Other County Updates

This post includes additional County government related updates on the Auditor, Treasurer, public safety departments and sales tax updates, as well as some Regional Planning Commission related updates on Head Start and the Long-Term Transportation Plan.

Auditor and Treasurer Updates:

Illinois Public Media's Newsroom had an overview of the controversies in the auditor's office, concerns about late audits, and recent interviews with some of the main players in that drama today:

Steve Summers, Champaign County Executive, said if voters decide to eliminate the auditor’s office, the Champaign County Board is likely to merge its accounting department, including the auditor’s role, with his department. “Then, with County Board approval, a new hire would be made and carry out the work of the auditor’s office,” Summers said...

In addition, Summers said the role of the auditor has diminished in recent years, as the current software system “handles many of the tasks that an auditor 30 or 40 years ago would have done manually...

Both candidates for county auditor oppose the referendum to eliminate the position they’re running for. 

That full article here with a lot of additional background on a number of the recent controversies, perspectives and history.

The Treasurer's office was dragged into the auditor drama shortly after Treasurer Cassandra C.J. Johnson announced she was planning on retiring before the end of her second term. From the News-Gazette:

Describing herself as “burned out” by long hours and a short staff, Johnson said the only question is when she’ll leave...

Johnson, who is 44 and goes by the initials “C.J.,” suggested it would be at the “beginning of next year,” but that is indefinite because “there are a bunch of projects I want to close out.”

The U.S. Air Force veteran was elected treasurer in 2020, filling out the unexpired balance of the four-year term created by the resignation of former treasurer Laurel Prussing. She was re-elected to a full four-year term in 2022.

That full article here.

Auditor Danos has recently justified the need for an elected auditor position by highlighting additional interest income the County could have made if the Treasurer had deposited more of the County's money in an Illinois Funds account. From Jim Dey's opinion article on the Auditor's claims:

While Champaign County officials have urged voters to approve a sales tax increase to shore up their financial resources, the county has missed out on nearly $2.1 million in income by maintaining funds in low-interest-bearing accounts.

As recently as Aug. 31, the county had $13.9 million on deposit in a Terre Haute, Ind., First Financial Bank account that paid a 0.2 percent interest rate and generated $2,415 in interest for the month.

If that same amount had been deposited with the state treasurer’s Illinois Funds account, the interest rate would have been 5.373 percent and generated $67,877 in interest income.

That full article here. Others have argued that catching this issue years ago, before the County lost out on the additional interest revenue, would have made a stronger case for the auditor.

Public Safety Budgets:

The News-Gazette had an overview of local public safety officials and their stated budget needs going forward, including the Sheriff's Office, State's Attorney's Office, and the Public Defender:

This week, as the board begins discussing how to allocate funds for fiscal 2025, the leaders of the county’s law enforcement, courthouse and corrections divisions each made their case for why they should receive additional support to improve public safety efforts.

Yet to what extent the board decides to fund each department’s vision will ultimately hinge on whether county residents approve a referendum in November’s election for a quarter-cent “public safety” sales tax.

That full article here. The County has also put up a Public Safety Sales Tax information website here. The Champaign County State's Attorney has defended the County's spending on this website and local advertising about the referendum as educational. Opponents have alleged that this spending as crossed the legal line into advocacy.

Other Public Safety Updates:

There's a Cheat Sheet post on the recent METCAD Policy Board meeting and the staffing crisis facing the dispatch center. The County's METCAD 911 dispatch service is an intergovernmental organization with the City of Champaign as the primary, which is why staffing is generally handled by the City of Champaign. The staffing crisis, however, could impact services throughout Champaign County.

Kathy's Mailbag had a brief overview of the County's emergency management organization this month: 

“While the day-to-day operations of EMA are overseen by an emergency management coordinator appointed by the sheriff, emergency management policies for the county are developed through the Regional Emergency Coordination Group (RECG), a group made up of local elected and appointed officials such as the sheriff, mayors/city managers, police chiefs and representatives from UI, Parkland and the C-U Public Health District. Those policies are then put into action by EMA. “

That full Mailbag article here.

Regional Planning Commission Related Updates:

Expansion of RPC Early Childhood Education Program, from the News-Gazette:

The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission plans to expand its Early Childhood Education program into Ford, Iroquois and Vermilion counties.

Program Director Brandi Granse said the RPC is acquiring five centers: two in Danville, one in Paxton, one in Gilman and one in Watseka...

According to RPC officials, the move adds 300 infants, toddlers, preschoolers and pregnant women to RPC’s Head Start and Early Head Start enrollment.

That full article here.

Long-Range Transportation Plan:

There have been some recent updates on the process of local governments endorsing the County's Long-Range Transportation Plan. From WCIA:

Every five years, the Champaign Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study (CUUATS) is required to update the LRTP, which plans out the next 25 years. The goal of the LRTP is to create innovative and sustainable transportation solutions in Champaign County...

To see a full list of projects included in the 2050 LRTP, visit the Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study website.

Currently, the 2050 LRTP is in a draft review period until Oct. 15. Once the draft-period has ended, the plan will be adopted by the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission Board and Technical and Policy Committees. Then, the council will be able to accept and recognize the finalized 2050 LRTP plan.

