UIUC and Parkland Updates

 

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

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

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

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

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

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

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

That full article here.

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

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

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

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

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

Other UIUC Updates:

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

Parkland College Updates:

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

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

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

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

That full article here. 

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

More Parkland Updates:

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

Urbana Summer Updates

 

There was a great deal of discussion and News-Gazette coverage about a potential blood plasma collection center coming to Urbana:

• Coverage of the special-use permit being looked at by the City Council from 7/9.
• Council meeting coverage on the discussion, concerns and a lack of a vote from the 7/15 "Meeting Minutes" feature.
• An article about the ongoing local plasma needs in the context of the Urbana City Council discussion.
• A preview of the company's appeal to the Urbana Zoning Board this month. More at the special meeting (agenda, video) links on the City's website. The board followed the staff memo suggestion that the case be continued to the 10/19 regular Zoning Board meeting.

For folks who have endured some of the marathon sessions of the Urbana City Council meetings in recent years, the News-Gazette reported a very brief one in the 7/29 "Meeting Minutes" later that week:

The six council members who turned out for this week’s under- 10-minute meeting unanimously approved a six-year collective bargaining agreement between the city and the local firefighters union that Mayor Diane Marlin noted was “historic” in length and “provides certainty to both management and employees.”

The deal ensures across-the-board wage increases of 2.75 percent effective the start of this month, followed by 3 percent hikes on July 1 of the next five years.

The full "Meeting Minutes" coverage is available from the eEdition here. Most of the details for the agreement were covered in the previous Committee of the Whole meeting documentation covered in the 7/22 "Meeting Minutes" here.

There was also mention of the brief Cunningham Township meeting prior to the City Council (which shares the same members). This was due to advisory referenda from the annual township meeting being approved for the ballot. The News-Gazette article noted that Parkland wasn't pushing for this additional funding or this referendum in support of it.

The referendum question is advisory only and, if approved, wouldn’t bind Parkland College to take any action.

It arose from a citizen petition brought to Cunningham Township’s annual town meeting in April.

Parkland College spokeswoman Stephanie Stuart, who oversees the program, said this isn’t a question Parkland is asking of voters.

“Our program is fully funded at this time, and we’re not making a request to any other units of government,” she said.

That full article here. The language of the non-binding, advisory referendum items were included in the meeting agenda. They are phrased as yes or no questions:

Shall the federal government create a universal national healthcare system of Improved Medicare for All to insure that all of the residents of the United States receive quality healthcare that is equitable and fair from birth to death? 

Shall Parkland Community College increase the enrollment for the Support for Workforce Training program as well as increase the stipends of all those enrolled in that program through an intergovernmental agreement with local governments?

More August Urbana Updates:

• There were discussions about replacing a couple of fire stations, rodent problems, and community needs. The News-Gazette had coverage of the 8/15 Committee of the Whole discussion here and proposal details here. Video links of that meeting here. The discussion on fire stations continued to the regular City Council meeting on 8/22 including a presentation and overview on the facilities history and current needs (video link here). Additional News-Gazette coverage previewing that presentation here.
• The 8/12 "Meeting Minutes" included an update on the City Council technical difficulties in livestreaming meetings. There are delays on some new equipment in addition to working out some other technical kinks.
• The News-Gazette had coverage on proposed honorary street signs (similar to the City of Champaign's program) in an article and coverage of Committee of the Whole meeting (eEdition link) and discussion on 8/1 here (agenda, video link on this topic).
• This week's "Meeting Minutes" feature included some appointment updates from the recent City Council meeting and a public suggestion for sharing the burden for the new year round homeless shelter in Champaign.

July Urbana Updates:

• Urbana Park District board coverage in the 7/22 "Meeting Minutes" included a short blurb on the organizational "intergovernmental agreement with the Champaign County Forest Preserve District and Vermillion County Conservation District regarding the Kickapoo Rail Trail."
• There will be some Urbana related information on area gun violence in an upcoming Champaign County Cheat Sheet Post here (when posted).

Local College Updates

 

 

This post mainly has updates related to the University of Illinois governance this month. The UI Trustees were in the news regarding the budget. WCIA had an overview:

The University of Illinois Board of Trustees announced Thursday that it approved a plan to allocate more money to help students and faculty at all three U of I campuses in the state.

The board approved a request for more than $683 million in operating funds for the fiscal year 2023, which is 10 percent higher than the current year’s budget. The request is the first step in the annual budget process and will be submitted for consideration by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the governor and the Illinois General Assembly...

The budget request also includes more than $673 million in capital funds that would pay for new buildings and renovations while also addressing deferred maintenance at the three system universities.

That full blurb here. A detailed look at the budget request from the Trustees meeting is available here. The Daily Illini had a recent overview of funding, salaries, and tuition issues with the University's budget here. Previous University news release and overview on the budget is available here.

