City of Champaign Winter Updates

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

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

Redistricting:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Goal Setting: 

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

Crime and Gun Violence:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other crime and gun violence related Champaign updates:

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

Other Champaign Updates:

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

C-U Gun Violence Updates

This post provides additional information and links about the latest gun violence updates in Champaign-Urbana. It covers more on the recent Unit 4 shooting and its role in the City of Champaign's Violence Reduction Blueprint (following up from the City of Champaign updates here). There are also various updates on the work of the Community Coalition and general gun violence news, information, and updates

For general gun violence updates, the Champaign County Community Coalition typically has a monthly meeting where the local police chiefs give an update on shooting incidents, arrests, and other information. There wasn't a September meeting, so the most recent updates are available from the August 9th meeting (video here, with the police chiefs updates starting just after the 25 minute mark). The News-Gazette had coverage of the meeting and the sit down with the new Urbana Police Chief Larry Boone. Also:

Parkland College police Chief Troy Daniels highlighted recent active shooter training for the department and said that a main focus going forward would be emergency planning and preparedness.

That full article here. The next Community Coalition meeting is scheduled for October 11th at 3pm. You can get agendas or view previous meeting videos at their website here.

A lot of the recent news on local gun violence has revolved around Unit 4's most recent shooting on a grade school campus and its stated inability to use nearly a half million dollars of the City of Champaign's violence reduction funding over the last year.

An overview of the City of Champaign's Violence Reduction Blueprint is available on their website here. There was a Cheat Sheet post highlighting some aspects, coverage and links here. A more detailed and intricate description of the funding requirements through the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) is available in the original City Council Study Session staff report here. It begins explaining some of the restrictions and requirements that come with the federal funding on page 28. Excerpt:

"Because the City is proposing to use federal ARPA funding for these programs, the City will need to enter into a subrecipient agreement with existing partners and additional agencies identified through the RFP process outlining the rules that must be followed. The City will be responsible for monitoring the subrecipient to ensure compliance. For those areas in which responses to RFPs are not received, City staff may need to implement the outstanding components in-house."

That full report here. The City Council's frustration was pointed out in a previous Cheat Sheet post last week with links to local news coverage as well as some preliminary public response from Superintendent Shelia Boozer:

Boozer said the district’s decision not to use the city funding it was granted access to was based entirely on not having the “proper personnel” in place to execute a multipronged plan that included launching Saturday school in neighborhoods impacted by gun violence and a “Parent Academy/Parent University” aimed at reaching 100-plus parents and families from historically marginalized populations...

“It’s my sincere hope that the outrage and disappointment that some of our community members have aimed at this school district will be properly directed to the root cause of violence that continues to plague our community,” Boozer said. “We’re not the center of it, but we’re trying to do our part.”

That same News-Gazette article also had updates on Unit 4's metal detectors being expanded to middle schools in addition to the two high schools. Excerpt:

The district will implement the same metal detectors that Central and Centennial students, staff and visitors have passed through every morning since January 2022 — Evolv Express’ dual-lane models — at Edison, Franklin and Jefferson middle schools, Unit 4 spokeswoman Stacey Moore confirmed to The News-Gazette on Wednesday.

“A definitive timeline will be shared at a later date,” Moore said.

That full article here. WAND had additional coverage on the Superintendent's response to the City of Champaign City Council criticisms:

She said the district has been using the $32 million of COVID funds to address trauma and violence in their own way.

This includes providing for the lighting project near Garden Hills Academy, and enhancing security cameras throughout all campuses.

"Unit 4 is an educational institution. I just want to remind we are an educational, not a law enforcement agency. Our number one job is to educate the students in our district," said Dr. Boozer.

That full article here.

A lot of the local response to gun violence hopes to address root causes. In that vein, the Champaign County Community Coalition hosted a Black Mental Health & Wellness Conference this past weekend. Illinois Newsroom had coverage here. Excerpt:

About 200 people attended the day-long event. Before the workshops started, guests could learn about resources and programs from representatives at Carle Health, the Unit 4 School District and the Housing Authority of Champaign County. 

Participants had the opportunity to attend four out of eight different workshops throughout the day. Workshops informed participants on a myriad of mental-health-related topics, such as how to recognize racialized trauma, understand mental health, manage grief, build a healthy Black community and utilize community resources. 

