City of Champaign Updates

This post follows up on this week's City Council (agenda and video) and Human Relations Commission March and February meetings. It also includes some links about parts of Downtown Champaign being added to the National Registry of Historic Places.

There was a Cheat Sheet post previewing the City Council meeting here with some additional background. The Council Bill involving an intergovernmental agreement with the University to install Smart Sensors was delayed again awaiting feedback on privacy and data security concerns from City staff. The northern 40 acre half of a Unit 4 property was annexed into the city to help improve options for the district to eventually sell it for development. The other half has some additional use restrictions that were covered in detail during the discussion of the item here. The News-Gazette had coverage yesterday:

About 40 acres of farmland once intended to be the site of the new Central High School on Olympian Drive has been annexed into the city of Champaign...

After the 2016 referendum, whose projects did not use that land, was approved, the board went back to the Atkins family, he said, and it agreed to loosen the restrictions, allowing for a middle school, elementary school, administration building or athletic fields at the site.

Unit 4 bought both tracts of land in 2014 for a total of $3.2 million.

Full article here. Other items on the agenda were passed swiftly and unanimously. The City Manager had a statement about preparedness for the coronavirus here. She explains the intergovernmental Regional Emergency Coordination Group facilitated by the Champaign County Emergency Management Agency. She explained that municipal and public safety members had met that afternoon in their policy group to discuss the coronavirus situation and preparing for the possibility of local cases soon. There will be weekly meetings on the subject led by Champaign-Urbana Public Health District addressing needs of informing the public.


Human Relations Commission:

The March Human Relations Commission had a couple presentations that might be of interest. One was an overview of the Census 2020 starting at around the 7:18 minute mark in the video. One highlight was how to identify legitimate census workers and warning signs for scammers at around the 14 minute mark.

The rest of the HRC meeting focused on a presentation (at the 24:35 minute mark in the video) and public comments on proposed changes to the City's Human Rights Ordinance updating the language on protecting people from discrimination around gender identity, updated terminology on transgender issues, and clarifying language. The main presentation was by Laura Hall, Assistant City Attorney. Kris Koester the City's LGBTQ liason and a couple local LGBTQ group representatives from Uniting Pride (UP) and the University of Illinois LGBT Resource Center spoke in favor of the changes after.

The February Human Relations Commission had an overview on the upcoming Disability Resource Expo and a discussion on equity issues in Unit 4. The Disability Resource Expo overview began at the 5:25 minute mark in the February video here. More information at the Expo website here. The time and location will be March 28, 9am-2pm, The Vineyard Church, Urbana, IL.

The Unit 4 equity discussion began at the 10:50 minute mark in the video here. The minutes from that meeting had notes of the Commissioner comments during that discussion available here on page 2 of the PDF.


Historic Downtown Champaign:

Last month there was some local coverage on portions of both the downtown Champaign and Urbana areas being added to the National Register of Historic Places. There was a previous Cheat Sheet post with links and more information for Urban's addition here. WCCU had coverage on Champaign a couple weeks ago:

The Downtown Champaign commercial district is receiving some honorable mention.

The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places...

The Downtown District contains 63 structures in total and covers more than 19 acres.

For property owners, the main benefit is access to a 20% income tax credit.

That full article and video segment here. Smile Politely had additional details from the City's press release including a map of the specific area here.

Urbana City Council and Ward 6 Applicants

This week's Urbana City Council meeting video is online (video here, agenda here). A previous Cheat Sheet post had a preview of some of the topics here. Before the regular Committee of the Whole meeting the Council had a Special Meeting that included approving a couple Mayoral staff appointments (more information on that here) and recognizing local women leaders and women's history month. The city had a facebook post with images here:

The News-Gazette had additional coverage of one of the appointments and how it relates to Urbana's new approach to developing a new Master Plan for the City:

The longtime CEO of Fox Development Corp. has been hired by the city of Urbana for three years to rewrite its comprehensive plan, which was last updated in 2005.

Andrea Ruedi will be paid $150,000 a year to develop the comprehensive plan, which is Mayor Diane Marlin’s next big project after eliminating the city’s structural deficit...

Ruedi will begin immediately, immersing herself in the city government’s activities, and the city will begin developing the new comprehensive plan this summer.

That full article available here. The appointment, discussion of the Master Plan and the rest of the brief Special Meeting is available at the beginning of the City Council meeting video here.


Committee of the Whole:

After the Special Meeting the City Council came to order for its Committee of the Whole meeting. In general they voted to recommend the remaining agenda items to the City Council for final approval. There were some other highlights worth pointing out:

• A housing property Rosecrance wants to return to the City was delayed as the agreement wasn't ready yet (more details here).
• Public Participation (direct link here) included a couple statements read into the record about equity and subdivision sewer problems. There was also a Neighborhood Watch leader Tammy Masters on local safety concerns in County Squire neighborhood in Ward 6 and issues to consider in appointing a new Alderman for it.
• Coronavirus preparation discussion between the Board and the a representative with the fire department. The conversation dealt with concerns with staffing backup plans in case of illness.

Four of the applicants for Alderman for City Council Ward 6 were in attendance to introduce themselves and why they believed they should be selected for the vacancy. A fifth member had a written statement read into the record due to a personal schedule conflict with a surprise second honeymoon. The City Council appeared sympathetic to not breaking that date. The applicants came from various backgrounds and perspectives. From the City's facebook post:

• William Colbrook, Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety Parkland College

• Thomas Hebert, Manager and Golf Teaching Professional, Just Fore Fun Golf Center,

• Andrew Miller, Software Engineer, University of Illinois,

• Joseph Smith, retired City of Urbana Civil Engineer,

• Darius White, Executive Director, Urbana Business Association.