That full article here. This article goes into detail about the City of Champaign's endorsement of the LRTP. The staff report at the study session explained the next steps:

The draft LRTP 2050 plan is in the 30-day draft review period through Tuesday, October 15, 2024 and can be viewed online. CUUATS staff is seeking input from stakeholders, particularly local municipalities, and the general public. CUUATS will then evaluate and incorporate feedback that is feasible and relevant to accomplishing the goals and visions of the LRTP 2050. 

Although not all feedback will be incorporated into the main document, all feedback will be provided in the appendix of the LRTP 2050 document. Once the comment period has ended, the plan will be adopted by the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission Board and Technical and Policy Committees. City Council also has the option to accept and recognize the finalized LRTP 2050 plan.

The Regional Planning Commission hosts a LRTP 2050 webpage with additional information and updates here.

County Board February Updates

This post covers February Champaign County Board meetings and other County related news items. We'll be highlighting the nursing home updates, Willard airport expanded service pitch to local governments, recent board and judge appointments, and county law enforcement issues. At the end there is also a list of other county government and news highlights.

Old County Nursing Home and Bed Shortage:

WCIA had coverage of this week's special study session by the County Board on what to do about the old Champaign County Nursing Home property that was sold to a private entity that soon closed it. The meat and potatoes of that meeting begins around the 12 minute mark of the meeting video here (agenda prior to amendment moving up the presentations here). From the WCIA coverage:

The Champaign County Board and community members came together Tuesday night at a study session, talking about the future of University Rehab in Urbana...

When University Rehab closed, the community lost over 200 licensed beds.

Board members and advocates agree they need to think ahead and make a plan for the current and future aging population. The study session was one step to getting there.

Part of that will come from working with the Champaign County Healthcare Consumers and Advocates for Aging Care. They want to work together to bring more beds to the area.

That full article here. The News-Gazette had more in their coverage as well. A few key excerpts: 

“AAC has looked into the issue of using the current facility as a nursing home and has come to the realization that it would probably not be suitable, certainly not suitable for a contemporary, nonprofit nursing home,” she said. “If the Champaign County Board decides to lift the restriction on the sale of the facility, allowing it to be sold for something other than a nursing home, AAC will support that decision.”

...

[County Executive Steve Summers] said in a previous interview that a program manager with the Illinois Department of Public Health told him the license for the home has lapsed, and any new operator would have to invest significant capital to get the property in compliance with all current IDPH codes.

He added that the receiver has said they were told that “demolishing the building down to the foundation and rebuilding was the most likely way to have a nursing-home facility on that site.”

That full article here with a lot of additional information, background, and other perspectives. It highlights a key issue for the county is ensuring that it can recoup some of the 2 years worth of back taxes and future property taxes from the site. There was a lot of news coverage and discussion of the nursing home and beds shortage in the last County Board: Winter Updates Cheat Sheet post here.

The Advocates for Aging Care group had an opinion piece in the News-Gazette this month highlighting their community survey. As pointed out in this study session meeting, the group hopes to use the community survey and an additional upcoming market research study to supplement the Illinois Department of Public Health information on the local (as opposed to regional) shortage in order to make the licensing process feasible.

Willard Service Expansion and Public Funds:

Smile Politely had an opinion piece on the Minimum Revenue Guarantee proposals for a new leisure flight service out of Willard Airport with some helpful information and analysis. The Champaign County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has been collaborating on presentations to local government bodies, according to the News-Gazette. The presentation to the City of Champaign is available here, with a comprehensive staff report for that study session topic here. From the News-Gazette article:

In addition to the two city councils, representatives from the University of Illinois-owned airport also presented their pitch this week to the Rantoul Village Board.

According to the airport’s updated incentive policy, the university is offering a first-come, first-served minimum revenue guarantee of $500,000 for service to any airport in Florida or Arizona, or to Las Vegas.

Executive Director Tim Bannon has said that the airport is hoping to raise a community match of $500,000 so that it can offer a total minimum revenue guarantee of at least $1 million.

That full article here. There's already a similar outstanding minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) to expand Willard's services with a route to and from Washington, D.C. The presenters to local governments argued that these kind of risk limiting safeguards will help Willard compete with other downstate airports. 

One selling point that appeared to appeal to local government officials was that the University's half of the million dollar MRG would be used up first (as opposed to city, village, or county public funds), if the route struggles for profitability in the initial years. The anticipated timeline for local government bodies to approve the commitment appears to be for this April, with actual funds allocated to the MRG at a later date.

County Appointments:

Don Owen was appointed to fill the vacancy left by former County Board Chair Kyle Patterson as he became the City of Champaign Township Supervisor, according to the News-Gazette. Samantha Carter, the previous vice chair was selected as the new board chair. County Board member Jennifer Locke was selected as the new vice chair. You can see the nomination process for selecting the chair and vice-chair at the February County Board meeting video here. You can also see the vote to approve the vacancy appointment of Don Owen and his swearing in earlier at that same meeting here.

The News-Gazette also had coverage of a new associate judge in the local area Sixth Judicial Circuit of Illinois:

Rob Jacobson, a partner at local law firm Tummelson, Bryan and Knox, will don the robes on March 1 and be sworn in as an associate judge at the Champaign County Courthouse.

Chief Judge Randy Rosenbaum said Thursday that the 14 elected judges of the Sixth Circuit selected Jacobson from a pool of 12 applicants to fill a brand-new position that the Illinois Supreme Court allowed Champaign County to create...

