sandefur said the meeting may simply be recessed and reconvened where the body left off within the agenda — provided that the above condition (1) or (2) is met, as outlined in the OMA.

In addition, she said the city of Urbana “has a hard stop of 10:30 p.m. and via council vote may continue beyond that time in 30-minute increments no more than twice more. On Monday, June 3, our council motioned, seconded and voted to recess the meeting to a time and place certain, Tuesday, June 4, in city council chambers at 7 p.m., sharing the announcement of the time and place of the reconvened meeting, which also fulfilled the 24-hours requirement.

That full Mailbag column here.

More Urbana Government News:

• The News-Gazette had a comparison of Mayoral pay across the local area, including Urbana (2nd highest pay of those listed, though still significantly less than Danville).
  
  
• Updates on a potential future Urbana skate park, from the News-Gazette.
  
  
• The Urbana Plan Commission is still going to be discussing a possible development on Campus, according to the News-Gazette. At the July 11th meeting, there were a number of questions and the issue was continued to their next meeting on July 18th.
  
  
• Yet another Hotel Royer update, with a possible opening later this summer. From the News-Gazette.

City of Champaign Updates

 

This Cheat Sheet post covers City of Champaign meetings and news from September and October thus far. Topics covered include updates on gun violence, police hiring, homeless shelter plans and more. There is an upcoming meeting on Tuesday 10/25 that will include a study session and presentation on the tax levy and financial forecast. Financial forecast report is available here from the City's website.

October Updates:

WCIA had an update on gun violence in Champaign. Excerpt:

WCIA reporters last sat down with police leadership in mid-July. Then, Chief Tim Tyler touted that police received half the number of shots fired calls as they had by the middle of 2021.

The gap has closed some since then. Still, about 15 more people had fallen victim to gun violence at this point last year than to date in 2022. That said, 2021 was a record-breaking year and not necessarily the benchmark.

If the shooting rate the city is experiencing now continues, Champaign may see as many people hurt and killed as in 2020.

More at the full article here. There were overall gun violence updates around Champaign County on a previous Cheat Sheet post here. For the very latest Chiefs Reports at the Champaign Community Coalition meeting this month jump to the 4:30 minute and mark of the latest meeting video here.

In other gun violence related updates, the City of Champaign also signed off on additional funding for its Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint this past week. From the News-Gazette's 10/21 "Meeting Minutes" feature:

$218,103 to the Scott-led Y, part of Champaign’s Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint. [Jeff Scott of the Stephens Family YMCA] told council members it will be put to good use — the expansion of after-school/weekend youth development programming for 25 to 30 kids a day in underserved communities. It will take place in Y-rented space at the Swann Special Care Center.

Full coverage of that meeting is available here from the News-Gazette's s eEdition.

In other City Council news, Tom Bruno won't seek re-election for the first time in a very long time. From the News-Gazette:

One of Champaign’s longest-serving city council members, Tom Bruno, said he’s going to step aside next year and give someone else a turn.

A council member since Aug. 5, 1997, Bruno said Thursday he doesn’t plan to seek re-election next April...

A 68-year-old attorney with law offices in Urbana, Bruno was originally appointed to the city council in 1997 to fill an at-large seat vacancy. He’s been elected and re-elected ever since.

That full article here.

In coverage earlier this month, the News-Gazette highlighted a likely upcoming honorary street sign and an "Island of Misfit Toys" holiday parade theme. More from the 10/7 "Meeting Minutes" feature here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage on the proposed honorary street sign for Toby Herges here. The Study Session report includes the application and letters of support for the signage. The "Meeting Minutes" feature on 10/21 included an overview of all of the City of Champaign honorary street signs here (News-Gazette eEdition link).

September City Council Updates:

The News-Gazette had coverage of the 9/27 Study Session here. Topics mainly covered the promotion of tourism and marketing slogan campaign details:

During a goal-setting session a year ago, the city council endorsed a project to “develop and implement a comprehensive marketing campaign to promote Champaign’s positive attributes and strengthen community pride.”