That post available here. The video of their statements to the City Council here with Joseph Smith's written statement read afterward. The Mayor described the choice as a difficult one, but one she hoped to have ready by the regular City Council meeting next Monday March 9th.

Champaign City Council / C-U Fresh Start

Last week's study session had a presentation on the C-U Fresh Start program that tries to stop gun violence locally. The presentation and discussion covered possible changes as the program has evolved and processed feedback over the years. The full video of the Study Session is available here. The full written report on the C-U Fresh Start program is here and includes a short history and overview. There was a roughly 30 minute presentation on the program, how it's structured, and how it operates (direct link here) followed by a Q&A with the City Council members at the 31:40 mark in the video.

Public participation (at the 50:30 mark) included many of the people who work with the program or its leadership in various capacities and shines a light on many of the dedicated people from different walks of life, from police to service providers and many others. Critical community members and people doing work behind the scenes spoke from the formerly incarcerated to those who have experienced various sides of gun violence and impacted communities. Trauma expert Karen Simms spoke a bit about her work and recommended reading a report on urban violence and trauma available here from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

The City Counsel members gave their impressions afterward (at the 1:31:30 mark) and unanimously agreed to direct staff to continue working with the program. WCCU had coverage last week:

After the discussion, Champaign City Council said they supported the program and are interested in seeing how it evolves in the coming years.

This year, CU Fresh Start looks to strengthen police-community relations, provide additional engagement options for CU Fresh Start participants, and launch a media campaign to reinforce the focused deterrence message and highlight the success of the initiative.

They are also working to establish a job partnership for participants—something that is still lacking. They are looking to work with several local organizations to help fill the service gap.

Full article with video segment here. The News-Gazette had additional coverage and highlights from the Study Session here.


Regular City Council Meeting This Week:

Tomorrow, Tuesday March 3rd, the City Council will be having a regular City Council meeting (agenda here) which will include revisiting an intergovernmental agreement with the University of Illinois for Smart Sensors (more on that at a previous Cheat Sheet post covering the last regular meeting). The vote was postponed to look at privacy and data protections involved in the project.

There will also be a public hearing and a vote on annexing the Unit 4 property off of Olympian Drive (resolution information here with explanation on page 13 of the PDF file). Excerpts:

The purpose of this Council Bill is to approve an Annexation Agreement with Champaign Community Unit School District No. 4 (Unit 4) for property Unit 4 owns at 75 W. Olympian Drive. Six votes are required for passage...

Overview. The subject property is owned by Unit 4, having been acquired by the District in 2014. The land is undeveloped agricultural land and is presently zoned AG-2, Agriculture pursuant to the Champaign County Zoning Ordinance. The subject property is contiguous to the City of Champaign city limits along its west, south, and east boundaries. To the west lies the Ashland Park subdivision. Adjacent properties on all other sides are undeveloped agricultural land...

At present, there is no development imminently planned for the subject property. Prior to any future development, the land will be both annexed and subdivided. Upon annexation to the City of Champaign, the zoning pattern outlined in the Area General Plan will attach to the property. Meanwhile, dedications of rights-of-way for the street connections shown in the Area General Plan (along with other local streets internal to the development) will occur as a part of the subdivision process. Subdivision will also trigger construction of the extension of Neil Street from its current terminus northwards to Olympian Drive.

That full informational packet (including maps) here. The property was purchased when plans were being made to build a new Central High School on the North end of Champaign instead of the later referendum projects that expanded Central High School at its current location. More on that from an older Unit 4 press release here:

At a special meeting Monday night, the Champaign Unit 4 School District Board of Education unanimously approved the purchase of 80 acres of land for a new high school on Interstate Drive next to the Ashland Park subdivision.

The purchase price for the land amounted to $3.2 million. The District will use funds set aside from the county-wide 1% sales tax for the purchase of new land, and will seek to supplement these funds with the sale of excess property. The Promises Made, Promises Kept Committee, comprised of community members, has been overseeing the funds from the 1% sales tax to ensure they are being used as promised.

That full press release here. More background on the old site selection here. The old information site for these plans is archived on the Unit 4 website here.

Urbana Alderman Applicants

At tomorrow's Monday night Urbana City Council meeting, the applicants for the Ward 6 alderman vacancy on the City Council will have an opportunity to introduce themselves and speak for a few minutes. The City of Urbana's facebook page had a quick overview:

The City of #Urbana has received five applications from residents seeking to replace Ward 6 City Council member, Harold “Dean” Hazen, who resigned his seat effective February 25, 2020. The applicants are:

• William Colbrook, Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety Parkland College

• Thomas Hebert, Manager and Golf Teaching Professional, Just Fore Fun Golf Center,

• Andrew Miller, Software Engineer, University of Illinois,

• Joseph Smith, retired City of Urbana Civil Engineer,

• Darius White, Executive Director, Urbana Business Association.

Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin has been interviewing applicants. They will be invited to give a 3-minute public statement before the City Council at the Committee of the Whole meeting on Mar. 2, 2020. Mayor Marlin expects to bring appointment to the Council at the Mar. 9, 2020 City Council meeting, where the new Council member will be sworn in upon approval.

That post is available here. WCIA had similar information from a press release here.

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin will interview candidates privately before they each address the public at the March 2 city council meeting.

