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.

City of Champaign June Updates

The Cheat Sheet is playing catch up on local government news this month, as sometimes happens. It takes a lot of time and effort for people to attend meetings or catch up with the videos, dig through local news coverage, and follow up with various passing or failing votes. The process of catching up can be useful to anyone wanting to get up to date on a local government body, however. There is a post at the Champaign County Cheat Sheet on the process of catching up on using the County Board as an example that could be helpful. Depending on your time limits, it can be a cursory search for local news coverage or the deepest dive.

The City of Champaign government had a busy month this June. Some of the local news coverage highlights include:

• Honoring fallen officer Christopher Oberheim who was killed in the line of duty responding to a domestic violence call in May. This was the City's first in-person meeting since the early days of the pandemic.
• In coverage of the same meeting, the delay in City fine increases was once again delayed.
• Looking for public input and proposals on how to spend the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the City will be receiving for pandemic related relief.
• A meeting was filled with "Back the Blue" activists demanding more support for law enforcement from the City Council and Mayor. More background here. More coverage from WCIA including a video segment here. Video of public comments at the Council meeting is available here.
• City facilities will be reopening due to changes in the pandemic situation. 

An overview of the ARPA fund details is available in a Study Session report from earlier this month here. Video of that Study Session, presentation and discussion is available here. The Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget and 10 year Capital Improvement Plan were approved at the June 15th regular meeting. There was public input and Council discussion on the budget vote during the meeting available here.

The June 22nd Study Session involved drainage issues and improvement projects along the Boneyard Creek. As the Study Session report and maps make clear, drain issues and investment choices around them have a high impact on historically Black neighborhoods in town (click to enlarge):

Recent heavy rains and flooding in Garden Hills, in which there are also drainage improvement plans over the next several years, are an ongoing reminder of past policy ramifications.

Links to City Council meetings and Study Session videos, agendas, and reports.

• June 1 regular City Council meeting: agenda, minutes, video.
• June 8 Study Session on ARPA funding: report, video.
• June 15 regular City Council meeting: agenda, video.
• June 22 Study Session on Boneyard Creek improvement projects: report, video.

Updates on April and May meetings are still a work in progress, but hopefully will be up and linked here soon!

March City of Champaign Council Meetings

The March City of Champaign government meetings covered some pretty serious topic this past month, including a study session on food insecurity, free pantry regulation and enforcement during the pandemic, approving the City's Annual Action Plan, and supporting services for the most vulnerable in our community.

The March 2nd meeting began with a brief monthly City of Champaign Township meeting (agenda, video). Along with some brief updates the Town Board approved the annual township meeting agenda. There were no public comments during this portion of the meeting.

The regular March 2nd City Council meeting (agenda, video) began immediately after the town board meeting. A few appointments were approved including:

• Lonndon Blake to the Human Relations Commission
• Davon Prude as Youth Commissioner to the HRC 
• Medra Seals to the Citizen Review Subcommittee (a police review board)

Later, in general public comments, former Citizen Review Subcommittee chair Emily Rodriguez (now County Board member) highlighted some of her frustrations trying to effect change within the City's board and commission bureaucracy. Her comments were a condensed version of her fuller detailing of her experience and frustrations on the subcommittee. Excerpt:

We have a public participation problem- not due to a lack of community interest, but active suppression from the Council. Today, I look at three years of my work and know that even if I rally residents to speak up in public participation opportunities for change the City Manager and Mayor will (a) find some way to justify inaction, (b) use official communications to gaslight and confuse, and then (c) pacify residents with a listening session or 60-second presentation at a Community Coalition meeting.

Her full statement is available online here. Another commenter raised ideas on police reform tried in Berkeley and a gun culture paradox in America. Other agenda items passed unanimously without controversy.