The new judge will oversee juvenile abuse and neglect cases, a load currently split between Judge Matthew Lee and Judge Brett Olmstead. Jacobson’s courtroom also will call guardianship cases, which Judge Anna Benjamin currently oversees.

More at that full article here, including concerns about space issues at the courthouse with 1 more judge than it was designed for.

County Law Enforcement Items:

The Redeploy youth incarceration diversion program is coming to Champaign County according to the News-Gazette:

The launch comes after a group of local partners won funding last year from the Juvenile Redeploy grant, a program sponsored by the Illinois Department of Human Services. It aims to help supplement typical probation plans by providing treatment services and resources to eligible juvenile offenders who would otherwise be sentenced to prison.

Juveniles who apply and enter the program in Champaign County may get life coaching and job training from DREAAM Academy, a Champaign nonprofit, or mental-health and substance-abuse counseling from Cunningham Children’s Home in Urbana...

Forty-five Illinois counties have participated in Redeploy since 2015, according to the state agency’s website, with 72 percent of the youths involved in 2019 having no new arrests while enrolled.

That full article here.

In other county law enforcement news, there was the largest multi-jurisdictional training exercise to prepare for a local mass casualty event. It was the third and largest annual exercise, according to the News-Gazette, of this type and occurred about a month ago. WCIA also had coverage of the exercise:

On Tuesday in Champaign, 163 area first responders prepared for emergencies no one hopes for, but everyone has to be ready for. It was all part of their joint training for departments across the county...

“How can we all work together, speak the right language and everyone knows what to expect when they come to one of these incidents,” [Champaign Police Lt. Aaron Lack] added.

He said smaller groups train together quite a bit, but big sessions like this one happen about once a year. He hopes they can happen a little more often if possible.

That full article here. The event exercise operated under the Active Shooter Incident Management framework.

Other County Law Enforcement Related Items:

• Illinois Public Media had an in depth look at the Rantoul Police Department response to officer involved shootings that included some follow up details on one officer who resigned and was briefly hired by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office soon after.
  
  
• There were a lot of updates in the last County Board Facilities Committee meeting on the satellite jail consolidation project (as well as a lot more details on the County Plaza project). The bulk of the information is very detailed financial and change order information in the 2/6/2024 meeting Agenda Packet here. The presentation at the meeting itself explained the reasons for the changes, generally unavoidable when a project plan meets reality.
  
  
• The County Sheriff's jurisdiction was included in the News-Gazette's ongoing examination of lost and stolen firearms entering the community, sometimes under implausibly convoluted "loss" or "theft," according to Editor Jeff D'Alessio in a recent 2/29/2024 WDWS interview.

Other County Government News:

• Solar farm zoning decisions continue to be a controversial subject for many local communities, especially after the State of Illinois limited some local authority in denying certain projects. WCIA highlighted one example in Urbana this month where residents were concerned about a project coming to their area.
  
  
• The Center Square highlighted a University of Illinois Extension program on revitalizing rural downtown areas.
  
  
• Smile Politely had an opinion piece pondering on the feasibility of non-partisan county elected offices, similar to some non-partisan local government bodies like the City of Champaign city council, for example. I hope to get some legal input soon on how that may or may not be possible under Illinois law and circle back to that question.
  
  
• There was additional Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding reported coming to the Champaign County Continuum of Care for Service Providers the Homeless at the Regional Planning Commission. For fans of acronyms, that's more HUD funding for the CSPH at the CCRPC. In simpler terms, CSPH brings together a lot of service providers, organizations, and resources to monthly meetings to collaborate and share information on our local homeless situation. The RPC is an umbrella organization of County and other local government bodies collaborating on local services more generally.
  
  
• The Champaign County Forest Preserve is acquiring a large piece of land by the River Bend Forest Preserve near Mahomet according to the News-Gazette using State grant money.
  
  
• There were questions this month about the status of the rural broadband projects using ARPA money and a desire for an update on the status of those projects. There is some general information about the rural broadband needs and planning here via the Illinois Farm Bureau. 
  
  There's a 270 page county report for background on the issue, but it has a concise "Executive Summary" and "Next Steps" section one can start with. There doesn't appear to be any recent meeting minutes (for the January or August 2023 meetings) on the County website yet, or any videos to catch up on with.

In other County News:

• C-U Public Health Department hosted a panel on Black Health, Wealth & Wellness in Champaign County (available on their facebook page here). There was additional news coverage of C-UPHD Narcan educational events (WCIA) and new solar panels on their facility (Daily Illini). 
  
  
• Steve Stierwalt, chairman of the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District, had remarks published in the News-Gazette about his role in ensuring the productivity of County farm lands, especially as we adapt to climate change locally.
  
  
• There's still a week left to register for the United Way Emergency Community Leaders program (or until all 55 spots are filled), according to Smile Politely.

County Public Transportation Updates

WARNING: This post may use and link to references heavy on abbreviations and local government jargon. The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission has a handy abbreviation reference list (with agency names at the bottom) here.

At the last County Board meeting, there was a long explanation of the bureaucratic hurdles and timeframes that can undermine perfectly good projects. In this case, installing some public transportation shelters in Rantoul as part of the rural transit program here in Champaign County (jump to video link of the presentation here). The presenter who goes into great detail about the regulatory steps and timelines was Rita Morocoima-Black, Planning and Community Development Director at the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission (RPC).

