County Facilities Meeting and Jail Discussion

County Board member Mike Ingram highlighted a couple opportunities for the public to learn more and get more involved with criminal justice issues in the City of Champaign and County. The County opportunity involves the County Facilities Committee meeting this Tuesday, June 4th (agenda here) which includes: "County Jail Consolidation Discussion with Sheriff Dustin Heuerman and Staff."

The Champaign County Jail issue has evolved over time. Currently there are two jail facilities. One is the downtown jail that is seriously outdated and which many would prefer to close. The other is known as the satellite jail and is next door to the Brooken's Administrative building. The newly elected County Board toured the facilities and observed the challenges facing both facilities in March. Excerpt from the News-Gazette coverage here:

Champaign County's new sheriff and new county board leadership have begun the process of addressing the needs of an aging jail built in 1980 and a second jail, built in 1996, that is bursting at the seams to meet modern needs.

On Tuesday, Sheriff Dustin Heuerman and his staff led the board's facilities committee on a tour of the downtown and satellite jails.

The visit was billed as the first step in helping the county respond to ongoing needs at the two facilities.

Off and on, the possible closure of the older downtown site and the renovation and expansion of the other site have been discussed...

Jail staff said the rise of gun violence, gangs and people with mental health issues have created modern challenges perhaps not anticipated when the satellite facility was built.

Full article here. All recent jail posts here. Previous jail debates have often involved concerns about expanding jail spaces versus programs that could serve the community as an alternative to mass incarceration. Some steps have already begun lowering jail populations locally, such as bail reform and quashing warrants over fines. For a while now there has been a focus on an expansion for services needed among the jail population as opposed to expanding the jail population itself. From a post on the May 2019 Champaign County Reentry Council:

Mark Driscoll, staff member of the Champaign County Mental Health Board / Developmental Disabilities Board, passed out flyers for the Salvation Army's reentry program for employment and training. Click image to the right to enlarge.

He also talked about a program providing training for inmates at the Champaign County Jail. Our Jail had been the first to open their doors to the program. There was some discussion about presentations on the program for the local Drug Court as well as through CCHCC. I will update with more specifics as I find out more.

In the report on the Jail, there was talk about the limited facility space (and a bit of a flooding calamity for the new staff who managed to make it work in spite of the issue). They said they're seeing all sorts of, what sounded like, positive results, with the additional staff. There was a discussion with the facilitator and CCHCC's Lenhoff about the seriousness of the facility space limitations limiting the ability to deliver services.

In what will certainly raise skepticism among local jail expansion proponents, Lenhoff explained that she believes there is confusion between previous jail expansion plans and the current ones. Previous plans were derided as wanting more cells with less concern on why they should be filled. She explained current expansion ideas are geared towards space to provide services, not in place of services before reaching jail, but to ensure that those who are in that situation have all the necessary service options. "There should be no wrong door" for people to seek services. She explained that sometimes incarceration is the point where services are needed and wanted most.

That full Cheat Sheet post here. Having toured the satellite jail myself, I got the very real impression that the safety of both jail staff and inmates in need of services were difficult under the current configuration. There are logistical issues that get complicated with the mental health needs and seriously dangerous inmates who must also be separated. This will become even more complicated without a downtown jail to help with those logistics, and it appears most agree that getting that aging facility up to current legal requirements isn't a realistic option.

Regardless of your politics or views on the issue, this meeting will probably lay out some facts on the ground that people will have to deal with in finding a solution.


[Correction: In the original version of this post the day of the week was correct, but the date was wrong. The date for the meeting has been corrected.]

County Government Roundup

The past month included various updates from different County offices and agencies that are highlighted below. Topics range from facilities maintenance, marijuana legalization, Drug Court, to election equipment and security:

The Juvenile Detention Center will likely have a new roof soon. From the News-Gazette earlier in May:

Champaign County's Juvenile Detention Center could have a new roof by the end of the summer.

The Champaign County Board's facilities committee spent Tuesday night talking about updating the center's roof.

Facilities Director Dana Brenner said the Juvenile Detention Center, at 400 S. Art Bartell Road, U, was built in 1998 and still has its original roof, which was built to last 20 years.

Brenner said the roof has begun pulling away from the parapet, and it leaks when it rains...