A selection is expected by the next city council meeting on March 9. Once that person has been announced, they will take their seat after being sworn in at that same meeting.

Full WCIA blurb here. The News-Gazette also explained the vacancy in a bit more detail:

Five men applied to replace Dean Hazen as alderman of Ward 6, which covers much of the southeast part of the city...

Hazen stepped down this week to focus on his full-time job as chief of public safety at Richland Community College in Decatur, a position he’s held since February 2018.

Hazen was elected in 2017 to a four-year term and was the lone Republican on the council.

His replacement will fill the seat until May 2021, following the next city council election that spring.

That full article here. More on Hazen's resignation at an earlier last month in the News-Gazette:

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin announced the Ward 6 alderman’s resignation will take effect Feb. 25...

After Monday’s city council meeting, Hazen told The News-Gazette he’s resigning so he can focus on his full-time job as chief of public safety at Richland Community College in Decatur, a position he’s held since February 2018.

“I’m working full-time, and it’s conflicting with my schedule in a way I can’t change,” he said. “I accepted a very demanding position and want to give it 100 percent.”

That full article here. More information on what else will be discussed in tomorrow's meeting on the agenda here. Other highlights include approving the ARMS intra-governmental agreement on updating the current records system used by many local police departments to Federal standards until it can be replaced. More on the ARMS updates from a previous Cheat Sheet post here.

There will also be a presentation on the city's consolidated action plan required for various Federal housing grants and agencies for local programs. A recent Cheat Sheet post explained the general action plan concept for Housing programs when the City of Champaign was going through its process earlier this January:

The Annual Action Plan is a document mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that outlines local affordable housing and community development needs and identifies strategies for addressing them. The plan identifies activities that the City expects to undertake through direct action or through the provision of funding to other entities. In addition to outlining housing and community development strategies, the Annual Action Plan includes the City’s application for the federal grants received from HUD. These grants, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), fund the majority of the affordable housing and neighborhood improvement programs provided by the City. The City of Champaign receives CDBG funding directly from HUD and HOME funding through the Urbana HOME Consortium.

That Cheat Sheet post is available here.

Local Coronavirus Preparation Updates

With the latest updates nationally with community spread incidents on the West Coast, it's worth highlighting some local information sources and coverage about how to prepare for an increasing number of cases in the United States. The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District put out this informational flyer for the public:

More information available from their facebook post and facebook page for updates. The CDC has the national updates here. Some of the basics in that flyer were also reiterated in Tom's Mailbag today. WCCU had some coverage yesterday:

While there are no known cases in the C-U area, the virus is known to spread quickly around the world.

Now, the Champaign Urbana Public Health District is warning residents in the Champaign area to prepare for the spreading of the virus.

In a Facebook post, it tells people to prepare to stay in their homes for at least two weeks, in case you get sick.

More at that full article here with a video segment. The News-Gazette had additional information on preparation yesterday here:

Preparing for coronavirus? 'It's not as simple as slapping a mask on your face'
...
[Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator Julie Pryde] urged everyone looking to buy N-95 respirator masks to consider that these masks are going to be most urgently needed by health care workers and supply is running low.

She and Healy also advised taking similar precautions used to help prevent the spread of flu.

While there’s not a coronavirus vaccine, there are other protective steps, among them washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, disinfecting surfaces touched by sick people, staying home when you’re sick, covering up coughing and sneezes and staying alert to updates from public health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That full article here.

Champaign City Council Updates

This post previews a couple upcoming City Council meetings and also has links and coverage of last week's regular City Council meeting which dealt with topics such as installing smart censors, parking requirements, and infrastructure planning. Council Member Fourman also had a call to the community for ideas on connecting those impacted by previous marijuana laws to entrepreneurial and career opportunities in the now legal and growing industry.

Upcoming Study Session:

Tomorrow the Champaign City Council will be having a Study Session meeting where there will be a report on the status and possible future of the CU Fresh Start program. From what I understand the City Council is very likely to recommend directing staff towards continuing the City's work with the program. A quick excerpt from that report gives the general idea:

CU Fresh Start is playing a key role in helping to implement and sustain an effective violence reduction strategy. After three years of addressing Champaign County’s increase in gun related activity, the initiative is just starting to gain traction and demonstrate that focused deterrence can be a viable option to reduce gun violence. Moving forward, the initiative will continue to be guided by the leadership of the MDT steering committee, prepared to incorporate lessons learned regarding the participant experience, increasing engagement of community stakeholders, and building more collaborative partnerships with law enforcement.

Champaign County continues to experience unacceptable levels of gun violence which confirms the need for continued gun violence reduction efforts. CU Fresh Start is one tool being used to provide intervention and deterrence for individuals identified as being at risk for continued involvement in gun violence. 

More at the full Study Session report here. More information on the CU Fresh Start program here at their website (the main Champaign County Community Coalition website is likely to be updated soon if that link breaks).

Regular City Council Meeting 2/18:

Last week's regular City Council meeting agenda is available here and the meeting video is available here. The first Council Bill involved a plan to work with the University of Illinois to install six smart sensors around the City to measure various data. That discussion began at the 6:40 mark in the video. The vote was postponed until the March 3rd regular City Council meeting to review how the data and privacy concerns are addressed. The News-Gazette had coverage on that here:

Citing privacy concerns, the Champaign City Council decided to wait for further information before voting on a proposal from the UI to add six “smart sensors” around the city.

The sensors would detect air quality and noise levels, but also use cameras to measure traffic and pedestrian counts, raising questions from several council members about how that video would be handled...