The March 9th Study Session (study session report, video) began with a staff presentation on food insecurity and local programs to address it in Champaign. A lot of the presentation focused on more traditional food pantries and programs before getting to the pop-up free pantries around town. The study session report describes the City's legal complication with those:

Most programs discussed in this report are being operated in compliance with existing City codes. Some of the mini pantries are located on private property and appear to be in compliance with the City’s Municipal Code. However, some of the mini food pantries that have emerged during the pandemic appear to be in violation of one or more sections of the Municipal Code. Three of the seven mini food pantries are fully in compliance with the City's codes, while four of the mini pantries are in violation of the City's prohibition of unattended property on the ROW.

It goes on to list the specific code issues that are at issue:

For example, the Municipal Code does not allow for the placement of unattended personal property in the right-of-way (ROW). Signs accompanying the mini food pantries on the ROW are also in violation of the Zoning Ordinance. Mini food pantries on the ROW or on private property also have the potential to be in violation of the nuisance section of the Municipal Code. Examples of potential nuisance violations include perishable food that begins to rot, food containers infested with insects, discarded food containers from on-site consumption of food items, and indoor furniture or mattresses left outside as a donation.

After some technical questions by City Council members, the public weighed in (jump to link) on the report and presentation with a large number of people in support of allowing the free pantries to continue either with a code change or enforcement exemption. Many volunteers and pantry creators commented about the importance, need, and continued use of the pantries by their neighborhoods. They argued it filled a gap in food insecurity programs where many people otherwise might fall through the cracks. They gave examples of how some people may have time constraints, transportation issues, or face other restrictions to meet their needs.

There were also numerous comments in favor of current and expansion of community gardens. Other comments focused on structural racism and how they believe that is playing a role in the scrutiny of the free pantries. Some raised concerns about police being called to enforce code violations on issues involving vulnerable communities as opposed to traditional code enforcement methods used in majority white neighborhoods.

Council comments were generally supportive of ensuring the free pantries could operate safely and figuring out some way of ensuring that the City isn't opening up a Pandora's box of future code violations unrelated to food pantries. Council member Fourman stressed the need to address the lack of investment in neighborhoods that have become "food deserts" and concerns about using police to intervene with food pantry use and code issues. Member Gladney noted that when the City wants to incentivize investment, it has been able to incentivize investment when it had the will to do so.

Deputy Mayor Bruno took an opposite tact and criticized public commenters who view these and other problems as part of systemic and structural issues with our community and nation's history of white supremacy. He specifically took issue with the assumption of bad motives of City Council members and City staff. He accused them of "virtue signaling," a term activists often use to disparage folks who use a cause to make themselves look good, rather than actually doing impactful work.

The Council agreed to give staff direction to taking a more active role in food insecurity and a temporary moratorium on code enforcement for the the code issues surrounding the current free pantries while the City is under the pandemic emergency order.

Many of the public comments that came during the general comment period at the end of the meeting took issue with Bruno's statements. Some responded to his criticisms with explanations of the structural issues at hand and possible solutions. Local activist Allen Max Axelrod took the opportunity to continue to advocate for people still facing utility shutoffs as he has been doing at public input opportunities at local government bodies throughout the pandemic.

The March 16th regular City Council meeting (agenda, video) passed a number of non-controversial items as well as the naming of a portion of Chester Street in downtown Champaign as "Black Lives Matter Honorary Street" (Council Bill and information here). Council member Fourman reiterated that this small measure is is a slap in the face compared to what the City should be doing. Council member Beck said she supports the measure, but also reiterated her belief that this small step is severely lacking compared to the substantive changes needed. Mayor Feinen said she echoed those statements. The Bill passed along with the other items on the agenda.

Public comments ranged from traffic concerns around around a bus stop, support and criticism of policing locally, and advocating for those facing utility shutoffs, trauma and mental health support (including police themselves).

The March 23rd Study Session (report, video) dealt with the Annual Action Plan and the budgetary issues that go along with that. From a previous Cheat Sheet post explaining the concepts around the Annual Action Plan:

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.

After the presentation on the there were public comments from people advocating for vulnerable community members, including organizers from CU at Home and First Followers Re-entry Program and a couple other local activists. Council comments were also supportive of initiatives with homelessness and reentry. Council member Kyles highlighted programs that deal with youth and workforce development as well.