In other business, the committee decided to hold an upcoming meeting on the downtown county jail facility. Sheriff Dustin Heuerman will be invited to participate.

Full article here. The board approved the bid in the May County Board meeting and the details are listed in the full agenda packet here (page 132, page 136 of the PDF).


Marijuana legalization at the State level has had County Officials explaining how the change could affect us locally:

• Smile Politely had an interview with the Circuit Clerk on the subject including criminal record relief information.
• The County's State's Attorney and Sheriff were quoted in a News-Gazette "Big 10" article on the subject today.
• Earlier this month there were State's Attorney and Circuit Clerk interviews as well covered in a Cheat Sheet post here.

There was a News-Gazette article highlighting the Drug Court and one person's experience through that process here. More information on the Drug Court presented by the judge and coordinator who oversee it here is a video presentation about it from the January Committee of the Whole meeting. The recent News-Gazette article also had some basic Drug Court data:

The County Clerk had been making noise in local media this past month about election equipment upgrades. Beyond ongoing budget constraints, a new political dimension has been added with the County Clerk's office changing hands from a Republican to a Democrat. From a Cheat Sheet post on April's Committee of the Whole meeting:

The debate also covered previous equipment issues raised by the prior Republican County Clerk and accusations both directions about hypocrisy of a long standing issue that the board made the previous clerk make do with. Several Democratic members argued the security and technology concerns with elections has only grown with the equipment becoming more outdated and unsecure. Member Goss emphasized the importance of qualified people over software and made a dig at the recent property tax bill delays and new Democratic office holders...

The Finance Chair report was delivered by a visibly irritated member Goss. He criticized the "highly paid" County officeholders for failing to attend County Board meetings again, specifically targeting the Treasurer and calling her incompetent outright. He criticized the County Clerk for being too busy lobbying to get the taxes right and complained that if the shoe was on the other foot they'd be screaming at the previous Republican office holders and not blaming old software. He reiterated concerns about the debt and pointed to mail in ballots as a sensible alternative to some of the election needs.

The County Clerk continues to press the case that the situation has grown worse with some equipment no longer being manufactured or supported. This makes replacement and security upgrades impossible for some items. WCIA had a short blurb and video segment here a couple weeks ago. The News-Gazette had more last week:

Thirteen of the machines used to count votes at individual precincts have broken over the years, he said, adding: "We have to cannibalize those machines for parts to keep our remaining tabulation machines in operation."

Ammons said his department also needs laptops, printers and software.

He declined to provide a final price tag — "It's still under negotiations," he said — but county board Chair Giraldo Rosales said Ammons is asking for roughly $700,000.

Rosales said he wasn't sure where funding for the equipment and software will come from.

"Just because you want more out of the pie, that doesn't make the pie any bigger," Rosales said...

Another major need for the county election division, he added, is voter assisted terminals, to comply with standards set in the Americans With Disabilities Act.

That full article here.

Area Housing and Affordability

A little over a month ago the News-Gazette highlighted affordability concerns with local housing. Excerpt:

Housing Authority of Champaign County Director David Northern said it's "very common" for underemployed people to seek out his agency for help with housing.

He said it takes almost 78 hours of work for an individual who earns the state minimum wage of $8.25 an hour to pay for a two-bedroom apartment in Champaign County, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

That puts stress on families, said Sue Grey, director of the United Way of Champaign County.

"Imagine being a single parent in that situation," Grey said. "When someone is underemployed, they're constantly on that ledge. They're on the precipice all the time. So they have to constantly think about what will pull them over the edge."

Grey added that there's often a misconception about people who who receive assistance because of their precarious work situation.

"A lot of times, people will assume that those who receive services or get assistance are just being lazy, or that they're not doing anything to help their situation," she said. "But if you talk to most service providers in Champaign County, you'd find that many of them work with people who either already have a job and it's not enough, or they're looking for employment. We have homeless families that have jobs but find that it's not enough."

Full article here with a lot of additional information at the State level and local experiences.

Recently WILL also highlighted the issue with rising rental rates in spite of continued building of "stumpies" (simple apartment complexes with some aesthetic upgrades) in our over-saturated market:

A 2016 market research report from Triad Real Estate Partners found that there were a half dozen private apartment projects with more than 100 beds constructed in Champaign-Urbana that year. These new additions to the housing market, which added over 2,000 rooms, and the current projects underway, have led to a rental housing surplus, particularly among students...

