Local Gun Violence Updates

 

The News-Gazette had a recent series on local gun violence, including a great deal of community input and commentary. Part 1 of the series is available here with links to the full five part series, additional commentaries and articles. The links at the top of each part also include some data comparing C-U to other similar municipalities (individually and together). 

At the County level there were also discussions for raising rewards for tips through the Champaign County Crime Stoppers program to build off of the ongoing "gun bounty" work. The Champaign Coroner weighed in with another area coroner on dealing with so many young victims of gun violence and their families in the aftermath. WCCU had a review of gun violence more generally over the Central Illinois region here.

The Champaign County Community Coalition meeting in December didn't have quite as much bad news from the Chiefs' Reports. Excerpts from the News-Gazette coverage:

Tom Petrilli — who will be sworn in as interim Champaign police chief on Dec. 16 — shared the department’s “thankfully short” update: There have been 13 confirmed shooting incidents since Nov. 10, with only one involving a victim...

The city of Urbana is up to 104 confirmed shootings in 2021, with eight homicides. Eleven shots-fired incidents occurred in the last month, police Chief Bryant Seraphin said.

“That’s quite a few for us,” he said, adding that the city is now averaging 3.2 days between shootings. “We are continuing at a record pace.”

Most of the 11 incidents in the past month did not have injuries involved, Seraphin said, though three resulted in graze wounds. In one, more than 40 casings from rifle and pistol rounds were found at the scene, he said.

That full article here. The full Community Coalition meeting video is available here (agenda here).

Part 2 of the "News, Brews & Beatz" panel discussion on gun violence and youth programs is available here from WILL Radio. WILL had a preview of the discussion here. Part 1's panel discussion video is available here with previous Cheat Sheet links and additional information here.

The City of Champaign approved a "Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint" that includes a variety of measures to deal with gun violence and its underlying causes. From Illinois Newsroom:

The city’s new Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint infuses $3.2 million in the first year into existing efforts from the housing authority, school district, reentry groups and more.

It also aims to fill gaps in Champaign services compared to other cities. For example, the city would hire two street outreach workers, who would mentor and mediate conflicts between people at risk of becoming shooters or shooting victims.

This money comes from the American Rescue Plan. Mayor Deborah Feinen said that the pandemic relief dollars give the city a chance to find more.

Full article here. An overview of the blueprint is available in the Study Session report on the City of Champaign's website here. The News-Gazette also had a Q&A article on the City's new Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) plan that will go into operation this year. For more updates on Champaign and Urbana's work to address gun violence, see this month's City of Urbana and City of Champaign Cheat Sheet posts.

There was coverage on the University's collaboration with Champaign-Urbana on gun violence from the News-Gazette here. A couple excerpts:

From a developing app to increased police technology, the University of Illinois has some crime prevention strategies it’s ready to share...

The planning stages for [working to adapt an app-based tool to help reduce crime and violence in the C-U community] extend into July 2022 — researchers have conducted more than 25 interviews with community stakeholders, including city staff of Champaign and Urbana, the CU Trauma and Resilience Initiative, the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club, the United Way of Champaign County and many more, according to documents shared with the News-Gazette...

As part of the university’s Call to Action proposals, born out of the George Floyd protest movement of 2020, the UI established the “Campus-Community Compact to Accelerate Social Justice,” which will try to address the origins of violence, which are “often interconnected with inequity,” the email noted.

More projects and information at the full article here.

Illinois Newsroom highlighted the C-U Citizen Access analysis of gun violence trends a couple weeks ago. They included maps and other data, with even more at the original C-U Citizens Access link:

Gun violence in Champaign has steadily marched westward over the past three years as shootings have increased in neighborhoods north and south of West Springfield Avenue, especially in or near several apartment complexes, according to a review of police data over the past seven years by CU-CitizenAccess.org...

CU-CitizenAccess analyzed police data on shooting reports dating back to 2015. This included one self-inflicted gunshot wound because it was during an incident in which another person was wounded and later died. The outlet also filed a public records request for detailed shooting reports between 2019 and the fall of 2021. 

The analysis shows that over the past several years, reported shootings in Champaign have pushed into other areas that hadn’t seen gun violence, such as Holiday Park and areas further west and north past Prospect Avenue, such as the 1300 block of Fairfax near Salt and Light Champaign.

Full article here. Original C-U Citizens Access post here.

City of Champaign Updates

This post covers several December updates on the City of Champaign's plans for dealing with gun violence with technology, services, and includes a few other City related updates. Tonight's Human Relations Commission meeting and tomorrow's City Council meeting have been canceled according to the City calendar (see the December 28th and January 4th meeting cancellation notice here). I don't have any updates on what the in-person versus remote meeting situation may be by the next meeting on January 11th.