The News-Gazette had an extensive and detailed look at the renovations coming to the former Undergraduate Library and the future plans for library space on campus here. Excerpt:

The last time the library checked in with staff and students, designs were still in the conceptual stage: the university was still exploring if all the elements would fit into the Undergrad Library space, Teper said.

Now the question isn’t an if, but how the collections will fit into the space and what the layout will look like aesthetically.

Officials have formulated preliminary plans on where the library’s student services and study locations will be distributed across campus by fall of 2022.

Full article here. The latest UIUC library news blurb is here with links to a page for updates here.

WCIA also had coverage on a local "student patrol" on campus hiring:

The Division of Public Safety at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is seeking to fill multiple positions on its Student Patrol unit.

Officials said the unit is made up of students who are interested in serving the campus community and keeping their peers safe.

According to officials, Student Patrol Officers will engage in several critical community safety services on campus, including SafeWalks, which provides free walking safety escorts to students who need to travel on campus at night.

More information and links at that full blurb here.

More local College and government related updates:

UIUC:

• The Old Feed Mill building was demolished. From WCIA.
• There was a protest last month for higher wages for University service workers covered by Illinois Newsroom.
• UIUC is not currently requiring proof of a booster shot for vaccine requirements according to WCIA.
• The Beckman Institute is looking for volunteers for a brain study with MRI scans. More at Smile Politely here.

Parkland:

• The Illinois Community College Board highlighted the need for its tech worker apprenticeship program. From WCCU.

Coronavirus Updates 8/4

This post has a collection of coronavirus updates including the trends locally, regionally, at the State and federal level. At the end is also a list of tentative school reopening news links as well.

The local and regional coronavirus news is still better than many parts of the State of Illinois and the country in general. There was an update from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (latest COVID information from C-UPHD here) in an interview with Elizabeth Hess on Urbana Public Television yesterday and available on YouTube here:

Illinois Newsroom had additional coverage on C-UPHD guidance last week here. Unfortunately the bad news is our local cases and hospitalizations are up recently. More details available from the News-Gazette website here and reporter Ben Zigterman's twitter feed here. Here's a snip of the chart's he posted today:

The News-Gazette had a more detailed local breakdown for the area with some recent remarks from the Governor today here.

Looking at the regions of Illinois for coronavirus data, we're still doing better than other regions by test positivity. This bug doesn't respect borders, so it depends entirely on people on whether the it moves from place to place, however. Illinois government and politics reporter Hannah Meisel has regular updates on her twitter page here:

The national numbers are disheartening after many were expecting the daily deaths to plateau at a low of roughly 500 per day, which is still pretty terrible compared to many of other Western industrialized nations at this point in their response. Unfortunately that plateau came and went and we have gone back up to roughly a thousand American deaths every day and rising. Where we go from here is completely dependent on public behavior when it comes to mitigation policies. More at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation here. This chart is from last week, so expect an updated projection later this week based on the latest numbers:

A lot of folks locally are concerned about schools reopening. The C-UPHD put out its guidance for school openings last month (Smile Politely had a brief overview and links here). More recent updates on school openings here:

• Daily Illini on UIUC summer athletic testing and infections.
• The Champaign Federation of Teachers statement opposing the Unit 4 reopening framework (available in full here).
• UIUC to require coronavirus test to enter buildings from today's News-Gazette.
• UIUC to shift most classwork to online and no return to classrooms after Thanksgiving break.
• Chambana Mom's had a recent overview of the Urbana reopening plans here.
• The News-Gazette had an overview of Parkland's reopening plan with most classes online and mask requirements here.

With rising cases and the future difficult to predict, it's hard to say how these plans will change over time, if reopenings will go on as planned or if they'll face sudden cancellations like the Major League Baseball season right out of the gate. Hopefully this post gives readers some helpful links to stay updated on the various numbers they may be interested in. As always the official County numbers are available from the C-UPHD website here and regular updates are posted on their facebook account here. 

Reopening Schools - Preliminary Ideas

[UPDATE: The News-Gazette had more on this very topic a couple days after this post. Excerpt:

As they try to prepare for next school year, superintendents are trying to create some semblance of a plan without knowing what’s coming next. The Illinois State Board of Education hasn’t issued guidelines for the upcoming school year yet, so districts are planning for three different possibilities: a return to full-on remote learning, all students back in school, or some sort of a hybrid model where a portion of students are in school at a given time.

Full article here.]

There have been several news stories about potential and very preliminary plans for schools reopening in the fall with the ongoing concerns about COVID-19. Our region has been doing better than others when it comes to keeping infections and outbreaks contained (see previous Cheat Sheet update on the coronavirus updates here). The current Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation out of the University of Washington has their latest forecast models here.