RPC's website has a basic description of that function:

The Regional Planning program of RPC provides planning-related technical services to local governments throughout its service area. These services include a range of programs which address policy analysis, planning processes, demographic, economic, environmental and geospatial information analysis, and technical analysis. Most services are either contractual or funded and governed through intergovernmental agreements.

If one goes to the committees and meetings page of the RPC website, they'll find that the Regional Planning Commission is primarily made up of representatives of local governments: village presidents, mayors, the Champaign County Executive, etc. It has a long local history, especially with transportation planning, and now has multiple divisions and works to coordinate intergovernmental agreements and programs across the area.

You'll hear RPC mentioned a lot in local government meetings because it is often at the center of programs that run across government jurisdictions. This is, of course, a very common occurrence in any county dealing with local units of government, but especially in counties with "twin city" population centers.

You'll also hear the long RPC acronym for transportation planning thrown around a lot in this context: CUUATS. I'm pretty sure only the people who work at CUUATS (and not even all of them) can readily ramble off what it stands for with 100% accuracy. If you have to google it, every time, you're not alone. It stands for Champaign Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study and also has a long history within the RPC.

But the County Board Agenda said "Rural Transit Advisory Group"

This County Board presentation, for example, was a presentation on the Rural Transit Advisory Group, which was established by the county to oversee the collaboration between the Champaign County government and the MTD (local mass transit district) for County wide and rural services. In basic terms, the County gets public transportation funding for services around the County and works with MTD to provide many of the services.

In the complicated realm of federal grants, Illinois Department of Transportation regulations, and working across various local government bodies and transit districts, this is only one piece of the puzzle, however.

Rita Morocoima-Black wears many hats in this bureaucratic overlap. As a recent CUUATS agenda packet points out, she's variously listed as: 

• Planning and Community Development Director for RPC (the overarching planning commission in Champaign County)
• Transportation Planning Manger for CUUATS (the transportation planning group within RPC)
• Also acting as bit of a liaison with the County's Rural Transit Advisory Group (RTAG).

At the heart of all this is transportation planning. In spite of all the acronyms, committees, and paperwork, this is all about connecting real funding to real transportation projects.

When you're dealing with federal, State, County, and local government bureaucracies all operating with their own tax bases, regulations, and authority, however there's not just simple agreement. The written agreements tend to establish a working relationship to protect the interests of everyone involved. They're often heavily scrutinized before and after, especially if voters or an interested party think any tax money was wasted or mishandled!

Staying Informed

Unless it's your job or you have a lot of time and coffee, the average voter couldn't possibly keep up with all of the details and meetings involved with just these organizations and related boards, committees, and groups. And that's just for the County's public transportation planning, funding and spending. 

You have to choose your level of interest and commitment to this issue:

• If you simply follow the County Board meetings, you'll get very general updates from all of these commissions and groups from time to time. And that's probably enough for your average voter.
  
  
• If you're more generally interested in area transportation planning and budgets, you might consider going through the CUUATS Policy Committee (remember, the transportation planning group within RPC!) documents or even attending one of their meetings.
  
  
• And if you're extremely interested in public transportation policy within Champaign County, you can also follow the CUUATS Technical Committee meetings and documents as well as the MTD's own meetings and documents that include their C-CARTS program and even more glorious acronyms. The Champaign-County Area Rural Transit System or C-CARTS is a real public transportation system at the end of all this planning, funding, agreements, and appropriations.

And of course that's just where you might start on this particular issue. For more specific concerns about rural public transit in this town or the other, you might have your own local committee, commission, or village group to work with!

If you live in Rantoul and really want to find another funding path for building those public transportation shelters at June's County Board meeting, hopefully this post helps a little!

[UPDATE 6/29: The MTD Board also approved the intergovernmental agreements with the County on their side at their 6/28/2023 meeting. That is covered on a Cheat Sheet C-U Local post here.]

Other County Government Updates

 

This post includes several Sheriff's department updates, some on the local dispatching agency METCAD, and other updates (including an "I Voted" sticker redesign contest).

Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman will be attended a "Coffee with a Cop" outreach event along with other Sheriff's deputies this past Wednesday. From WCIA:

A cup of joe and conversation with a cop. Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said they have done this event before, but this year’s event had one of the best turnouts yet. It is about getting to know the person behind the badge...

“I was talking to a couple of reverends who were here this morning,” said the sheriff. “We’re working on collaborations on how to tackle some of this violent crime from a holistic stance. That’s really the key here.” He said the past couple years have unfortunately proven that no one is immune to the rise in violence and talking about it is the first step in fighting it...

The sheriff said they plan to have more events like this in the summer.

Full article here. A preview of the event was in the News-Gazette here. More Sheriff's Office updates:

• The Champaign County Sheriff's Office released its yearly crime report here. Blurb from WCIA here.
• The Sheriff's Office is also offering a new explorers program for children interested in a career in law enforcement according to WAND. WAND had an additional video segment on the mentoring program here.
• Preparing for St. Patrick's Day from WCIA and some advice.
• Last month's Cheat Sheet update on the political race for Sheriff in the next election.