Ben LeRoy, an associate planner with the city of Champaign, says it’s typically a business decision on the part of the developer whether or not to pursue a project in an oversaturated market, and not up to the city to greenlight most projects...

Development can potentially generate more tax revenues. It’s something that the city of Urbana is counting on with five new housing developments in the planning or construction stages, according to the city’s latest budget proposal.

LeRoy also says that more housing means more competition among landlords, which could result in lower rents...

But student-targeted apartments tend to be more expensive. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Champaign-Urbana has been increasing in recent years, going from $854 in 2013 to $903 in 2016, according to the same market research report from Triad Real Estate.

Full article with additional information here. Below are a couple Housing Authority of Champaign County Updates as well. From the News-Gazette last week:

Housing authority to start accepting applications for voucher program June 17
The Housing Authority of Champaign County will start accepting pre-applications for its housing-choice voucher program waiting list June 17.

The list will remain open through June 30...

Pre-applications are accepted online only at https://www.hacc.net.

Full blurb here. From earlier in May:

Housing authority to take applications for Hayes Homes starting June 3
The Housing Authority of Champaign County is set to begin accepting preliminary applications for a waiting list for its Hayes Homes for older adults in need of rental assistance.

The list for one-bedroom apartments at 401 E. High St., U, will open at 12:01 a.m. June 3 and remain open until the end of the day July 31.

Full blurb here. And the HACC is already expanding a bit at its new location:

One of the newest additions to this area, the Champaign County Housing Authority's headquarters, is already looking to expand its holdings there a bit.

Housing Authority CEO David Northern said the housing authority — which recently relocated to 2008 N. Market St. — is seeking to buy the 2.5-acre property at 2000 N. Market where Red Fox liquor and convenience store formerly operated...

"We do need some additional parking," Northern said about buying the additional property. "And if the organization grows, it's a great opportunity."

That full article here.

County Board Updates

May's County Board videos are up here. More on the delay at a previous updated Cheat Sheet post here. May's County Board meeting hit on the argument over appointments again. From the News-Gazette:

In what amounted to a symbolic revolt, the board voted 13-6 to reject the reappointment of Paul Sailor to the Board of Review on Thursday night.

Twelve of the 13 "no" votes came from board members from Kloeppel's own party; all of the supporters were Republicans.

Democrat Chris Stohr said he believes the Democrats were showing support for Young and his involvement in appointments.

More at the full article here. This is rehashing a disagreement on appointments from the Committee of the Whole the previous week. Cheat Sheet post here. Once again the Democrats are pushing for more input into the appointment process while Republicans are defending the County Executive having sole discretion on that process with the County Board simply voting that appointment up or down.

One appointment candidate spoke directly to the board ahead of her vote. Jennifer Putman, who was seeking re-appointment to the Champaign-Urbana Sanitary District Board spoke to the board during public participation and explained her hope to reduce the pay for the board which is currently at the maximum and highlighted a new State statute that may add two additional seats that could be filled with people who support the pay reduction.

There were a lot of presentations at the previous Committee of the Whole as well as new presentations at this County Board meeting of the County Executive's Report (presentation slides here) and the County Clerk's 2019 Tax Cycle presentation. Here are video links to those presentations along with an excerpt of a previous Cheat Sheet post with additional information:

Here are links to the presentation materials for now: the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation presentation, the Circuit Clerk's presentation for the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act, and the Champaign County Reentry Council's Third Quarter Report (page 27 of Agenda Packet, page 30 of PDF file).

Videos:

• Champaign County EDC presentation
• Circuit Clerk's presentation for the CTAA
• Reentry Council's Third Quarter Report
• County Executive's Annual Report
• County Clerk Presentation on the 2019 Tax Cycle

The County Clerk presentation hoped to address concerns about the delay in tax notifications this year and included slides in the video link above.  He also described the process the County Clerk's office goes through, including new systems, in detail. Questions and Answers afterward are here. On the up side, WCIA was reporting that your property taxes are likely to decrease a bit this year. More on that here.

