County Board, Committee and COW Meetings

Leading up to February's regular County Board meeting, there have been some moments worth highlighting in the other committee and Committee of the Whole meetings so far this month. A couple highlights include a massive rental assistance grant and funding due to pandemic hardships. The Champaign County Democratic party nominated Jenny Lokshin to be appointed to fill the District 6 vacancy. DeShawn Williams resigned from the seat to take a position within the County Treasurer's office.

Environment and Land Use Committee 2/4

For those just getting started, ELUC is a standing committee and often the starting point for policy issues that fall under the categories in its name. The County Board's rules lay out the responsibilities and structure of the various committees on pages 17-20:

This month's ELUC meeting (agenda, video) had part 2 of a 5 part presentation on Solid Waste Management in the County starting at roughly the 10 minute mark (slide presentation available here). Links for part 1 of the Solid Waste Management presentation are available at the bottom of a previous Cheat Sheet post here.

The committee also recommended approval of an authorization for an umpcoming Hazardous Waste Collection event. They discussed the location details at Marketplace Mall as opposed to Parkland, which agreed to do electronic recycling events, but not hazardous waste collection. Tom Kacich had more information on the event in his Mailbag column earlier this month:

An Illinois EPA-sponsored household hazardous waste collection event will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 10, at the Market Place Shopping Center.

Residents must pre-register for this event at hhwevent.simplybook.me by selecting from available time slots. Online registration will remain open until all the time slots are full.

Online registration will begin March 8, said Susan Monte, recycling coordinator for Champaign County.

Full mailbag article here. The committee also discussed the increased costs, due at least in part from the pandemic situation. A sale of a property was approved, but was left off the consent agenda to ensure other board members got a chance to hear about the details instead of being lumped in with other non-controversial items.

Committee of the Whole 2/9

The Committee of the Whole (agenda, video) began with a closed session, so there was a long portion of the meeting video with little to no activity until roughly the 1:16 h:m mark. There was no public participation, but Board member Jen Straub relayed an issue brought to her by a concerned citizen in Communications. She raised a concern that a County Board member was publicly quoting "Q Anon" conspiracies regarding the recent insurrection in Washington D.C. and making light of violence against women.

Democrats and Republicans expressed concerns about a lack of County Board input on redistricting maps expected after the Census, the need for public transparency, and a general agreement on maintaining 11 districts with 2 members each. More on the Census from a previous Cheat Sheet post on Regional Planning Commission discussions here. News-Gazette coverage from Tom Kacich here.

On a budget approval item for the Coroner's Office, member Fortado noted that it included payment for services rendered by contractor Shiping Bao. She noted a controversy about his past work involving the Trayvon Martin case in Florida. She argued his involvement was regrettable, but that the payment was still required and needed approval.

There was some discussion of the partitions to be installed at the Circuit Clerk's office, primarily for COVID related safety issues, but also for the benefit of employees who have had to endure an open concept call center and the noise issues that go along with that. The discussion included the reason vaccinations weren't available to staff, designated essential, but not frontline, and why the services required personnel at the courthouse location (access to court documents and in-person court services). There was also a little bit of a back on forth on possible savings on options with the materials to be used.

A Rental Assistance grant through the Regional Planning Commission for $6.2 million dollars was the biggest deal of the meeting. Board members welcomed the assistance for both tenants and landlords and encouraged people to get the word out on the program. Member Fortado praised the short turnaround time for getting the grant and into a functioning local program. From the RPC website:

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life difficult for people across the country, especially renters who have been unable to work, experienced reduced hours, or lost their jobs. Now through its new Emergency Rent Assistance program, the RPC is looking to help renters in Champaign County by providing funds to cover past-due rent and other past-due bills like power, water, and sewer.

Champaign County residents can start the screening process by contacting the Emergency Rent Assistance program call center at 877-548-4205 between 12-7pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Saturdays. In order to promote safety during the pandemic, the RPC’s offices (1776 E. Washington Street in Urbana) will be open by appointment only and those without appointments will directed back to the call center to schedule an appointment. Facemasks will be required.

Households prioritized for assistance include those with an individual who has received unemployment payments from the State of Illinois (IDES) for 90 days prior to applying, and those with an income at or below 50 percent of the area median. The RPC has set up a special page on its website at www.ccrpc.org/ERA with more details on eligibility requirements.

More information at that page here.

Another moment of strained relations with the County Executive arose over the "Employee Health Insurance & Related Benefits Broker Consultant Services" by both Republicans and Democrats for being left out of the process again. There did not appear to be any disagreement with the results, but that the County Board was cut out of the process. There was general consternation at the County Executive's excuse that relevant members hadn't been appointed yet, when it was the Executive herself who had not yet appointed them.

Justice & Social Services Committee Chair Leah Taylor noted that she will be raising Racial Justice Task Force recommendations and issues at the next Committee of the Whole meeting on March 9th. More on the Racial Justice Task Force on our page here.

Zoning Board of Appeals 2/11:

We usually don't cover ZBA meetings so much as they tend to be extremely technical and legal exercises. This month's meeting (agenda, video) involved a great deal of public interest and input on a cannabis growing facility proposed in the Philo area. There was a large file full of letters opposing the facility and the impact it might have on the community and families. There are also a lot of project details in the preliminary memo and supplementary memo in the meeting documents. 

The first 52 minutes of the meeting dealt with the approval of a separate grain elevator project that was approved with all of the various conditions that go with such a project. The rest of the meeting got into the board members and members of the public questioning the applicants for the special use approval in the agriculturally zoned district. The meeting had to be extended a couple times briefly and eventually continued to a future meeting after it ran well past the normally allotted time (roughly 3 hours and 20 minutes total).