The City of Champaign approved its amended Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) plan, which will go into effect early this year. From the News-Gazette:

The council approved a contract with Flock Safety that would see a total of 46 license-plate readers installed for two years at a total cost of at least $240,500, along with a year of the company’s acoustic sensors covering a 1.3-mile area around the Garden Hills neighborhood at no additional cost...

According to a draft policy manual from the Champaign Police Department that was approved at the meeting, the department would use the devices to identify license-plate numbers “associated with stolen vehicles, wanted subjects, missing persons, Amber Alerts or other criteria as determined by a deputy chief of police.”

The devices “may also be used to gather information related to active warrants, homeland security, electronic surveillance, suspect interdiction, stolen property recovery, or other legitimate law enforcement purposes,” the draft said, adding they “shall not be used to enforce registration violations or city ordinance violations.”

More at the full article here. An earlier preview of the plan and placements in the News-Gazette included maps comparing past shooting incidents and proposed ALPR locations. WCIA's coverage also highlighted plans for a gunshot detection system.

The City of Champaign approved a "Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint" that includes a variety of measures to deal with gun violence and its underlying causes. From Illinois Newsroom:

The city’s new Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint infuses $3.2 million in the first year into existing efforts from the housing authority, school district, reentry groups and more.

It also aims to fill gaps in Champaign services compared to other cities. For example, the city would hire two street outreach workers, who would mentor and mediate conflicts between people at risk of becoming shooters or shooting victims.

This money comes from the American Rescue Plan. Mayor Deborah Feinen said that the pandemic relief dollars give the city a chance to find more.

Full article here. An overview of the blueprint is available in the Study Session report on the City of Champaign's website here. The News-Gazette also had a Q&A article on the City's new Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) plan that will go into operation this year. The News-Gazette also had an overview of the plan ahead of the vote here. Excerpt:

The nearly $3.2 million for the first year would include grants to the Champaign school district, Carle Foundation Hospital, First Followers, Crime Stoppers, Youth and Family Peer Alliance, DREAAM program, East Central Illinois Youth for Christ and STEAM Genius, Champaign County Housing Authority YouthBuild program, and CU Trauma and Resilience Initiative, along with funding for research, evaluation and monitoring.

Costs for the second year are unknown, but city staff members are advising retaining an additional $3 million of the federal funding for Year 2.

Full News-Gazette article here. WCIA's coverage included a preview, meeting coverage and public input at the meeting here.

Illinois Newsroom had some coverage following up on the "tiny homes" issue in Champaign with some local reactions and concerns with the Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and how they may change the character of their neighborhoods. There was a study session on the topic covered in November's Cheat Sheet post on Champaign here.

More City of Champaign related news:

• City staff helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for the United Way according to the News-Gazette.
• The city is offering disposal service for Christmas trees. From WCIA. C-U tree disposal information from Smile Politely here.
• WCIA had a brief overview of discussions on improving the police hiring process earlier in December.
• A reminder that you can still "Adopt a Drain" to help mitigate local flooding.

Urbana License Plate Readers and other Updates

 

This post covers several City of Urbana updates over the past couple months. Meetings are back to remote Zoom format due to the latest COVID-19 / Omicron variant surge. There are City Council meetings tonight (a Special meeting that includes snow removal plans and a Committee of the Whole meeting). 

In November the Urbana City Council voted down implementing Automatic License Plate Readers as a tool against gun violence locally. From WCCU's coverage:

After months of conversations, presentations, and debates, the Urbana council decided on Monday night to not move forward with automatic license plate readers...

The council voted 4-3 to not move forward with the installation of 20 scanners in town.

Councilmembers Christopher Evans, Chaundra Bishop, Jaya Kolisetty, and Wilken all voted to shoot down the idea...

The city of Champaign is still looking into the pursuit of the readers and are expected to have further discussions in the coming months.

That full article here. Smile Politely had a short blurb on the vote and a link to their opinion piece against the ALPR plan here. The News-Gazette had reactions to the vote here.

The News-Gazette had a couple recent articles in support of using the technology by a victim and family member affected by gun violence here and here. In a recent editorial, the News-Gazette noted the adoption by other departments in C-U. WCIA had an overview of those other area departments here.

Urbana's police review board is looking for Urbana resident volunteers according to WCIA. The 7 member board is currently down to 5 members. WCIA had a brief description of what the board does.

The CPRB was created to hear police complaints in the city. When a complaint is lodged against officers, the police department first does an internal investigation. Then the police chief decides if that complaint is founded or not.

If the person who made the complaint disagrees with the police chief, that’s when the review board steps in.

That full blurb here. More information at the Board's webpage along with a link to the application.