People might remember their projections from earlier in the pandemic being used by the White House. Their projections have continued to incorporate new information, new policies, and how populations have adhered to those policies. Here is the latest as of this posting on total death and daily death projections going into the next school year (click to enlarge graphs):

The projected plateau of daily deaths bottoms out towards the end of summer and appears to rise with the reopening of schools and typical epidemiological factors in the fall. As always, none of this is written in stone and depends on our own behaviors and sometimes good or bad fortune with outbreak events. The Atlantic had a recent article looking at various challenges facing schools in general here.

The Daily Illini had an overview of the Parkland hybrid fall plan here. Excerpt:

For Parkland students, this would mean on-campus courses will be marked as such, but part of the coursework would still be completed online, according to a Parkland College press release.

On-campus courses would still have to follow social distancing guidelines, meaning students may be divided into smaller groups and classes larger enrollments may require staggered scheduling.

Additionally, many on-campus meetings may end after Nov. 20 in order to minimize contact after Thanksgiving break. The classes would still continue online through the end of the regularly scheduled semester.

Some career classes may meet on-campus until the end of the semester, though.

That full article here. The University of Illinois is still formulating its plan, but there have been some updates on that process. Tom's Mailbag had some questions and answers on the subject last week here. Excerpt:

Urbana campus spokeswoman Robin Kaler said a decision on fall instruction would be made in mid-June...

Earlier this week, however, Provost Andreas Cangellaris said that the draft recommendation from an academic affairs team called for an end to on-campus instruction at the fall break. After that, students would return home for eight days of online instruction and six days of exams.

That seems to fall in line with what other Big Ten schools are planning.

Full Tom's Mailbag article here with the U of I planning question the second question down. Other recent articles noted an ACT/SAT testing waiver being approved and an updated timeline on a fall plan within the next couple weeks:

A draft of that report recommended ending in-person instruction at Thanksgiving break, with the last eight days of instruction and exams held online to reduce travel back and forth to campus.

It also said that if central Illinois is in Phase 4 of the governor’s “Restore Illinois” plan, which is likely, classes with more than 50 students would have to be held entirely online.

And to help spread out students, classes may be held in the evening, on Saturdays and in non-academic spaces, the report stated.

That full article from Wednesday here. Illinois Newsroom had coverage and links for the draft plan here as well as faculty safety concerns and opposition to reopening in the fall.


I'm still catching up on Unit 4 and District 116 meeting information, but I have some highlights from the coverage so far. Illinois Newsroom had an interview with Unit 4 Superintendent Zola about potential issues with the fall here. Excerpt:

I think we learned a lot in this first chapter of COVID-19 around food, and what our families need. We’ve created a pretty significant platform around remote learning. We also are finding that by providing devices to homes and by mitigating the access to technology that we are beginning to sort of level that playing field. I would sense that if there is another stay-at-home order in the fall, that we’re going to be in a much better place in terms of the timely response and also making sure families already have devices. We’re not going to have to roll out the numbers of devices that we did this spring. I’m in several conversations. We have an area superintendents group that meets with the regional superintendent on a regular basis. I’m in a larger group called the large urban districts, and so that’s large school districts across the state. So those are two spaces where we’ve begun to have some conversations about what school might look like in the fall...

I think schools will raise their value level in the fall. I think parents are going to be grateful when we reopen. I think they’re going to be appreciative of what school has been for them and for their children, I think they’re going to be excited to return in the fall, and whatever version that looks like, hopefully a somewhat normal version where the bus comes up and the students get on, and we’re able to feed them breakfast and do some learning and have a healthy lunch and some recess time.

That full article here with a lot of information about Summer programs, budgets, feeding kids, and more.

District 116 Board of Education had a study session meeting on June 2nd (agenda, video) where they discussed remote learning and registration planning going into the fall. It was a long meeting and I haven't had a chance to wade through it, but it appeared that they are still working out managing the fall and coronvirus safety concerns and touched on the topic in those two presentations.

As has come up in the Urbana City Council and among activists and protesters locally and nationally, there has been another look at police officers in schools. Illinois Newsroom had an overview of the issue here. The same safety and budget concerns with putting Student Resource Officers into schools remain along with concerns about the school to prison pipeline for minority students who tend to face disparities in school discipline (including in Urbana schools).

It's not a lot of information yet, and a lot of it depends on how the coronavirus projections diverge from actual infections and deaths over the summer. The interrupted Spring semester was a crash course in a sudden and extreme scenario where super spreader events could have created untold numbers of uncontrolled outbreaks. With some luck and hard work, the Fall semester should be far less extreme, even if far from the normal we'd like.


[Updated: Original post published on 6/12/2020 at 10:39am.]

Parkland Debt Forgiveness and Updates

This post includes information and links on the latest from the Parkland Board of Trustees including a debt forgiveness program, tuition freeze, vacancy applicant interviews, and more.