That full article here. The Trauma Resilience Initiative and Karen Simms can be found collaborating throughout local government and organizations to addressing the trauma behind and caused by gun violence in the local community. 

The News-Gazette continues to have coverage of firearms entering the black market from area homes and vehicles. Click to enlarge the News-Gazette graphics from those articles:

 

At the end of 2022 the News-Gazette had an article on similar reports on firearms "lost" or stolen that year. There are also older articles showing this persistent trend of legally purchased or owned firearms entering the black market through loss or other crimes (e.g. this one on Urbana lost firearm reports here).

There was an update on the shooting and related charges of Champaign Police Officer Christopher Oberheim, but also the history of the gun used to kill him. The News-Gazette reported how that gun used in that murder entered the black market from a legal dealer through a straw purchase:

[Ashantae Corruthers] pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Hawley on Thursday to conspiracy to defraud the United States by buying and transferring a gun to Darion Lafayette, the 24-year-old man who shot Officer Oberheim on May 19, 2021, and by conspiring with Mr. Lafayette and co-defendant Regina Lewis, 28, of Normal to cover up that purchase and transfer by falsely reporting to Indianapolis police that the gun had been stolen.

Mr. Lafayette, who was fatally shot by Officer Oberheim’s partner, now-retired Officer Jeff Creel, after he fired at and hit both officers, was not legally able to buy a gun because he was a convicted felon.

He persuaded Lewis, his cousin, who also had a felony conviction, to get Corruthers to buy the gun at an Indianapolis gun store, which she did legally in November 2020.

More at that full article here.

More Gun Violence News:

• The Daily Illini covered the annual Security and Fire Safety Report, including campus crime data.
  
  
• C-U Citizen Access had updates on shooting data in both Champaign and Urbana here, with maps, graphs and a lot more information.
  
  
• Latest Champaign Police shooting data with a monthly comparison back to 2020 from the 9/15 News-Gazette Meeting Minutes feature.
  
  
  
  
  
• The City of Champaign City Council had a Study Session with an update on the Violence Reduction Blueprint. The corresponding staff report also had a plethora of shooting data and maps starting on page of 27 of the PDF file here.

City of Champaign Updates: Heading Into Fall

[Update 9/29/2023: this week's Goal Setting Study Sessions were held at the City View room of the new Illinois Terminal. The staff report itself lists the status of key projects starting on page along with a lot of additional information. I still have not found videos posted of the meetings held on 9/27 and 9/28, however. Meeting minutes with a brief overview of both meetings are available here.] 

There weren't very many Cheat Sheet updates over this summer, but as we head into fall I'll be posting some round ups on what happened and what's coming up at various local government bodies. In Champaign the news revolved around budgets (including funding for a "Premiere Surveillance Platform" fan), redistricting, and ongoing efforts to thwart gun violence.  

The City of Champaign is still in their redistricting process (with a few of the proposed maps still being considered available - pages 8-19 of the PDF). The News-Gazette had an article explaining the 7 proposed maps (at the time) and the reasons for the redistricting due to updated Census information. The Daily Illini had some coverage back in July explaining the process, public engagement via the new Engage Champaign website and more here.

The Engage Champaign website has a page specifically on redistricting with links to the proposed maps (narrowed down to five being considered by the Council at the bottom of the page). There's also a variety of explanations on the why, how, and tentative timeline for redistricting. It includes contact information for technical questions (e.g. City Attorney) and more.

There was a recent update on the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint (Study Session Report here, Study Session meeting video here). The local news coverage appeared to focus on some frustration on the part of City Council members with Unit 4. From the News-Gazette last week:

The school district was one of multiple organizations funded by the city through the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint to carry out various programs aimed at addressing the root causes of gun violence and supporting impacted families of victims.

But the district spent none of the $526,620 it was awarded for year one tasks, according to a lengthy outside evaluation report to the city council.

The school district was on track to receive more than $1 million over two years, but the extent of its upcoming participation and how much funding it will receive for year two have yet to be determined, according to city Community Development Manager Jorge Elvir.