County Board Committee Updates

There were two County Board committee meetings so far in January that touched on issues such as jail consolidation and marijuana regulation. There are some highlights and links to more information below. This week is the Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda packet here) which will be the first since the County Treasurer resigned (more Treasurer updates in a later post). County Board Member Charles Young is also meeting with constituents today. In addition to representing District 6 (map) he is also the Chair of the Policy, Personnel, & Appointments committee. From the News-Gazette last week:

Champaign County Board member Charles Young invites his constituents to let him know what’s on their mind over coffee at meetings in January and February.

The District 6 Democrat, who represents several precincts in Champaign, will be available on Jan. 11, from 1 to 3 p.m. in Room 101 of the Leonhard Recreation Center (2307 Sangamon Drive, C).

He’ll also meet with residents on Feb. 22, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the meeting room at the Douglass Branch Library (504 E. Grove St., C).

Full blurb available from the News-Gazette eEdition here (subscription). Other committee news:

Facilities Committee:

The January 7th Facilities Committee meeting (agenda here, video temporarily available here, will be up on the County Clerk YouTube channel when posted here) had a discussion about countering mistaken perceptions on what the jail consolidation study meant. Early on in the meeting Board Member Rector took issue with wording describing it as a "proposal" in a criminal justice reform panel event this week. Later discussion concerned how the study is being perceived as something more finalized than it is. Member Tinsley described it more along the lines of the school photo options, from your basic wallet size to the package that has every size picture and refrigerator magnets. Cheat Sheet post on that study's proposed plans and some of the initial disputes on coverage and options here.

The reaction from the community was already evident in previous county board meetings and the coverage may have led people to believe that the $47 million price tag for the broadest options in the study was the likely or even a final recommendation of some sort. More on the reaction at the County Board meeting following the study's coverage in the News-Gazette here.


Environment and Land Use Committee:

The January 9th ELUC meeting (agenda here, video will be available here when posted) had updates on potential marijuana regulations in unincorporated areas of the County. From the News-Gazette coverage yesterday:

The county board’s environment and land use committee voted Thursday to pass along two different zoning-amendment options to the zoning board of appeals for a public hearing, without recommending either of them.

One of the options on its way to the zoning board would allow marijuana businesses such as dispensaries, craft growers, cultivation centers, transporters and processors only within a mile and a half of home-rule cities with populations over 20,000. That would apply only to Champaign and Urbana, which have already opened their doors to marijuana businesses.

Under this option, marijuana businesses setting up shop in the 1.5-mile fringe area would be subject to the same restrictions imposed by the two cities.

The other option would widen the field for transporters, cultivation centers and craft growers to areas zoned as AG-1 — as long as there is a 1.5-mile buffer between them and any municipality that has banned sales of recreational marijuana or any residential district.

That full article here. More details in a News-Gazette article earlier this week previewing this meeting and the proposed regulations here.

Marijuana Legalization and Technicalities

There have been a lot of helpful guides and explanations of how the legalization of marijuana in Illinois at the first of the year may still have a hitch or two for those who wish to partake. WILL had a helpful Q&A interview on basics like public consumption not being allowed:

Essentially, you will not be able to openly consume outdoors and in public any more than you can alcohol. So, you have to be in an establishment so there will be some dispensaries that will be allowed to have a consumption area and there will be existing retail tobacco stores along the lines of hookah lounges and cigar bars that will also be able to add marijuana to their ability to consume.   There are a lot of worries about people walking through big huge puffs of smoke outside and that is not allowed. There is no public consumption drawn into the bill.

And on state penalties:

If you're over the legally allowed limit, and if you are under age, so this is only legalized for people over the age of 21. And so there are penalties for underage consumption and there are penalties for (possession) over the  legally allowed limit. This is still illegal federally. So, on federal property, there can still be absolute bars to being able to consume in those places.  We have to be very wary. So yes, this is for the most part at this stage right now in the beginning, private. [Under the law, minors cannot be incarcerated for marijuana convictions.]

That full interview and radio segment available here. A more straightforward legal rundown was put out by WILL yesterday here. WCIA had a shorter overview here with a video segment. Tom's Mailbag had an explanation dispelling concerns about purchase monitoring locally or by the State here. Local police are, of course, still warning against driving while under the influence of this or other drugs.

Illinois State Police have tried to dispel rumors that legal marijuana purchases will affect one's Firearm Owner ID (FOID) card eligibility or affect one's right to own or posses firearms:

State and local police say purchasing legal marijuana will not have any impact on your ability to own or possess a gun in Illinois.

Social media posts claim that marijuana dispensaries will be checking IDs of customers and then turning that information over to the state… which will then use that as a basis to revoke FOID cards. But a state police spokesperson says buying marijuana legally will not be used to take away a FOID card, although someone could lose the card if it’s shown they are addicted or a “habitual user” of any drug, including pot.

State police also say it’s illegal for dispensaries to collect or store personal information about recreational cannabis users.

From a WMAY blurb here. The rumors to the contrary have been in local media such as this WCCU article and this one from WAND.

As the News-Gazette pointed out on Sunday, employers are still allowed to set their own drug policies and can enforce them regardless of the legal changes. They go through a great deal of local government employers, from school districts to local government agencies that have maintained their restrictions on marijuana use. Excerpt:

Some employers will consider off-duty marijuana use none of their business unless it interferes with an employee’s job performance.

Some plan to continue zero-tolerance and drug-free workplace policies that include drug testing.