The Parkland Board of Trustees made some news recently with an announcement of a debt forgiveness program called the Cobra Comeback program. WCIA had coverage a couple weeks ago:

The BOT also approved Cobra Comeback; the program gives former students a chance to restart their education by removing financial holds preventing registration. For each course returning students earn a C or higher, the cost of current tuition per credit hour will be removed from their past-due balances. There are eligibility requirements:

• Good academic standing
• Debt of no more than $2,000
• Non-enrollment at Parkland during the past academic year

More at the full blurb here. More information at the program web page here. The Board of Trustees also enacted a tuition freeze for the year mentioned in the same article. The News-Gazette had a lot of additional details on the tuition freeze in their article a couple days later. It included a bit of an overview on Parkland's funding as well:

Parkland supports its costs largely by state funding, tuition and property taxes.

Parkland’s property tax rate has remained fairly steady in recent years, Ramage said. It’s currently about 53 cents per $100 of a property’s assessed value.

But state funding has declined quite a bit over the past two decades. It’s improved since 2016, but still covers just 9 percent of Parkland’s budget, which is “woefully down” from 27 percent in 2000, according to Ramage.

That full article here.


Other Updates:

The News-Gazette had an update on Parkland's solar farm:

Two years after receiving board approval, a building permit was issued in February for the 8-acre solar farm.

The 2-megawatt field will be located in the northwest corner of campus...

The project was initially going to be built in 2018 by SolSystems LLC of Washington, D.C., which would pay to build the solar farm and earn renewable energy certificates that it could sell.

The project was delayed because “the state of Illinois was somewhat delayed in their awarding of rebates and solar renewable energy certificates,” said Jim Bustard, Parkland’s director of physical plants.

More at their Just Askin' column here.


Parkland's Public Safety police chief is in the running for an appointment for an Urbana City Council vacancy. He recently introduced himself and gave his pitch to the City Council. More on that in a recent Cheat Sheet post here.


A previous Cheat Sheet post had alerted readers to a vacancy on the Board of Trustees and the application process (now closed) back in January. Parkland's press release page has announced a list of the applicants here:

The Parkland College Board of Trustees has selected the following individuals for interviews at a special Board meeting on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The interviews will take place during open session in the order in which their applications were received. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m., with 20 minute interviews for each candidate.

Maureen Banks, Champaign
Mark Dixon, Urbana
Michael Foellmer, Champaign
Erin Nuss, Gibson City
Barbara Schurter, Champaign
Bradley Uken, Mahomet

Full press release here.

Parkland Board of Trustees Vacancy

For anyone interested in being on the Parkland's Board of Trustees, there's an appointment opportunity due to a vacancy. Trustee positions are generally filled by elections during off-year local elections. Smile Politely highlighted the opening and how to apply:

The Parkland Board of Trustees is looking for applicants to fill a vacancy left by former board president Greg Knott. Knott recently became secretary to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, leaving an open seat...

This person will serve until April 2021, when there will be another Board of Trustees election. You can find application details here. 

Full blurb here. More detailed coverage on Knott's changing jobs here at the News-Gazette. It was mentioned along with other recent UIUC updates in a previous Cheat Sheet post here and in Parkland updates in a post here. More details from the Parkland information page:

The Parkland College Board of Trustees, District 505, is accepting applications to fill a current vacancy on the Board. This position as Trustee will serve until the next Board of Trustees election in April 2021.

Interested persons should send no more than six pages, including a Letter of Intent and resume to Krystal Garrett, Assistant to the President and the Board of Trustees, by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, February 12, 2020.

To be eligible for this position, the candidate must be a citizen of the United States, 18 years of age or older, a resident of Illinois and District #505 for at least one year preceding the date of appointment, and not treasurers of a common School Board. District 505 includes Champaign, Coles, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Iroquois, Livingston, McLean, Moultrie, Piatt, and Vermilion counties. 

Full details at that page here.

Parkland Updates: Marijuana and SWFT

I have a couple Parkland updates, both referenced in other County organizations. First, Parkland will be having an educational event open to the public on marijuana legalization and how students and others in the community can stay on the right side of the new law. From Parkland's website:

The legalization of recreational cannabis in Illinois will be the topic of an information session at Parkland College later this month.

The session, "New Legalization of Recreational Marijuana: Laws and Restrictions," will be held Wednesday, Jan. 22, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Student Union cafeteria.

Parkland College's Student Life, Public Safety, and Dean of Students' offices, as well as the Parkland College Black Student Success Project student group, are hosting this event. Parkland Police Chief William Colbrook and Dean of Students Dr. Marietta Turner will provide an overview of the law, discuss how it might impact students, and provide other vital information. 

The event was brought up in the last two Champaign County Community Coalition meetings, with details this month.

Parkland's Support for Workforce Training (SWFT) program was also highlighted in a presentation to the Champaign County Reentry Council this month. More information on that program at a previous Cheat Sheet post here.