That full article here. The Superintendent of Unit 4 was quoted in a News-Gazette article today (on adding metal detectors to middle schools) responding to the criticism:

Boozer said the district’s decision not to use the city funding it was granted access to was based entirely on not having the “proper personnel” in place to execute a multipronged plan that included launching Saturday school in neighborhoods impacted by gun violence and a “Parent Academy/Parent University” aimed at reaching 100-plus parents and families from historically marginalized populations.

Boozer drew a comparison to the city not having enough officers on staff to continue the district’s school resource officer program, leading Unit 4 to hire an in-house director of security and safety and bring in an outside firm.

“It’s my sincere hope that the outrage and disappointment that some of our community members have aimed at this school district will be properly directed to the root cause of violence that continues to plague our community,” Boozer said. “We’re not the center of it, but we’re trying to do our part.”

That full article here. There will be a follow up Cheat Sheet post specifically on local and area gun violence coming soon. The concerns about gun violence and schools is likely only to get more pointed with the recent news, e.g. from WCIA, that five youths were recently arrested related to a shooting near a local school. One 11 year old child was found with two guns, ammunition, and magazines, including a 50 round drum magazine in his backpack. News-Gazette front page picture and caption today:

Below are more City of Champaign government and other local news updates. Down the list you'll find coverage of various city budget items, including the surveillance van coverage.

Other City of Champaign Government News: 

• The News-Gazette reported that the search has begun for a replacement Champaign Fire Department Chief after Chief Gary Ludwig's abrupt resignation 2 months ago.
  
  
• The City of Champaign Township had updates on its Strides low-barrier shelter in the 8/4 News-Gazette (e-edition link appears broken): 
  
  
  
• The News-Gazette had coverage of the 8/1 City Council meeting, along with some announcements on why there'd be fewer meetings due to a lack of agenda items in August.
  
  
• There was some speculation back in July on "The Yards" project possibly getting new life with new investors, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• The News-Gazette also noted that the City Council passed funding for new police camera systems (explained in this article previewing the vote here) in its 7/14 eEdition "Meeting Minutes" section. The link doesn't appear to be working, but it stated that the item "passed unanimously, without council comment" along with approving FEMA grant funding for firefighting equipment and modifying the local human rights ordinance to match State law on pregnancy protections.
  
  
• Coverage of the June 20th City Council meeting in the News-Gazette included the passage of the City budget and the approval of a new surveillance van. The van was described as a "Multi-Purpose Vehicle" in the agenda, but also as "Premier Surveillance Platform" with a Command Center and Tech Center in the manufacturer's specifications. Those specifications are available on the Cheat Sheet twitter page here. There was also a bonus for the City Manager as part of the resolution on updating City employee salaries.
  
  
• Last month the Daily Illini highlighted the fact that residents can apply to be part of the hiring process for local Champaign Police officers.

Other City of Champaign News:

• New work with the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail at Skelton Park, according to WAND. Additional information at WAND here and the Heritage Trail website here.
  
  
• Last month the Champaign Park District highlighted upgrades to the Douglass Park basketball courts. From the News-Gazette. There were other Douglass Park upgrades approved back in June as well.
  
  
• Community effort to take on reckless driving in Champaign, from the News-Gazette.

MTD Updates and Decennial Committee

 

There's been a lot of MTD updates in the news and local government meetings recently. Also be sure to check out the overview of rural and local mass transit intergovernmental agreements over at the Cheat Sheet of Champaign County here this month!

The local mass transit district has been converting its fleet to cleaner energy and hybrid alternatives. The News-Gazette reported on the retirement of their last diesel-only buses with a grant for even more low-emission and no-emission alternative vehicles:

The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District has been awarded a $6.6 million federal grant to pay for 10 new hybrid replacement buses...

The MTD’s money is paying for 10 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid buses...

About 98 percent of the MTD’s 118-bus fleet includes low-emission diesel-electric hybrid buses, with zero-emission hydrogen-fuel-cell electric buses making up the remaining 2 percent, officials said.

That full article here, mostly citing the MTDs own press release here. WCCU had similar coverage without a paywall here.

In honor of Juneteenth, there is a bus acting as a mobile Juneteenth exhibit through the end of July as well. WCIA had coverage of that initiative here. Smile Politely had some links to information on the MTD's Juneteenth Block Party event. Illinois Newsroom had an information table of the various activities and events involved here.