“Employers are very concerned about safety in the workplace,” said Jay Shattuck, executive director of the Employment Law Council of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.

Illinois employers struggling with how to handle the coming of legal recreational marijuana come Jan. 1 should pay attention to these two things, he said: The policies they set for their employees with respect to marijuana use should be both reasonable and non-discriminatory.

Full article with a lot of information here. So far the two local dispensaries are prepared for a busy first of the year. The News-Gazette had details on their plans on giving priority to medical card holders, hours, etc:

Both local dispensaries are preparing for a crowd and lines at the door.

“I’ve been told that people plan on camping out,” said Brendan Jolly, an employee at NuMed, 105 E. University Ave., U.

If you’re a later riser, Sunnyside, the new name for Phoenix Botanical at 1704 S. Neil St., C, will remain open until 10 p.m. on New Year’s Day. NuMed Urbana will stay open until 6 p.m.

Purchases at both dispensaries will be on a cash-only basis, their owners said. And medical marijuana customers will have first priority for the available supply.

That full article here.

The cities where the dispensaries are, Champaign and Urbana, have generally aligned their marijuana laws with reduced fines and consumption rules (more on that at a recent Cheat Sheet post here). The News-Gazette had an update since that post on Champaign ensuring that it's fines would remain local ordinance violations as opposed to a State offense with a risk of jail time:

Two weeks before recreational marijuana becomes legal statewide, city council members signed off on updates to the city code to bring Champaign’s cannabis ordinances in line with Illinois law.

“It doesn’t make anything unlawful that is not unlawful under the state law,” Champaign Assistant City Attorney Kathryn Cataldo said.

If the city had removed the ordinance violations related to cannabis, penalties — such as for underage use — would have become state criminal offenses.

This allows police officers to issue ordinance violations instead, which come with a fine but no jail time.

That full article here. Smaller towns (such as Savoy) have opted to prohibit dispensaries in their jurisdictions. Unincorporated areas in the County were a point of contention in Environmental and Land Use Committee meetings (Cheat Sheet post on that here). Eventually the County Board sent the issue back to the ELUC committee to hammer out a compromise that would allow flexibility away from towns that wanted to maintain a prohibition in their area. There was coverage of County Director of Planning and Zoning John Hall's compromise plans in the News-Gazette earlier this month:

What he plans to send back to the committee to consider will be a change in the county zoning ordinance that would, essentially, prohibit marijuana businesses within the mile-and-a-half zones of communities where these businesses aren’t wanted.

The other major part of the proposed compromise would be allowing marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas that are within a mile and a half of cities and towns that plan to allow those businesses to operate, Hall said. But, he said, the county’s regulations in these particular unincorporated areas would need to match those established in the communities they surround.

Since this would require a change in the county zoning ordinance, Hall said, it would have to go through the Environment and Land Use Committee and the proper public hearing process before the Zoning Board of Appeals to give the public a say.

The article, available here, goes into the potential timeline and the relative slow speed of the application process on why there isn't any concern of a dispensary popping up in the mean time.

I still haven't heard any updates on a set date and details on the public event being planned by Parkland College Police on marijuana legal issues announced at the Champaign Community Coalition. When I get more information on that I'll be sure to share it.

County Board and Jail Followup

I had some updated information and links from the November County Board meeting (agenda here) and some additional coverage of possible jail consolidation issue at that meeting and in additional Daily Illini coverage. The full video of November's regular County Board meeting was posted earlier last week (previous County Board updates and coverage here). Some highlights from the video include:

• A drainage district commissioner explaining continuing ramifications of the local property tax delays at roughly the 15 minute mark
   
• County Treasurer Laurel Prussing proposing equalizing a part of the tax code to prevent higher fees on the lowest incomes at around the 18 minute mark.
   
• Carol Ammons' presentation on criminal justice reforms (at the 21 minute mark) to avoid the need for jail expansion and provide better outcomes for the community. In the presentation she cites the Champaign County Criminal Justice Assessment: Final Report from September 2014 by the Institute for Law and Policy Planning. It, as well as many other local criminal justice reports are available here from the Champaign County League of Women Voters website.
   
• The debate on marijuana zoning regulations (at the 59 minute mark) in unincorporated parts of the County ended in a suggestion for compromise and sending the issue back to the Environment and Land Use Committee towards proposing a compromise plan. The suggestion is that it would address concerns about dispensaries in smaller communities that oppose them without blocking other types of production and business that could benefit them.
   
• and debate on the County employee rules on cannabis (at the 1:50 mark) which also ended with a compromise proposal with a sunset provision to hash out the policy further in the first half of 2020.

Both compromises were proposed and pushed by Pranjal Vachaspati who also announced his resignation at the end of the meeting. He has new employment out of Boston and will be moving there.

The Daily Illini also had coverage on the problems facing the Champaign County jails this week. From their reporting:

County officials are bringing more attention to the failing and out-of-date conditions of Champaign County’s jails. The downtown jail’s old construction has led to severe deterioration: electronic locks to doors opening seemingly randomly, leaks from the roof, cockroach infestations and a lack of recreational space.

Leah Taylor, member of the Facilities Committee on the county board, said she visited the downtown facility two months ago.

“It’s honestly something out of a horror movie,” Taylor said.

There are two jails in Champaign County: the downtown facility, which opened in 1980, and the Satellite Jail, which is located in Urbana and opened in the mid 1990s, according to county Sheriff Dustin Heuerman.

The downtown facility building is facing more damage, but both are said to lack in rehabilitative programs and recreational spaces that allow inmates to exercise and de-stress with activities.