But when the two-year, $140,000 pilot program was put under the spotlight as the focus of a study session this week, several members had questions.

Most of them revolved around the general issue of: How to pull it off without trumping, or repeating, the campaigns that already exist — many of them involving some of the city’s closest partners?

More at the full article in the 9/30 "Meeting Minutes" feature here. That Study Session report with background and additional details is here. The general concept and discussion inspired criticism from the editorial staff of both Smile Politely and the News-Gazette.

    Also: "Champaign City Council member Danny Iniguez, left, tapped the ceremonial first keg at last weekend’s C-U Oktoberfest as the Developmental Services Center fundraiser returned to an in-person event for the first time in three years."

In Township business, there have been ongoing plans and negotiations over purchasing property for a homeless shelter. I have yet to see any updates where a deal has been finalized, however. From the News-Gazette's 9/23 "Meeting Minutes" feature:

Now that he has his board authorization to spend up to $1.25 million on a home for a first-of-its-kind local shelter, it’s on to the negotiating table for Township Supervisor Andy Quarnstrom... 

Township officials had originally considered launching the shelter in a leased building at 119 E. University Ave., which is being vacated this month by Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County.

But with C-U at Home in the midst of investigating other locations to move its own shelter and other services for the homeless, purchasing the East Washington space became the better option, given that it “is essentially turn key, (so) nothing would need to be done to it for Strides to move in outside of setting up our network, phones, some furniture, etc.,” Quarnstrom said.

More at that full article here. There were some additional updates on the ongoing property sale negotiations here and here (eEdition blurb) from earlier this month.More background on the option and plans from last month here.

The News-Gazette's 9/23 "Meeting Minutes" feature also included an overview of area gambling revenue here and a brief summary of the expenditures approved by the City Council at that week's meeting here. (summaries are also available on the 9/20 agenda here or the actual meeting minutes here).

The 9/9 "Meeting Minutes" feature included updates on police hiring, an additional meeting related to approving McKinley Field games (more detailed coverage on McKinley Field games here), and other expenditures approved here (more details available from the agenda and minutes). It also included some earlier gun violence data here.

More City of Champaign Updates:

• WAND had coverage of this year's immigration Welcome Week events and the City's collaboration with the YMCA's New American Welcome Center. Related News-Gazette blurb on Welcome Week here. WCCU had coverage on preparations being made locally for possible future increases in welcoming local immigration and refugees.
• WAND also had coverage of this year's Champaign Fire Department 9/11 Memorial Ceremony here.
• Some have suggested building a community center at the current site of the County Fair Shoping Center strip mall according to WCCU.
• The News-Gazette also previewed Fire Prevention Week events in Champaign and Urbana here.
• Two Champaign Police officers were promoted to Deputy Chief positions according to the News-Gazette.
• The Hedge POP! Park project in Garden Hills received recognition and an award according to WCIA.
• There was also an update on the City's progress with Costco's sales tax rebate.
• The News-Gazette had pictures and a short blurb on City Council member Danny Iniguez at an Oktoberfest fundraiser here.
• The News-Gazette highlighted a new local Park District pickleball complex.
• Farren's will continue to be the provider of "adult beverages" at Virginia Theater events. From the News-Gazette 9/2 Meeting Minutes.

Urbana Updates

 

The News-Gazette had a preview of one major transportation item on the agenda for tonight's Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole meeting (which appears to still be remote by Zoom):

A long-awaited reconstruction project for Florida Avenue in Urbana stands to be expanded, with much of the new higher cost potentially covered by a federal grant.

At Monday’s committee-of-the-whole meeting, the city council will be asked to sign off on a change in the city’s 2021 capital improvement plan to reflect a cost update for the Florida Avenue project — from the original $4.5 million to $12.03 million — due to an expanded scope of the project and higher construction costs.

Originally planned for the section of Florida between Vine Street and Lincoln Avenue, the new version would extend from Vine to the city line near Illinois Field.