It's been a long while since I've attended an MTD meeting in person, but I was curious about how it would deal with the State's new requirement for a Decennial Committee on Local Government Efficiency. MTD's Decennial Committee is listed on their website here and includes MTD board members and MTD Managing Director Karl Gnadt. It also includes a couple local resident committee members: prior board member George Griedman and Donna Tanner-Harold, who is known for being extremely active in the community and the mother of Erika Harold.

The community members were approved at the May 31st MTD Board meeting and appear to have been recommended by "staff" via a letter from Managing Director Gnadt (page 45 of the 5/31/2023 meeting agenda packet PDF file here).

There is a Illinois Municipal League has a Decennial Committee factsheet that I found helpful in explaining the basic purpose of these committees and which government bodies are required to have one (and was posted on the County Board's meeting information website). The Township Officials of Illinois website had a lot of additional Decennial Committee information. It has suggestions for moving forward with these committees, including sample drafts, and legal references. 

Decennial Committee Meeting: Meeting Video

As one can gather with a new, somewhat vague law and some preliminary factsheets and suggestions, the MTD's Decennial Committee was mostly establishing what it is that they were going to do here. The MTD attorney explained the basics as best as he could. The focus is for the committee to look for areas where the MTD as a local governmental body, as overseen by the MTD Board, can improve its accountability and efficiency. There are no metrics provided for the law on how to measure accountability and efficiency.

The law leaves it to the committee and whatever public input can be brought to bear through the process to come up with new ideas on accountability and efficiency. This is to eventually be put in a report and submitted to the local County government's administration. There doesn't appear to be any further outside follow up or mechanism to ensure that any recommended changes happen. It's not clear that the report becomes anything more than a public record at this point.

The discussion initially revolved around the possibly intentional vagueness of the law, but also taking advantage of the opportunity to find areas of improvement. It was acknowledged that some government bodies may elect to do the bare minimum and simply submit the required report, they would like to bring in a consulting firm and actually survey board members, staff, and the community for input.

The local resident committee members appeared to appreciate an offer of the same introductory board information new MTD board members get. Managing Director Gnadt assured them that didn't want to waste their time. They would like to have, in the end, a useful product from the consulting firm.

Member of the public in the audience were given opportunities to address the board with their concerns, but none of the two present took them up on the offer. Written surveys were handed out in the meeting with two basic questions (and an email to submit feedback later if they so chose). The questions simply asked what the the MTD could do better and if the resident rides or used to ride the local buses.

The Decennial Committee left off with a general agreement to move forward to get started on the process of finding a consultant firm. This process is called an RFP or "Request for Proposals" to give companies an opportunity to make public bids for services requested by local government bodies. The MTD attorney and Managing Director appeared to be ready to tweak the language for the RFP discussed to cover the committee's expectations and legal requirements for the work.

The meeting started a few minutes late after 3pm and adjourned just before 3:30pm. So, overall a pretty short meeting. The regular MTD board meeting afterward was a more typical 48 minutes or so.

Regular MTD Board Meeting: Meeting Video

The regular MTD Board meeting followed the agenda (full agenda packet here) with some corrections on the Managing Directors report and some brief bits of presentation and discussion on the action items. While discussion was limited, the board approved some pretty significant items that had already been worked through, including: 

• A budget for the fiscal year. 
• Renewing intergovernmental agreements with the County government (through the Regional Planning Commission and the County Board more on the County side here).
• Approving an extension of a $10 million line of credit as needed for MTD projects, equipment and operations.
• Approving the 5 year audit agreement with Baker Tilly, an experienced government auditor, but the only bidder for this RFP (likely due to the current strain on auditing services available).

The meeting ended with a presentation on the replacement of old in-ground diesel tanks for refueling buses. There were additional costs with removing the old tanks. Some of that was due to extra materials and additional concrete work. Some was due to contamination in soil samples during the process. The contamination does not appear to have been from the old diesel tanks (which did not have any breaches to the external tank structures). Soil samples around the tanks did not test positive for contamination.

It didn't appear to be immediately clear if the contamination was from the refueling activities nearby or remnants of past industrial operations at the same site throughout its history. The Illinois Environment Protection Agency was notified and potentially contaminated water on the site was removed through exhaustive additional measures (multiple truck loads) and not released into the local environment.