The News-Gazette had an overview of a well known community organizer who passed away in November:

Urbana school children who need a helping hand lost a powerhouse last week.

Janice M. Mitchell, 58, of Urbana, founder of the Urbana Neighborhood Connections Center, died early Monday at OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center of cancer.

A social worker by training, Mrs. Mitchell was a wife and mother blessed with the ability to gather people and resources to help children in need.

Full article here.

In other Urbana News:

• The Urbana Police Department gave out awards for saving lives and local acts of bravery in its annual award event covered by WCIA.
• WAND had updates on the launch of Nexamp’s Solar Star Urbana Landfill community solar farm.
• The City Council is looking for feedback on infrastructure projects from the community "to improve health and safety in neighborhoods through its Equity and Quality of Life Project" according to WCIA.
• The city is offering Christmas tree removal opportunities. From WCIA. C-U tree disposal information from Smile Politely here.

City of Champaign November Roundup

 

The search continues for a new Chief of Police with the City reviewing candidates along with various community stakeholders. The interim Chief of Police will be retiring in December and will be replaced with another interim Chief from within the Department. The News-Gazette had coverage:

On Thursday, the city announced that Matthew Henson — who had run the department since Aug. 6 and been a part of it for 20-plus years — would retire Dec. 16 to become director of the Coles-Moultrie County Emergency Communication Center.

City Manager Dorothy David said she’d appoint Deputy Chief Tom Petrilli, a 20-year Champaign police veteran, to succeed Henson next month...

Meanwhile, the search for a full-time replacement for Cobb continues. The city began accepting applications for the top job last month, with the goal of bringing in finalists in January and having the next chief hired in February.

That full article here. WCIA had coverage of interim Chief Henson's retirement announcement here. Other recent Champaign Fire and Police hires were mentioned in another recent article here. The City's annual awards ceremony highlighted other public safety officials and staff for their efforts over the year as well. Also from WCIA:

The City of Champaign recognized police officer Jeffrey Creel Wednesday for the courage and honor he showed on a day the city will never forget.

Officer Creel was the first of dozens to be recognized during the city’s annual awards ceremony.

The award recognized his actions on May 19. That morning, Creel responded to a call with his partner officer Chris Oberheim. It was something they did every day, but that morning, officer Oberheim was shot and killed while doing his job...

The Champaign Fire and Police Departments and METCAD were also awarded for their heroic actions during a house fire in April. The Neighborhood Services Department was awarded for teamwork when putting together the “Lovin’ U Neighborhood Tour”, and the Champaign Police SWAT team was awarded for its actions following a recent spike in crime.

Several other people and agencies were recognized during the virtual ceremony.

That full article here. Over this past weekend the News-Gazette highlighted the difficulties with hiring for the Champaign Police Department at the same time as cities across the country are facing spikes in gun violence, including Champaign and Urbana. Excerpt:

While the search continues for a new chief, the city is also looking for about 25 people willing to step up to support that person.

In the last two years, 28 officers with experience ranging from a few months to 28 years have left, many for retirement, others for different job opportunities. Two others died — one killed in the line of duty and another felled by cancer...

At a study session Tuesday, city council members will continue their discussion about how to streamline and improve the hiring process to get those vacant positions filled faster with the right people.

More at the full article here. There was an additional article on the years of experience leaving with some of the retirements in leadership positions here.

The News-Gazette had an update on the Garden Hills infrastructure work and plans:

Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen detailed on WDWS with Dave Gentry this Wednesday:

“We approved American Rescue Act Plan money toward (Garden Hills) infrastructure, it’s a long process when you’re talking about giant infrastructure projects,” she said. “We’ve put about $2 million toward engineering, we also put in additional money for the SLEEP program which is basically helping to pay for yard lights and video doorbells in houses to get some lighting and security in the neighborhood.”

The drainage improvement projects for Garden Hills include installing a new basin along a reconstructed Hedge Road — costing an estimated $22.7 million in total — and building additional storm sewer infrastructure, for approximately $17 million.

The city expects to spend $4 million to $6 million to install around 120 streetlights in the neighborhood with additional cameras.

More at the full article here.

There was more discussion on "tiny homes" as part of efforts to address the affordable housing crisis locally. From WCIA:

Some discussions were going on tonight at Champaign City Council, regarding accessory dwelling units, or ADU’s.

There was a presentation to council about possibly allowing the tiny homes. The council is debating approving ADU’s. They are essentially little homes that people build typically in their backyard.

The homes can also be attached to your main home. The ADU’s can be used to house grandparents or young adults, or be rented out to anyone, which could helping with affordable housing in Champaign. People who spoke during public comment had opposing views. One wants the ADU’s to be passed.