In related news, the intergovernmental METCAD agency that handles dispatch for many local and County government emergency services is dealing with staffing issues. From WCIA:

Vacancies are not unusual at METCAD 9-1-1, but they are unusually high right now at the dispatch center that answers all of Champaign County’s emergency calls.

Staff members are often working 12-hour days, sometimes five or more days a week and it’s taking a toll, according to METCAD operations manager Betsy Smith.

It’s not far removed from the trend seen at local law enforcement agencies, and although they’re not officially recognized by state and federal government as first responders, Smith described those fielding initial emergency calls as the first, first-responders. What police, firefighters and EMS see, they hear.

That full article here. One METCAD employee is also being recognized for his work on a tough 911 call.

The News-Gazette had an overview of the Champaign County Housing Authority's YouthBuild program a couple weeks ago:

YouthBuild, now in its third year in Champaign County, is a U.S. Department of Labor-funded program that provides job training at construction sites and educational support for those ages 16 to 24.

The program is now poised to expand with a $150,000 grant approved as part of Champaign’s Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint.

The $1.5 million in federal funding already committed to the housing authority is enough for 84 youths to participate in YouthBuild over three years — 2020 through the end of this year — but there are more than 100 who have been referred to it and are on a waiting list, Walton said.

More at that full article here. 

Other County Government News Items:

• The News-Gazette highlighted Dalitso Sulamoyo, the CEO of the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission along with a brief overview of what the RPC does.
• The Champaign County Clerk has an all-ages contest for a new "I Voted" sticker design according to the News-Gazette and WCIA. More on the contest at the Clerk's website here.
• Smile Politely had some coverage on Vote by Mail improvements at the Clerk's office.
• The County Clerk is also hosting a voter education series to learn more about how to vote in Champaign County. Available on the office facebook page here.

Other County Government Updates

This post includes updates on housing assistance, the Forest Preserve District, animal control, and a number of Sheriff's Office and corrections news links.

The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission is offering assistance to many local residents who may need help with their water or sewer bills. From the News-Gazette:

Income-eligible households in Champaign County with past-due water or sewer bills or disconnections can apply for help from a temporary assistance program.

The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission will be accepting applications for the Water/Wastewater Assistance Program on a first-come, first-served basis through May 31, 2022, or until the funding is gone.

The program, intended to help homeowners and renters avoid shut-offs, will provide a one-time payment that will go directly to the applicants’ water or sewer companies.

Full blurb here. More information at the RPC website here. WCIA had more details and qualifying information. There are more updates on rental and mortgage assistance and homeless services in another C-U Local Cheat Sheet post this month here.

The News-Gazette had updates on the progress of Champaign County Forest Preserve District projects benefiting from the recently approved tax revenue boost here. Smile Politely also had an article on Lorrie Pearson, the Executive Director of the Forest Preserve District, last month here.

County animal officials were in the news this past month advocating for reforms in the law to prevent and more effectively deal with cases of animal abuse. From the News-Gazette:

A new Illinois law that prevents anyone who has committed two or more animal cruelty felonies from living in the same household or having custody of an animal is a good start but doesn’t go far enough.

That’s the opinion of several Champaign County officials who deal with such cases.

County veterinarian Dr. Susan Norris, the new director of county animal control, Heather Soder, and Assistant State’s Attorney Troy Lozar said the law, which goes into effect in 2022, is too weak.

More at the full article here.

The Champaign County Juvenile Detention Center is looking for job applications to be detention officers. Described as a way to work with youth and have an impact on the local gun violence problem, the position may be far from what one may expect. From the News-Gazette:

“You have to have a lot of energy. You have to be open-minded. You can’t have prejudged notions,” he said. “You have to be fair, consistent, have great communication and listening skills, great decision-making skills. You’ve got to have common sense. You have to have a bachelor’s degree.”

If that job description fits you or someone you know, [superintendent Keith Willis] and his boss, Mike Williams, director of court services for Champaign County, beg you or that person to apply...

“I’m looking for all walks of life, whether you are interested in criminal justice or … recreation management,” he said. “Our job encompasses a corrections, sociology, psychology, mental health, education mindset. We do all those things.”

More at that full article here. Link to the application here. You can also contact superintendent Keith Willis at kwillis@co.champaign.il.us or (217) 384-3780. Their office website with additional information is here.

Other County government news and updates:

• CU-CitizenAccess had an article delving into the history and recent arrest of a Champaign County Sheriff's Deputy.
• A Tom's Mailbag column included some current and comparison data on how many folks in the Champaign County jail system end up transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections prison system.
• WCIA had an overview of the Champaign County Sheriff's holiday DUI enforcement work. There was an earlier blurb on WCIA about seat belt enforcement results over Thanksgiving.
• In local gun violence related news, there were also discussions for raising rewards for tips through the Champaign County Crime Stoppers program to build off of the ongoing "gun bounty" work. The Champaign Coroner weighed in with another area coroner on dealing with so many young victims of gun violence and their families in the aftermath.

September Roundup: Evictions and Jail Updates

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 County Roundup of news and issues:

Some of the biggest news is that the eviction moratorium has expired and eviction cases have already begun to flow through the local courts. From WCIA earlier this week:

After a year and a half, the pause on evictions in Illinois is now officially over. That means anyone who hasn’t been able to keep up with rent can face being kicked out of their home.