The agenda packet lists the additional costs of removing, storing, and transporting the contaminated water to an appropriate disposal facility (pages 145-150 of the PDF file).

Other MTD News and Updates:

• The News-Gazette's "Meeting Minutes" feature had coverage of the MTD Board meeting earlier this month, approving contracts with the local school districts and designating Willard Airport as a "preferred" airport for in-district flights.
• An earlier News-Gazette "Just Askin'" article on the new cleaner energy buses MTD is striving towards.
• WCIA had coverage earlier in the year of some of the upcoming changes to routes this Fall and the public input opportunities available at the time.
• And of course, MTD services in the summer are still a bit reduced while the students are gone. Summer service reduction information from the MTD's website.

City of Urbana Updates

City Council Highlights:

The latest news out of the Urbana City Council was their holding firm against Automatic License Plate Readers, but there was a debate on the legal language to ensure that. From last week's News-Gazette Meeting Minutes:

“The city of Urbana will not authorize or purchase automated license-plate reader, ALPR, technology without explicit majority approval from the Urbana City Council,” Marlin went on to say at this week’s council meeting. “While the prior debate and vote on ALPRs centered on a budget amendment to purchase ALPRs rather than a general policy statement, the council discussion and 4-3 vote defeating the amendment made the position and concerns of the majority of the city council very clear.”

Marlin spoke in response to a resolution from Alderwoman Grace Wilken ahead of next week’s vote on the city’s budget. Fearful that Urbana police would attempt to buy surveillance technology without first asking council for approval — given that last year’s ask was for funding to buy plate readers, not permission to buy them — she proposed adding a side letter or amendment to the budget...

More at that full article here, including the proposed language and arguments on its necessity and semantics.

The City is also looking for public input on a variety of issues, including an increase in the stormwater fees residents pay. From the News-Gazette:

The fee, which covers the cost of maintaining and improving various components of the stormwater infrastructure — such as sewer pipes, manholes, ponds and a pump station — is already set to rise July 1 from $5.60 a month to $5.82 a month for homeowners.

Come Jan. 1, the monthly fee could rise to as much as $27 a month, with the city council’s approval, depending on just how proactive with maintenance and improvements the city decides to be.

Urbana has charged a stormwater utility fee for a decade, and it covers upkeep and improvements that are largely invisible to the public — unless that upkeep is neglected, which can lead to flooding.

That full article here. The public can access the feedback tools here on the City's website. The city recently voted to increase other fines and fees by 4% according to the News-Gazette's preview of City Council meeting last may. While the vote passed at that meeting (jump to video link), there doesn't appear to be a copy of the exact language or an agenda packet for that meeting on the City's website for some reason.

The City of Urbana is also asking for public input on almost every possible issue in the budget at it's Imagine Urbana public input page and multiple in-person events here.

In other budget news, there were updates on the city's proposed Capital Improvement Plan with an interactive map to help with public feedback. The Daily Illini had a short blurb on that here. The News-Gazette had a more detailed overview here. A vote to approve the plan is happening tonight. Latest updates and overview in the Agenda Packet for tonight's meeting (starting on page 22 of the PDF).

The News-Gazette also had a round up on the city's new Chief of Police:

Fourteen months after Bryant Seraphin’s last shift, Urbana’s police department now has a full-time leader...

His two-year contract, made available prior to Monday’s meeting, will pay Boone an annual salary of $205,000, making him the city’s highest-paid employee...

Boone, a 33-year law enforcement veteran who retired as police chief of Norfolk, Va., in 2022 after a six-year run, emerged in April as the sole finalist for the job held down on an interim basis by interim Chief Rich Surles since Seraphin’s retirement.

The hiring of Urbana’s second African American police chief coincides with the city spending $235,000 for the national consulting firm BerryDunn to help evaluate how it delivers public-safety services.

More at that full article here. WCIA also had coverage here. The town hall event videos for people to get to know the new Chief are still available on the City's website here.