More at their full coverage here. 

County Board Updates

It has been a busy month for the Champaign County Board and its committees. First, the latest from the News-Gazette's coverage of the most recent County Board meeting:

The cost of running Champaign County government services will rise 5.5 percent next year.

The county board on Thursday approved a $129.6 million budget for 2020, with the increase tied largely to higher personnel and services costs...

In other business Thursday, the board declined to take action on a controversial ordinance prohibiting marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas of the county. Instead, it sent the ordinance back to committee to work out a possible compromise.

The board also approved a cannabis, drug and alcohol use/abuse policy for county employees in anticipation of the legalization of recreational marijuana starting next year. Under an amendment, the policy is a temporary measure that will expire June 1, 2020.

More details and information at the full article here. WILL had additional coverage of the marijuana regulation at the Board meeting here. Excerpt:

Champaign County board members will take another look at whether to allow or prohibit cannabis businesses in unincorporated areas --- with an eye toward a possible compromise.

The Champaign County Board split along party lines in its debate over whether to ban cannabis businesses in rural areas. Democrats from Champaign and Urbana opposed the ban, while the county board’s mostly rural Republicans said their constituents don’t want a cannabis dispensary nearby...

The county board voted to send the cannabis issue back to its Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC for short) for reconsideration. The committee, meeting on November 7 with one Democratic member absent, had produced tie votes on a proposal to permit cannabis businesses and another to prohibit them.

Eisenmann, fellow Republican Jim McGuire and Democrat Connie Dillard-Myers voted against the move to send the issue back to committee. But ELUC’s Republican chairman, Aaron Esry, says a compromise might be possible.  

Full WILL article and radio segment here, which also includes a brief note that member Vachaspati resigned at the end of the meeting due to a new job in Boston. The video of the meeting isn't up yet this morning, but should be available here at the County Clerk's YouTube channel soon. Videos of the Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) and the County Board's Committee of the Whole meeting (what is the COW?) are already available at the video link as of last week.

The ELUC meeting on 11/7 (agenda here, video here) had extended discussions from either side of the marijuana issue in unincorporated County areas. Early in the meeting, this drew some public questions from one citizen of a smaller town concerned about the topic (jump to that discussion here). Typically there is no back and forth Q&A for public participation, but the rules were suspended in this instance. The discussion helped clarify some basic questions on what these new marijuana rules would mean and where they would apply. On the first item, there was further discussion by the committee (jump to the video of that discussion here) for and against a compromise direction for the full County Board. The vote on the language to ban it came later with an additional brief discussion (jump to video here).

In the end, both marijuana policy votes failed in ties. The ban policy moved on to the full board without recommendation. The reason the ban went on to the full board as opposed to the other policy was explained by Chair Esry and Mr. Hall, head of the Zoning Department, in the video here. Essentially they were introduced using different processes. The full County Board, as mentioned above, sent it back to ELUC for further work for a compromise policy.

The Committee of the Whole (agenda here, video here) had a budget overview with details on what the County Board voted on and approved at the regular County Board meeting mentioned above (budget overview PDF available here and on pages 137-155 of the agenda packet).

The COW also had a presentation on the Public Safety Tax that, while also delving into the financial situation of debt and projections, also included discussions on how that funding might be used towards public safety projects such as jail consolidation, jail programs, and possible implementation of Racial Justice Task Force recommendations. County Board member Fortado highlighted a few things she'd like to focus on, including a research person in place. She explained in further correspondence on this point:

The researcher position was a RJTF report recommendation, and we advocated for it to get implemented, because it seemed like getting that done could help drive some of the other recommendations.  But it is a first small step, there remains a LOT of work to be done implementing what is outlined in that report.  I firmly believe those recommendations should be front and center in any conversation about Criminal Justice in our community, and we as a Board need to keep working towards the goals outlined in the study...

To follow up, they just finished the interview process the data analyst should be on board soon.

Video of her commentary in the Public Safety Tax overview discussion starts here.

County Roundup

I have a few County government related news links to share until the full Committee of the Whole meeting becomes available on the County Clerk's YouTube channel (there are some reentry presentations and such I'll be highlighting in more detail later). The News-Gazette had some highlights from the COW until then:

County board OKs spending another $278K on nursing home employee costs
At a committee-of-the-whole meeting on Tuesday night, board members recommended spending $287,052 to pay nursing home employee benefit time and management retention bonuses.

This money will be included on the last paycheck from the county following the sale of the home, if and when it takes place...

In December, the county board approved $2.7 million in funding to keep the nursing home in operation for another couple of months.

In January, the county board approved another $6 million in nursing home expenses both to pay off bills to nursing home vendors dating back to 2015 and to write off nursing home bad debt.

In February, the county board voted to grant the county executive and treasurer authority to cover any shortfall in the nursing home's accounts payable for March with a loan for up to $200,000. Then, the board authorized them to use a loan to make up for any March payroll issues.

In other business, board members unanimously recommended renewing its contract with Rosecrance for the re-entry program. The new contract runs through June 30, 2020.

The board also recommended spending $35,423 to increase public-defender salaries to make them equitable with salaries for prosecutors in the state's attorney's office.

More at the full article here. Agenda packet here and full video (when available) here. Until the video becomes available, the written presentation of the Reentry Council Mid-Annual Report is available in the agenda packet (page 7 of the packet, page 10 of the PDF file). The RPC Young Adult Reentry Program slideshow presentation is available here.

The Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) addressed a zoning issue for a future rural event center:

County board panel endorses Flatville couple's plan to turn barn into events center
...
On Thursday, the Champaign County Environment and Land Use Committee voted 7-0 to move that plan forward, recommending rezoning the property from AG-1 Agriculture to AG-2 Agriculture.

Arik and Kylie Miller plan to renovate a burgundy and white barn on their 10.3-acre property at 2079 County Road 2600N, less than a mile from Flatville, into an event center with a capacity for 300 guests.

"We're going to call it Miller Farms Barn," Arik Miller said. "We just acquired the property. The barn has sat empty for the last 20 years. In addition to weddings, we would like to host corporate events, family gatherings, whatever..."

Miller said he is planning enough space for 100 vehicles, including handicapped-accessible parking spaces.

Full article here. I didn't see anything in the ELUC agenda packet or action report about the horse stable approved at the Zoning Board last month, so that may be on next month's ELUC agenda. From last month:

Champaign Co. Zoning Board OKs couple's special-use permit for horse stable
A rural Pesotum couple plan to start up a horse stable, complete with an indoor arena, southwest of the village.

The Champaign County Zoning Board voted 4 to 0 Thursday night to approve a special-use permit for Fields of Grace Stable, at 683 County Road 100 N, also known as the Parkville Road.

The proposal next advances to the Champaign County Board Environment and Land Use Committee.

The permit would authorize Jessica and John Gill to operate their riding stable in an agriculture zoning district.

Jessica Gill said her stable will be able to board up to 12 horses and will hold riding lessons and events.

Full blurb here.

This month's home sales numbers aren't out yet, but I'm still playing catch up. Here are the numbers reported last month (of January's numbers):

Champaign County home sales down 20 percent in January over 2018
Home sales in Champaign County dropped more than 20 percent in January compared with the same period in 2018, according to the Champaign County Association of Realtors.

There were 117 homes sold in January, down from 153 a year ago.

The association blamed higher prices, cold weather and the partial government shutdown for the slowdown.

Sale prices rose significantly in January compared with a year ago, with the median price increasing from $132,500 to $155,000.

More information at the full blurb here.

First Step to Another Solar Farm

Another potential solar farm near Homer passed the first step towards eventual approval this week. The proposed solar farm this time is much smaller than that 1,600 acre behemoth approved at the last regular County Board meeting. From Friday's News-Gazette:

Champaign County zoning board OKs plan for solar farm near Homer
...
Representatives from Atlanta-based SolAmerica Energy LLC appeared before the Champaign County Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday night to seek a special-use permit for a 2-megawatt solar farm, to be called the Champaign Sinclair Farm.

After a two-hour discussion, the board voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the permit, which advances the proposal to the county's Environment and Land Use Committee.

The proposed facility would be built on a 75.33-acre tract of land owned by Phyllis Jane Sinclair east of the village of Homer, west of the Vermilion County line and north of the sewage treatment plant.

Solar panels would take up 14.6 acres of that property and would generate enough energy for between 200 and 300 homes...

If the Champaign Sinclair Farm is ultimately approved by the county board and is selected in the Illinois Power Agency's lottery for contracts for renewable energy credits, Peters said construction would begin in May or June of this year.

Full article here.

County Board Approves First Solar Farms

The October 18th County Board meeting (video here, agenda here, and addendum here) mainly focused around approving the first solar farms since the ordinance allowing such developments was passed (more on that here). To jump to the portion of the meeting discussing the solar farms in question and concerns about the ordinance click here. News-Gazette blurb from yesterday:

Champaign County Board approves two rural solar farms
...
Members approved Community Power Group's plans to build a pair of 2-megawatt farms — one on 13.56 acres of a 57.84-acre tract at county roads 2350 N and 1700 N, north of the St. Joseph Sportsman Club, and another on 16 acres of a 36.77-acre tract at the southeast corner of county roads 1300 E and 3300 N in Ludlow Township, northwest of Rantoul.

The votes came with some reservations, as residents and officials of nearby municipalities have voiced concerns that the panels could bring noise, affect property values and restrict a community's ability to expand.

Some board members suggested at Thursday's meeting that the county's zoning board take another look at solar-farm rules, but no formal action was taken.

Full blurb here. There was also some discussion on RSM, the firm chosen to do the post-closing accounting services for the Champaign County Nursing Home after the sale. There were some concerns about conflicts in the past, but Administrator Busey had found that the auditors involved didn't believe those problems originated with RSM and shouldn't be a problem in the future. The full discussion is available at the video jump-to link here. Everything else in the consent agenda and regular agenda and addendum passed by either voice or roll call vote.

The Week Ahead: 10/14 - 10/20

*** There is a County Board regular meeting this Thursday. Agenda here. More information on how to attend a county board meeting here. More information below. ***

Vote By Mail requests are available to voters generally now. Ballot requests for the November 6th, 2018 General Election have already started and EARLY VOTING HAS BEGUN! More information on Vote By Mail in Champaign County here. Ballot request direct link for residents here. More information on County elections (including checking your registration, sample ballots when available, and early voting times and locations) at our Elections page.


Other Events:

There are a lot of political campaign and organizing events popping up. Check out your preferred candidates and you will likely see campaign, canvassing, or voter registration events in the area. Many are using facebook to more easily share event information and reminders. Check out the Champaign County Voter Alliance's preliminary general election candidate guide to see who is running. We'll be updating County race information from the primary election to the general soon.
 
Groups that crossover with Racial Justice Task Force recommendations meeting this week:

Build Programs Not Jails meets Wednesday, October 17th at 7pm at the Independent Media Center. Meetings are every other Wednesday at 7pm at the IMC.

