July and August Local Government Updates

Reminder: 2026 Midterm Elections in Less than 90 Days! 

For county government updates (including news on indictments, nursing home beds, homelessness strategies, and more) please see our latest Champaign County government updates here.

City of Champaign:

The City of Champaign is working on its own local “Homelessness Prevention Blueprint.” The proposed draft from June is available here starting on page 32 of the PDF. There was also a recent Study Session on Housing Needs Analysis and Strategy, with the final draft of that available here.

There is an ongoing campaign to get City support and funding towards a Champaign County Reparations Commission. This is being led by the Champaign-Urbana Reparations Coalition.

There is also a growing organized opposition to Flock and other AI based surveillance systems in the area, with the City of Champaign’s systems a major focal point. You may have already seen an increase in signage, social media posts, and local articles in opposition to the systems around town.

Illinois Public Media had coverage of the completed improvements in the Garden Hills Neighborhood involving drainage and Hedge Park. Phase 2 of the Neil Street Plaza project will begin soon. The City passed its Fiscal Year 2026/27 budget at the June 16th City Council meeting. The C-U Reparations Committee started what is to be a monthly advocacy for the City to support a reparations commission for Champaign County at that same meeting.

The City Council also extended an additional year of funding for the Strides low-barrier shelter. This is in collaboration with the City of Champaign Township who operates the shelter, but does not have sufficient revenue for those operating costs.

City of Urbana:

The News-Gazette had an overview of the new surveillance approval process approved by the Urbana City Council this week. That article highlighted Councilor Shirese Hursey’s opposition. Her full remarks are available from the meeting video here.

Dr. Stephanie Renae Stewart-Cockrell was appointed to the vacancy in ward 5 at the June 22nd Council meeting. Grace Wilkins announced her upcoming resignation last month. It’s unclear when she will make the decision final. She was at the most recent City Council meeting on August 3rd, in spite of earlier reports that she was likely to step down towards the end of July.

There had been some audio issues with the City Council meetings and there had been an announcement that council, board, and commission meetings would no longer be livestreamed due to those issues. This issue was resolved with a work around by the time this had been reported, however. The city is continuing to livestream the same meetings and recordings are still available a few days after each meeting (usually with some helpful sound adjustments for the quieter parts).

There was a presentation on the proposed Philo Road Ahead Initiative at the June 8th City Council meeting (video link here). C-U Citizen Access had detailed coverage of the initiative and properties at issue.

There was a great deal of coverage, back in June, over a proposed landmark designation of the old Urbana Civic Center and its possible future use as an MTD transfer station. The landmark designation proposal failed, and the MTD appears to be moving forward to apply for federal funding for the transfer station project. A June 17th News-Gazette article had a helpful overview of the issues surrounding the decision and numerous links to related articles and opinion pieces.

The debate over a proposed apartment project in a West Urbana neighborhood had raised concerns about disparities in zoning, planning, and investment. This particular item was pushed to July 13 for further discussion and a vote, which passed.  There was a large focus on protecting the “character” of neighborhoods, which has some historically problematic ties to previous segregationist policies and rationalizations locally. An example from a 1939 Champaign County Realtor's ethics guide, for example linked character to maintaining racial and ethnic purity of neighborhoods:

The language was softened to a "colorblind" wording after World War II, though the actual policies remained effectively unchanged for decades longer.

There is a very preliminary draft report for the Alternative Response Task Force. It was discussed at the June 25th Stakeholder Meeting. It was noted repeatedly that this preliminary report is still missing several sections expected to be in the final report.

The City Council approved the “community engagement and violence prevention office” at Sunnycrest Mall. The News-Gazette had a brief overview of the concept and the opposition by two Aldermen. There was an Urbana Police presentation at the March 23rd City Council Meeting on the proposed office and team (video of that presentation here).


Other Local Government Updates:

• METCAD: C-U Citizen Access raised concerns about ambulance response times in Champaign County compared to the Eight-Minute Standard.
  
  
• MTD: The C-U MTD board had to redo its annexation vote for areas that would allow a link for local bus routes to Carle at the Fields in Southwest Champaign. There was a technical violation of state law that prohibits meetings on election day (one of the public hearings for the annexation fell on the day of the March primary). There was a new annexation Public Hearing on June 22nd. The board approved the annexation at its June 24th meeting.

Champaign City Council Updates

Local elections have already begun for 2025. Early voting has started for the consolidated February 25th primary, election, with one contested race for the City Council and township supervisor here. VoteChampaign and the League of Women Voters have a non-partisan candidate guide out for local candidates in the primary race. 