Full blurb and video segment here. Page 4-5 of the Study Session report had an overview of the long standing prohibition on ADUs locally:

Prohibition of Accessory Dwelling Units in Champaign. 42% of all the property in the City Champaign is zoned SF1, Single-Family Residential which is the most exclusive and restrictive zoning district. The district only permits one dwelling on a lot. The broad prohibition on ADUs does not extend back to Champaign's founding, or even the City's first zoning regulations from the beginning of the 20th century. Rather, the City of Champaign first chose to not allow ADUs with amendments to the Zoning Ordinance in the 1950s and then again in 1965, when many of the City's residential properties were downzoned from duplex or multifamily zoning to single family zoning. In 1988 much of the In-Town Neighborhood was downzoned from multi-family to single-family and two-family although there were provisions to continue to allow “Accessory Apartments.” Today that concept is still carried on by allowing a single-family home to be converted to two units and a duplex to be converted to three units. However, new freestanding ADUs are not allow in In-Town either under these provisions. 

These downzonings are situated within a broader national context, as cities around the country aggressively restricted ADUs and multifamily living beginning in the middle of the 20th century. Beginning in the 1930s, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Homeowners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) infamously began their implementation of redlining. This practice denied Federal mortgage insurance to properties in “hazardous” neighborhoods while subsidizing mortgages in neighborhoods deemed “higher quality.” The greater percentage of non-white residents in a neighborhood, as well as the number of duplex or multifamily properties, was the primary factor in determining a neighborhood’s quality for insurability purposes. The FHA actively encouraged cities to enact zoning regulations barring ADUs and multifamily buildings to promote homogenous neighborhoods of owner-occupied single-family dwellings. This essentially allowed local governments to mirror the practice of bank redlining through the public policy of zoning exclusions. This public policy has longstanding impacts on residents’ quality of life and equal access to housing choice and economic stability. Today many communities are seeking ways to reverse these long-standing policies that contributed to inequities. Incremental development provides one tool to help accomplish that goal.

Meanwhile, a number of ADUs remain scattered across Champaign to this day. Many of these were built prior to their prohibition and are allowed to continue as legal nonconforming uses. A few were likely constructed illegally and have never been the subject of a zoning enforcement action. Still other residential construction and renovations have resulted in the conversion of garages, basements, and other spaces into areas that do not meet the legal requirements of a separate dwelling unit (separate kitchen and restroom facilities) but can nevertheless function somewhat as such, depending on how residents use the space.

That full Study Session report along with a lot of other current local issues is available here. Video of the City Council Study Session and presentation is available here.

In other Champaign related news, the Champaign Park District and the City are collecting donated winter clothing. More information from Smile Politely here.

Unit 4 Updates

This month's Unit 4 update post only has a few recent news items related to the district. For more information and updates please see the Unit 4 Board website for recent and upcoming meeting topics. Recent school board meeting videos are available here. For the most recent district announcements and highlights, check out their facebook page here.

Higher substitute teacher pay was approved last month, putting Unit 4 in closer competition with Urbana and other area districts. From WCIA:

A lot of school districts in central Illinois are in need of substitute teachers. One district just voted to raise the pay to hopefully bring in some subs. The Champaign School Board voted to raise pay for substitute teachers. They hope this will be an incentive to get people to work for them.

The pay for a regular substitute teacher will now raise from $110 to $140 dollars per day. Half days will change from $55 to $70 dollars per day. Experienced substitutes or retired Champaign teachers will receive a bit more than regular subs per day.

Full blurb here with comparisons on pay with other districts. More coverage from Illinois Newsroom here.

The News-Gazette's recent Tom's Mailbag column addressed the school bus driver shortage locally:

Champaign like most every other school district in the country is still experiencing a shortage of drivers, said Stacey Moore, the chief communications officer for the Champaign Unit 4 school district.

"This has impacted the length of time that students are on buses. Since July, our transportation department has routinely updated routes and eliminated situations that would lengthen the time for routes to be completed. However, because we are facing driver shortages of this magnitude, any disruption will put an additional strain on our system and lengthen travel times," she said.

"It is also worth noting that many school districts across Illinois have resorted to cancelling school and eliminating after school opportunities (including sports), while Unit 4 has been able to keep our schools and after school opportunities open for our students.

More at the full Mailbag article here.

The LIFT program, mentioned in our City of Champaign updates last month, got its official start last month. From WCIA:

LIFT stands for “Leading Individuals and Families to Transformation.” [Deputy City Manager Joan Walls] and other city and school district leaders have said it’s all about lifting up students and families that have been marginalized, something that the numbers show has particularly impacted schooling, and social and emotional health, for Black children in Champaign.