County Board Videos

[UPDATE: May meeting videos have been posted over the past few days on the County Clerk's YouTube Channel, including the May Committee of the Whole and regular County Board meetings here.]


Typically if you want to see what happens at one of the County government meetings, there are a few options: attend in person, watch live on-line streaming during the meeting (when available), or catch the recorded meeting on YouTube a few days later on the Champaign County Clerk's YouTube Channel. Folks attempting to use the third option have noticed some hiccups this year. Long delays, technical issues with the videos, and then the videos stopped completely in March. The latest meeting covered is the March 12th Committee of the Whole that was uploaded over two weeks later.

The reasons given for this situation are staffing. For those following County politics, you may remember that the County Clerk's office changing hands involved a bit of a staff exodus, including the information technology specialist. From the News-Gazette back in February:

Tom Kacich | For new Champaign County clerk, 'it's been a learning curve'
...
Soon after he took over Dec. 1, the county clerk's office was down six employees. Ammons said it was a foregone conclusion that his Republican opponent, Matt Grandone, would leave the office, as would former clerk Gordy Hulten and Hulten's Chief Deputy Jeremy Cirks.

But he said he was unprepared for the loss of three other employees almost immediately, plus a fourth who left within a couple of months. He said it was "disheartening" that two of the former employees gave two days' notice and another gave no notice at all.

"If they thought they were hurting me, I think they missed the fact that they were hurting the taxpayers and maybe some of their teammates who have had to pick up the slack," he said. "We want to stay focused and positive, but I think it's important the taxpayers know this from a professional standpoint."

The employees who remained, Ammons said, have been "absolutely amazing. Their expertise and commitment has been unquestionable."

Slowly, he said, he's filling positions. He's hired an information technology specialist, expects to have a deputy county clerk within a week and is close to hiring a chief of staff. By May he thinks all the positions in the office will be filled.

That full article available here. Unfortunately the IT specialist mentioned in this February story didn't work out. A new IT specialist started last week, but is still getting up to speed on everything. There seems to be some hope of videos becoming available again soon, but I wasn't given a time frame on when that can be expected.

For the time being, the options to catch County Board meetings are to catch them live or you might be waiting a while. Meetings from March and before are still up and available on YouTube here.

Update: The County Clerk added this additional information via twitter today:

We are working with County IT department to make the videos available. We are still determining if that will be on the County website or through YouTube. We anticipate having the videos available very soon and appreciate everyone’s patience.

[Updated: originally posted on 5/13/2019 at 3:54pm.] 

Nominations Extended for Crime Fighter Award

A quick update on an extended deadline from the News-Gazette yesterday:

The deadline for nominations for the Dave Benton Crime Fighter Award has been extended to June 15. Champaign County residents are eligible for the honor, which will be presented July 11. Visit www.373tips.com or call John Hecker at 217-3568391 for details.

Full blurb here. Previous Cheat Sheet post on this here. Excerpt:

Crime Stoppers is also looking for nominations for its Dave Benton Crime Fighter Award before the June 1st deadline. From WCIA:

The Dave Benton Crime Fighter Award is an annual award established by Crime Stoppers of Champaign County in honor of former board member and WCIA-TV anchor Dave Benton. Each year this award recognizes the Champaign County citizen who most exemplifies the crime-fighting spirit that Dave Benton exhibits during his award-winning newscasts, programs and his tenure on the Crime Stopper’s Board of Directors.

Nominations are open to all residents of Champaign County. The intent is to recognize an individual who has made a difference in the fight against crime. The recipient must have been involved in an ongoing activity or program that helped to stop a crime, solve a case, or made a big difference in resolving a dangerous situation that made a neighborhood, community or the whole of Champaign County safer. Criteria for nominations are very general in order to avoid limiting the kinds of activities that would qualify and maintain a broad appeal to all citizens.

Full article here with more details. More on the award and nomination process from the Crime Stoppers website here./blockquote>

HAZMAT, Champaign FD and the Marathon Terminal

Earlier this month, Tom's Mailbag had information on the history and safety issues with the big Marathon Champaign Terminal on the west side of town where you may have seen giant tanks and been stuck behind fuel trucks coming and going. The part that stood out to me was the collaboration with local government and safety in case of a spill or accident. They listed details of their response plans and regular training and collaboration with Champaign County Emergency Management Agency and the City of Champaign Fire Department, which is part of MABAS 28 regional response for HAZMAT and other collaborations as well:

— Utilization of the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) System to constantly monitor pipelines and check for potential pipeline leaks. If a potential leak is detected, an Operations Center systems analyst is immediately alerted so that the line is shut down.

