Reminder: 2026 Midterm Elections in 60 Days!
Election Updates:
Early Voting starts September 24th! See Early Voting locations and times here at the Champaign County Clerk and Recorder's Website.
Illinois Public Media 2026 Candidate Interviews: in collaboration with the NAACP Champaign County Branch and the LWV of Champaign County.
LWV Local Candidate Guide: available through Vote411.
Champaign County Government Updates:
Legislative Budget Hearings: Each year the County Board hears from all departments about their budget needs and a brief overview of updates and what has changed since the prior fiscal year. There are three sets of slides with a very quick overview. All three meetings are available on the County’s YouTube page if you want more detailed presentations and information.
Hyperscale Data Centers: there is currently a moratorium on larger data centers in Champaign County. There has been a Data Center Task Force collecting public input and additional information to draft permanent regulations on larger data centers. This task force is nearing a final recommendation to the County Board. There is a local group organizing to ban or heavily restrict hyperscale data centers. That group has had a strong presence in local government meetings as well.
Public input has generally been in opposition to these data centers over environmental impacts and opposition to various uses (e.g. surveillance, generative AI applications, etc.). The Prairie Rivers Network has a webpage devoted to understanding more about data centers, local legislation, and how to be effective in advocating for the regulation people may be interested in.
There was a last minute attempt at putting “home rule” on the ballot as a referendum item, but a walkout during the special meeting to meet the ballot deadlines prevented a quorum or vote on the issue. In general, local governments lack the authority to permanently ban otherwise legal business activity under the law and longstanding court precedent. For more information on this see the Prairie Rivers guide on data center regulation and this article on moratoriums on some of the specific legal hurdles.
Carbon Sequestration: The moratorium on carbon sequestration facilities is likely coming to an end, to be replaced by a framework that would require special use permits to build. The next step for this policy will be the Environment and Land Use Committee meeting recommendation on September 10th.
Flock / Surveillance: Sheriff Heuerman answered questions at the August 20th County Board meeting on the Sheriff's Office use of Flock licence plate readers, access, and data sharing. Access has been recently limited from national to state and then Champaign County law enforcement agencies. He spoke of some additional safeguards implemented by Flock. County Board members raised a variety of concerns about potential abuse from the local to federal level. Many of the concerns mirrored longstanding issues raised by the ACLU about how the data is collected, used, and accessed.
Nursing Home Bed Shortage: There was a continued push this past month by Advocates for Aging Care for the County Board to allocate $1 million towards the costs of building a new nursing home facility. This is to come from the tax levy originally designated for the old County Nursing Home expenses that is still generating revenue for the county since that facility’s sale. There was News-Gazette coverage from earlier in the month on this effort.
Resignations and Litigation: Jeff Wilson has resigned from his County Board seat (District 1) to focus on his congressional campaign for the IL-13 district. County Board vacancies are appointed from the same party, generally at the recommendation of the local party.
The most recent update on the federal cases against State Representative Carol Ammons and Champaign County Clerk and Recorder Aaron Ammons were that both were granted a continuance. The next trial date for both is currently scheduled for November 3rd, which is election day. Aaron Ammons’ attorney has filed a motion to push back this and other court dates beyond November 17th to ensure they don’t interfere with his duties.