County Calendar:

*** There is a County Board regular meeting this Thursday. Agenda here. More information on how to attend a county board meeting here. Probably one of the larger issues is passing the 2019 budget, but there may be some continuing concerns about a lack of rules being agreed to for the County Executive form of government after the election from the Committee of the Whole last week. An attempt to give them some preliminary rules to start with abiding by State statutes and in transition from current County Board rules failed after a great deal of work by the County Executive Transition Committee over 8-10 meetings over the year.

The Sheriff's Merit Commission meets on Tuesday. The agenda is available here. From the previous minutes, it appears that this body determines the qualifications for hiring and advancement in the Sheriff's Office and makes decisions on the same.

Wednesday there is the Technology Oversight Committee. I don't have any information on exactly what this committee does. I believe it may be more of a management committee for computers and IT issues for staff in the various county facilities. More information to come on that.

Also on Wednesday there is the Mental Health board. If you're interested in finding out more about county Mental Health programs and agencies it can be a bit wonky. It is, however, very interesting if you want to see all of the gears moving to provide care to so many in our community. If you're interested in what an MHB or DDB meeting is like, here are a couple write up examples: Mental Health Board 2018, Developmental Disabilities Board 10/25/2017.

Before the County Board meeting on Thursday there will be a "Truth in Taxation" meeting to explain an increase in the tax levy (agenda here). For a quick primer on the difference between a Tax Levy and a Tax Rate, we have that: Tax Levies versus Tax Rates.

There is a Zoning Board of Appeals Special Meeting Thursday night (upcoming agenda here). Board page here. Now that the new Solar ordinance has passed, the race is on for companies to use it. At least a couple exemptions appear to be on the agenda Thursday.

The GIS Policy Committee meets Friday. The GIS talks maps and data, orthophotography, sewage systems, water permeability of soil and drainage and the intricate systems that allow a consortium of city and county governments, as well as private companies needing data. For more information about the GIS and what a meeting is like, check out this write up.


The full 2018 schedule is on the Calendar page and the County page. The regular County Board meetings are back to Thursdays until next holiday season.

If you're curious about learning more about how your county government works, it's easy enough to live stream a meeting or go in person: Attend a Meeting.

*Meeting is broadcast live on Comcast Public Access and at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

Where is Brookens?

Brookens Administrative Center
1776 East Washington Street
Urbana, Illinois 61802-4581
Phone: 217-384-3772

After 4:30 the Washington Street side Parking Lot is Closed See Maps for the North East Parking Lot Access

Solar Zoning

Now that solar farm rules have been passed, the fights begin over zoning decisions and exceptions between localities, residents, and businesses. From yesterday's News-Gazette:

Champaign County zoning panel discusses first proposed solar farm
Champaign County's first private solar farm is a step closer to becoming a reality.

In spite of an objection from the St. Joseph Village Board, the Champaign County Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday night discussed proceeding with Community Power Group's proposed solar farm near that village.

The first facility would be a 2-megawatt farm on a 57.84-acre tract just north of the St. Joseph Sportsman Club.

On Thursday, the zoning board received a resolution from the St. Joseph Village Board objecting to the location because it might affect new developments north of Interstate 74 in future years.

"Growing north of the interstate has been a priority for us, and we don't like the idea of being boxed in," said Mayor Tami Fruhling-Voges.

She also expressed concern about setting a precedent by allowing a solar farm within a half-mile of the village. The village prefers a mile-and-a-half buffer for such farms.

Full article here. More on the fights to get the solar farm rules passed in the first place and the immediate exception to them requested here. Archive of posts mentioning the solar issue here.

Yard Sign Rules

With so many County races on the ballot this year, it might be helpful to know the rules on yard signs which can vary by locality. The News-Gazette has had some helpful information for Champaign and Urbana residents (below), but for the most part you'll have to check with your local town, village, or city officials on the rules where you're at. Apartment dwellers often have even more restrictions depending on their lease and circumstances. You'll have to check with your lease and/or landlord which may restrict yard signs or even signs in windows.

Champaign and Urbana rules on political signs like yard signs vary a bit. From Tom's Mailbag today:

In Urbana it is legal to place political signs in the right of way. From the city's website: "Signs that are for short-term, timed use shall be allowed in the city's right-of-way as long as the signs are removed immediately following the event. Such signs would include garage sale signs, political campaign signs, significant University of Illinois events (i.e. IHSA tournaments) and fund-raising advertisements for non-profit agencies (i.e. UBA events, Festival of Lights)."

But property owners can remove any political campaign sign directly in front of their property on the public right-of-way.

In Champaign no one is permitted, other than "signs erected by the city or its agents," from placing any signs in the public right of way at any time, said Zoning Administrator Kevin Phillips.

Full Mailbag here. There was another political yard sign question on size answered by Champaign's Zoning Administrator in a later Tom's Mailbag:

The largest size allowed in residential areas is 24 inches x 36 inches, he said.

Champaign's only other rule is they be posted only on private property with the consent of the property owner.

"We will have a closer look around on Green Street to see what may have concerned the person who called you with the question," he said.

Urbana has no restrictions on the size of yard signs unless they could be considered a hazard.

The Week Ahead: 9/9 - 9/15

*** There is a County Board Committee of the Whole meeting this Tuesday. Agenda here and addendum here (more information below). More information on how to attend a county board meeting here. ***

*** This week is Amnesty Week on past due court fines. More here. ***

*** There is an Electoral Board hearing on objections to candidate filings this week. More here. ***

*** The Public Hearing sessions on the Nursing Home sale are this Thursday. ***

Vote By Mail requests are available to voters generally now. Ballot requests for the November 6th, 2018 General Election have already started and early voting begins later this month! More information on Vote By Mail in Champaign County here. Ballot request direct link for residents here. More information on County elections (including checking your registration, sample ballots when available, and early voting times and locations) at our Elections page.