— Development and maintenance of an Emergency Response Plan (OPA 90) that details our response strategies.

— Utilization of the company's Corporate Emergency Response Team to ensure an organized response, utilizing best practices.

— Conducting HAZWOPER training for employees so that they can respond quickly and effectively to ensure the safety of themselves and the public.

— Conducting annual emergency response tabletop and equipment deployment exercises to ensure preparedness.

— Formation of the Rapid Ecological Assessment Countermeasure Team to coordinate the ecological activities associated with an emergency response."
...
John Dwyer, the coordinator for the Champaign County Emergency Management Agency, said his organization has a general "hazmat response plan" for hazardous materials incidents.

Dwyer said Marathon also sponsors regular pipeline training seminars for first responders and excavators who work in the area.

Champaign Fire Chief Gary Ludwig said his department has "an excellent working relationship with the Marathon plant in Champaign. They consider safety a priority as much as we do. We regularly and often meet with them and train with them.

More information at the full article here, including more background and details.

Farming Update: Rain Delays and Trade Wars

Local agriculture is taking a double hit this season from trade wars to an inability to plant in soil that's too wet and preventing roots from taking hold or fields that are actually flooded. Towards the end of last month the issues with wet whether were already causing planting delays. From WCCU April 29th:

"We haven't been able to plant or do anything as far as cropping too much," farmer Joe Burke said.

Burke said this has been the longest stretch of rain he's ever dealt with.

"Like you can see in the low ground out there, how it's dark, that means it's wet," he said. "Started wet in the fall, it was wet all winter pretty much and it's been wet this spring."

He grows corn and soybeans on his Thomasboro 1,100-acre farm and he understands part of being a farmer is having patience...

Burke said right now he's staying afloat by selling older crops. But, he couldn't put a dollar amount on how much each passing day is costing him...

"It's scary because they don't know when they're going to get things in, so they don't know when things are going to come out," said Rey Dalitto, Farmers Market & Food Access Manager.

"I've had farmer after farmer after farmer tell me that they've never seen anything like this," Dalitto said.

Full article with video segment here.

WILL's the 21st show had an audio segment and interviews with an area farmer and other experts. Synopsis:

It’s been a cold and wet spring here in Illinois, one of the wettest in 124 years, according to the state climatologists office. Spring showers are a nuisance for most of us, but too much rain can be disastrous for farmers who aren’t able to get their seeds in the ground. To make things worse, the trade war with China continues to heat up. How are farmers coping? We thought we would check in with a few folks who’ve been following this closely, including Steve Fourez. He farms about 500 acres of corn and soy in Vermillion County in East Central Illinois. Madelyn Beck is a reporter for Harvest Public Media. Scott Irwin is the Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing in the college of ACES at the University of Illinois.

Full audio segment here, includes the show intro and roughly 16 minutes long. It goes into a lot of details about the historic nature of the amount of rainfall and how it compares to previous growing seasons where crops would have already been planted by now. For those who planted early there's a chance that some sections may need to be replanted later depending on if any areas get over-saturated, pooling, etc. They also discuss the previous expectations of the trade war agreements falling through and its devastating effect on soybean prices, even before the weather problems. Another guest pointed to the recent rainfall and called it a "Black Swan event" and had a 7 day rainfall forecast map illustrating the problem:

From his twitter post here. For more information on the trade war situation, the News-Gazette also had coverage of the status a couple weeks ago here. Harvest Public Media had a helpful overview of the trade situation today here:

Collateral damage is exactly what many U.S. farmers feel like right now, even as the Trump administration has promised a second bailout, this time worth $20 billion. That will help some, but many farmers say a trade resolution that reopens the Chinese market is what they really want.

“We were willing to take one for the team, if it was going to be a long-term goal,” said Ronnie Russell, vice president of the Missouri Soybean Association. “But the truth of the matter is now, are we going to be able to still survive in the short term so we can be here to take advantage and enjoy that long-term goal?”