Early voting for the April 1st consolidated general election will begin soon after the primary. There will be another referendum on a property tax increase to fund the low barrier Strides shelter, after the previous referendum failed in November.

City Council Updates:

Recent City Council meetings have spent a lot of time on the fallout from Council member Davion Williams antisemitic comments in December and swastika post on social media in January. More details on that and the response below. The full  2/11 City Council meeting is available here: agenda, video. 

There was a progress report on Council Goals for 2023-2025. It mostly covered outreach on community organizing, gun violence, and a lot of updates on local affordable housing issues. A brief overview of the Council Goals is available on the City website here. The full staff report on the Council Goals Progress Report is available here.

2/4 City of Champaign Township and City Council Meeting

The Township meeting was only a few minutes long. They mayor asked the Township supervisor to address a need by City staff for documentation related to a flex spending account after many failed requests. He agreed to get that documentation to them.

There was a great deal of public comment (jump to video link) related to Council member Davion Williams previous antisemitic statements in December of 2024 and his more recent decision to change his social media profile picture to a swastika and highlighted the religious and cultural use of the symbol prior to that of Nazi Germany.

The News-Gazette highlighted a notable exception to those public comments were the proud parents of recent hire of Valena Greene as "the management analyst for the city’s public works department" announced earlier in the meeting.

Council comments included calls for Davion Williams to resign, echoing many in the public comments. Council member Kathy Shannon noted that the swastika on his social media wasn't just part of a post discussing the history, but that he had made it his profile picture. Every comment that he was making to her and others concerned about his actions was posted with a swastika by it.

The News-Gazette had a series of articles on the fallout after Davion Williams attempted to start a conversation about the cultural history of the swastika symbol, in part by changing his social media profile picture itself into a swastika:

• 2/23: Champaign mayor condemns remarks by council member, public commenter
• 2/24: Champaign council member apologizes for comments at meeting
• 1/31: Champaign council member will not resign, says swastika post was not meant as hate
• 2/4: Williams apologizes for swastika post on his latest statement of apology
• 2/4: Williams apologizes but staying put with coverage on his later statement and his intention not to resign.

The post and his profile picture change has since been deleted, but screenshots taken that morning were shared widely online: 

Davion Williams Post / Profile Change on 1/31/2025

His comments in defense of this post and his previous comments that day were all posted as a swastika:

Davion Williams Comment on 1/31/2025

Many people who aren't Jewish and don't study extremism and antisemitism may be unfamiliar with a lot of antisemitic tropes brought up in his December remarks, but the idea that Jews are secretly controlling our governments and media are certainly the most notorious ones. These were front and center with antisemitic conspiracies like the "Protocols" Hoax, the 1920s Klan, and some of Nazi Germany's most heinous propaganda.

Attempts to normalize the use of the swastika by antisemites will also be familiar to people who face and research antisemitism. This is often explained as doing so on behalf of cultures or religions that are not their own and not done in collaboration with those communities or actual education outreach by them.

It's worth pointing out that the fight against segregation, racism, and bigotry locally has long been a collaboration with many from the local Black community and Jewish community, from the early beginnings of the NAACP branch here through the Civil Rights Movement itself and to this day. Unfortunately, one can find anti-Black racism among some Jewish people and antisemitism among some Black people to this day.

Council Member Davion Williams had a community meeting for District 1 last night (video), but organizers made it clear in the ground rules that no comments about the past would be tolerated, only those looking towards the future and solving problems in District 1. 

The meeting included many updates on local programs available, updates from Champaign Police Chief Tyler, and the City. It focused almost entirely on building collaborations and better communication between those attempting to organize and provide services in the historic Black communities of Champaign's North End within District 1. Many area pastors and local officials attended, including the State's Attorney.

General Housekeeping Update:

Due to illness, I haven't been able to keep the Cheat Sheet up to date as I would have liked over the past few months. But I'm catching up as I can. There should be a flurry of updates on the way through the rest of February as that happens.

The City Website has the meeting minutes and full videos of the meetings that I missed during our downtime. One highlight that we missed at the time was the latest update and staff report on the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint (jump to video link).

City of Champaign Winter Updates

The past few months have seen new district map, some important new appointments, updates on gun violence, and community investment. There will be a separate post for Unit 4 and the City of Champaign's gun violence funding issues.

The 2024 Primary Election (and first day of Spring!) is coming up on March 19th. Check out the VoteChampaign / League of Women Voters Candidate Guide for non-partisan candidate information. The City of Champaign's City Council and Mayoral elections are during odd years, but there are other local government races on the ballot.