The Council gave direction to staff to finalize the Annual Action Plan (draft is included in the study session report in Appendix B) and direction for funding the CommUnity, homelessness and reentry program funding.

General public comments included an argument for reparations, building off the initiative in Evanston (Smile Politely had a recent editorial promoting such an argument). The Mayor made a statement in support of the local Asian and Asian-American community in light of the recent attacks in Atlanta, Georgia and other increase in crimes that appeared to target Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the United States. The meeting ended after a closed session on an employment matter.

The next Champaign City Council meeting will be Tuesday April 13th (it was announced that there would be no City Council meeting on Tuesday April 6th due to that falling on the local election day).

March Urbana City Council and Cunningham Township Meetings

The Urbana City Council had longer meetings this month, even when compared to their usually lengthy meetings. In addition to longer City Council meetings themselves, there were also a couple Cunningham Township meetings and two City Council training sessions before some of those meetings. Most of the meetings were nearly or beyond four hours in length altogether. I'll try to be far more brief in these overviews.

Public Participation across all of the meetings included concerns about utility shutoffs, rental assistance available, police reform and alternatives to policing for mental health and other public needs. There were also concerns about the Human Rights Ordinance language clarification still leaving a need for an enforcement mechanism and ongoing concerns about the background check policy in light of the HRO requirements. There was also support for the City supporting and collaborating with the First Followers Reentry program and the Champaign County Health Care Consumers organization.

The March 1st Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video) mainly involved an extensive conversation about the planned development at 602 South Lincoln Avenue (next to campus within the WUNA neighborhood). The developer said he wasn't interested in continuing the process after the City Council voted to hold the issue over for another Committee of the Whole meeting. The board decided to move the issue on to the regular City Council member to see if any council members concerns could be addressed by that time.

Further amended clarifying language for the Human Rights Ordinance was moved forward as well, but still lacked a solution on how the City might be held to the HRO standards. Council member Jared Miller used his time in council comments at the end of the meeting to assure the public that this is not the end of the HRO discussion and the other issues would be addressed.

The March 8th regular meeting (agenda, video) included additional public participation with a large number of residents opposed to the 602 South Lincoln development, petition signatures, and endless criticism of the aesthetics and interpretation of the development guidelines. Council members Brown and Colbrook appear to be the only council members who believe the conditions were met. Colbrook appears to be the only member who had a positive opinion of the aesthetics and building materials. The harshest criticism from council members and the public used the expression, "butt ugly." The development failed to pass.

The rest of the meeting involved an approval of the clarifying and amended HRO language, considering some zoning variances, and then approving appointments. The appointment portion got a bit strained as one of the appointments involved promoting an officer directly involved in the Aleyah Lewis incident. The appointments were approved with Alderman Miller voting against James "Cory" Koker to Lieutenant in the Urbana Police Department.

The March 15th Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video) began with the first City Council training session available to the public and allowing participation from current City Council members and candidates. City Administrator Carol Mitten said that a webpage will be set up with all the training sessions for future use. The training session at this meeting was an overview of the City's executive department (jump to link).

After the training session there was a presentation of the 2020 BPAC Annual Report by the Alderman Brown, who is also the chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. Public participation included some criticism of the promotion of an officer involved in the Aleyah Lewis incident and the continued lack of an enforcement mechanism against the city to follow its own Human Rights Ordinance.

The mayor, who is also the current chair of the Regional Planning Commission raised serious concerns about the County government's finance issues and how they may impact RPC grant-based programs and funding for the City. She and the Mayor of Champaign backed an RPC letter to the County Board asking that they fulfill their obligations so critical programs aren't put in jeopardy (more on that in the March County Board coverage here). The mayor announced there would be a presentation on the work on the Use of Force policy and the discussions she described as productive in crafting the new language.

Two items that were moved forward for City Council approval involved support and collaboration with the First Followers Reentry Program and the Champaign County Health Care Consumers organization.

The discussion items on the agenda included the status on the One Door pilot program. Updates included a collaboration with the City of Champaign and a phase-in start as opposed to a comprehensive start to the program. The phased in process can begin sooner, but won't include some alternative responses that don't involve law enforcement. There was also an extended conversation on how much law enforcement funding actually prevents crime as opposed to alternatives that got fairly heated.