Other Events:

There are a lot of political campaign and organizing events popping up (e.g. recent meeting of Republican Women of Champaign County and Democratic Party Meet and Greet for County Candidates). Check out your preferred candidates and you will likely see campaign, canvassing, or voter registration events in the area. Many are using facebook to more easily share event information and reminders. Check out the Champaign County Voter Alliance's preliminary general election candidate guide to see who is running. We'll be updating County race information from the primary election to the general soon.
 
Groups that crossover with Racial Justice Task Force recommendations meeting this week:

Build Programs Not Jails doesn't meet this week. Meetings are every other Wednesday at 7pm at the IMC. The next meeting is September 19th.

The Champaign Community Coalition meeting, this Wednesday, September 12th at 3:30-5pm at the Champaign Public Library, it is likely to be again focused on the uptick of gun violence in our community. There is certain to have a lot of overlap with criminal justice issues and key players from law enforcement, activist, and social service communities there.

At July's City of Champaign Study Session of the City Council, the reentry housing issue was raised during public participation (a full write up of the meeting is here and video here). This is following up on the preview of that discussion at the City Council meeting here: Reentry Housing Issue. The News-Gazette had a couple articles following up on the meeting linked on the Cheat Sheet here.

County Calendar:

*** There is a County Board Committee of the Whole meeting (What is this?) this Tuesday. Agenda here and addendum here. If you'd like to attend a County Board meeting, you can find more information on how to attend here. The items that stand out to me are the Nursing Home items which appear to revolve around debt to vendors if I'm reading it correctly. As we approach the end of the year I imagine the budget information could be worth keeping an eye on as next years budget priorities will soon have to be fought over.

The week kicks off on Monday with a Litigation Committee meeting, but most of that will be in closed session due to the content (agenda packet here).

On Monday evening there is the Nursing Home Board of Directors meeting at the 6:30pm time (agenda here). From the previous month's minutes in this month's agenda packet you can see this is more of a managerial board discussing financials and marketing more than policy or politics, but with the sale of the Nursing Home looming it may have additional related information.

On Wednesday there is a Mental Health Board study session meeting (agenda packet here). This meeting appears to be focused on their work to improve their evaluation processes for MHB programs. If you're interested in finding out more about county Mental Health and Developmental Disability programs and agencies they can be a bit wonky, however, they are also very interesting if you want to see all of the gears moving to provide care to so many in our community. If you're interested in what an MHB or DDB meeting is like, here are a couple write up examples: Mental Health Board 2018, Developmental Disabilities Board 10/25/2017. 

There is a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting Thursday night (upcoming agenda here). Board page here. Now that the new Solar ordinance has passed, the race is on for companies to use it: Solar-farm proposals flare up after Champaign County's zoning change (from the News-Gazette last week).


The full 2018 schedule is on the Calendar page and the County page. The regular County Board meetings are back to Thursdays until next holiday season.

If you're curious about learning more about how your county government works, it's easy enough to live stream a meeting or go in person: Attend a Meeting.

*Meeting is broadcast live on Comcast Public Access and at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

Where is Brookens?

Brookens Administrative Center
1776 East Washington Street
Urbana, Illinois 61802-4581
Phone: 217-384-3772

After 4:30 the Washington Street side Parking Lot is Closed See Maps for the North East Parking Lot Access

Chasing the Sun

Champaign County appears to be off to a running start now that the County Board has approved its new solar rules. From a News-Gazette editorial earlier this week:

Editorial | Champaign County moves into solar-power age
...
There already are seven applications to build solar farms in the county, said Zoning Administrator John Hall, with most of them in rural areas on the eastern side of the county near St. Joseph and Sidney.

Just because there are seven proposals for solar farms in the county doesn't mean that broad areas of some of the richest farmland in the world soon will be covered with solar panels. Each of the solar farms proposed in the county will require waivers in order to be built, Hall said. And the sheer number of projects proposed in Illinois — Kankakee County alone has 25 — makes it unlikely that they'll all be feasible.

But the first two solar farm proposals for Champaign County, both from Community Power Group LLC, already are on the agenda of the county zoning board of appeals this week.

Full editorial here. The St. Joseph project appears to be making a reasonable request for bending those new rules since it will be right by the interstate:

Solar-farm developer already seeking exception to county's new rules
...
Maryland-based Community Power Group LLC will go before the county’s zoning board of appeals next week seeking approval for two solar farms. One of them would be located north of the St. Joseph Sportsman Club, northeast of the village, putting it in violation of the new rules, which say solar-farm panels must be at least a half-mile away from a city limit. Community Power Group is asking for that distance to be reduced by about 75 percent, to 725 feet.

John Hall, the county’s director of planning and zoning, said the company is trying to play nice.

“When you look at the site plans in the context of the development that’s around the solar farms and the larger regional pattern of development, the one near St. Joseph is on the other side of the interstate,” Hall said. “When you look at the whole picture of what’s proposed, I think it seems to me pretty clear to me that the solar-farm developers are trying to be sensitive to each location and responding to those locations as best they can.”

I can't help but imagine that this could still cause some concerns about precedent straight out of the gate. Time will tell. [UPDATE: There are some concerns, including future growth of the village and how locals would benefit from credits: Solar-farm company owner pledges power discounts for St. Joe residents.]