Redistricting:

The City Council approved a new district map for the city this month. From the city's Engage Champaign website:

On January 9, 2024, the City Council adopted new geographic boundaries for City Council Districts. This approval followed a lengthy project to gather input and map suggestions from the public through the engagement project outlined on this page. This project is now complete, and an interactive version of the adopted map can be viewed through the City's website.

There didn't appear to be much, if any, local coverage of the redistricting process towards the end. The City's process appeared to carefully take current law and court precedent under serious consideration. Other than keeping an eye on the process, I did not hear any specific concerns about the proposed maps towards the final stage. 

Back in early December the City Council switched the map under final consideration from map #6 to #9. The issue was referred back to staff to finalize. From the 12/5 minutes: 

After a brief explanation of the Council Bill by Mayor Feinen, CM Beck, seconded by CM Pianfetti, moved to refer the item back to staff for map proposal #9 consideration, instead of map proposal #6. A roll-call vote was taken; all voted yes.

As the minutes suggest, there was no discussion or comment during the amendment vote or referral back to staff (video jump to). One can still compare the two maps from an older Study Session report from 10/6/2023: 

Goal Setting: 

The City Council unanimously approved its two year goal setting language at its 1/9/2024 meeting (video jump to) (see previous Cheat Sheet post on the goal setting meetings last fall). The city's Engage Champaign website has a page devoted to the process with links to more information.

Crime and Gun Violence:

The Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) program with Flock Safety was renewed and expanded according to the News-Gazette (see 12/12 City Council video and minutes here). The News-Gazette had an editorial in favor of the renewal afterward. The Champaign Police Department continues to report reduced shootings and a drop in violent crime. From the News-Gazette coverage of January's Champaign County Community Coalition:

The Champaign Police Department is moving in the right direction and not looking to make any wholesale changes — at least according to Deputy Police Chief Geoffrey Coon...

Champaign saw an almost 50 percent drop in shootings in 2023 compared to 2022 and a nearly 75 percent drop in shootings last year compared to 2021, a release from the city police department said...

Coon pointed to the department’s increased investment in building relationships with community members, as well as the implementation of new technology like license-plate-readers and “old fashioned police work” to the drop in violent crime.

That full article here. The full Community Coalition video is available here with law enforcement updates beginning about 2 minutes in. C-U Citizen Access has previously reported that violent crime and shootings have fallen in both Champaign and Urbana in spite of the policy and ALPR technology differences. Other metropolitan areas saw similar drops in gun violence and violent crime as reported by the Springfield Journal-Register.

Flock's gunshot detection system, however, will likely not be continued in the City of Champaign when that contract expires next month. C-U Citizen Access had more coverage on that here.

Champaign Deputy Chief Kevin Olmstead said Flock marketed the technology to be 90% accurate at detecting gunshots within 90 feet of the discharge. However, that accuracy rate has not been held in Champaign.

“To date, the system has not yet lived up to performance expectations, including misidentifying some sounds — such as fireworks or a vehicle backfire — as possible gunfire,” Olmstead said in a statement. 

To continue using the detectors, the annual cost would be $25,000 per square mile, which brings the city’s cost to $32,500 per year. The current contract will end on Feb. 27, 2024 unless the city council votes to continue usage.

More information at that full article here (as well as some previous coverage of the problems from C-U Citizen Access).

Other crime and gun violence related Champaign updates:

• The News-Gazette continues to give updates on guns reported lost or stolen in the area. On 1/12 they printed a summary of some examples from last summer.
• Additional coverage on additional high definition "public safety cameras" at over a dozen intersections form the News-Gazette and WCIA. This is in addition to a previous approval for a new new surveillance van last summer. The van was described as a "Multi-Purpose Vehicle" in the agenda, but also as "Premier Surveillance Platform" with a Command Center and Tech Center in the manufacturer's specifications. Those specifications are available on the Cheat Sheet twitter page here.
• The News-Gazette had coverage of the City's approval of more anti-violence programs as part of its Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint. They specifically highlighted the Raynard Glass' mentorship program in additional coverage as well. Mr. Glass thanked the City for its supporting during the 12/12/2023 City Council public comments.
• The News-Gazette and Daily Illini had coverage of the City Council's approval of a second round of violence prevention funding.