The program is aimed towards underserved populations, including the formerly incarcerated. Some of the highlights from the presentations included eligibility and benefits. The free program covers books and fees. A small stipend is available to help cover transportation and other basic costs. Parkland's Center for Academic Success provides access to a "success coach."

Eligibility is open to 18 year old (or those who will be 18 by the time they start) residents in Parkland's District 505. Depending on the specific program or career path, there may be some restrictions on prior offenses, but generally the program is open to and actively reaching out to the formerly incarcerated. Outreach includes various census tracts in the district as well as underserved populations, though the application process is open to all eligible residents of the district.

The application page is available here. More information about the program in general available here.

Marijuana Legalization and Technicalities

There have been a lot of helpful guides and explanations of how the legalization of marijuana in Illinois at the first of the year may still have a hitch or two for those who wish to partake. WILL had a helpful Q&A interview on basics like public consumption not being allowed:

Essentially, you will not be able to openly consume outdoors and in public any more than you can alcohol. So, you have to be in an establishment so there will be some dispensaries that will be allowed to have a consumption area and there will be existing retail tobacco stores along the lines of hookah lounges and cigar bars that will also be able to add marijuana to their ability to consume.   There are a lot of worries about people walking through big huge puffs of smoke outside and that is not allowed. There is no public consumption drawn into the bill.

And on state penalties:

If you're over the legally allowed limit, and if you are under age, so this is only legalized for people over the age of 21. And so there are penalties for underage consumption and there are penalties for (possession) over the  legally allowed limit. This is still illegal federally. So, on federal property, there can still be absolute bars to being able to consume in those places.  We have to be very wary. So yes, this is for the most part at this stage right now in the beginning, private. [Under the law, minors cannot be incarcerated for marijuana convictions.]

That full interview and radio segment available here. A more straightforward legal rundown was put out by WILL yesterday here. WCIA had a shorter overview here with a video segment. Tom's Mailbag had an explanation dispelling concerns about purchase monitoring locally or by the State here. City of Champaign marijuana FAQ with a lot of helpful information here. Local police are, of course, still warning against driving while under the influence of this or other drugs.

Illinois State Police have tried to dispel rumors that legal marijuana purchases will affect one's Firearm Owner ID (FOID) card eligibility or affect one's right to own or posses firearms:

State and local police say purchasing legal marijuana will not have any impact on your ability to own or possess a gun in Illinois.

Social media posts claim that marijuana dispensaries will be checking IDs of customers and then turning that information over to the state… which will then use that as a basis to revoke FOID cards. But a state police spokesperson says buying marijuana legally will not be used to take away a FOID card, although someone could lose the card if it’s shown they are addicted or a “habitual user” of any drug, including pot.

State police also say it’s illegal for dispensaries to collect or store personal information about recreational cannabis users.

From a WMAY blurb here. The rumors to the contrary have been in local media such as this WCCU article (correction here) and this one from WAND.

As the News-Gazette pointed out on Sunday, employers are still allowed to set their own drug policies and can enforce them regardless of the legal changes. They go through a great deal of local government employers, from school districts to local government agencies that have maintained their restrictions on marijuana use. Excerpt:

Some employers will consider off-duty marijuana use none of their business unless it interferes with an employee’s job performance.

Some plan to continue zero-tolerance and drug-free workplace policies that include drug testing.

“Employers are very concerned about safety in the workplace,” said Jay Shattuck, executive director of the Employment Law Council of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

Illinois employers struggling with how to handle the coming of legal recreational marijuana come Jan. 1 should pay attention to these two things, he said: The policies they set for their employees with respect to marijuana use should be both reasonable and non-discriminatory.

Full article with a lot of information here. So far the two local dispensaries are prepared for a busy first of the year. The News-Gazette had details on their plans on giving priority to medical card holders, hours, etc:

Both local dispensaries are preparing for a crowd and lines at the door.

“I’ve been told that people plan on camping out,” said Brendan Jolly, an employee at NuMed, 105 E. University Ave., U.

If you’re a later riser, Sunnyside, the new name for Phoenix Botanical at 1704 S. Neil St., C, will remain open until 10 p.m. on New Year’s Day. NuMed Urbana will stay open until 6 p.m.

Purchases at both dispensaries will be on a cash-only basis, their owners said. And medical marijuana customers will have first priority for the available supply.

That full article here.

The cities where the dispensaries are, Champaign and Urbana, have generally aligned their marijuana laws with reduced fines and consumption rules (more on that at a recent Cheat Sheet post here). The News-Gazette had an update since that post on Champaign ensuring that it's fines would remain local ordinance violations as opposed to a State offense with a risk of jail time:

Two weeks before recreational marijuana becomes legal statewide, city council members signed off on updates to the city code to bring Champaign’s cannabis ordinances in line with Illinois law.

“It doesn’t make anything unlawful that is not unlawful under the state law,” Champaign Assistant City Attorney Kathryn Cataldo said.