“I don’t quite understand what the privacy concern is,” Toalson said after Tuesday’s meeting. “These are cameras placed in a public location, looking at a public location, where there is no inherent right to privacy.”

He said the cameras wouldn’t use facial-recognition technology and that the raw video wouldn’t be available to the public.

That full article here. The News-Gazette also had an article previewing this particular item here with additional information about the sensors and how the data would be used to improve future city planning. More information on the sensor arrays at the Array of Things website here. The item is likely to pass at the March 3rd meeting as the delay was merely to confirm the data and privacy concerns are covered as with other implementations in other cities. It was not added to a Study Session for any extensive review beyond that.

The other items on the agenda passed unanimously, including a parking requirement exemption for a car wash facility being added near the AMC Theater. From WCIA coverage previewing the vote:

AMC conducted a study from October 2018 to October 2019, and determined the theater never filled its parking lot during that time. It only exceeded 578 spaces the day Avengers: Endgame came out. The rest of the year, even during major releases and holidays, the lot never reached more than 400 filled parking spaces. 98% of the time, less than 260 spaces were filled.

City council members are considering changing the number of required parking spaces to one space for every six seats, and using part of that space to build a new car wash.

Full article with video segment here. The Mayor commented that she'd like to see the parking requirements overall to be reduced and to take into account the multi-modal transportation issues such as public transportation and bicycles used heavily in some areas of town.

Another item that had local coverage included a sewer project that will be added on to previous work near campus for another high rise development. The News-Gazette had more details on that:

With sewers built in the 1900s and rapid development in the past decade, Champaign is seeking a cost-sharing agreement to expand a sewer to the new high-rise going in at Sixth and Daniel streets.

The city council will vote Tuesday on a $550,000 agreement to reimburse Core Spaces for the sewer extension and other infrastructure upgrades...

That block used to be home to the popular bar Kam’s, as well as an Espresso Royale coffee shop, Subway, a short-lived Fernando’s brick-and-mortar location, Home of Gourmet Chinese and the former C.O. Daniels bar.

Full article available here. The City Council discussed whether there might be reason to look at a larger sewer upgrade for the area rather than additions on a case by case basis. City staff noted that such an investment might not be able to adequately predict future growth in a way that adequately meets future demand. 

Towards the end of the meeting Council Member Kyles highlighted the hard work and commitment of staff to meet the commitment towards diversity in contracting bids. 

Council Member Fourman put out a request to the community for ideas towards connecting those impacted by past cannabis laws to new jobs and career opportunities with dispensaries and other now-legal cannabis industry jobs. She highlighted that impacted individuals don't appear to have a direct path towards entrepreneurial and career opportunities in this growing industry. She suggested that programs like the City's Diversity Advancement Program might serve as a guide towards a future program.

More Urbana Updates

There were some additional City of Urbana updates that I missed or have popped up since the last Urbana Updates post here. I don't have updates on the Ward 6 vacancy yet. The deadline for applying for the Ward 6 vacancy on the City Council has passed and we're awaiting news on that as early as this week. There are, however, two vacancies on Urbana's Human Relations Commission that deals with enforcing the Urbana Human Rights Ordinance and discrimination complaints. And parts of Downtown Urbana were added to the National Registry of Historic Places. More details on both below.

Urbana's Human Relations Commission has a couple vacancies for people interested in applying for appointment to that board. The City of Urbana's twitter feed had some basic information below (click to enlarge):

More information is available from the City's website here. The application link is broken at the moment, but is also available here until it is fixed.


More information about the downtown area being placed on the historic register from WILL here:

For decades, the people of Urbana have marveled at the architecture of the county courthouse, built in 1901, and dozens of other buildings in its downtown. Now the historic downtown district is receiving national recognition. This week, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced the Downtown Urbana Historic District is one of 12 Illinois sites added to the National Register of Historic Places.  A press release from the IDNR says there are 41 historical properties throughout the historic district, including the courthouse, the Urbana Free Library and former U.S. Post Office. Other businesses represent 19th and 20th century architectual styles including Italianate, Romanesque Revival, Classical Revival, and Tudor Revival. Being listed on the National Register of Historic Places means qualify for federal grants or consideration during federal project planning. Also the sites become eligible for some tax provisions.

More from the WILL daily "News Around Illinois" article here. Parts of downtown Champaign were also added to the National Registry recently. That is in a separate Champaign Updates post here.

Urbana Updates

This post has a few updates on local government in Urbana, including some updates on the City's financial forecast, liquor code revisions, and Urbana schools District 116's new SROs on their recent training.

The City of Urbana's financial forecast has been in the news for positive outlooks. From WCIA earlier this week:

The city just released its financial forecast for fiscal year 2021 through 2025, and mayor Diane Marlin says the city is in better financial shape now than it has been for the past 5 years.

Marlin also said this is the first time in 3 years they won’t have to make any budget cuts.

The budget forecast shows financial stability, even accounting for the fact that the city won’t be getting any property taxes from Carle.

More at the full article here including a video segment. The News-Gazette had more on this in their eEdition today, including some of the not-so-great parts of the forecast:

The five-year look-ahead wasn’t entirely rosy: — While sales tax revenue, which makes up 30 percent of the city’s general fund revenues, is expected to increase 3 percent this fiscal year, the forecast expects that “long-term growth in sales tax revenue will not keep pace with inflation.”

— The state also continues to divert 5 percent of the city’s share of income taxes, reducing revenue by about $250,000 next year. “Given the magnitude of the state’s fiscal crisis, there continues to be a possibility that diversions may increase in the future,” the financial forecast states.