And while those who don’t farm may ask why farmers just don’t grow something else, it’s not an easy pivot — especially when it comes to grains like wheat, corn and soybeans. Farmers, like Friest in Iowa, invest thousands in land, equipment and technology.

“Our soils adapt very well to growing corn, they grown soybeans. We have the markets for them and we have the machinery set up for it,” he said.

More at the full article here.

Crime Stoppers Update and Shred Event

Champaign County Crime Stoppers has a Shred Event going on this morning by the State Farm Center (formerly the Assembly Hall). From the News-Gazette earlier this month:

Document-shredding/drug drop-off event set May 18 near State Farm Center
With the help of Triad Shredding, Crime Stoppers will shred up to two banker's boxes worth of documents, but the organization is asking for a $5 donation to pay rewards for future tips.

Examples of acceptable documents are medical records, financial statements, credit applications, bank statements, documents with Social Security or driver-license numbers, bank checks, tax records, and legal documents over 8 years old.

At the same drop-off site, folks may bring in potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs in the form of pills and patches. The DEA officials cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps.

The service is free and intended to keep unused medication from falling into the wrong hands and avoid health hazards caused when drugs are flushed or buried in landfills. No questions will be asked of the people dropping off drugs.

Full blurb here. More information at the Crime Stoppers website here. Crime Stoppers is also looking for ideas for fundraising to help it continue its Gun Bounty program that helps solve gun related crimes. WCCU had more on that with a video segment here. Excerpt:

A total of 10 handguns, two shotguns and a semi-automatic rifle were recovered as a result of the tips given to the Champaign County Crime Stoppers.

The tips were accumulated over a span of three-and-a-half month trial period for its new Gun Bounty Reward Program.

Officials said the pilot program ran from January 10 to April 26 of this year.

The program showed a 467% increase in recovered guns over the same period last year.

That article and video segment here. The News-Gazette had a blurb asking for help with fundraising, fundraising ideas, and tips:

Hecker said Crime Stoppers has a couple fundraising ideas, but he declined to share them. Last year, the group gave out $9,800 in rewards.

Crime Stoppers gets money from court fees, fundraisers and donations.

If you want to help out, or to submit a tip anonymously, head online to 373tips.com.

The full blurb available here. Crime Stoppers is also looking for nominations for its Dave Benton Crime Fighter Award before the June 1st deadline. From WCIA:

The Dave Benton Crime Fighter Award is an annual award established by Crime Stoppers of Champaign County in honor of former board member and WCIA-TV anchor Dave Benton. Each year this award recognizes the Champaign County citizen who most exemplifies the crime-fighting spirit that Dave Benton exhibits during his award-winning newscasts, programs and his tenure on the Crime Stopper’s Board of Directors.

Nominations are open to all residents of Champaign County. The intent is to recognize an individual who has made a difference in the fight against crime. The recipient must have been involved in an onoing activity or program that helped to stop a crime, solve a case, or made a big difference in resolving a dangerous situation that made a neighborhood, community or the whole of Champaign County safer. Criteria for nominations are very general in order to avoid limiting the kinds of activities that would qualify and maintain a broad appeal to all citizens.

Full article here with more details. More on the award and nomination process from the Crime Stoppers website here.

Nursing Home Updates

Earlier this month it was reported that the Nursing Home recently sold by the county was being fined. The News-Gazette listed out the violations as occurring when the County still owned the facility. From the News-Gazette:

Five area nursing homes fined for violations found during inspections
Five nursing homes in the area have been fined in connection with recent violations found in state inspections, according to an Illinois Department of Public Health report for the first quarter of the year.

The list includes the former Champaign County-owned nursing home in Urbana (now University Rehab Center) and the former Heartland of Champaign (now Champaign Living Center at 309 E. Springfield Ave., C). Both are now under common ownership as a result of recent purchases.

The former county nursing home was fined $25,000 for a type A violation noted on a Nov. 28, 2018, inspection. A type A violation is the second-most serious violation category in which a substantial probability that death or serious mental or physical harm either will occur or has occurred.

The former county nursing home was also fined $2,200 for a type B violation found in a Dec. 19, 2018, inspection.