Kathy's Mailbag highlighted an ongoing local census concern with the pandemic interruptions:

The city has identified the areas that showed the biggest declines in population, and they are concentrated near campus. Those areas would be recounted in the Partial Special Census. An added benefit for the city is that the recount could include several campus-area multi-family housing developments that were built after the 2020 Census...

[Mayor Diane Marlin] said the city is “requesting an estimate first because the entire cost of a Partial Special Census is borne by the community and we need to make sure the benefit outweighs the cost. We expect to get the cost estimate from the Census Bureau in a month or so and will make a decision after that.” She said the most likely timeframe for a possible recount would be the spring of 2024.

More at the full Mailbag article here.

Examine Urbana Presentation Series:

There have been a series of presentations to the Urbana City Council looking at various aspects of the city. More information is available at the Examine Urbana page on the City's website. 

Video links:

• April 10: Purpose of Examine Urbana and Introduction
• April 17: Transportation Chapter
• April 24: Development and Taxes
• May 1: Arts and Culture
• May 8: Energy and the Environment
• May 15: Housing

Other Urbana Updates:

• State diverting some federal funding to local affordable housing projects, including at the Steer Place Apartments in Urbana for seniors. News-Gazette eEdition (subscription) blurb here. 
• Possible landmark status for Canaan Baptist Church, from the News-Gazette.
• Still awaiting updates on the BerryDunn's "Community Safety Review" since the town hall event last month. News-Gazette coverage previewing that event here. There does not appear to be video of that event on the city's website, unfortunately.

C-U Gun Violence Updates

Every month the police chiefs of all of the local law enforcement departments report on gun violence and trends within their jurisdictions at the Champaign County Community Coalition meeting. May's Police Chief updates started early around the 1:50 mark of the meeting video here (agenda here).

• The Urbana Police Department's interim Police Chief Surles (Urbana chose a new Chief recently) noted that shootings the past month were down over 50% from last year. And last year was down 25% from the year before that. 
  
  
• Chief Tyler of the Champaign PD also noted a continued downtrend in gun violence: 58% reduction since last year and a 71% reduction in the past two years.

This appears to mirror trends across Illinois (e.g. Quad Cities) and the United States (e.g. New York) after a massive peak in gun violence in 2021. Politicians and government officials tend to take credit for good news when they can, but it may be difficult to statistically tie gun violence reduction to any specific funding or efforts from one city to the next. 

One may look at the city budgets, police staffing, and actual policy changes or programs (in the works or actually being implemented) hoping to find a connection to the roller coaster of gun violence trends. Or one can look at many other potential forces more or less out of any local government's control. A complicated combination of factors are likely at work here. 

The recent City of Champaign update post included some budget updates on federal, state, and county funding going to some of the local projects related to public safety infrastructure, investing in impacted communities, and more direct local gun violence programs.

In related news, WCIA also recently reported that the City is attempting to reinvigorate its Neighborhood Services organizing:

Champaign’s Neighborhood Services are launching a new campaign called 43-43-43. It’s meant to re-engage the 43 registered neighborhood groups throughout Champaign.

Organizers say now that the pandemic is over it’s time for the groups to get back to improving their neighborhoods.

The city would like to see them get more involved with their neighbors. It can be through a neighborhood cleanup, beautification, or environmental education event.

More at that full blurb here. As the City's recent hiring tweets and advertisements show, they are also looking at hiring for a number of positions, including Neighborhood Ambassadors and a Neighborhood Services Director. From the 6/4 News-Gazette:

 

Urbana similarly looks to be reinvigorating its neighborhood outreach programs, including on gun violence. From Smile Politely's overview in March.

First Followers was in the news for its recent survey on the causes of gun violence. From Illinois Newsroom in April:

Research and social justice are often separate issues — but one local organization is using its connections to figure out how to combat violence before it starts. 

First Followers helps formerly incarcerated people re-enter the Champaign-Urbana community. The group released the results of their survey of people in Champaign-Urbana on the leading causes of violence. Almost 60% of people said they’d been impacted by gun violence...

Poverty and access to guns topped the list, followed by gangs, drugs, and a lack of mentorship and constructive activities. Although these results weren’t a surprise, Corbin said, it’s helping guide their recommendations for local leaders and organizations about how they could help address local violence. 

More at the full article here.

