Champaign Municipal Election Preview

 
An update on who's in so far (petitions are still be circulated, more information on that here) from today's News-Gazette:

No surprises where the 2019 Champaign municipal election is concerned: Mayor Deb Feinen and at-large city council members Tom Bruno, Matt Gladney and Will Kyles all turned in their petitions to run for re-election on Monday, the first day of the filing period.

The latter three will have competition. Also declaring their at-large candidacy were former 32-year council member Michael LaDue, who lost his District 2 re-election bid last year, and newcomer Jon Paul Youakim.

Other candidates who are attempting to join the fray so far include Elizabeth Sotiropoulos for school board and Kenton Elmore for city council. In that same News-Gazette article Pattsi Petrie is listed as thinking about entering the Champaign City Council race. She lost a primary fight on the County Board this year.

Unit 4 Teacher's Strike Information

It's looking as if Champaign Teachers are likely to walk out next week and the district will respond by shutting down all facilities and programs:

Unit 4 board: If teachers strike, district will be shuttered
If Unit 4 teachers go on strike nine days from now, all of the district's buildings will be shut down.

Responding to the Champaign Federation of Teachers filing its official intent-to-strike notice a day earlier, Champaign school board members said Friday they've decided to shutter all district buildings and cancel all school-related programming if no deal is reached on a new contract and the teachers stay home Nov. 26.

"This means that there will be no classes, practices, competitions, club meetings, Kids Plus programming or community activities at any schools, program or other Unit 4 building," the school board said in a statement issued early Friday evening. "We look forward to reaching a resolution that does not require us to take the actions above but wanted to be proactive in our communication in the event we do."

Teachers union President Jen White has said if the union does decide to strike, it will happen on Nov. 26.

On Tuesday, the two sides are scheduled to meet for an 11th negotiating session. Teachers in Unit 4 have been working without a contract since June 30.

Full blurb here.

Champaign HRC and NAACP Report

This week's Human Relations Commission meeting (agenda here) included a presentation of the NAACP report on criminal justice. Thomas Moore argued that the report is an educational tool as opposed to a road map and what we've tried over the past forty years hasn't worked. He argued for a new focus on the ineffectiveness of punishment in the system of mass incarceration. He noted that jails are a big part of the problem and a local issue. Video is available here and the NAACP report begins at the 6:20 mark. There were many ideas discussed and listed in the News-Gazette yesterday:

Among the suggestions discussed during Monday's meeting:

— Allowing those incarcerated to register to vote and cast votes while in prison.

— When drawing up legislative district boundaries, assigning prisoners to the locality they come from instead of the prison site.

— Advocating for more humane policies that stress restorative justice.

— Having the NAACP form a partnership with local libraries to develop a crime-and-punishment bibliography and establishing a repository of books and articles on incarceration, public safety and justice.

— Advocating for the collection of data on the justice system "to develop more grounded responses to crime and punishment."

— Developing justice reform that gives a prominent role to the faith community.

— Exploring programs that restore civil rights for those incarcerated and awaiting trial.

— Developing a pretrial-assessment protocol in Champaign County.

— Integrating restorative practices within both the Champaign Unit 4 and Urbana 116 school districts.

Full article here. One item not mentioned in this list was their support of the recommendations of the Racial Justice Task Force (more information on that here). Some of the discussion talked about mass incarceration being a new Jim Crow which references a study of the mass incarceration system that looks at disparities throughout the criminal justice system. More information on that information and popular book in criminal justice reform circles here.

Urbana Downtown Residential Development

 

For the first time in over a decade there may be a residential development in downtown Urbana. From last Wednesday's News-Gazette:

Urbana to sell downtown block for $1 in development deal
With the promise of about 42 new townhouse units near its downtown, the city of Urbana plans to sell a vacant block for $1.

The city reached a deal with Green Street Realty to convert the 200 block of South Vine Street into a townhouse-style development that could be completed by May 2020.

The $5 million project would include two- and three-story townhouses, with garages for some units.

The agreement still needs to be approved by the Urbana City Council, and Urbana is hosting an open house at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the City Building for the public to learn about the project...

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin said this is the first residential development downtown since Stratford Residences was built in 2005 at 202 N. Race St...

According to the agreement with Green Street Realty, 100 percent of its property taxes from the increased value of the property will be reimbursed the first year, 80 percent the next year and no property taxes will be reimbursed the sixth year.

The project also sits in Urbana's Enterprise Zone, which means it should be eligible for sales tax exemptions for new construction materials.

Full article here with additional information.