There was also a discussion on the appointment process, which in Urbana involves a great number of positions that cities normally make part of a contractual hiring process. There were complaints about the increased scrutiny and public pressure on appointed positions. There were some disagreements on what constituted healthy public interest and simply being too much of a nightmare to recruit people into the confrontations and accusations. The meeting was already running very long so the background check discussion was pushed to the next meeting.

The March 22nd regular meeting (agenda, video) began with another City Council training session, this time with an overview of the organization and funding of the Urbana Free Library. It was at this meeting that the City Administrator noted that these training sessions would all be made available organized on a webpage for future use. Public participation included ongoing concerns about utility shutoffs. There was also concern raised by Meghan McDonald who argued that the pro-police voices during last week's discussion on reforms and deterring crime cut off or otherwise tried to shut down other perspectives. She highlighted the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon as a potential model to look at.

The mayor noted that the County Board voted to approve emergency funding for the Regional Planning Commission and working towards completing the required finance reports. They're still trying to determine the overall impact of the County's delays.

The Criminal Background Checks discussion (jump to link) began with a presentation and overview of current policies. The overall discussion got into some really nitty gritty issues of legal obligations, language, and precedent for anyone wanting to take a deep dive into the various perspectives.

The Cunningham Township Board had a regular meeting (agenda, video) on March 8th. Township Assessor Wayne Williams reported instead of the Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth who was ill that day. There was an issue with lost data after moving data from the server. By the time the loss was discovered they weren't successful in retrieving the information from backups. The data isn't completely gone, but it will have to be reentered, which he described as tedious work. 

There was also a special meeting on March 22nd (agenda, video) setting the agenda for its April 13th annual meeting, which has to be in-person as it is for the electors, or voting residents, of the township essentially coterminous with the City of Urbana. There was no public participation at either Township meeting.

The Urbana City Council meets next on Monday April 5th.

Unit 4 Updates: Hybrid Model and SROs

This post previews tonight's Unit 4 Board of Education meeting, coverage and notes on the past few board meetings, and some related Unit 4 news items in the local news. Topics include the district moving towards the hybrid model many parents have been demanding, a delayed look at the School Resource Officer program, empowerment of Black students and teachers, and a deep dive into the district's strategic plan. Smile Politely also had a recent overview of Unit 4's YES employment program for students worth checking out.

The March 8th Unit 4 meeting (agendas available here) will have a review of the districts School Resource Officer program. From the agenda item description:

In response to Section X of the Board Resolution to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis, District administration conducted a review of the SRO Program that included the voices of students, parents, staff, administration, and the SROs themselves.  Their feedback was captured via surveys and focus groups.  Survey and focus group questions were created by the newly-formed SRO Ad Hoc Committee comprised of:

• students from the Goal Getters group
• parents recommended by PTA Council
• middle and high school teachers and administrators who are also members of either the District Safety Committee or the Discipline Advisory Committee
• the equity assistant principals
• community agency representatives from DREAAM, Don Moyer’s Boys and Girls Club, First Followers, and East Central Illinois Youth for Christ
• the Champaign Police supervisor over SROs. 

Alternatives to the SRO Program were investigated and discussed by the committee, as well.  Tonight, I will present the committee’s findings and their recommendation to maintain the SRO Program with modifications and to add Student Support Advocates beginning with the 2021-22 SY.

A previous discussion on SROs last month was abruptly removed from the agenda in January. At the time there had been legislation that may have made the subject moot, including an Illinois bill that would have eliminated SROs in Illinois altogether. As WCIA noted, that bill has since been tabled (possibly until next year):

House bill 0029 was proposed Wednesday. It’s already been tabled, which means it probably won’t move until next year. Still, school leaders are afraid the idea behind it could re-surface...

The bill also outlines things that should happen if a student under 18 is questioned by officers. It says their parents should be notified, and a parent or someone like a school psychologist or school nurse should be there during the questioning. 