— Contributions to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund are “expected to increase by $125,000 on a recurring basis.”

That full article available on their eEdition here (subscription).


There's been some attention to Urbana's liquor code as Champaign has been looking at its fine structure and Urbana has been looking to revamp its own policies. Smile Politely had an editorial that also had a good overview of the situation:

Last week, the Urbana City Council presented their proposed plans to fully revamp the city’s liquor code, a process that has been ongoing since the middle of 2019. Mayor Diane Marlin and her team have been assessing the code because as time has gone on, the code has proven to be cumbersome and difficult to navigate. In last week’s city council meeting (specifically, February 3rd), Mayor Marlin discussed at length the city’s plans to revamp the entire code based on feedback from the community. There are a myriad of liquor license options, which, if you’re feeling up for it, can learn all about in the proposal linked above. With a variety of businesses looking to function within the structure of the laws set up by the city (and beyond that, the State of Illinois), the code has proven to be challenging at times.

As a result, Mayor Marlin and her team have worked for many months to make sure they are getting these revisions right. Ultimately, we see the work that the City of Urbana is doing to be a positive thing, not just because they are making the code easier for businesses to utilize and navigate, but they are paying attention to the feedback presented by members of the community.

That full editorial here. A comparison of local liquor fines was in the News-Gazette just a couple days ago:

For more on the Champaign fine issues, see the related News-Gazette article here or a Cheat Sheet post on a recent Study Session addressing fines here. Also see a recent Champaign-Urbana double feature Cheat Sheet post addressing issues affecting both cities.


WCIA also had an update on the new Urbana High School Student Resource Officers' latest training:

It was a 40-hour course that introduced officers to the duties of an SRO. The school board voted in November to create two full-time SRO positions. That decision came after issues with fights at both the middle and high schools last year. They now have full time officers at both campuses...

“I’d say the majority of them don’t even realize I carry a weapon,” said Urbana Middle School resource officer Michelle Robinson. Going from a patrol officer to a full-time school resource officer is something Robinson says took some adjusting, but it’s a change she’s starting to embrace.

“They’re getting more comfortable with me. So they come up. They’ll come to me before they come to support staff,” said Robinson. This week, she’s back from a 40-hour SRO training. “It teaches us some things that you probably wouldn’t understand on patrol. Triggers – a lot of mental health. A lot of, kindof learning to the why children are doing what they’re doing.”

That full article and video segment here.

City of Champaign Updates

This post covers the most recent Study Session topics on ordinance violation fines and the five year housing and community development plan for federal funds.It also covers some other updates and news items related to the City of Champaign (jump to link) on topics such as the Planning Commissions's recent recommendations, a damaged traffic light by an uninsured driver, and an update on the City's Southwest Master Plan for development around Curtis Road and the I-57 interchange.

The City of Champaign looked at reducing its fines for ordinance violations at its last study session. The video of the study session report on ordinance violations had a helpful explanation of how ordinance violations work. They explain the rationale behind them, how they're enforced, the state laws guiding local municipalities, and an overview and history of the fine levels in Champaign. That video is available here. The written report is available here. The News-Gazette had coverage earlier this week:

The city puts certain alcohol-related ordinance violations, such as underage drinking and using a fake ID, in its highest tier of offenses, for which the fine is $350.

At this week’s city council meeting, several council members said those fines are too high and instructed staff to adjust them for consideration at a future meeting...

In fiscal 2019, the city collected $635,971 in fines, which staff noted is less than 1 percent of the city’s general revenue fund. “Champaign does not use fines as a significant source of revenue to make up the City budget,” staff wrote in a report to council.

More at the full article here. Also covered at the study session was a five your plan relating to affordable housing priorities and related funding. Basically the City has to explain how it plans to use funds towards housing issues related to grants and programs for housing and community development. Excerpt from the written report:

The Five-Year Consolidated Plan and associated Annual Action Plans serve as the application for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

High priorities from the previous (2015-2019) Consolidated Plan were to provide affordable housing, eliminate slum/blight and support public services. Significant progress was made towards these goals with the completion of housing rehabilitation to 225 households, the near completion of the Bristol Place Redevelopment and the public services support to youth in the CommUnity Matters program.

The development of the new 2020-2024 Five-Year Consolidated Plan includes active collaboration with Champaign County, the City of Urbana, the Housing Authority of Champaign County, CU Public Health District and the Champaign County Continuum of Service Providers to the Homeless...

Recommended housing priority areas for the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan are: owner occupied rehabilitation and weatherization, affordable rental housing opportunities, homelessness support and reduction of lead-based paint exposure.

Recommended community development priority areas for the 2020-2024 Consolidated Plan are: public services for youth and special populations, public facilities and infrastructure improvements and economic development.

Full report is available here. The video presentation is available from the Study Session here. UPDATE: A schedule for public input was posted on the City's twitter account. Image below (click to enlarge):

Other City of Champaign Updates:

The City's Planning Commission recommended a change to parking requirements that would allow a car wash facility to open near the AMC theater. The recommendation notes that the theater doesn't use all the parking spots now except one time during the highest grossing movie of all time. From the News-Gazette earlier this week:

The Champaign planning commission recommended the city council approve changes to its parking requirements for theaters so a car wash can open next to the AMC multiplex...

The car wash originally sought a minor variance from the zoning board of appeals. While that bid was rejected, a possible solution was recommended by the planning commission — reduce the number of parking spaces required per theater seat...