“It’s absolutely terrifying, because you don’t know what’s going to happen next, and these are people,” Corinne Chamberlain, from Danville, said...

On Monday, and Tuesday, no cases were filed. Wednesday, there were two. Then, Thursday, 28 evictions were filed, and Friday, four.

Judge Olstead said Thursday’s cases came from the same law firm. He expects a large case load come Monday morning. 57 are on the docket.

Full article available here with links to previous articles on the topic. Assistance information from the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission is available here. There was brief coverage of a local protest in the Daily Illini earlier in September here.

From the News-Gazette last week:

Community violence interventions, expanding broadband internet service and help for stormwater drainage issues are among the projects Champaign County Democrats are prioritizing for the use of about $41 million in federal funding the county will get over two years.

The Champaign County Board has received dozens of requests for use of the funds the county will be allocated from the coronavirus relief bill that Congress passed in March, and has devoted several sessions to hearing from community groups, county department heads and members of the public explaining why their projects should be funded...

Republican board member Brad Passalacqua said Republicans haven’t drafted a formal proposal for where the $41 million should be spent, but have made their views known at public meetings.

Republicans support a significant amount of the funds going to solve some of the problems with the county jail in downtown Urbana and the satellite jail and for much-needed broadband infrastructure throughout the county, he said.

Full article here. The jail situation continues to be a crisis situation that needs to be resolved before a court ruling or other event forces the close of the downtown jail. Taking money from relief funds meant for the area's most vulnerable population for jail consolidation costs may be a political non-starter however. More on the Sheriff's ask and the committee seeking to address the issue from WCIA here.

Other County government related news items from this last month:

• Champaign County Circuit Clerk's amnesty week for fines and fees is coming up.
• A local immigration task force was honored for its local work with immigrants.
• The Champaign County Forest Preserve District has a new director.
• County Board of Review vacancy update from 9/14/2021. More from WCIA here.
• Drainage projects that could use federal relief funding presented to the Environment and Land Use Committee.
• More on County district maps now that the delayed census data is available.

County Board Updates

March was a busy month for local government, and the Champaign County Board was no exception. The biggest issue had to do with the continued delays related to the County's finances. County Board members from both parties appeared to give credit to the improving situation in the Treasurer's office under the newly elected C.J. Johnson, but the fallout from her fellow Democratic Party predecessors has left the Auditor facing questions about his role as an "independent watchdog for taxpayers." Programs that depend on timely audit reports have been put in jeopardy by delays. From the News-Gazette a couple week ago:

Champaign County is facing a potential freeze on its state and federal grant funding because the 2019 county audit remains unfinished.

The county’s Regional Planning Commission and Children’s Advocacy Center have already received notices of a funding suspension from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and County Executive Darlene Kloeppel said more county offices could potentially receive similar notices...

At a special session of the RPC board meeting Friday morning, CEO Dalitso Sulamoyo said the bulk of its $34 million budget — about 90 percent — comes from federal and state grant money, some of which helps pay for critical services for some of the county’s most vulnerable people.

That full article with a lot of additional information here. The RPC's Dalitso Sulamoyo also spoke during public participation at the beginning of the regular County Board meeting (at the 10:25 mark in the video here).

The County Board has approved temporary funding to ensure the RPC continues to function, but it remains critical for the overdue audit to be completed as soon as possible to prevent further loss of reputation and program funding. More from the News-Gazette after the regular County Board meeting (agenda, other handouts, addendum and auditor memo available here, video):

Champaign County will make a short-term loan of up to $5.3 million to the county Regional Planning Commission to help the agency through a state and federal funding freeze resulting from the county’s overdue 2019 audit.

The county board approved the move Thursday night, but not before some Republican members chastised Democratic Auditor George Danos about the late audit and called on him to resign...

Of the $5.3 million loan being made to the RPC from the county’s general fund, $2 million will be covered by reserves and the balance will come from a general-obligation promissory note not to exceed $3.3 million.

The county will pay up to 4.4 percent interest and a $10,000 bond counsel fee on the note, according to Deputy Finance Director Tami Ogden.

That full article here. In coverage following up on this situation, the RPC's executive noted that these issues may arise again if the audit work isn't completed by May 1st. WCIA also had coverage on the audit issue with video segments here and here.

The debate on changing the Deputy Treasurer position and paygrade to better reflect the actual duties of the office was mainly during the Committee of the Whole meeting on March 9th (agenda, video). The position hadn't been reevaluated since 2009. Many of the concerns involved whether one looked at this like a raise for the duties previous office holders held before, or correcting the pay for an office that has long been underpaid for the actual duties it performs compared to its description and paygrade. The board eventually approved the changes, with an additional compromise (lower on the pay scale than the mid-point proposed).

At this same Committee of the Whole meeting, Wayne Williams, Cunningham Township Assessor, raised concerns about redistricting delays because of the 2020 Census data delays. He encouraged approval of the new maps by the statutory deadlines regardless of the Census delays. There was also a helpful presentation for understanding the County's FY2020 Budget with a slides and breakdowns for folks who want to get into the nitty gritty of the County's financial situation. It included an overview of the Nursing Home issues related to the budget still (presentation slides, video at 1:16:40 mark)

Other March Committee Meetings:

The Facilities Committee (agenda, video) is still reviewing and approving the various projects to repair the roof and HVAC damage from the hail storm that damaged numerous County buildings as well as a large project for the Satellite Jail's outdated system (on a similar schedule to the hail damage process). Some RPC staff were complaining about air quality and related medical concerns at one of their offices in a County facility. Testing is being conducted to pinpoint the problem.