Zoning board information and agenda here. Community Power's waiver memos here and here.

County Board Overview

I wasn't able to make it to last night's County Board meeting, but I'll have more information once the video is available from the County Clerk YouTube Channel. The News-Gazette had an overview today:

Champaign County Board approves zoning changes for solar farms
...
On Thursday night, the Champaign County Board voted 19-3 to amend the county zoning ordinance to allow photovoltaic solar farms on certain agricultural properties...

Seven applications to build such farms around the county have already been submitted...

Board member Jim McGuire expressed concern about the impact solar farms may have on the value of nearby properties.

But Zoning Administrator John Hall said multiple studies have found solar farms have no significant effect on property values...

In other business:

The county has three new county board members.

After the board voted unanimously to appoint Jodi Eisenmann to Brooks Marsh's former seat in District 1, Pranjal Vachaspati to Shana Jo Crews' former seat in District 9 and James Quisenberry to Robert King's former seat in District 10, all three took the oath of office from County Clerk Gordy Hulten.

The new board members will serve terms through Nov. 30.

The board also voted to approve a budget amendment appropriating $4,611,946 for the Champaign County Nursing Home to cover expenses until the home's sale to two Evanston-based companies is closed.

And board members voted 13-8, with one abstention, to approve a resolution moving Cunningham 3's polling place from a University of Illinois residence hall currently undergoing renovation to the Illini Union.

More at the full article here. The various Election and office pages will be updated with the new appointments and candidates soon. There were some new candidate filings this week with a little overlap with those appointments. More details on what led to the Nursing Home and Polling Places vote available at the Committee of the Whole post here.

Urbana Solar Farm Protest Voted Down

The Urbana City Council had an opportunity to protest under a state law (see Page 3 of Exhibit E, page 16 of pdf file from resolution) new zoning rules on Solar Farms in Champaign County (more on the solar farm issue here). The council voted against doing so. Two before and after articles on that, the first from WAND with a video segment citing the News-Gazette:

Urbana city staff have suggested council members not stand in the way of a Champaign County zoning proposal that could bring solar farms to rural areas.

That is according to the News Gazette.

The recommendation comes ahead of the Urbana City Council meeting.

The council is scheduled to vote on whether to protest changes to the county rules on solar farms. The rules were proposed this month by the county board.

Urbana must give approval for the proposal to move forward.

Solar farms need a special permit from the Champaign County Board to be built.

The News Gazette reports there are already seven applications for solar farms.

The county board will consider final approval of the solar farm rules on Thursday.

If that passes, the first solar farm public hearing will be on Aug. 30.

It was reported after the meeting that it was rejected. From the News-Gazette coverage of the Urbana City Council meeting afterward:

In other business, council members unanimously rejected a resolution that would have protested proposed zoning changes at the county level to allow solar farms.

Council member Bill Brown said the county's process was thorough and kept Urbana in mind.

There doesn't appear to be any controversy, but from the resolution documents you can see that a lot of work went into assuring that City ordinances, rules, and concerns were looked at for these new zoning rules before giving their recommendation to the council not to stand in the way. I doubt that'll change anyone's mind on the issue, but for others it may be interesting.

The Week Ahead 7/29 - 8/4

For more information on this month's County Board meeting from last week, check out this Cheat Sheet post with local coverage and a write up: County Board 7/19

Other Events:

There are a lot of political campaign and organizing events popping up. Check out your preferred candidates and you will likely see campaign, canvassing, or voter registration events in the area. Many are using facebook to more easily share event information and reminders. Check out the Champaign County Voter Alliance's preliminary general election candidate guide to see who is running. We'll be updating County race information from the primary election to the general soon.
 
Groups that crossover with Racial Justice Task Force recommendations meeting this week:

Build Programs Not Jails doesn't meet this week. Meetings are every other Wednesday at 7pm at the IMC. The next meeting is August 8th.

At last Tuesday's City of Champaign Study Session of the City Council, the reentry housing issue was raised during public participation (a full write up of the meeting is here and video here). This is following up on the preview of that discussion at the City Council meeting here: Reentry Housing Issue. The News-Gazette had a couple articles following up on the meeting linked on the Cheat Sheet here.

County Calendar:

The week kicks off on Tuesday with a Litigation Committee meeting, but most of that will be in closed session due to the content (agenda packet here).

Also on Tuesday there is a meeting of the Lincoln Legacy Committee:

The Lincoln Legacy Committee is a collaborative committee of the Champaign County Forest Preserve and the Champaign County Board formed for the purpose of promoting the Bicentennial Celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth through the creation of exhibits at the Champaign County Courthouse and the Museum of the Grand Prairie. The committee continues its work with other Lincoln-related projects.

The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting Thursday doesn't appear to have an agenda up yet. The solar farm issues appear to be waiting for the 30 day review period for the full County Board. More on that at this Cheat Sheet post. Other recent Cheat Sheet posts on solar issues include a U of I solar farm tour, proposed solar farm locations, and concerns about pollinators.

The full 2018 schedule is on the Calendar page and the County page. The regular County Board meetings are back to Thursdays until next holiday season.

If you're curious about learning more about how your county government works, it's easy enough to live stream a meeting or go in person: Attend a Meeting.

*Meeting is broadcast live on Comcast Public Access and at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

Where is Brookens?

Brookens Administrative Center
1776 East Washington Street
Urbana, Illinois 61802-4581
Phone: 217-384-3772

After 4:30 the Washington Street side Parking Lot is Closed See Maps for the North East Parking Lot Access