If the city had removed the ordinance violations related to cannabis, penalties — such as for underage use — would have become state criminal offenses.

This allows police officers to issue ordinance violations instead, which come with a fine but no jail time.

That full article here. I still haven't heard any updates on a set date and details on the public event being planned by Parkland College Police on marijuana legal issues announced at the Champaign Community Coalition. When I get more information on that I'll be sure to share it.

Parkland Updates

This update includes information on leadership changes, shrinking enrollment, and some local coverage highlighting the Parkland Staerkel Planetarium. First the updates on Parkland Board of Trustees and other leadership changes announced in December. In the first change there is some crossover news between the Parkland board and the UI Trustees, the News-Gazette explained a shift in leadership roles:

The board chairman for Parkland College is stepping down to take a job as secretary of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees...

As the ninth secretary of the university, Knott will be one of four officers of the Board of Trustees, reporting jointly to Board Chair Don Edwards and UI President Tim Killeen. He will coordinate agendas for meetings, maintain minutes and other board documents, respond to requests from the public, and provide assistance to trustees and other administrators...

[Parkland board] Vice Chairwoman Bianca Green will lead the process to fill the board vacancy.

Full article here with a lot of additional information on the people and positions. Parkland also had a press release here. In further changes at Parkland, the News-Gazette also covered a promotion of a dean to be in a position to succeed the retiring President of Parkland College:

A dean at Parkland College is being promoted as part of an executive transition plan for the retirement of President Tom Ramage in 2023.

Trustees promoted Nancy Sutton, dean of arts and sciences, to associate vice president for academic services effective Jan. 2, filling a position vacated when Pamela Lau was promoted to executive vice president in October. Trustees at that time named Lau as president-designee to succeed Ramage in 2023...

A search is underway to fill the dean’s post. Sutton will cover those duties in the interim and hopes to have someone in place by March.

More information at that full article here. Additional information from the latest Parkland Trustees meeting, including this promotion, at their press release here. More on the previous transition appointment of Lau in a press release from September of this year. The News-Gazette had coverage of the previous transition plan around the same time here, including some additional coverage by Tom Kacich here.

Tom Kacich also had some enrollment figures for Parkland in one of his Tom's Mailbag articles earlier this month:

Parkland’s enrollment decline is not out of the ordinary.

Illinois community college enrollment dropped from 347,277 in 2007 to 293,4517 in 2017, according to Illinois Board of Higher Education statistics.

Nationally, according to a recent report by the American Association of Community Colleges, since a peak enrollment in 2010, “total community college enrollment has dropped each fall, declining by more than 1 million students (14.4 percent) between 2010 and 2017.”

The most oft-cited reason for the falloff is the economy.

“Community college professionals frequently claim that the economy is an important driver of community college enrollments,” said the report. “Of particular note during the time period investigated is the Great Recession, which economists indicate began in December 2007. While the recession technically ended in the second quarter of 2009, solid job growth was not seen until 2011.”

Full Mailbag article here. This mailbag article also included some information on Parkland's time capsule at the Planetarium, to be opened the next time Halley's Comet comes around in 2061. This was in response to a question about another recent News-Gazette article highlighting the Staerkel Planetarium and its history on campus here.

Smile Politely had more on the Planetarium later that week, including a video segment and interview going behind the scenes:

In the 30+ years since opening, the planetarium has evolved alongside technology, replacing analog slides and practical effects with digital projectors and advanced imaging software. Nine computers work in-sync to produce images that can range from a drone view of the Parkland campus to a view of Jupiter’s southern pole. The centerpiece of the dome is a Zeiss M1015 star projector from Germany which is original to the planetarium and was the first of its type to be installed in the western hemisphere. Each of the stars projected on the dome has a dedicated light on the projector, for a total of 5,000 individual lights.

We spoke with planetarium director Erik Johnson to get a behind-the-scenes view of the planetarium’s operations and to experience the vivid imagery that takes you worlds away.

Full article and video segment here.

Parkland Workforce Training Program

Parkland has a new program intended to provide workforce training access to underserved populations in its district. From the Daily Illini earlier this week:

Parkland College begins workforce equity training
Parkland College recently started a program that works to “provide free, short-term training to underserved populations in the college’s district,” according to a press release. The goal is to prepare residents to transition into careers in high demand that also pay family-sustaining wages.

Fifteen community colleges, Parkland College being one, were chosen to partake in the total $18.5 million WEI. The grant period is from October 2019 to September 2020.

The program, Support for Workforce Training, focuses on helping over 150 residents transition within a year or less. An Illinois Workforce Equity Initiative grant of $1.5 million was donated in efforts to point to historic underrepresentation of African Americans in these high-demand, well-paying careers. Because of this, African Americans were required to comprise 60% of the people in the SWFT program.

The initiative will provide tuition and fee waivers for training. In addition, employment barriers, higher education-access barriers, and local workforce gaps will be addressed. Eligible participants will also be able to receive services such as academic mentoring and counseling.