Other Champaign Updates:

• Champaign Park District on future Clark Park renovations from the News-Gazette.
• Andy Quarnstrom was appointed to be the new Champaign Fire Department Chief after the retirement of Gary Ludwig. Quarnstrom was promoted from his role as acting deputy fire chief and had to resign in his other local government role as Township Supervisor. The City of Champaign fast-tracked the process of appointing a new Township Supervisor according to the News-Gazette and WCIA.
• The News-Gazette also reported that Kyle Patterson, the current County Board Chairman, has been appointed to be the next City of Champaign Township Supervisor, likely sometime in February. WCIA had more with Patterson here. The News-Gazette also had coverage of the other Township Supervisor applicants. Their interviews with the Township Board (same members as the City Council) is available here in the meeting video.
• University Group building and Campustown headquarters updates from the News-Gazette.
• The 12/29/2023 Kathy's Mailbag feature in the News-Gazette had updates on the Garden Hills drainage project and some information on Champaign Fire Department fire truck repairs.
• The News-Gazette highlighted City staff donations to non-profit organizations.
• WCIA and the Daily Illini had coverage of the City of Champaign receiving a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2023 Municipal Equality Index.

City of Champaign Township and City Council Updates

 

Back in April the News-Gazette highlighted plans for a City Council review of the violence reduction blueprint spending and programs. It was initially expected to occur during one of the May City Council meetings, but you weren't alone if you thought you may have missed it. According to at least one City Council member, this has been pushed back to later this summer, but "no later than August."

City of Champaign Township:

You can catch the most recent 6/6 City of Champaign Township and City Council regular meeting on Champaign Government Television here (Township meeting agenda here and City Council meeting agenda here). The City of Champaign Township meeting included a presentation on the Township budget, including the new Strides "low barrier" shelter budget.

It has been a while since we've had a Cheat Sheet update on the City of Champaign Township, and there have been big changes with the resignation of Assessor Faraci (resignation letter here) to be appointed to the Illinois State Senate. There has also been some changes of both the overlapping membership of the Township board and City council members with the recent municipal election. Katherine Moore was approved as his replacement at the March meeting ("a Contract for Township Assessor Services" in the agenda). From the March Township meeting minutes:

Supervisor Quarnstrom also noted that applications to fill the Assessor role either in a contractor capacity or an employee capacity have been received, interviews were held, and the interview panel has selected Kathryn Moore, a current Township employee, to serve as a contractor to fill out the remaining Assessor term vacated by Faraci. 

The News-Gazette also had some coverage of the appointment ahead of the meeting here.

City Council:

The City Council approved the Honorary Street names discussed at the beginning of May (see link below). Also approved were an additional funding boost to the Garden Hills street lights and sidewalks improvements from the County level ARPA funds. The News-Gazette had coverage of that here. Description from the resolution approved last night:

The purpose of this Agreement is for the County to provide ARPA Funds to the City in assisting with sidewalk and lighting enhancements in the Garden Hills neighborhood in Champaign, thereby improving neighborhood features that promote health and safety.

There was a similar $2 million dollar figure in State funding for the City's gun violence prevention initiatives. More on that 5/13 coverage below. 

More City Council Updates:

For folks who want to catch up with the latest City Council meetings, the News-Gazette and its "Meeting Minutes" feature has been giving regular overviews and updates. Links and an excerpt from the previous Friday's "Meeting Minutes" feature. It's probably most easily accessible for digital subscribers who also get the eEdition:

• City of Champaign 5/19:

With no formal policy on special-event sponsorship spelled out in the municipal code, council members this week signed off on creating one on a one-year trial basis.

The intent of the pilot program, which will run from July 1 through June 30, is to “bolster existing special events and generate interest in the development of new events for the purpose of attracting more visitors to downtown and the city’s central business districts,” staff wrote in a memo to council members.

Among the rules:

➜ It must meet specific criteria “aligning with the city’s mission, goals and policy objectives.” Those include being “broadly welcoming, inclusive and diverse”; designed to attract visitors to downtown, Midtown or Campustown; offering unique arts, cultural or educational activities; and having a sufficient security/risk management plan.

• Champaign Police personnel updates 5/19
  
  
• City of Champaign 5/13 (with video clip showing approval of the item in the excerpt below here):

The city of Champaign is poised to get $2 million in state money to help support its gun violence prevention and community development programs...

If approved, one chunk of the money — $846,825 — would go to reimburse the city for six Equity and Engagement projects and programs that have been underway since from July 1, 2022 through the end of the current fiscal year June 30.

The rest would be spent as follows:

• $164,700 for fire department staffing, surge hiring and equipment.
• $347,500 for police vehicles.
• $641,001 for police officer training pay, patrol overtime, uniforms, equipment and help in the downtown area from a security company.

WCIA also had more on increased State funding generally in a May 26th article here with Mayor Feinen's remarks. 