That full article here with more details. For even more details, the resolution itself has spreadsheets for anyone wanting to figure out the various funding sources (summarized on page 2 and spreadsheets after). The agenda also continues the conversation on council goals (agenda item overview here).

A previous meeting on council goals was covered in a brief overview by WCCU here. Local activists claimed that there were Open Meeting Act violations on a local government blog here. Mayor Marlin responded to concerns on social media, arguing that the City complied with the rules, but the activists were disruptive:

"This meeting was the 5th city council goal-setting session held with city council and staff. It was held in person at Stone Creek Church in order to give space for working in small groups. It was publicly noticed and public input was held per the Open Meetings Act. Minutes were taken by the City Clerk. No formal action was taken at this session. The so-called media you reference were two private citizens who placed recording devices on tables and set up multiple cameras. They recorded throughout the meeting. The meeting was fully compliant with the Open Meetings Act." - Mayor Diane Marlin's facebook comment on 2/24/2022.

In the latest news on local gun violence, the City of Urbana is also looking at ways to use ARPA funding to interrupt the cycles of violence from WAND: 

The city is considering funding a temporary apartment or house for victims, paid for with federal COVID-19 dollars or possibly general funds.

"Looking at the ARPA funds that are coming into the community at the county level and at, of course, across each of the local municipalities as well," [Beverley Baker, chief impact officer for the United Way of Champaign County] explained.

This would ensure victims have somewhere safe to stay, while they make plans for the future. Advocates hope this will break the cycle of violence and help victims heal.

That full article here. The city's survey link here.

The retiring Chief of Police in Urbana was interviewed as part of the News-Gazette's Community Conversation on Gun Violence. That podcast segment is available here. Just after the 10 minute mark the Chief responds to a question about local shootings on the nature of the weapons evolving: e.g. from low quality and low rounds to firearms with automatic fire selector switches and far more round capacity. The latest of the Community Conversation series, Part 15, is available on the News-Gazette website here along with links to the previous parts and other related links. This includes an overview of Automatic License Plate Reader systems and policies in cities across Illinois.

There was some discussion about parking and entertainment in downtown Urbana. WCIA had summary of the issue last week:

The city of Urbana wants to turn a parking lot into a money-making opportunity – but surrounding business owners are divided.

They’re requesting proposals to use a downtown parking lot for arts and culture activities and to generate sales tax revenue. That lot is behind Rose Bowl Tavern – a music venue that began hosting outdoor events when the pandemic hit...

They said the outdoor shows drove a lot of people downtown – and that’s the city’s goal. But neighbors are concerned their customers won’t have space to park if they lose that city lot.

That full article here. Tom Kacich had a longer look at the issue and interested parties in the News-Gazette the day before that here. That article has already aroused at least one letter to the editor in support of the Rose Bowl using it as an entertainment draw to downtown. WDWS had an interview with Mayor Marlin on this issue and few others last week here.

Other Urbana Updates:

There were some news items that more broadly impacted or involved both Champaign and Urbana in a separate post here. It includes updates on the case against a local white nationalist terrorist, memorializing local COVID deaths, area staffing and other organizational news items.

• Urbana saw antisemitic pamphlets distributed, according to WCIA. More on this issue and local reactions on the recent UIUC Updates Cheat Sheet post. WCCU had more on other incidents in the region here.
• The Urbana Fire Chief is expecting to retire in early May, according to the News-Gazette. WCIA also had coverage here.
• The Urbana Police Department is also pushing for new hiring, from WCIA.
• Updates on the City's 2nd Poet Laureate and inaugural Youth Poet Laureate from Smile Politely.
• The city won an award for its budget process, according to WAND.
• Leaf collection week (April 4 - 8, 2022) information from the City website.
• Latest Park District COVID protocols from WCIA (from March 3rd, so check their news webpage for updates).
• Information on Urbana arts and cultural grants from Smile Politely.
• Carle is getting more grant funding for its local mobile clinics. From WCIA.
• Information on the upcoming UC Books to Prisoners Sale from Smile Politely.