The planning commission recommended the change, which still needs council approval, and the theater’s property still needs to be subdivided so the northeast corner lot can be sold to Club CarWash.

That full article available here.


Tom's Mailbag in the News-Gazette had two updates in the past couple weeks on a traffic light that was struck by an uninsured motorist. Here's a basic overview of the damage from the February 7th Mailbag:

“When the cabinet was hit by a vehicle and demolished, we had to place a temporary cabinet and rewire everything to get the lights back on. That was accomplished by the end of the initial day of the accident. However, the intersection and lights basically went back to ‘factory reset,’” he said. “This meant all legs got an equal amount of time, left turn lights came on with no cars in left turn lane, pedestrian buttons were not working, etc.

“By Tuesday of this week, the pedestrian buttons were reprogrammed. As of Wednesday of this week, the left turn cameras and the timings have been tweaked to what they were prior to the accident. A new cabinet (with a price tag of $30,000) has been ordered. It will take approximately one month to be built and delivered. Once it is delivered and installed, the intersection should function nearly identical to what it did before last week’s accident.”

That full Mailbag here. And more information in the February 14th Mailbag about the uninsured driver's liability and the city likely being on the hook for the damages:

From the Champaign Police report: “It was discovered that Unit 1 ran off the road and hit a traffic light and electrical box. Unit 1’s license plate was left behind in the debris. Unit 1 driver was located at his residence along with the vehicle...

“Unit 1 driver admitted to being impaired while driving. Unit 1 driver stated he turned too fast and lost control of his vehicle. Unit 1 was towed and impounded. Unit 1 had significant front end damage...

The city will attempt to pursue legal action against the driver if possible, said Champaign City Attorney Fred Stavins.

That full Mailbag article here.


And last month there were a couple updates on the City's Southwest Master Plan for development. From WAND last month:

Anyone who has walked or driven past the southwest end of Champaign has probably seen some major changes recently.

Champaign leaders said their master plan is finally seeing some progress after many years of working on a plan for it.

"The master plan covers a mild square around the Curtis Road interstate. It is an area you can describe as four separate quadrants," said senior planner Lacey Rains-Lowe.

Full article and video segment available here. The News-Gazette had an overview of various businesses making plans in that developing area here.

Health Updates: Covid-19 and Meningitis

The latest updates on the Wuhan coronavirus, which the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is calling by its new name, Covid-19 are available at their website here. They link to the latest CDC update on February 13th which still describes the risk to those in the general American public without relevant contact as low (emphasis added):

The potential public health threat posed by COVID-19 virus is high, both globally and to the United States. The fact that this virus has caused illness, including illness resulting in death, and sustained person-to-person spread in China is concerning. These factors meet two of the criteria of a pandemic. It’s unclear how the situation will unfold, but risk is dependent on exposure. At this time, some people will have an increased risk of infection, for example healthcare workers caring for patients with COVID-19 and other close contacts of patients with COVID-19. For the general American public, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low at this time.

More from the full CDC information page here. The last update on the WILL coronavirus information blog was also on February 13th and is no longer linked on their main page. I'm not sure what that means for future updates.

There were unconfirmed stories about a potential coronavirus case a little over a week ago suggesting a child was under observation. Those stories were never confirmed and so far the only hard update I have on that is from WCCU quoting local health officials that there are no confirmed cases locally.


Bacterial Meningitis Case:

The McKinley Health Center on campus had an update on a meningitis case that stated that those possibly exposed have already been contacted:

A student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been diagnosed with a case of bacterial meningitis, as confirmed by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (C-UPHD). The student, a resident of off-campus housing, has been isolated at an area hospital for treatment, and authorities have identified and treated anyone in who may have had close contact with the student – including hospital staff.

As a result of those efforts, there is no longer believed to be a risk of the illness spreading.

Bacterial meningitis is a serious illness that spreads to other people through sharing personal items, kissing or prolonged close exposure such as residing in the same household. There is low risk to other people in the general community.

When the university learns of incidents like this, it acts to limit the potential spread within campus and into the broader community. The university works with state and local health officials, and McKinley Health Center to contact the students, staff, faculty members or others in the community who may have been exposed during that period. At this time, C-UPHD or McKinley has contacted all those identified at risk.

That news release available here. There was also coverage in the News-Gazette and WCIA. From the News-Gazette article:

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District’s public health administrator, Julie Pryde, said that since meningitis requires close contact to spread, it’s relatively easy to contain compared to diseases like measles.

“It’s been a busy day” tracking down the student’s associates and giving them antibiotics, Pryde said, but “there’s no risk to the community.”

That full article here. More general information on bacterial meningitis is available at the CDC here.


Other Health Updates:

WILL reported earlier this week that OSF Healthcare is promoting an app to help connect people who need emergency CPR response with people who know CPR:

OSF Healthcare is encouraging people to install an app on their phone that will alert them when people nearby are in need of life-saving CPR. The PulsePoint app launched a couple years ago in Peoria and Champaign counties and recently expanded to Vermilion county. The American Heart Association says the survival rate for people experiencing cardiac arrest is less than 12 percent but CPR can double or triple the chances of survival. OSF Healthcare reports that since PulsePoint launched in Champaign county in 2017, more than 7000 people have subscribed to the app. Formal CPR training is encouraged but not required.

From WILL's "News Around Illinois" update here. More on PulsePoint from the OSF news release including several informational videos here.