LIFT staff has identified 69 families who would benefit most based on data, like attendance records, grades and behavior, according to Angela Ward. She is Champaign Unit 4 School District’s Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Engagement...

When the city unanimously approved the program in May, it was discussed alongside gun violence solutions. Ward said LIFT was not created to react to the violence.

Instead, she described it as “a proactive approach to finding, who are the people who are struggling to be their best selves? And, how can we get in front of that?”

Full article along with video segment available here.

Local College Updates

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More information and links at that full blurb here.

More local College and government related updates:

UIUC:

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

Parkland:

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

Urbana City Government

First off, it's worth noting that longtime activist and recent Urbana City Alderman Erik Jakobsson died this month. The News-Gazette had a long article with comments by those who knew him and some of his public work here.

The big news item for Urbana City government this month involved gun violence and Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology as a tool to help police solve some of the cases. The News-Gazette had an overview of the recent town hall meetings last week, including comments for and against the technology and concerns about how it may be used or abused. The content of the presentations was very similar in both town hall meetings, but had varying public questions and input (October 28th Town Hall video available here, the 29th here).

The News-Gazette article also noted some Urbana council members present:

Council members who were present Friday included Chris Evans, Maryalice Wu and Shirese Hursey.

Only Hursey was willing to express her support for the technology.

Evans said he is still gathering research and Wu said she wanted to see the final policy.

“I’m not a ‘no,’ but I’m not a ‘yes,’” Wu said.

The full News-Gazette article is here. More on the ALPR issue in both Champaign and Urbana from the News-Gazette here. WCIA had extensive coverage on the subject here. Excerpt:

Chief Seraphin said the ALPR’s cost about $2,500 per unit nd about $250 to install. He says he hopes they can install around 20 throughout Urbana.

Urbana got this idea after watching it work for surrounding cities. Rantoul recently caught a suspect by using the ALDR’s. Decatur also has them.

Mayor Marlin also said the University of Illinois Police and Champaign County Sheriff’s Office are looking into installing them as well. Chief Seraphin and the mayor said this would be helpful to work together with the surrounding areas.

That full article here with video segment. WCIA also had coverage of the first town hall on ALPRs put together by the Urbana Police Department and the Champaign County Branch of the NAACP who was advocating for the measure. This follows previous discussions by the City of Urbana on dealing with the vast increase in gun violence locally. WCIA also had coverage of the University of Illinois Police Department and co-responder model updates in Champaign County here.

The News-Gazette also had some updates on the pilot program between the Urbana Police Department and Rosecrance, a local mental health services provider, for responding to mental health crisis calls and alternatives to jail for certain non-violent scenarios.

Plans for the crisis co-responder team call for a Rosecrance social worker and an Urbana police officer who has a master’s degree in social work to follow up on calls for service related to mental or behavioral health crises, Marlin said.

The Urbana officer to work on this team will have a new title — behavioral health detective — and since she will be redeployed from her current police job, there will be no new city money involved, the mayor said.

Urbana Police Lt. Corey Koker, who is overseeing this program for the police department, said the police-Rosecrance response team will be focused on public service and will have its own dedicated office and resources.

In follow-up response visits, the team will try to connect people in crisis to available community services that can help them, he said.

That full article is here. WCIA also had coverage on this topic here.

More government related news from Urbana:

• Urbana schools offering more pay to deal with a substitute teacher shortage from Illinois Newsroom.

• COVID testing in Urbana schools from Illinois Newsroom.

• The City won an AARP challenge grant for a public arts initiative. Link from Smile Politely.

City of Champaign Updates

The City presented Garden Hills with its updated infrastructure plan for the neighborhood, including an accelerated plan for dealing with the flooding issues there. WCIA had coverage of the meeting and plans here. Excerpt:

The City’s Public Works Department went to the garden hills neighborhood meeting. They presented an infrastructure plan neighbors have heard before. Crews would fix drainage problems, add street lights, sidewalks and more.

“The focal point of the project is a detention basin on the south side of the railroad tracks in Garden Hills to alleviate the flooding issues in the neighborhood in the community,” Chris Sokolowski, Assistant Engineer with the City of Champaign’s Transportation Department, said.

The neighborhood has dealt with flooding for years. Any strong rain will flood streets, but a big topic at the meeting was the urge for street lights and sidewalks. People say its a safety necessity.

Full article with video segment here. The City Council also got updates on Bristol Place plans moving forward according to the News-Gazette. More details on that from the Study Session report here.