WREX had a concise overview of the bill in their coverage here. At the January 25th School Board meeting, public speakers were frustrated by the agenda change, but took the opportunity to share community concerns on police in schools that night (available at the meeting video starting at the 48:10 minute:second mark here). Board Member, Dr. Baker echoed public comments about the need for a plan to get the district on a path towards in-person learning now. Other board comments explained some of the legal issues with the agenda change.

The News-Gazette had coverage of some of the back and forth on in-person learning at the meeting:

Two Champaign school board members expressed exasperation Monday with Superintendent Susan Zola’s plan for returning to in-person learning...

District principals explained at the last school board meeting that rather than a hybrid model, where a majority of students would simply watch their teacher and have no interaction during class, they preferred a model where all students had access to the same classroom experience.

Zola noted that in the Springfield district, only 40 percent of students are back in class, “which means 60 percent are just watching their teachers teach.”

More at the full article here. Around the same time WICS had coverage of the impact of complex and changing bus schedules and concerns about the impact on the mental health of students.

Soon after the February 8th School Board meeting, the district flipped on the hybrid model decision. From the News-Gazette on February 10th:

The administrators made a case that their setup would be better educationally, with Central Principal Joe Williams saying “Teachers really struggled, thinking, ‘What would it be like for three-fourths of the student body every day to simply be watching TV?’”

But last week, the district announced it would be going with a hybrid plan that more closely resembles the one those parents advocated for...

By the time the changes occur, all staff members who want to be vaccinated will likely have received their second dose. Like Urbana, Champaign plans to begin testing students using the University of Illinois’ saliva test in the coming weeks. Both districts will be able to test their students for the rest of the year thanks to a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Full article here. In another reversal, the News-Gazette also reported that some Unit 4 games will allow two spectators per student player.

February also saw the start of a collaboration between Unit 4 and the MTD to empower black girls. From WCIA:

The campaign highlights the importance of positive representation, that the girls who ride the bus to school should see someone who looks like them and feel proud.

When asked how the community can get involved in the campaign, Assistant Superintendent Angela L. Ward said, “This campaign is just about casting positive images. It starts with posting positive things online. It starts with positive things coming out of your mouth. It starts with thinking positive things when you see those young ladies who are carrying the world on their shoulders.”

The “Brilliant, Bold, Beautiful” ads will be posted on the buses for the next two months, and CUMTD said they are looking forward to participating in more campaigns like this one in the future.

That full article and video segment here. More recently, there was local coverage of the Champaign-Urbana Black Teacher' Alliance. From the News-Gazette last week:

Being a Black teacher can be isolating. Only 7.4 percent of Unit 4 teachers and 9.1 of Urbana teachers were Black during the 2020 school year, and even those numbers are higher than the state average. Without a large group of peers, it can be hard to know whether experiences unique to Black teachers are perceived or imagined...

She wanted to create an organization that focused on inward support rather than outward messaging...

In the future, Thomas hopes that teachers aren’t as exhausted as she is as she tries to play the role of support person and mentor to Black students, which outnumber White students in both the Champaign and Urbana districts.

That full article here. There was additional coverage by WICS here:

The group was created in 2019 with just a few faculty, but now it is comprised of over 75 educators from all departments in schools from Champaign-Urbana.

Its goal was focused on connecting Black educators for support purposes, but 2020 took its mission in a different direction.

It's now finding new growth after the pandemic and serves as role models and mentors for students of color.

That full article and video segment here.

Unit 4 Strategic Plan Assessment

For folks who really want a deep dive into the Unit 4 strategic plan, including early successes in implementation, and other findings and recommendations of the FourPoint assessment, you're in luck! The February 22nd meeting had a presentation on all the nitty gritty here at the 34 minute mark.

For folks who want to see a brochure style overview of the district's Strategic Plan, Unit 4 has a page here offering it in multiple languages. Folks who work with corporate bureaucracies might be a bit more comfortable with the "synergistic" lingo. At times, I find myself pondering whether certain sentences or paragraphs actually managed to avoid saying anything at all. You're not alone if you have to pause and look up "unit 4 RTI" on google more than once. Also Response to Intervention is an important part ensuring students who need help get it. Here's a couple sentences from the Unit 4 page explaining RTI that seemed to get the gist:

The problem solving method is used to match instructional resources to educational need...