Urbana City Council June Updates

A big update on learning about how the Urbana City government works is that the City Council training materials are now up on the City website here. We'll be adding that to the Urbana City government information page here. 

There were Urbana City and Cunningham Township budgets passed, with links and further information below. The big fight for the City Council in June was over appointments. The mayor was adamant about wanting a smooth appointment and reappointment process. There was concern that City Council members might turn the process into an inquiry where applicants may face a barrage of public scrutiny again. From the News-Gazette a couple weeks ago:

Mayor Diane Marlin says she will not allow city council members to use a longstanding reappointment process to derail the careers of police command staff or other veteran city employees.

Last week, Marlin pulled from the agenda the normally routine reappointment of 19 city employees in six departments, including police and fire, after learning that “at least one council member intends to ask for certain people to be treated individually” instead of being voted on as a group...

Marlin was referring to the grilling that police Chief Bryant Seraphin received last year in the wake of Aleyah Lewis’ April 2020 arrest following a report of shots fired. Several officers were accused of using excessive force on the 21-year-old, who refused to comply with their commands.

More at the full article here, including the unusual nature of Urbana's appointment process that goes beyond the typical heads of departments, but other mid-level staff as well. The appointment discussion at the last City Council meeting is available here in the meeting video. With very limited and general council comments the appointments passed with just one no vote by Council member Grace Wilken. The mayor explained that there had been constructive talks with Council members about getting through this particular appointment vote smoothly and it had been expected to go through prior to the meeting.

In other Urbana City Council related news:

• A follow up article with Council member Shirese Hursey on race issues in Urbana a year after an interview as part of the News-Gazette's "Being Black in America" series in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests.
• Concerns about street conditions and highlighting the Capital Improvement Plan.
• WAND had a brief video segment on policing concerns before the City Council.
• A petition for more cameras and security in Ward 3.
• Curbanas: an adaptation for outdoor seating and Urbana businesses.

The City of Urbana's proposed Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget is available here and Capital Improvement Plan here. The approval of the budget was explained in this staff report and passed at the June 28th City Council meeting along with an amendment to the previous budget.

The Cunningham Township Town Board passed its budget and it is available here.

So far the Urbana City Council meetings have continued with remote participation with the Zoom meeting app. It appears likely they will return to in-person meetings soon, according to a News-Gazette article with updates on the Champaign City Council in-person meetings as well.

Urbana City Council meetings have had an overwhelming number of public participants and lengthy meeting times. The public input is generally over concerns about policing, transparency, mental health and criminal justice reforms. In the meeting videos with zoom, there is a clock on the screen for participants to watch their time. This graphic in the search preview can help quickly locate these sections of the meetings for navigating to or around these parts of the meeting, depending on what you're searching for.

Meeting agendas and video links:

June 7th City Council Meetings:

• Public Hearing on the Budget: agenda, video.
• Special Meeting on appointments: agenda, video.
• Committee of the Whole: agenda, video.

June 14th Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:

• Town Board Special Meeting (closed meeting): agenda, video.
• City Council Meeting: agenda, video.

June 21st Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:

• Town Board Announcement: hearing/meeting moved to June 28th (agenda/video).
• City Council Public Hearing: agenda, video.
• City Council Committee of the Whole: agenda, video.

June 28th Cunningham Township and City Council Meetings:

• Town Board Public Hearing: agenda, video.
• Town Board Meeting: agenda, video.
• City Council Meeting: agenda, video.

April and May Urbana City Council overviews are still in progress, but will hopefully be up in the next couple weeks.

City of Champaign June Updates

The Cheat Sheet is playing catch up on local government news this month, as sometimes happens. It takes a lot of time and effort for people to attend meetings or catch up with the videos, dig through local news coverage, and follow up with various passing or failing votes. The process of catching up can be useful to anyone wanting to get up to date on a local government body, however. There is a post at the Champaign County Cheat Sheet on the process of catching up on using the County Board as an example that could be helpful. Depending on your time limits, it can be a cursory search for local news coverage or the deepest dive.