The City of Champaign also moved forward with Automatic License Plate Reader technology as a tool to help with recent increases in gun violence and prosecuting related cases. From Tom's Mailbag last month:

"During their study session meeting on Oct. 5, the city council gave preliminary approval to install Automated License Plate Readers and other technology in areas experiencing an increase in criminal activity. If formally approved by the council in November, this equipment could help police identity vehicles driven by people engaged in criminal activity and fleeing the area."

Full Mailbag article available here. More on the ALPR issue in both Champaign and Urbana from the News-Gazette here. Previous Cheat Sheet post on Champaign's ALPR discussions here.

There was a generally positive financial forecast presented to the City Council in a recent study session. That report is available here.

There was also a study session report on implementing an improved crisis response policy for non-violent mental health calls. That report is available here.

More recent news from the City of Champaign:

• Private security and costs at Champaign public schools from Illinois Newsroom.

• Illinois Newsroom on Centennial High School building back community in the wake of gun violence at the school and in the community, as well as with the pandemic interruptions.

• A Champaign City Council member spoke on a recent suspected road rage shooting in Champaign with the News-Gazette and also with WCIA.

• Thursday Night Live has returned to downtown with coverage from the Daily Illini.

• The City is partnering with the LIFT program and launching a trauma informed care initiative today at the Novak Academy according to Smile Politely.

• The Parade of Lights is looking for volunteers and support. Links and more information available at Smile Politely here.

Local Health Updates

This post covers availability of the COVID vaccine for children and other recent local health news. A recent uptick of COVID cases on campus is covered under the Campus News post on the local Cheat Sheet here.

COVID vaccines for children are becoming available locally. From the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District's facebook post on the subject:

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Is Now Available for Children

Community vaccination clinics available by appointment for children aged 5-11

CHAMPAIGN, IL – The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD), in partnership with Carle Health, OSF HealthCare, Christie Clinic, Promise Healthcare, and the University of Illinois Urban-Champaign, are organizing community clinics for va Pfizer COVID-19 cunation for children aged 5-11 years.

According to a press release from the US Food and Drug Administration. U.S. (FDA), “In the USA. U.S. , COVID-19 cases in children aged 5 to 11 make up 39% of cases in people under 18 years old. According to the CDC, approximately 8,300 cases of COVID-19 in children aged 5 to 11 resulted in hospitalization. As of October 17, there have been 691 COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. U.S. in people under the age of 18, with 146 deaths in the age group of 5-11 years.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years old is administered as a two-dose series, 3 weeks apart, but is a lower dose (10 micrograms) than that used for people aged 12 or older. (30 micrograms).

iHotel & Conference Center – 111 St. Mary’s Road, Champaign

• No walk ins allowed; schedule online at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B054CA8A82CA5F94-511

• Friday, November 5 from 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

• Saturday, November 6 from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Kohl’s Plaza – 1901 N. Market Street, Champaign

• Appointments will be available soon via MyCarle and Carle.org

 Carle community vaccination clinics will feature many of the care providers in the Carle Pediatric and Family Medicine areas or are especially trained to administer the vaccine to children.

• Starting this Saturday, weekends of November:

Saturdays, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

o Domingos, 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

• Vaccine appointments will be available at primary medical care locations at a later date.

...

OSF HealthCare:

• Appointments will be available at all primary medical care offices and can be scheduled via osfhealthcare.org/vaccine

 .

Pharmacies:

• Visit www.vaccinefinder.org

 for appointments available at local pharmacies.

Keep in mind that additional vaccination options may be available through the child's school(a).

You can find additional information about COVID-19 vaccines at: https://www.c-uphd.org/covid-vaccinations.html

Smile Politely had a quick list for vaccine for children here. More from the News-Gazette this week on the health department, schools, and others offering the vaccine:

Carle Health is also offering vaccine appointments for kids from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sundays this weekend and every weekend next month at its location at Kohl’s Plaza, 1901 N. Market St., C. Those can be made through the MyCarle patient portal and at Carle.org.

Carle’s clinic will be staffed by pediatric and family-medicine providers trained to administer vaccines to children. It will also be offering appointments to get kids vaccinated at primary-care locations at a later date.

OSF HealthCare is also offering vaccine appointments through primary-care offices at osfhealthcare.org/vaccine.

More at that full article here. Illinois Newsroom had an article previewing the children's vaccine news earlier in October here.

Illinois Newsroom had coverage of absences during the pandemic with links to the latest State "report cards" that allows folks to look up individual schools and district information. Excerpt:

Learning did slow last year during pandemic school – especially for the state’s most vulnerable students...

“We need to recognize that for our Black and Hispanic children, remote learning was not very effective, particularly for English learners. When they are in their community environment, or they’re in their home, they may or may not be utilizing English as much as they would have if they were in a school setting,” says State Superintendent of Education Carmen Ayala.