More at the full article here and the press release here. The website for applicants is available here (includes a map and contact information to the SWFT office at Parkland): https://www.parkland.edu/Main/Apply-Now/SWFT/

A quick overview from the press release itself:

Along with providing tuition and fee waivers for training and stipends to help tackle higher education-access barriers, the initiative will address local workforce gaps and employment barriers in an effort to prepare skilled workers to move into employment upon program completion. Participants who are eligible for the program also will receive wraparound support services, such as academic counseling and mentoring.

Students may select from 22 Parkland College degree or certificate programs in four technical career categories: construction and manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and distribution, and business and IT services. Career options vary widely and include industrial maintenance and welding; office assistant, Microsoft Web, and Google IT professionals; phlebotomy and pharmacy technicians; practical nursing and CNA; and truck driver CDL and highway construction, among others. Most programs can be completed in a year or less.

Those eligible for the incentives may include incumbent workers, unemployed persons, members of underrepresented minority groups, those receiving SNAP benefits and other need-based aid, recently incarcerated persons and ex-offenders, those receiving housing assistance, and others demonstrating financial need. 

Full press release here.

Citizens Police Academy

Several local police departments participate in a free program to educate the public on law enforcement in collaboration with the University of Illinois' Police Training Institute called the Citizens' Police Academy. This year's classes included at least eight police departments, other agencies, some current and former elected officials, etc. The 10 week program consists of a weekly 3 hour night class at the Police Training Institute on campus (free parking was provided) and a few other local facilities. At the end of the program, participants are encouraged to participate in a ride along with their local police department.

The Daily Illini had an overview and coverage of the first day of class back in April:

Police Training Institute begins 10-week course for citizens
The University’s Police Training Institute began its annual 10-week public course, Citizen Police Academy, on April 4. The program is offered to all citizens residing in Champaign County.

The interactive 10-week program will cover topics such as de-escalation, DUI enforcement and crime scene investigations. Students taking the course will also have the opportunity to visit the Champaign County Jail and meet some of the Champaign Police Department’s K-9s...

Michael Schlosser served as a lieutenant for the Rantoul Police Department before retiring. He is currently the director for the Police Training Institute, as well as the main instructor for the 10-week course.

“When citizens have the opportunity to gain knowledge and learn about all the different aspects of policing … then that gives them a better perspective when they’re trying to understand things they see on TV or read in the paper,” Schlosser said...

If the students attend 7 out of 10 classes at the end of the program, they will have the ability to graduate and get a small certificate saying they completed the course.

Full article here. Departments are generally trying to increase awareness of their various outreach programs, so if you have questions about this or any less intensive outreach options they may offer, they'll probably be happy to get you all the information you need. I'd strongly encourage this one if it's possible for you to attend regardless of any views one way or the other on the police themselves. The instructors encourage questions and criticism to have an opportunity to explain their perspective. Signing up was easy, but required a background check.

Below are some highlights from the course:

Week 1: An introduction to the class and how it's laid out. A brief history of the Police Training Institute and the role it plays in training officers from all over Illinois. An introduction to Dr. Schlosser, the Director of the Police Training Institute and general ringleader of the 10 week program. He covered the first subject of de-escalation and "verbal judo" involved in gaining voluntary compliance. Some may notice that some of the "verbal judo" techniques are being used as the class proceeds.

Week 2: Former Champaign County Sheriff, attorney and PTI instructor Dan Walsh explains the structure and authority of various law enforcement agencies in the State of Illinois down to local departments. He also explained various aspects of civil and criminal law, enforcement and prosecution. The limited options in dealing with mental health issues and the current role the criminal justice system plays in mental health intervention and treatment was raised. This is a recurring theme throughout the course.

Champaign Police Deputy Chief Troy Daniels explained "community policing," the history of it, and the principles behind it. Topics ranged from intelligence based policing and spearfishing to the mutual benefits of community policing for law enforcement and the community. He emphasized the sudden dangers involved in policing and argued that police constantly put their life at risk giving people the benefit of the doubt. He also tried to dispel the myth that local violence is a Chicago imported problem. He noted that it is overwhelmingly home grown local disputes between local people and cliques. There was also an overview of the local Crime Stoppers program.

Week 3: At the Willard Training Center by the airport, the class learned about use of force balanced with the situation at hand and the use of Tasers. The seating is a bit more Spartan here, so you might consider bringing a little seat cushion. The material covered various control tactics, from verbal to defensive  depending on the subjects cooperation or aggression. The use of deadly force in response to risk of life or severe bodily injury were detailed as well. Four student volunteers from the PTI, later in their academy training, were on hand for demonstrations. Including to be "exposed to Taser" as they prefer to say instead of "Tasing" someone. Various technical and legal issues were covered on the use of a Taser.