Sex Ed and Local Government

If your memories of Sex Ed were the horror shows and dire warnings from local religious elders in their public school teacher day jobs (squeezing as much shock and awful secular public schools would allow) then this recent article on how modern Sex Ed works in the area may sound like an improvement. From last Tuesday's News-Gazette:

Health district educators ensuring middle-schoolers get comprehensive sex ed
...
To ensure students in Champaign, Urbana and Rantoul were getting "comprehensive" information — which includes teaching about sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, abstinence and consent — educators with the health district have been going into middle schools for the past five years, equipped with an evidence-based curriculum that goes for seven weeks.

"It's called 'Making Proud Choices,'" Greger said. "Generally, the kids are really receptive to it. The teachers enjoy the program, as well."

If it seems redundant to bring an additional educator into middle schools already staffed with health teachers, Greger said it's often not.

"It kind of takes maybe that awkwardness out of teaching it for the teacher," she said. "We're in there with those kids for however long; we don't see them every day. The kids might even be more comfortable talking to us about that kind of thing than with their regular classroom teacher."

More at the full article here. It also highlighted further collaboration that led to consent being on the curriculum:

For the past two years, the three educators have reached roughly 1,000 students per year, with Fruitt adding that Rantoul schools have added an extra layer of education for students by inviting Urbana's Rape Advocacy Counseling and Education Services to present on sexual-assault prevention.

That, she said, came about as a result of a coalition between school officials, the health district and social-service providers.

Feinen Circulating Petitions for Reelection

The News-Gazette noted that the current mayor of Champaign was circulating petitions towards a run for a second term today in its list of local officials who are in or out in upcoming municipal elections. Yes, that process has already begun and the midterms aren't even over yet! Just a reminder:

Thinking about getting involved in your own city government? The process starts with an election petition. From WAND (with video segment):

Election petitions available for City of Champaign
Election petitions are being accepted for the City of Champaign's open positions.

Champaign's municipal elections will be held in early 2019.

Those interested in running for Mayor or an open City Council seat can pick up or download election petitions.

Petitions are available to pick up from the City Clerk's Office, 102 N. Neil Street, Champaign, or to download from the City's website by clicking HERE.

Completed petitions must be submitted to the City Clerk's Office between the dates of Nov. 19-26, 2018.

If necessary, a Consolidated Primary for these positions will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019. 

The General Election will be on April 2, 2019.

Those with questions about the election petitions can contact the City Clerk at 217-403-8945 or the City Attorney at 217-403-8765.

Original article with video here. Direct link to the City's election website and the petitions here: http://champaignil.gov/finance/city-clerk/elections/.

Unit 4 Board Overview

The News-Gazette had an overview of the Unit 4 Board meeting last week, which mainly revolved around a home near Central High School they had earlier declined to purchase as part of the referendum renovations:

Unit 4 school district agrees to buy family's house
...
But on Tuesday evening, the Unit 4 school district agreed to pay $298,000 and become that property's owner, ending a years-long state of "limbo" for Tim and Deb Bowers, the current owners...

In other board news, members heard from a public engagement firm who'd analyzed the district's projected enrollment over the next 10 years. Information from that report could inform later decisions on whether to redistrict, board members said, but public input and more information would be necessary first.

According to the study, the district's estimated overall enrollment in 10 years could be 10,571 — up a few hundred students from the projection of 10,182 students this school year.

The board also approved a hazardous materials abatement contract with Abetco Inc. for $123,797.

Two grant proposals written by assistant superintendent Jennifer Ivory-Tatum and aimed at "support[ing] instruction for the educationally disadvantaged students" — as well as providing professional development for teachers within that programming — also received the board's stamp of approval.

Full article here.

West Bradley Safety Study Session

There was an overview of the City of Champaign's Council study session in the News-Gazette last Wednesday:

Safety updates planned for stretch of Bradley Avenue
Motivated by two strikingly similar pedestrian deaths last year on a stretch of West Bradley Avenue, city of Champaign staff have come up with a plan to add a crosswalk, fix sidewalks and bring better lighting to the area.

But as Mayor Deb Feinen said at Tuesday's study session about safety on Bradley between Prospect and McKinley avenues, the 2019 Bradley Avenue Project is essentially a stop-gap measure to address safety concerns right away, while city staff continue to look at how to bring more development to the north side.

Already the city has placed flashing crossing signs along West Bradley, and officials hope to keep those in place even after some project improvements are made.

On Tuesday, Assistant City Engineer Chris Sokolowski told the Champaign City Council the project's price tag — about $900,000 — and laid out a schedule that would see a plan before the council in March, a contract by April, and construction in summer 2019. The work would focus mainly on resurfacing existing pavement along Bradley from Prospect to McKinley, installing new street lights and a crosswalk just east of Willis Avenue, and fixing broken sidewalk ramps and cracked panels.

More information at the full article here.

City of Urbana Union Deal Struck

Last week's Urbana City Council meeting was covered in the News-Gazette last Tuesday:

Urbana council OKs union contract
The Urbana City Council on Monday approved a collective bargaining agreement with the AFSCME Local 1331 that includes hourly rate increases, uniform allowances and other provisions for city workers, measures that will increase the city's budget.