Use progress monitoring data to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention plan.

There was quite a bit between those two sentences, but as best as I can understand, they're just trying to ensure that a student who needs help gets some follow up if the help isn't working. I leave it to the reader to interpret and judge from there.

Urbana City Council Updates 2/22

This week the Urbana City Council followed up on many of the Committee of the Whole items from last week's Cheat Sheet post. The main resolution passed by the City Council was affirming the council's priority on de-escalation policies in the Use of Force policy being worked on by the City, Urbana Police Department, and the community. From WICS:

On Monday night, the Urbana City Council passed a resolution that prioritizes tactical deescalation as a police response when appropriate...

The resolution was amended to require multiple reports a year on officers' use of force policy.

It also pushes the Use of Force Review Board to add at least one new member that must be a civilian.

Full article here. The News-Gazette had additional details and an explanation of the bill this week as well:

Its sponsor, Ward 1 Alderwoman Maryalice Wu, said the resolution isn’t meant to be an update to the use-of-force policy, which is in the process of being updated.

“The purpose was not to fully go through the entire use-of-force policy here,” she said. “The purpose is to say the intent of city council on how we want that direction of the use-of-force policy to move forward.”

The police department had planned to finish updating its use-of-force policy by Jan. 31 to qualify for certain federal funds, Chief Bryant Seraphin said last month, but after pushback from the local NAACP and ACLU chapters, it met with them and is still working on the update.

That full article here. The recommendations and drafts from the local ACLU and NAACP are available on the local ACLU website here.

Another contentious issue before the City Council was on clarifying the language of the Human Rights Ordinance to exclude the city from the current enforcement mechanism for violations which poses some longstanding conflicts of interest and logistical issues. The clarification would have still left enforcement for City violations of the HRO left to be determined, but the language was sent back to committee for further revisions. The language will be considered again at the next Committee of the Whole meeting on March 1st (agenda).

Meeting Writeup:

The meeting began with a presentation by Alderman Brown and a report in his capacity as chair of the Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He laid out various options and recommendations for the Kickapoo Rail Trail path through Urbana and entertained questions along with the staff on what the details and timing would look like if approved. He will be returning with a resolution for the Council to consider in the near future.

Public participation was more contentious than usual. A lot of regular speakers took criticism from other public speakers upset at the the accusations and numerous complaints. Accusations of frivolous complaints, weaponizing complaint processes and at significant costs to the cities started out this portion of the agenda. The regular speakers for their part rebutted and counter-accused others of smears and conspiracy theories. Others accused the regular speakers of being variously ignorant or malevolent "trolls."

In the back and forth some speakers raised concerns about language exempting the City from enforcement of the Human Rights Ordinance, complications with an annexation item, and Use of Force policy details. Reverend Dr. Evelyn Underwood encouraged folks to embrace more love and kindness with each other and offered her appreciation of the work and consideration on the Use of Force policy by the City and various organizations.

The Mayor shared her presentation on the proclamation marking Supermarket Employee Appreciation Day. Council comments consisted of Alderwoman Hursey making a correction on the context of statement by her that was referenced in public input.

The Council passed its action items on the agenda except for the Human Rights Ordinance issue which was sent back to committee. The de-escalation resolution was passed with some minor language tweaks. The annexation approval included direction to City Staff for outreach for further annexation offers to the remaining unannexed portion of that neighborhood.

Consolidated General Election and Early Voting

The Consolidated General Election is Tuesday, April 6th, 2021. Early voting begins for everybody March 12th, (after the primary election results are certified). There are some folks who can Vote Early now if they weren't eligible to vote in a primary (outside of Champaign or Cunningham precincts). There is an explanation on Smile Politely here for Early Voting eligibility dates. You can also request your Vote By Mail Ballot here on the Champaign County Clerk's website.