The Downtown Jail came up in regards to the indoor recreation room that is currently out of service and need extensive work to be safe and usable again. This raised the issue of how long the Downtown Jail will be operational at all. It remains possible for the facility to be shutdown at any time due to legal and safety issues. Dana Brenner, Facilities Director, expressed his hope that the Downtown Jail facility remains operational at least for the next year. There is currently no workable alternative or plan being actively considered to deal with its sudden closure. This remains a serious problem for the County government. Complicating this is a great deal of vocal of opposition for more investment or expansion of incarceration systems locally and across the nation.

The Environment and Land Use Committee (agenda, video) had part 3 of 5 of its waste management overview (starts at the 11:45 mark of the video).

County and County Board Updates

This post is following up on previous County Board committee and Committee of the Whole meetings in February (previous Cheat Sheet post here) as well as some other County government related updates. 

This week's County Board meeting (agenda packet, addendum, video) started off with the appointment of a new Democratic member for District 6, Jenny Lokshin (District 6 page has been updated). The rest of the meeting focused quite a bit on dividers for the Circuit Clerk's office staff and rapid testing for County employees. The rapid testing would be derived from the UI saliva test developed locally. From the News-Gazette coverage:

In addition to authorizing Kloeppel to negotiate a contract for testing county employees, the county board also Thursday authorized a budget amendment that would cover up to $70,000 in testing expenses...

The cost will likely run $10 to $20 per test, she said, but, “I think I can get it for $10 a test.”

Testing may begin as soon as in March, and county employees will probably be going to UI State Farm Center for testing, Kloeppel said.

Full article here. WCIA also had coverage here. The News-Gazette had more background on this issue in its article previewing the topic before the County Board meeting here.

Public participation in the meeting included continued concerns about the management of the Champaign County Animal Control Department in light of recent incidents, including the mistaken euthanization of a family pet. County Board Chair Kyle Patterson highlighted several of the first black County and Countwide office holders in Champaign County for Black History Month. He also highlighted the likely record tenure of County Board member Lorrain Cowert who has served on the County Board for 36 years.

There was a long discussion and debate on the Circuit Clerk dividers. A handful of Republicans questioned the urgency and long term need of the dividers. Democrats and the Circuit Clerk herself highlighted an ongoing need for both noise control for the call service staff and safety during the pandemic, which may be a long term concern. The proposal failed to gain the 15 votes required for a budgetary amendment. The No votes were Republicans Esry, Goss, Harper, Michaels, Passalacqua, and Paul. McGuire recused (I believe due to a potential conflict of interest) and Jodi Wolken was absent from the meeting.

Another item that received bipartisan opposition and did not pass was a health care contract negotiated by the County Executive. Discussion revolved around the County Board not being included in the process by the County Executive again. The UI saliva testing proposal received support from the board for negotiations with amended language. The County Executive can negotiate for tests up to a $70,000 commitment and assuming weekly volunteer testing as the norm. As noted above that passed over some Republican opposition.

At the end of the meeting the vote on the health care contract was discussed. Board members asked for additional information to consider voting on the contract again at the next meeting with that additional information. Members Michaels and McGuire suggested they might be able to support it in a future vote with more information. The Executive affirmed that it can be brought up at the next meeting and there's still time to approve it within the deadlines. The meeting adjourned just before 8:30pm.

Other County News:

The News-Gazette reported a new associate judge, Matthew D. Lee, will be appointed to the Sixth Circuit:

When he’s sworn in Feb. 25, the Champaign County bench will be back to its full strength of 11: five associate judges and six elected circuit judges.

Associate judges serve at the pleasure of the circuit judges.

Lee will step into the post vacated two weeks ago by the retirement of John Kennedy, an associate judge for 20 years.

That full article here.

The County Clerk has been in the news the past few weeks with the local municipal primary elections coming up and Early Voting already begun (more on the C-U Local Cheat Sheet here). The News-Gazette had coverage of the public testing of voting machines here. Tom's Mailbag answered questions on who makes voting machines for Champaign County here. WICS had an article earlier this month with the initial early voting being down from the high turnout general election here.

Sample ballots and other voter information links are available on the Champaign County Clerk website here. Specimen ballots were printed in the News-Gazette (subscription eEdition links here and here). The News-Gazette also had an update on the non-partisan group in Champaign County promoting voter turnout in cooperation with the League of Women Voters. The Champaign County Voter Alliance also produces the non-partisan candidate guide in Champaign County.

There are continued concerns about Census delays and how that may impact election timelines and the data used for various programs and services in the area. Illinois Newsroom had an overview this week:

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Friday that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other delays, it will not be able to deliver the detailed, block-level data that states need for redistricting until Sept. 30, long past the deadline spelled out in the Illinois Constitution for the General Assembly to approve new maps.