English and math proficiency rates did decrease across all grade levels for Illinois students as a whole, according to preliminary testing data from the spring.

The differences between 2019 and 2021 were starkest among young English learners. For third through fifth grade English learners, sometimes half as many students were at grade level as before the pandemic.

Full article here. The State's annual report card website link is here.

Carle is splitting from Aetna's Medicare insurance coverage. From Illinois Newsroom:

Medicare is a federal insurance program for those ages 65 and up or who have certain disabilities. Many Medicare recipients choose to supplement with private insurance, like Aetna, to cover prescription drugs or lower their out-of-pocket cost.

[Bridget McGill, an Urbana resident,] received a letter in the mail from Aetna about two weeks ago informing her that the company’s Medicare Advantage will no longer be accepted at Carle Foundation Hospital. This means that the hospital will go out of the company’s network and her costs for hospital and doctor’s visits will go up.

That full article here. Carle was also in the news for its collaboration with the University on cognitive research with new MRI technology. More on that from the Daily Illini here.

Campus Updates and Microreactors

 

The News-Gazette is reporting a recent uptick of COVID infections on the U of I campus in today's newspaper, partially due to the colder weather and more indoor activity.

After a month-and-a-half of negligible spread on the University of Illinois campus, COVID-19 cases have ticked up again in the last week.

In the seven-day stretch that ended Tuesday, there were 94 cases detected on campus— four more than the previous three weeks combined. Most of them — 76 — were among undergraduates.

According to UI epidemiologist and Associate Professor Rebecca Smith, an uptick around Halloween weekend was entirely expected, but the holiday isn’t the only suspected variable.

More at the full article here in the News-Gazette eEdition. Just about a month and a half ago, the Daily Illini was reporting that cases were decreasing after an initial surge in the beginning of the fall semester. More on area health care news and COVID vaccine information here.

With the pros and cons of adding microreactor research at the University being debated locally, it's worth highlighting a program at Parkland's planetarium tomorrow explaining the topic. From Smile Politely:

Parkland’s Staerkel Planetarium is hosting the James B. Kaler Science Lecture Series at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, November 5th. Dr. Caleb Brooks, associate professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at the University of Illinois, is giving a lecture called "Rethinking Nuclear Power: Small Systems, Big Potential." 

Lectures are $2, and capacity is limited to 60 people. 

You can learn a little more about nuclear microreactors in two recent articles (for the current plan and against the current plan). 

That full blurb here. More information at the lecture series link here.

More recent campus news:

• UIUC building and dining workers protesting ahead of contract negotiations. From the News-Gazette eEdition today.

• The impact of disinformation on rural areas, including the impact of the pandemic, being studied at the University.

• U of I Senate meeting and rumors of a Quad Cities expansion, coverage from Illinois Newsroom.

• Jewish local historical archives being established at the University according to the Daily Illini.

• Illinois Public Media announces its collaboration with the Department of Journalism in the "Illinois Public Media Student Newsroom." More at Smile Politely here.

• There will be a pop-up Holocaust museum on campus next week in line with the 83rd anniversary of Kristallnacht. More information from Smile Politely here and the Hillel Center event page here.

Automatic License Plate Readers and Gun Shot Detection

 

Both Champaign and Urbana have recently jumped on the issue of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs), gun shot detection systems and additional cameras. The News-Gazette had coverage earlier this week on both cities plans to implement new systems:

Automated license-plate readers could potentially be in use in Champaign and Urbana by the end of the year to help police fight escalating gun violence.

The Champaign City Council endorsed leasing and launching the new technology at a study session Tuesday, but approval of a contract won’t happen until an upcoming council session expected to take place in November.

The Urbana City Council on Monday was asked to approve a budget amendment to go ahead with the plate readers, but aldermen opted to delay action until they see a final policy on how they will be used.

Automated license-plate readers, which can be placed in stationary locations such as traffic lights, exit ramps and street poles or attached to squad cars, are high-speed cameras that can quickly take photos of plates with a specific time and date, according to Atlanta-based Flock Safety, the company that would act as contractor for both cities.

That full article here. In a recent Champaign City Council study session report, they go into detail about the systems and why the believed they are necessary for the City to implement now:

In preparing this report for the possible deployment of ALPRs, City of Champaign Police administration thoroughly reviewed the previous 5 years’ worth of gun violence data as well as the associated crime mapping information. Administration also identified and closely evaluated the neighborhoods that have most frequently been affected by gun violence. That data, and the associated crime mapping information, was ultimately shared with a Flock Safety representative whose sole job is to review crime data, to review crime mapping information, and to evaluate City and neighborhood maps to formulate a plan for ALPR deployment. The recommendation to deploy 36 ALPRs was developed by Police in consultation with the Flock representative based upon this crime data analysis. This number of ALPRs is being recommended to provide adequate, baseline coverage of the neighborhoods most frequently affected by gun violence during the initial deployment of ALPRs. 