The News, Brews & Beatz, "quarterly community conversations are focused on serving the Black community here in central Illinois," continues to analyze local topics related to gun violence, community, culture, and more. Video and more information at their webpage here.

City of Champaign Township and City Council Updates

 

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

City of Champaign Township:

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

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

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

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

City Council:

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

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

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

More City Council Updates:

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

• City of Champaign 5/19:

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

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

Among the rules:

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

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

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

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

The rest would be spent as follows:

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

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

 

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

 

Unit 4 Updates: Reorganization and More

Last month there was a Cheat Sheet post on possible demographic reorganization plans put forward for Unit 4 by Cooperative Strategies, a consulting firm working for the Board of Education. That post had a preliminary overview, links to coverage, and a lot of background information. This month's post covers a lot of the fall out and cascading responses between the public, the Champaign school board, and the consulting firm. There are also the usual Unit 4 updates and news items afterward.

Demographic Reorganization Updates:

There was a rally before the school board meeting on 10/10 by the Unit 4 Families for a Smarter Solution group. Illinois Newsroom had coverage of the rally and meeting here with a lot of details. WCIA's coverage also included the text of the Superintendent's letter that caused a stir separating the consulting firm's task and Board's focus on the achievement gap.

There was a great deal of public comment from parents, residents, activists, and organizations at that meeting (public comment starts at 27:27 in the meeting video here). The local NAACP branch made a statement about its concerns at this meeting as well (also laid out in a News-Gazette guest commentary here).

In between the two Board of Education meetings in October, there were also in-person focus group meetings by the district's consulting firm on the issue, Cooperative Strategies. Coverage of the 10/17 and 10/18 In-Person Focus Groups:

• From Illinois Newsroom on 10/19: Parents at Champaign Unit 4 open houses: don’t move students next year
• From the News-Gazette on 10/19: Community members hold Unit 4's demography consultants' 'feet to the fire' in Tuesday meeting
• Blurb from WCIA on 10/19: “It won’t make the kids happy”: Unit 4 parents meet in Garden Hills
• Coverage from the first in-person focus group meeting at Carrie Busey Elementary from Fox Illinois: Cooperative Strategies addresses Unit 4 School of Change concerns

The 10/24 School Board meeting (videos, agenda packets) had a bit more of a response from the Board members themselves after additional public comment (begins on the first video around the 2:31:45 point). Illinois Newsroom had an overview of that meeting here. Excerpt:

[Unit 4 Superintendent Shelia Boozer] spent twenty minutes of the meeting detailing her efforts to implement the district’s 2020-2025 strategic plan. The document focuses on ways the district can undo systemic racism and improve academic outcomes for Black students, multilingual students and students with disabilities.

In addition to balancing spending between schools, Boozer described new training for teachers and administrators, supports like therapy and more. One of her top priorities is to expand the AVID program (Advancement Via Individual Determination) to all schools in the district. The program gives low-income students mentors, peer networks and writing training to help them excel.

Boozer framed changes to the schools of choice as one strategy – a way to remove barriers to low-income students and students of color. Board members echoed the sentiment.

The latest coverage from the News-Gazette's 10/28 "Meeting Minutes" feature also had an overview of what we've learned, remaining questions, and some other highlights about the reorganization plan and players. One particular personnel change at Cooperative Strategies seemed to puzzle a lot of folks:

An email sent this week from The News-Gazette to Cooperative Strategies’ Ohio-based point person on the Unit 4 project came back with an automatic reply noting “Scott Leopold is no longer with Cooperative Strategies, LLC.”

Asked how his departure from the firm, after 17 years, would affect the district’s plans, Unit 4’s Stacey Moore said: “Mr. Leopold is still the lead on this project until the district’s decision is finalized.”

According to his LinkedIn page, Leopold is now director of planning for HPM, a strategic management services company based in Birmingham, Ala.

More at that full article here. I haven't heard any clarification or explanation about how a former employee will be running lead on their company's project, however. The other big highlight is that the Board and others appear to be coming around to pushing the Board's original timeline (which originally would have finalized plans presented in November and approved with a vote this December).