The City of Champaign government had a busy month this June. Some of the local news coverage highlights include:

• Honoring fallen officer Christopher Oberheim who was killed in the line of duty responding to a domestic violence call in May. This was the City's first in-person meeting since the early days of the pandemic.
• In coverage of the same meeting, the delay in City fine increases was once again delayed.
• Looking for public input and proposals on how to spend the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the City will be receiving for pandemic related relief.
• A meeting was filled with "Back the Blue" activists demanding more support for law enforcement from the City Council and Mayor. More background here. More coverage from WCIA including a video segment here. Video of public comments at the Council meeting is available here.
• City facilities will be reopening due to changes in the pandemic situation. 

An overview of the ARPA fund details is available in a Study Session report from earlier this month here. Video of that Study Session, presentation and discussion is available here. The Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget and 10 year Capital Improvement Plan were approved at the June 15th regular meeting. There was public input and Council discussion on the budget vote during the meeting available here.

The June 22nd Study Session involved drainage issues and improvement projects along the Boneyard Creek. As the Study Session report and maps make clear, drain issues and investment choices around them have a high impact on historically Black neighborhoods in town (click to enlarge):

Recent heavy rains and flooding in Garden Hills, in which there are also drainage improvement plans over the next several years, are an ongoing reminder of past policy ramifications.

Links to City Council meetings and Study Session videos, agendas, and reports.

• June 1 regular City Council meeting: agenda, minutes, video.
• June 8 Study Session on ARPA funding: report, video.
• June 15 regular City Council meeting: agenda, video.
• June 22 Study Session on Boneyard Creek improvement projects: report, video.

Updates on April and May meetings are still a work in progress, but hopefully will be up and linked here soon!

March Urbana City Council and Cunningham Township Meetings

The Urbana City Council had longer meetings this month, even when compared to their usually lengthy meetings. In addition to longer City Council meetings themselves, there were also a couple Cunningham Township meetings and two City Council training sessions before some of those meetings. Most of the meetings were nearly or beyond four hours in length altogether. I'll try to be far more brief in these overviews.

Public Participation across all of the meetings included concerns about utility shutoffs, rental assistance available, police reform and alternatives to policing for mental health and other public needs. There were also concerns about the Human Rights Ordinance language clarification still leaving a need for an enforcement mechanism and ongoing concerns about the background check policy in light of the HRO requirements. There was also support for the City supporting and collaborating with the First Followers Reentry program and the Champaign County Health Care Consumers organization.

The March 1st Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video) mainly involved an extensive conversation about the planned development at 602 South Lincoln Avenue (next to campus within the WUNA neighborhood). The developer said he wasn't interested in continuing the process after the City Council voted to hold the issue over for another Committee of the Whole meeting. The board decided to move the issue on to the regular City Council member to see if any council members concerns could be addressed by that time.

Further amended clarifying language for the Human Rights Ordinance was moved forward as well, but still lacked a solution on how the City might be held to the HRO standards. Council member Jared Miller used his time in council comments at the end of the meeting to assure the public that this is not the end of the HRO discussion and the other issues would be addressed.

The March 8th regular meeting (agenda, video) included additional public participation with a large number of residents opposed to the 602 South Lincoln development, petition signatures, and endless criticism of the aesthetics and interpretation of the development guidelines. Council members Brown and Colbrook appear to be the only council members who believe the conditions were met. Colbrook appears to be the only member who had a positive opinion of the aesthetics and building materials. The harshest criticism from council members and the public used the expression, "butt ugly." The development failed to pass.

The rest of the meeting involved an approval of the clarifying and amended HRO language, considering some zoning variances, and then approving appointments. The appointment portion got a bit strained as one of the appointments involved promoting an officer directly involved in the Aleyah Lewis incident. The appointments were approved with Alderman Miller voting against James "Cory" Koker to Lieutenant in the Urbana Police Department.