The council also approved amending the budget, and noted an increase of $165,020 for a one-time payment that covers retroactive hourly rate increases of 1 percent for 2017, 2018; 2 percent for 2019; as well as a one-time ratification incentive of $2,500 for eligible bargaining unit members and other retroactive payments.

The new contract also sets up a 2 and 2.25 percent base hourly wage increase for 2019 through June 30, 2021, when the contract expires.

But it gets rid of the "me too" agreement, which guarantees the hourly wage contract terms are extended to workers represented by AFSCME, in favor of the lump sum $2,500 bonuses.

The city estimates it will save about $57,850 at the end of 2020 by eliminating the compensation match.

More details at the full article here.

MTD Grants for "The Yards"

In what appears to be an initial, but not decisive setback for "The Yards" project, the MTD was unable to secure one of the grants it was hoping to rely on for some of the funding. From the News-Gazette last Tuesday:

MTD spokeswoman Lisa Meid said the agency didn’t make the cut for a ‘5339’ grant from the Federal Transit Administration.

Meid said the MTD may hear soon whether it will be awarded a BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In both cases, the MTD asked for $25 million.

There’s also expected to be an unspecified amount of private funding for the estimated $200 million “Yards” project, which could include an expansion of the Illinois Terminal, parking decks, 100-plus apartments, another downtown hotel, convention space and an arena for a potential Illini Division I hockey team.

Full blurb here.

Unit 4 Teacher's Strike

It's been a busy week for contract negotiations between Unit 4 and the Champaign Federation of Teachers union. On Monday there was news that there would be a federal mediator involved in getting the parties to work through the impasse:

Before negotiations resume today — this time with a federal mediator on hand — members of the Champaign Federation of Teachers plan rallied at Unit 4's Mellon Administrative Center. Today's session marks the eighth time the two sides have sat down to negotiate a contract that ended on June 30. The district says the teachers union has rejected two proposals; CFT President JEN WHITE says they didn't resolve several "sticking points," which are sure to come up at today's rally.

A few of those sticking points are laid out in the preliminary article (after the update) here. The update and another article later that night on the web explained how negotiations broke down and the union was heading towards a vote to strike on Thursday:

"We overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike," said Anderson, who was unable to give an exact tally. "We will continue to negotiate, and our next scheduled negotiating session is set for Oct. 23."

She said the earliest teachers could go on strike would be the first week of December.

The union represents more than 850 certified teachers in the Unit 4 district. Their last contract expired June 30; negotiations on a new agreement began May 16.

Full blurb here. WCIA had an article (and video segment) with some community response and parents concerned about what a strike may mean for their kids and schedules here.

Champaign Township and C-U At Home Beautification Project

A local program for the homelessness demonstrates how collaboration between local government (City of Champaign Township) and organizations (C-U at Home) are the building blocks for new ideas and programs to be tested and grow if successful. From the News-Gazette last week:

CU at Work pays homeless to help clean up Champaign
...
Inspired by “There’s a Better Way,” an initiative on tackling homelessness started in the New Mexico city, City of Champaign Township Supervisor Andy Quarnstrom thought something similar could be a good fit here.

“Essentially, what they were doing is they take homeless individuals and put them to work doing municipal beautification projects,” Quarnstrom said of Albuquerque’s program. “There, it’s taking care of trash and tumbleweeds. But they provide them with cash at the end of the work day.”

Quarnstrom, with a staff of just three, said he saw the need for assistance to homeless people in town and decided to partner with CU at Home to launch the CU at Work initiative.

The program is funded by the township but administered by CU at Home.

CU at Work participants, accompanied by a truck packed with tools, are paid to walk the streets picking up trash for four hours a day. After their work concludes for the day, they receive a meal.

More information at the full article here.

School Board and Restorative Practices

There has been a lot of concern about increased violence (previous Cheat Sheet post here) and philosophy behind Urbana's recent attempts to institute restorative practices at their schools. From the News-Gazette last Wednesday:

Urbana school board president on discipline approach: Great idea, terrible execution
Abandoning tradition, a somber Urbana school board President John Dimit delivered a statement at the board's meeting Tuesday night that expressed both confidence in the district's new behavioral system as well as deep concerns with its implementation.

Dimit's comments came after months of reaction to an early March announcement that the district's commitment to restorative practices merited the elimination of the dean positions at the middle and high schools.

Community members and district staff contacted the board and school officials or filled the public-comment period at meetings with anecdotes, with some applauding a commitment to restorative practices and others pointing to increased levels of violence at both schools — the latter continuing to be a topic of public comment Tuesday night.

More at the full article here. More on the restorative practices initiative here.