The villages of Bondville and Savoy, which are also part of Unit 4 came up at the Board of Education meeting as well as a special Savoy Village Board of Trustees meeting this week. Discussions about the diversity of those towns as well as their desires for the district were brought up in public comments in both meetings. WCIA's coverage of the Savoy meeting highlighted some interest (and financial pitfalls) in leaving the Unit 4 school district:

The Savoy Board of Trustees voted unanimously to encourage the Champaign School District to create neighborhood schools Tuesday night. They held a special meeting to hear from concerned families.

The district is considering proposals that could uproot many elementary students from their current schools, including Carrie Busey in Savoy. Some people suggested detatching from the district, but Village President John Brown said that outcome is unlikely.

“If you detach or a section of the village detaches from Unit 4, not only do you have to find another school district willing to accept you, but you also have to take along a portion of that debt,” Brown said.

That full article here. There was more coverage on that meeting at WCCU and Illinois Newsroom as well. Other speakers warned (or threatened depending on the point of view) that Unit 4 will lose even more families and residents to neighboring districts rather than accept the plans laid out thus far. 

Those who can afford to leave may have to weigh concerns about crowding in those peripheral districts and related tax questions. The News-Gazette recently highlighted the crowding issues at one of the nearby school districts to the West, Mahomet-Seymour Community Unit District No. 3.

A map of the school districts around Unit 4 within Champaign County highlight some of the ongoing issues with racial disparities and long term effects of segregation in the area. From the Champaign County GIS Consortium website (click to enlarge): 

One can compare the demographic data (available via national or state level data tools) around the area and see some familiar historical trends. The districts encompassing Champaign, Urbana, and Rantoul have racial disparities with far more Black students and far fewer white students than the state average. Every school district bordering them has extreme racial disparities in the opposite direction with almost no Black or Hispanic students and generally a vast overrepresentation of white students. 

Compare with Fisher CUSD 1, Thomasboro CCSD 130, Prairieview-Ogden CCSD 197, St. Joseph CCSD 169, Tolono CUSD 7, or Ludlow CCSD 142 on the Illinois State Board of Education's Illinois Report Card data. Here's a snip of the data for the other district the Village of Savoy area borders:

This modern data has been highlighted in recent segregation overviews in Illinois from Governing Magazine that included Champaign-Urbana and surrounding areas mentioned in a previous Cheat Sheet post here. The News-Gazette had an overview of desegregation efforts within C-U school districts back in 2019, but that doesn't address how segregation evolved along and outside school district boundaries during those efforts.

Some of the trends date back over a century as the Black population grew in the area after the Civil War and into the Great Migration. During the Racial Nadir era here (roughly 1890-1930s) is when much of the county became "lily-white" in the parlance of the times. De facto segregation and the color line became more brutally enforced by local authorities and private vigilance efforts (with varying cooperation and conflict with local law enforcement bodies). This chart compares the changing Black population within the Twin Cities and the rest of Champaign County:

During the decades between the racial Nadir era here and segregation efforts in the last generation, a great deal of factors compounded these disparities including: racial covenants, open loan and realtor discrimination, redlining, community disinvestment and neglect, etc. The growth of the Chanute military base also played a major role in creating a new large African-American community within the County during this time. 

Having an internationally renowned state flagship university in the middle of the county has made us unique in many other demographic respects as well. There's are additional aspects of diversity that set us apart from other regions of downstate Illinois. There are also a lot of examples of early activism and desegregation actions within Champaign-Urbana that put us ahead of many regional trends.

The districting, zoning, and bureaucratic systems that have created and maintained familiar racial disparities throughout the Midwest, however, have in many other ways made us sadly typical. Often people wonder how we could be struggling in our local education systems while having such a prominent university in the middle of it all. Some have pointed to a recent article in The Atlantic highlighting research suggesting that many college towns suffer even more inequality problems: The College-Town Achievement Gap.

Other Unit 4 News:

• The Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation issued a variety of grants for projects and classroom ideas, according to the News-Gazette. The CU Schools Foundation website also has an overview of the program and the grants here.
• Area superintendents participated in a TV special on issues facing area school districts, including Unit 4. Coverage by Illinois Newsroom here. Full video of the event here.
• Already mentioned in a recent MTD Updates post, was an update on Unit 4 versus Urbana's District 116 contract costs with MTD. The same News-Gazette article also highlights some of the local changes and competition in substitute teacher pay.