The general approach to determining deployment locations was to focus on placing ALPRs around the neighborhoods most frequently affected by gun violence, not within them. ALPRs are readily visible devices, and deployments are planned throughout the City. Preliminary deployment plans are focused on arterial streets and the routes most likely to be traveled by those who are committing acts of gun violence; furthermore, specific ALPR locations will not be finalized pending Council direction.

A City map which provides general deployment location information is included for Council review and appears at the end of this report as Attachment B.

Full study session report with proposed use policy and a summary overview on the history of gun violence and responses over the years here. For a more critical take on the technology, check out Bill Bell's opinion piece here.

Urbana is considering a similar policy with gun shot detection systems as well. From WCIA a few weeks ago:

Chief Seraphin says these will help identifying cars before and after crimes and also help if witnesses are afraid to speak up or do not remember what they saw. They say while they know in the long term they need to work on other factors that contribute to gun violence. Right now, they are in crisis mode and working on a quick solution...

Chief Seraphin said the ALPR’s cost about $2,500 per unit nd about $250 to install. He says he hopes they can install around 20 throughout Urbana.

Urbana got this idea after watching it work for surrounding cities. Rantoul recently caught a suspect by using the ALDR’s. Decatur also has them.

Mayor Marlin also said the University of Illinois Police and Champaign County Sheriff’s Office are looking into installing them as well. Chief Seraphin and the mayor said this would be helpful to work together with the surrounding areas.

That full article is available here. The City of Urbana also has additional information on their website here with a link to a video presentation on the topic at the City Council.

There will be two townhall meetings later this month co-hosted by the local NAACP branch and the Urbana Police Department to address questions and concerns about the systems. They will be held at the Vineyard Church (facebook, website). This will be updated with event links and/or updates once they're up:

• Thursday, October 28th : 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Vineyard Church, Urbana 
• Friday, October 29th : 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Vineyard Church, Urbana

September Roundup

 

 

As folks can certainly tell, we're still very much behind and finding it impossible to keep up with all the recent changes, pandemic related issues, and news coverage. In some ways there's more local government information easily accessible and available than ever. Unfortunately the pandemic also really affected availability and shook up everyone's lives. Hopefully we'll be able to get back up to a regular schedule of coverage again soon. Here's a quick C-U Local Roundup of news and issues:

The pandemic had also interrupted and delayed a lot of local plans for police reforms. One pilot program for crisis intervention appears to be getting off the ground now in Urbana with plans to expand to Champaign and elsewhere later. From the News-Gazette:

Plans for the crisis co-responder team call for a Rosecrance social worker and an Urbana police officer who has a master’s degree in social work to follow up on calls for service related to mental or behavioral health crises, Marlin said.

The Urbana officer to work on this team will have a new title — behavioral health detective — and since she will be redeployed from her current police job, there will be no new city money involved, the mayor said.

Urbana Police Lt. Corey Koker, who is overseeing this program for the police department, said the police-Rosecrance response team will be focused on public service and will have its own dedicated office and resources.

In follow-up response visits, the team will try to connect people in crisis to available community services that can help them, he said.

That full article here. WCIA had additional coverage here.

Long term plans for improvements in the Garden Hills neighborhood appear to have been approved to get a boost in their schedule with additional funds. From the News-Gazette earlier in September:

The morning after the Champaign City Council unanimously endorsed speeding up long-needed lighting and drainage work in the Garden Hills neighborhood, city staff members were already meeting to get those initiatives underway, Communications Manager Jeff Hamilton said Wednesday...

The council has directed staff see if the city’s $25.2 million in funding from the most recent federal coronavirus relief act can be used for the projects. If that allowed, the city would devote about half of that funding to Garden Hills — $5 million toward the much larger costs of drainage improvements and $6 million to $8 million for lighting projects.

That full blurb with additional details here.

For more information on local gun violence and responses, I strongly encourage people to check out the Champaign County Community Coalition and their meetings. Each meeting has updates from the local police chiefs and presentations on local programs and efforts to address the violence and underlying needs of the community.

Other local news links:

• Urbana violence reduction updates from WCIA.
• Champaign policing hiring changes to fill vacancies more efficiently.
• Buy Black Chambana is promoting Black owned businesses in Chaampaign-Urbana. The Daily Illini had coverage of one of their recent events here.
• Illinois Newsroom had an interview with the Champaign fire chief on 9/11's impact on him personally and on firefighting in general here.

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.