That’s also a full month after candidates are scheduled to begin circulating petitions to run for office and qualify for the March 15, 2022, primary election. The petition period begins Aug. 31 and filing begins Nov. 22, according to a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Full article available here. The Regional Planning Commission noted their concerns about the Census delays at their January meeting (Cheat Sheet post on that here). The Regional Planning Commission was also in the news for LIHEAP assistance available for utility bills. From WCIA:

Through the RPC’s LIHEAP program, people can catch up on their utility bills, and cover themselves for any extra usage over the coming weeks. The RPC’s director, Lisa Benson, said to apply for benefits as soon as possible.

State moratoriums end March 31. Benson said the RPC is already anticipating a large influx of applicants in the coming weeks. If you have already received benefits, you can apply to have your utilities covered by the RPC’s Emergency Rental Assistance program.

Full article here.

Tom's Mailbag had an answer to the question on how cannabis tax money is collected by the State and then the portion of the tax money the County is eligible for is returned to the local governments here.

Regional Planning Commission Updates

As the Cheat Sheet gets back up and running for 2021, it's worth highlighting one of the major resources for services and programs in the area: The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission. This post includes a general overview of the RPC and the January commission meeting write up. First, a quick overview from their about page:

The Champaign County Regional Planning Commission is an intergovernmental membership organization that provides a variety of programming in the areas of regional, environmental and transportation planning; economic, community, and workforce development; social services; early childhood education; and technical assistance in East Central Illinois. As a multi-faceted government agency, the Commission administers over 100 federal and state grants and contracts with an annual operating budget of $25 million and a staff of over 230 professionals housed in 12 locations serving over 30,000 clients annually.

More at their website here. What you'll find with local governments is that a lot of the funding and collaborations for various programs and organizations go through the Regional Planning Commission. It acts as a conduit between funding sources (Federal, State, or private) to actual boots on the ground organizations offering assistance and services to people in your community. WICS highlighted a recent example with the Champaign County Sheriff's Office last month:

Sheriff Dustin Heuerman and the Champaign County Sheriff's Office have set three initiatives for 2021.

They pertain to Justice Diversion, increasing community relations, and continuing the work of their Special Enforcement Team...

The first initiative is working on Justice Diversion.

They will be working in partnership with the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission to get a social worker to help with certain cases that police get called to.

Full article here. More coverage on these CCSO initiatives at the News-Gazette here.

The commission itself is run by a Chief Executive Officer Dalitso Sulamoyo and commissioners representing local governments across the County. For example, Urbana Mayor Marlin is the chairperson of the commission as of 2021. The chair rotates from year to year (the previous chair was Savoy Mayor Joan Dykstra). There are also two community members serving as commissioners.

As with the last meeting, the discouraging numbers from the 2020 Census played a major role. From the November meeting minutes:

[Planning & Community Development Director Rita Morocoima-Black] presented the final numbers of the Census 2020 to the Commissioners. She commented that the numbers were not very encouraging for the Champaign County area. The numbers are lower than what the staff was hoping the numbers to be. Also, it is believed that the numbers do not include the numbers from the University. The Village of St. Joseph had 85 percent response rate.

The numbers were compared with the numbers from the 2010 Census and the news is not good. It was expected to have better numbers in comparing with 2010, but that is not the case. In Champaign County, numbers were down almost two percent. The City of Champaign was down almost six percent. The City of Urbana was down almost one percent. The Village of Savoy was down almost seven percent. The Village of St. Joseph was up four percent. The Village of Rantoul was down almost four percent. The most discouraging numbers were from the University District. This can be attributed to COVID. It is uncertain if the numbers for the University are correct. 

The full November meeting documents here (video, minutes). This helps provide some context for this January's meeting notes below.

January 22nd Commissioners Meeting:

The meeting video is available here (meeting documents, agenda, and agenda packet). There was some beginning of the year business to attend to, including the new rotating chair and approving the meeting calendar (with some revisions for remote Zoom meetings as opposed to the usual in person location).

Concerns about the 2020 Census were brought up in the last meeting as well as January's. Early indications appear to suggest that there was a significant 2% response drop from 2010. Various funding is often directly based on Census data, so this could have impacts on funding of all sorts of programs and assistance in the coming years.

In the Planning and Community Development Director's report the Census data and products will begin to be available at the end of February with overall counts in early March. Unfortunately the local counts and full details may not be known until July 31st later this summer. 

Workers comp claims and costs are down due to the impacts of pandemic restrictions. Claims are usually due to in-person incidents such as trips and falls.

The tentative launch date for additional emergency rent assistance in the County is February 26th. It was noted that landlords have been frustrated in trying to encourage tenants who qualify for assistance programs to get through the process or even convince them to apply (even though they're eligible). There was discussion about possible outreach to build trust and encourage participation. Lisa Benson, the Community Services Director, noted that there is difficulty in getting proper documentation and there is a need for in-person assistance to help people through the process.

Dennis Roberts of the Urbana City Council and the Workforce Development team at the RPC highlighted a successful beautification project collaboration they hope will inspire more collaborations with local governments and the RPC team there.

The Workforce Development team also highlighted a University committee established to address racism in the community, including a subcommittee on workforce participation. There will be public engagement coming up on ideas and historical steps in the community to move forward. There was some discussion about the energy of addressing racism locally often involving "reinventing the wheel" of beginning steps as opposed to building off of previous work. Champaign City Council at-large member Will Kyles volunteered to participate.

Chief Executive Sulamoyo didn't present his own report and left the robust division reports speak for themselves this month. The meeting went into closed session to deal with employment matters before adjourning.