The News-Gazette highlighted an extremely helpful election information resource and non-partisan candidate guide in today's paper here. It's put together by the Champaign County Voter Alliance in collaboration with the local League of Women Voters. From that News-Gazette coverage:

Want to know what Champaign City Council candidates are thinking ahead of the upcoming consolidated election? Wondering about the most pressing needs for the Urbana Park District?

...

Starting March 2 and continuing to March 11, the League is conducting a series of candidate forums on Zoom.

"The League has a really important role in today's democracy," said Trisha Crowley, president of the Champaign County chapter. "Being a nonpartisan organization, we talk with Democrats and Republicans and try to support our mission, which is to provide information to voters."

Full blurb here. More information at the League of Women Voters of Champaign County website here and links to the previous primary candidate forums here. The Champaign County Clerk has a simple list of the candidate's running on their website here: Meet the Candidates. Note that there are several write-in candidates who may be running in your local races at the bottom of the listed candidates! One Urbana Park District board candidate withdrew from the race already. From a letter to the editor in today's News-Gazette:

If you're like most people, you probably weren't even aware that we just had an election this week. Some only noticed when all the headlines and coverage exploded at once upon the election results themselves. It was a consolidated primary election for municipal offices and it had some painfully low turnout. From WCIA earlier this week:

5,127 out of approximately 68,000 eligible voters, that’s just over 7.5%, cast a ballot in Champaign County’s primary elections.

“This was actually lower for Urbana than it was in 2017,” County Clerk Aaron Ammons said. “It’s unsettling and it needs to change.”

...

“Unfortunately, turnout in the primary consolidated elections and general elections usually see this type of turnout in Champaign County,” Ammons said.

That full article here. The News-Gazette had more coverage on the turnout here. 

You'll likely be hard pressed to find anyone who likes the timing of these local consolidated elections. The candidate calendar is even more bonkers as the work to get on the ballot begins before the previous giant even-year general election is over. So why do we do it? Well, according to this twenty year old news story from the year 2001 (oof!):

Before 1982, each unit of Illinois government held its own election, where and when it chose. With consolidated elections, mandated by the state in 1982, elections are set in the same places on the same dates, rotating local races with general elections for county, state and federal government offices...

The goals of holding a consolidated election were to increase voter turnout and save money by doing it all at once.

"Neither has happened," [Whiteside County Clerk Dan Heusinkveld] said.

Full article here. Changes would have to occur at the State level and it may be difficult to find agreement on what might actually increase awareness or interest... a better date? Better outreach? Better civics education? I leave that to the reader to decide.

Preliminary and Unofficial Primary Election Results

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

Champaign County unofficial results from the County Clerk website here.

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

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

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

Smile Politely had informational blurbs up on individual races:

Urbana:

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

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

Champaign:

• Champaign Township Supervisor primary: Andy Quarnstrom defeated Rita Conerly

Urbana School Board Updates

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Urbana City Council Clarifying the HRO

Tonight's Urbana City Council meeting (agenda) will likely clarify an ambiguity in the City's Human Rights Ordinance that has existed since its passage. There are also a couple resolutions supporting the FirstFollowers Reentry program's services and on prioritizing de-escalation tactics by the Urbana Police Department. Most of the discussion and details of the items on tonight's agenda were had at last week Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video).

WICS had a brief overview of that meeting here. WCIA had a bit of additional information in its preview of the Use of Force related resolution prior to the meeting here.

In other Urbana news, the Urbana Poet Laureate is looking for public input and has a listening session Wednesday of this week. More information and links on that from Smile Politely here. Tom's Mailbag also had a couple Urbana related questions and answers on things like public and private sewer and septic systems and historical buildings here.

2/17 Meeting Writeup:

The meeting originally set for 2/15 was rescheduled due to the winter storm last week. It began with a presentation by Scott Allen of the Citizens Utility Board and Allen Max Axelrod, a local activist trying to stop utility shutoffs, especially to vulnerable populations. During the Q & A it was explained that there is an effort to get support from local governments throughout the state to help put pressure on the governor and relevant state agencies to put a stop to the shutoffs. The Mayor highlighted a local program through the Regional Planning Commission offering rental and utility assistance to Champaign County residents who qualify.