The use of force scenarios demonstrated an attempt to apply the most simple and effective tactics to deal with chaotic situations with endless variables, all within the legal limits set by courts and legislatures. A lot of the questions and concerns raised were dealing with those variables and complications.

Week 4: Judge Jeff Ford of the 6th Judicial Circuit Court explained DUI Court, DUI statutes and enforcement as well as Drug Court programs and drug enforcement. State Trooper Tony Micele explained DUI enforcement details on everything from sobriety tests and the legal framework they have to operate within to help ensure convictions. He repeatedly emphasized that they were "not out to get people," but also that these offenses have deadly consequences for both offenders and innocent people.

Week 5 was on active shooters and responding to them. I'll be covering that class in a separate post and link it here when it's up.

Week 6: Tours of the Champaign County satellite jail and METCAD. The jail tour was instructive regardless of one's views on the various contentious issues on jail expansion, criminal justice reform, etc. Some of the logistical and security issues are made more clear regardless of what future direction one supports. It can also make clear the very real safety and security concerns with a county budget stretched to the brink when you see how that affects the lives of both the jailed population and jail staff. The life and safety of everyone in the facility (staff or inmate) depend on other people being able to assist them and functioning equipment.

The METCAD presentation was similar to the one I saw with the Champaign City Government 101 course, but I was able to get an update on the backup center that was being upgraded. The backup center ran a couple hours of a shift back on April 14th and on its way to being ready to handle operations if the main METCAD facility goes down for some reason. Here's a quick overview of METCAD from a previous post:

Champaign County's METCAD system handles calls for 25 Fire Departments including Champaign and Urbana Fire Departments as part of its emergency dispatch services. This is on top of their services to 12 area police departments. It's an impressive collaborative agency with employees of the City of Champaign, an Urbana location, in a County building, and U of I phone systems. Its board has administrative and public safety representatives from local governments, the University of Illinois and rural representatives of police and fire departments.

The Q&A part of the presentation got into some of the technical hurdles in the long term goal of a fully integrated system and software updates to the system with varying local government and police department communications systems.

Week 7: Mike Metzler, the Chief of Police in Mahomet and a PTI firearms instructor led the class at the Tactical Training Center focusing on firearms and tour of the gun ranges. This class covered a lot of technical details on typical law enforcement firearms and an overview of marksmanship training. It highlighted the various training and requirements, including scenarios to prepare officers for situations they may face one day. The instructor explained the differences in various firearm laws, such as Illinois Firearm Owners ID card versus concealed carry permits. He also explained the difference and downsides of "open carry" laws in other states.

Week 8: Lt. Bruce Ramseyer of the Champaign Police Department explained Crime Scene Investigations and how a real life Crime Scene Unit operates locally versus what one sees on television. In real life people aren't experts or technicians in everything, a lot of the work is low-tech and certain testing is done by other laboratories and everything takes a lot longer. He explained the differences between elected coroners and (often appointed) Medical Examiners and their differing responsibilities. The whole process involves constant paperwork and a huge amount of evidence storage.

He explained how fingerprints are collected, analyzed and compared. He then covered a variety of evidence collection, chain of custody, and even his trip to "the body farm" at the National Forensics Academy. He outlined good calling advice if you contact the police. He encouraged people to not jump to conclusions, take a breath, and try to think positive — look for the facts.

Week 9: SWAT, K-9 and Bomb Squad demonstrations. Down at the U of I Stockyard Pavilion families were invited as well to check out the hardware, canine cops and explosive demonstrations. There were overviews of the local Metropolitan Emergency Tactical Response Operations (METRO) SWAT Unit, the types of K-9 dogs and their training, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams and robots.

A couple highlights included the multi-agency collaboration that forms our local SWAT team, including the SWAT medics who operate unarmed and work through a collaboration with Carle via the University of Illinois Police Department medical support unit. K-9 dog vests are available, but their use is limited by a more common danger to the dogs: overheating. The EOD unit is also a collaborative unit, currently with 6 techs split evenly from the Champaign Police Department and University of Illinois PD. There were a couple big booms in this class session.

Week 10: States Attorney Julia Rietz and Judge Randy Rosenbaum (who was the public defender years ago) explained the roles of the prosecutor and the public defenders office in the legal process. The SA explained various issues such as the plea bargain process, limits on evidence admission, and legal requirements and rights that have to be ensured. The former PD explained in more detail the rights of the accused and the ways how public defenders are appointed by the judiciary.

Afterwards those who attended enough classes graduated and got a certificate of completion and thanks from the chiefs of the participating police departments for taking the time to get to understand law enforcement better. Contact information and forms for scheduling a ride along with your local department was then sent out.


What next?

I'm looking forward to the ride along opportunity when that gets scheduled. I still have to finish the post on the Week 5 course on active shooters and catch up on several other topics that I've been collecting information on lately, including immigration and refugee services locally.