There was also a happier story from Smile Politely about how the local Champaign County Humane Society brings animals to visit nursing home residents who could benefit. A little more background is available from the CCHS on the Queenie Mills memorial dedication page:

Dr. Mills established the Pet-a-Pet program in 1978, through which volunteers took pets on weekly visits to residents of Champaign-Urbana nursing homes.  She knew that interacting with animals made people feel better, and made it part of her life’s work to provide that experience to those who could benefit the most; children and the elderly or infirm.

More on Queenie Mills here. More on the CCHA at their main website here.

Unit 4 Updates

The past couple Unit 4 school board meetings have had some interesting highlights (agenda packets available here under the "meetings" tab). In the January 27th meeting (video here) there was a presentation on "Building Trauma Informed Schools" that described various programs and initiatives related to trauma, crisis response, and concepts like Psychological First Aid. The full presentation is available at the school board video at the 32:40 mark and the presentation slides are available here in PDF.

Just as a quick example, in collaboration with the Center for Childhood Resilience (CCR) at Chicago Lurie Children’s Hospital, staff have been trained in programs like Bounce Back and CBITS:

In this week's February 10th meeting, there was another presentation on "Community Schools Update" which had an overview of various community collaborations and ways the school might begin to coordinate them along a strategy. There appears to be concerns among the board and organizations that locally there are a lot of organizations and collaborations, but communication between them is complicated and efforts are often duplicated. The full presentation in the video here at the 52:30 minute mark (slides available here):

On page 12 of the presentation slides, used by the national program's presenter, it gets a bit more into the sales pitch for consulting and the direction of the training they offer. The gist appears to come down to developing a coordinator position that can work with and organize the various efforts under a strategy focused on the board's goals. Beyond the change management jargon, it sounds like training to help organize a mess of good intentions and hard work into a more effective one.

The two recent meetings also had updates on reading and math scores across 1st through 8th grade. The charts show overall Unit 4 scores versus the national average and highlight scores for African-American students specifically:

• Reading on January 27th: Video presentation at the 8:20 mark. Slide presentation here.
   
• Math on February 10th: Video presentation at the 19:50 mark. Slide presentation here.

In the most recent list of upcoming events there was an item for the February 27th Education Equity Excellence (EEE) Committee Meeting; 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. - Mellon Board Room. With the recent focus by the local Champaign County ACLU and NAACP on equity in Unit 4 since the consent decree, there may be helpful information there. More on the EEE Committee and its creation after the consent decree here at their webpage.

There was also a presentation that got into minority teacher hiring and retention and the increasing challenges with reaching the district's diversity goals during the ongoing Illinois teacher shortage. Competition with other districts is increasing while the number of applicants continues to drop. A lot of the information presented at this February 10th meeting was preliminary, but it was stated that there will be a more up to date future presentation to the board when its ready.

That discussion including a brief overview of the employment audit report is available at the 1:50:00 mark in the video here. The full report is available here. The report itself is very long and involved, but it does have a short introduction, including a brief "Findings and Goals" on page 5 that helps summarize it.

The next regular board meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2020 at 5:30. Remember school board meetings generally spend their first half hour in "executive session" for non-public issues such as personnel and disciplinary issues. The public portion of the meeting generally begins at 6pm.


Referendum Project Updates in the News:

The News-Gazette had an update on various referendum projects and construction a few weeks ago here. They also had a photo tour of some of the construction here last week. Excerpt:

The next step for several projects is interior work.

Centennial High’s north addition is on the verge of becoming weather-tight, meaning indoor work like drywall and finishes can soon be done and ready to turn over by the end of the summer.

McKinley Field is still slated to be ready in time for Champaign Central to use the track this spring, although issues with the soil have made those plans contingent on weather. All the while, some interference with ongoing classes was inevitable.

Full article here, including some comments on contingency funding. In the most recent February 10th school board meeting, how contingency funding can be used from one project's savings has been used to cover additional unexpected costs in others. It's a bit buried later in the meeting at the 2:21:50 mark in the video here and later during some of the more detailed phase 1 project bidding information.

Champaign and Urbana Unofficial Double Feature

Some local news coverage and information covers or compares both cities, like the coordinated preparations for "Unofficial St. Patrick's Day," a University tradition that used to cause a lot of chaos and tragedy. This post covers the latest "Unofficial" preparation, but also some information comparing property taxes, state grants, and marijuana legalization.


Unofficial Preparations:

WCIA had a handy breakdown of the various rules and maps where some of the limitations are going into effect here. From the introduction of that article:

Champaign and Urbana’s mayors have issued emergency orders with rules and regulations surrounding “Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day.”

In a release, Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin said “Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day” is “an unsanctioned, alcoholic beverage drinking event that has occurred in the Champaign-Urbana area annually within two or three weeks of St. Patrick’s Day since 1996.” This year, the event is planned for Friday, March 6.

That full article and information here with a short video segment as well. WAND's article on the same also had a link to the Urbana Mayor's emergency order in PDF form here. The Daily Illini coverage highlighted the similarities with Champaign's order:

Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feien also issued an emergency order on Friday, placing restrictions on alcohol sales on March 6 to March 7 for all businesses holding a bar or restaurant liquor license.

Similar to the Urbana mayor, Feien stated that Unofficial may be “a threat to public health, safety and welfare” and gave almost the same reasons for the order, such as the promotional efforts that go into the event and the increase in arrests. 

More on that here.


C-U Property Taxes, State Grants, and Marijuana Dispensaries:

There's a long history behind why the property taxes of the two cities have varied over the years and how they developed with different stimulus and factors. Excerpt from Tom's Mailbag a couple months back trying to explain how Urbana's property taxes ended up slightly higher:

It’s mostly a function of luck and development patterns, some of which go back more than 150 years.