The public comments afterward raised concerns about application process and barriers that could create for some residents, especially those in the most desperate of situations. There were also concerns raised about the language in the Human Rights Ordinance and the need for the language to apply to the city. The language of the de-escalation and transparency resolution was criticized as insufficient to prevent past tragedies.  There were comments in support for funding and collaboration with the FirstFollowers reentry program as well.

The staff report included an update on the local Emulsicoat Inc facility. Data from the company and the Illinois EPA is being collected to help the council better understand the materials and safety issues involved. There is also going to be City Council training for current and prospective City Council members coming up soon. Starting on March 1st from 6-7pm there will be public meetings where the public may watch while candidates and incumbents participate in the training prior to City Council meetings.

The Mayor and Council member Brown highlighted some ways to get information out to the community on the RPC rental assistance program, including meeting with FirstFollowers and utilizing the list of big and small landlords registered with the City.

The presentation and discussion on the FirstFollowers funding is available here in the City Council video. There is a brief overview in the resolution document here. Excerpt:

First Followers is requesting funding for the Welcome Home Program to assist persons exiting the prison system. Many leave the prison system with few resources to help successfully reenter into the community. The Welcome Home program provides a safety net to provide support and resources to individuals returning to this community during the COVID crisis. The program anticipates serving twelve people through December 31, 2021.

The funding is coming through a small portion of the COVID related Community Development Block Grant money the City has received. From a post last year on CDBG block grants and jargon:

Some of the jargon and acronyms can get mind numbing on coronavirus relief funding that the federal government included with the CARES Act. The mechanisms that already existed for federal dollars to reach local programs were used to avoid re-inventing the wheel. So, in local government meetings, you'll hear Council members rattle of terms like "CDBG-CV funds." You probably don't need to know that it's referring to additional COVID-19 related spending in addition to the usual federal Community Development Block Grants. I didn't even like typing that last sentence. It's federal relief funding due to the pandemic.

Regular CDBG pop up a lot in city budgets outside of pandemic issues. For a general idea of how that federal money normally works its way to local government budgets, check out this link on the Illinois Department of Commerce page. 

The discussion on the resolution prioritizing de-escalation and transparency in the Urbana Police Department was discussed here in the Council video. It's worth noting that this is primarily direction and guidance to the Mayor, city staff, and police leadership on their expectations in policy. It specifically states the City Council's priority for de-escalation in the upcoming Use of Force policy changes and additional transparency in the UPD more generally.

The discussion on the Human Rights Ordinance, its application to the City Government, and how that might be enforced was a bit more complicated and is available here in the video. There was a presentation by the City Administrator Carol Mitten attempting to clarify the two issues involved. In a previous presentation at the January 19th COW meeting, there was a dispute about whether the options suggested by the Human Relations Commission were properly presented by the City Administrator.

At this meeting the Council decided to more narrowly tackle the clarification of the Human Rights Ordinance language. While the City Council members all agreed that the City must abide by the requirements of the Human Rights Ordinance, they are still looking for workable enforcement mechanisms. Part of the issue is the logistics of the City, or boards serving under the City's authority, attempting to enforce the ordinance against the City if it is in violation. 

The mechanisms to ensure an independent and fair hearing could be prohibitively expensive or leave potential conflicts of interest. One idea proposed was an intergovernmental agreement with Champaign that has a similar ordinance and Human Rights Commission structure. While clarifying the HRO language, the mechanism to enforce the protections is still left to be resolved.

At the end of the meeting Alderman Roberts had some updates on the Urbana sister-city program relating to Thionville. There is work being done towards a French/English exchange where Americans could practice their French and the French could practice their English. There was also a musical collaboration project in the works.

There were also some final thanks to the city staff and public during the winter storm, helping each other out, and clearing snow. Alderwoman Wu noted that the 217 area code will soon be one of two local area codes, so people may have to update their phones to include the area code if they haven't already.