 

• City of Champaign 5/9 article on four proposed honorary streets relating to local organizations and business legends. The full meeting video is available here with links to jump to the portions on recognizing Jewish American Heritage Month and the presentations on the honorees: Professor Abram Sachar, Terry and Liz Hawkins, Frances Nelson, and Chabad.

 

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 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).

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.

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.

Preliminary and Unofficial Primary Election Results

There are still some mail-in ballots that may be on their way in that could be counted, but here are the preliminary and unofficial election results for the Champaign and Urbana so far:

Champaign County unofficial results from the County Clerk website here.

The Champaign County Clerk also has an early listing for the April 6th, 2021 Consolidated General Election candidates here.

Illinois Newsroom had an overview of the Urbana, Champaign and Decatur races with a preview for the general municipal election on April 6th.

WCIA had a highlight of the Urbana Mayor's race here and other local race results listed here.

Smile Politely had informational blurbs up on individual races:

Urbana:

• Urbana Mayoral primary: Diane Marlin defeated Andy Ma, Dennis Roberts
• Urbana City Clerk primary: Phyllis Clark defeated Titianna Ammons

• Urbana Ward 1 primary: Maryalice Wu defeated Jake Fava
• Urbana Ward 2 primary: Christopher Evans defeated Erik Sacks, Christopher Hansen
• Urbana Ward 3 primary: Shirese Hursey defeated Deborah Liu
• No Ward 4 primary (early general election candidate information here) 
• Urbana Ward 5 primary: Chaundra Bishop defeated Meghan McDonald
• No Ward 6 primary (early general election candidate information here) 
• Urbana Ward 7 primary: James Quisenberry defeated Jared Miller

Champaign:

• Champaign Township Supervisor primary: Andy Quarnstrom defeated Rita Conerly

Urbana School Board Updates

At the most recent Urbana School Board meeting (agenda, video) there were updates on in person learning plans, a presentation on the district's Farm to School program, and the approval for a housing program in collaboration with Cunningham Township government.

First there was a presentation (jump to video) on the Farm to School nutrition program by folks from Sola Gratia and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. The presentation slides are available here. The program is now up on social media (facebook and instagram) and has a website here. WAND had coverage of the program earlier this month:

The project is a collaborative effort between Urbana School District 116, Sola Gratia Farm, and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, along with support from a USDA Farm to School Planning Grant.

It is being informed by school district members and other local partners. The organizations are launching this project in February and intend to spend the next six months soliciting ideas and planning, with implementation to begin in late 2021...

After piloting the project in Urbana schools, the coordinating team hopes to expand to involve the Champaign Unit 4 School District as well.

More at the full article here. Smile Politely highlighted the public input the program is requesting from the community with links to their survey and email here.

The Superintendent had a presentation (jump to video) on upcoming plans for in-person learning for District 116. The News-Gazette had coverage last week:

The Urbana school district is looking at ways to get more students in the classroom for the fourth quarter, particularly at the early-childhood and elementary levels.

Administrators will send out surveys to families of all elementary school students Friday, with the hopes of receiving commitments by March 1 from families of students who want to return to in-person classes....

At the middle and high school level, Ivory-Tatum said, the sticking point is lunch. Currently, the district has allowed back students who need extra support, which is decided at the school level. Ivory-Tatum said schools are reaching out to students who have been given the option to return but have not and are looking to eliminate barriers for those who can’t come at a specific time because they’re home with siblings or at work.

More information at the full article here. This presentation focused on the 4th Quarter. January's in person report was more in depth and covered the 3rd Quarter (jump to that report in the January 19th meeting). There was also a general COVID-19 Update at the February 2nd study session meeting (jump to that video here).

Most of the items on the agenda passed without controversy in the consent agenda. It's worth highlighting one approval, however: an intergovernmental agreement with the township to "assist in making adequate housing available to homeless families within the Urbana School District boundaries." WICS had coverage earlier this week:

On Tuesday, the Cunningham Township Supervisor's Office and Urbana School District drafted an agreement called the Emergency Shelter Program, providing resources and shelter to families in need.

"Right now this is a program that serves families that don't have another place to stay," Cunningham Township Supervisor, Danielle Chynoweth said.

Having had 26 households with 11 students go through the program informally already, it is a need they are ready to meet.

That full article here. Illinois Newsroom had even more coverage on the program earlier this month after February's Cunningham Township Board meeting (Cheat Sheet post on that meeting here).

The regular Superintendent's report included an overview of the winter teacher's institute and a thank you to local health care workers from Urbana Middle School students.

School Board member Dimit praised the social distancing and work of the people working in drama projects through the pandemic. He also praised local News-Gazette writer and Urbana High School student resource supervisor for his writing, insight and efforts.