First was the decision of the Illinois Central Railroad to locate its main north-south line in West Urbana (as it was known then) rather than the county seat in Urbana. Soon Champaign was larger than Urbana and had a much bigger and more prosperous downtown with a greater number of department stores, hotels and theaters.

The disparity persisted and grew in the 1950s and ‘60s when it was decided to locate Interstate 57 west of Champaign rather than east of Urbana. Look at a map of Interstate 57 and see how the roadway drifts westward south of Paxton instead of going directly south. The U.S. Air Force didn’t want the interstate on the east side of Rantoul in case an expansion of Chanute Air Force Base was needed (the base closed in 1993) so the highway went to the west and continued that way into Champaign-Urbana, where it initially was several miles west of Champaign.

That full Q & A is available from Tom's Mailbag here.

If that's not enough in the weeds on local property taxes, there was also an explanation about how the township governments assess and work with the county government to establish tax rates and levies from the County Executive here. For more information on that see the local township government pages for the City of Champaign Township and Cunningham Township (Urbana). The County Cheat Sheet also has a primer on Tax Levies versus Tax Rates.

There have also been some grants in the news that have helped both cities and their respective school districts, park districts, etc:

• WCIA had an article last month about State library grant money for both Unit 4 (Champaign) and District 116 (Urbana).
• The News-Gazette had coverage today of State grant money for Spalding Park in Champaign and for Blair Park in Urbana.
• In other Champaign Park District news in the last month or so, there was an application for State grant funding and a recent donation from the local Champaign-Urbana Kiwanis Club for the Martens Center.

If that's not enough weed in the weeds, in other recent news, the Daily Illini had an overview of local government support for marijuana dispensaries in each city:

After Illinois’ legalization of recreational marijuana sales, dispensaries across the state, including several in the Champaign-Urbana area, have seen long lines and high levels of traffic from consumers eager to obtain legal cannabis.

Champaign mayor Deborah Feinen said she wasn’t surprised by the volume of attention brought to businesses such as Cresco Labs’ Phoenix Botanical dispensary in their first days of operation, due to their location and sheer demand for products in Illinois.

“We have the only non-medical dispensaries for about 100 miles, so many people in Central and Southern Illinois have been traveling to come,” Feinen said. 

That full article here. More on the preliminary reaction to the new marijuana regulations in Champaign and Urbana at a previous Cheat Sheet post here.

City of Urbana Vacancy and Updates

In this post we have some updates on litigation against the City, ongoing work to revise the liquor code, and an alderman vacancy. First, there's going to be a alderman vacancy on the Urbana City Council soon and the City is accepting applications from district residents for an appointment to the rest of his term. From the News-Gazette today:

After Monday’s city council meeting, Hazen told The News-Gazette he’s resigning so he can focus on his full-time job as chief of public safety at Richland Community College in Decatur, a position he’s held since February 2018...

Hazen was elected to the council in 2017 to a four-year term.

The city will take applications to fill Hazen’s position until Feb. 21, Marlin said, followed by interviews with the candidates...

Hazen’s replacement will fill his seat until May 2021, following the next city council election that spring, Marlin said.

More information at the full article here. Tom Kacich of the News-Gazette pointed out on his twitter page that Hazen was the Council's only Republican member. Application information for residents of the district (map) wanting to be considered for the vacancy are available at the City's website here. Excerpt:

The City of Urbana is accepting applications for the Urbana City Council seat vacated by Ward 6 Alderman Den Hazen on February 25, 2020 due to scheduling conflicts and family matters. Per state law, Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin has up to 60 days from the date of a council member’s resignation to recommend an appointment to the City Council. The Council must then vote on the appointment within 30 days.

Application paperwork and requirements information here.


Other City of Urbana Updates:

There was a federal lawsuit filed against the City of Urbana and Police Department over arrests related to a shooting on campus in 2018. The News-Gazette had details last week here:

Two men who had armed robbery charges against them dropped are suing the city of Urbana and its police officers in federal court, accusing them of fabricating eyewitness identification.

In lawsuits filed last week, Quintin Brown, 28, and Wayne Colson, 24, say they were unlawfully jailed for nearly a year in connection with an alleged holdup at a house party two years ago in Urbana that resulted in two women being hit by gunfire...

When prosecutors announced they would be dropping the charges against Brown, Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said a witness who picked him from a photo lineup, leading to the charges against him, wasn’t cooperating with her office.

The full article has additional links for more information on the arrests and the cases over time here. A related article on a separate lawsuit against the fraternity where the shootings happened was in the paper at the same time here.


At this week's Urbana City Council Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda here), there was a presentation and vote to update the City's liquor ordinances. The video presentation of the proposed changes is available here. The changes initially included modifications to the age restrictions for those 18 and under, but were not included in the final version passed. The News-Gazette had an overview of the proposed age changes last week:

The city has been studying its liquor code since April. The proposed changes say anyone younger than 19 will not be allowed after 9 p.m. in establishments that hold Class A liquor licenses. Most places with that type of license are bars...

Champaign’s bar-entry age is 19.

That full article here. The News-Gazette article linked above in relation to the alderman vacancy pointed out at that same meeting that the public and council feedback on the change led to it being dropped. More on that here.

The Council approved returning to look at the revised plan at the next Committee of the Whole meeting two weeks later on February 17th. Mayor Marlin had a summary at the end of the video on this topic summarizing the changes they will be looking at at the next Committee of the Whole at the 1:30:28 mark.