The March 15th Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video) began with the first City Council training session available to the public and allowing participation from current City Council members and candidates. City Administrator Carol Mitten said that a webpage will be set up with all the training sessions for future use. The training session at this meeting was an overview of the City's executive department (jump to link).

After the training session there was a presentation of the 2020 BPAC Annual Report by the Alderman Brown, who is also the chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. Public participation included some criticism of the promotion of an officer involved in the Aleyah Lewis incident and the continued lack of an enforcement mechanism against the city to follow its own Human Rights Ordinance.

The mayor, who is also the current chair of the Regional Planning Commission raised serious concerns about the County government's finance issues and how they may impact RPC grant-based programs and funding for the City. She and the Mayor of Champaign backed an RPC letter to the County Board asking that they fulfill their obligations so critical programs aren't put in jeopardy (more on that in the March County Board coverage here). The mayor announced there would be a presentation on the work on the Use of Force policy and the discussions she described as productive in crafting the new language.

Two items that were moved forward for City Council approval involved support and collaboration with the First Followers Reentry Program and the Champaign County Health Care Consumers organization.

The discussion items on the agenda included the status on the One Door pilot program. Updates included a collaboration with the City of Champaign and a phase-in start as opposed to a comprehensive start to the program. The phased in process can begin sooner, but won't include some alternative responses that don't involve law enforcement. There was also an extended conversation on how much law enforcement funding actually prevents crime as opposed to alternatives that got fairly heated.

There was also a discussion on the appointment process, which in Urbana involves a great number of positions that cities normally make part of a contractual hiring process. There were complaints about the increased scrutiny and public pressure on appointed positions. There were some disagreements on what constituted healthy public interest and simply being too much of a nightmare to recruit people into the confrontations and accusations. The meeting was already running very long so the background check discussion was pushed to the next meeting.

The March 22nd regular meeting (agenda, video) began with another City Council training session, this time with an overview of the organization and funding of the Urbana Free Library. It was at this meeting that the City Administrator noted that these training sessions would all be made available organized on a webpage for future use. Public participation included ongoing concerns about utility shutoffs. There was also concern raised by Meghan McDonald who argued that the pro-police voices during last week's discussion on reforms and deterring crime cut off or otherwise tried to shut down other perspectives. She highlighted the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon as a potential model to look at.

The mayor noted that the County Board voted to approve emergency funding for the Regional Planning Commission and working towards completing the required finance reports. They're still trying to determine the overall impact of the County's delays.

The Criminal Background Checks discussion (jump to link) began with a presentation and overview of current policies. The overall discussion got into some really nitty gritty issues of legal obligations, language, and precedent for anyone wanting to take a deep dive into the various perspectives.

The Cunningham Township Board had a regular meeting (agenda, video) on March 8th. Township Assessor Wayne Williams reported instead of the Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth who was ill that day. There was an issue with lost data after moving data from the server. By the time the loss was discovered they weren't successful in retrieving the information from backups. The data isn't completely gone, but it will have to be reentered, which he described as tedious work. 

There was also a special meeting on March 22nd (agenda, video) setting the agenda for its April 13th annual meeting, which has to be in-person as it is for the electors, or voting residents, of the township essentially coterminous with the City of Urbana. There was no public participation at either Township meeting.

The Urbana City Council meets next on Monday April 5th.

Urbana City Council Updates 2/22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meeting Writeup:

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

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

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

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

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

Consolidated General Election and Early Voting

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Champaign City Council and Gun Violence Programs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meeting Writeups:

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

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

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

Study Session:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C-U Candidate Forums - UPDATED

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

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

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

Urbana Alderman Candidate Forum videos:

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

Other Consolidated Primary Election candidate forums:

• Urbana City Mayor

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

• Urbana City Clerk
• Champaign Township Supervisor

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

• On Ending Chronic Homelessness: 

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

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

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

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

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

• On Defunding the Police on 2/4:

WCIA also had coverage of that event here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Voting Information:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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