Full article here. In other news related to the new owner of the old County nursing home and other nursing homes in the area, Rothner linked companies also own and have been shuffling around ownership of the Inman building in downtown Champaign that serves a retirement community and offers senior care. From the News-Gazette this week:

Inman Place gets new owner; no changes expected
Inman Place, a senior independent living community in downtown Champaign, is under new ownership...

Inman Place was sold March 29 for $2.95 million to the new Evanston-based Champaign Atied LLC, doing business as Inman Place Senior Living, according to county and state records.

The seller was Lincolnwood-based East University LLC, a corporation managed by Brickyard Bank, also of Lincolnwood.

Brickyard Bank became the mortgagee in possession of the Inman property in 2010 after filing a foreclosure complaint against the previous owners.

The bank's parent organization, Brickyard Bancorp, is owned by members of the Rothner family, also part-owners of three nursing homes in Champaign-Urbana...

The corporate addresses for those three nursing homes are all the same Evanston address listed for other Rothner businesses and for Champaign Atied LLC.

Full article here. This is a followup on a previous Cheat Sheet post about the new owner buying other area nursing homes and recently closing one here.

Mahomet Annexation

A contentious local item for Mahomet revolves around what happens when unincorporated parts of Champaign County are annexed by a municipality. For residents this can affect their taxes, services, and regulations. For governments this can affect revenue, budgets, and intergovernmental agreements based on population, etc.

The Mahomet Daily had an article laying out the potential changes to the Mahomet annexation policy and had a nice overview of what annexation could mean to those County residents annexed into the village:

All tax dollars coming from Mahomet residents spread per the tax rate between the Mahomet-Seymour School District, Champaign County Government, Parkland College, Cornbelt Fire District, the Mahomet Public Library, the Champaign County Forest Preserve, Mahomet Township, Mahomet Road and Bridge and Mahomet Permanent Road.

Residents living within the Village of Mahomet are also subject to a Village of Mahomet tax.

Village Administrator Patrick Brown said that the Village tax rate is currently similar in dollar amount and percentage to the Champaign County tax rate on a property tax bill. A currently unincorporated property annexed into the Village would see a property tax increase of a similar amount.

Properties annexed into the Village would also be subject to Village ordinances, such as the leaf, and brush burning, which prohibits the practice, and construction and driveway permits.

Brown said that those annexed into the Village would receive Village services such as service from the Mahomet Police Department instead of the Champaign County Department, snow plowing, brush and limb pickup and those residents would not have to pay the out-of-Village fee for Mahomet Parks and Recreation programming.

Unlike some other municipalities, annexation in Mahomet is unique in that there are two water districts that serve residents and it has an abundance of parks, waterways, and interstates.

Full article with more information here. Last month these changes became a focal point of opposition to the annexation of the Briarcliff subdivision. From the News-Gazette after a village trustees vote in favor of annexation:

In opposing annexation, numerous residents have said they don't believe there are enough benefits to being part of the village to warrant added taxes, and many have said they wish to preserve the rural lifestyle they enjoy outside village limits.

The annexations approved this week will add about 300 people to the village's population.

Prior to the regularly scheduled meeting, about 20 people held signs in opposition to annexation outside the Cornbelt Fire Protection District training facility on Main Street. The session was moved to the Cornbelt facility in anticipation of a larger crowd than most trustee meetings, and the move was warranted. Dozens of people filled the training facility room for the meeting.

More details at that full article here. Some were threatening to sue to block the annexation before and after the vote. The News-Gazette explored the legal issues in a Law Q&A article this week:

Can a city or village forcibly annex your property, thereafter subjecting you to city real estate taxes?

Generally, a city can only forcibly annex property if it is adjacent to the city's boundary and is wholly bounded by one or more cities or is wholly bounded by cities and the state line (including being bounded by rivers or lakes in counties of certain larger sizes).

Forcible annexation can also be done when the territory to be annexed is wholly bounded by municipalities and a forest preserve district or park district.

However, annexation cannot be had to the surrounded territory if it is more than 60 acres. Thus, if your house lot is surrounded by other house lots, and the sum of the size of the encirclement of all the house lots is more than 60 acres, you are safe under the current legislation in Illinois...

The public policy behind forceful annexation is to prevent enclaves arising which might interfere with the orderly growth of cities because of the geographic disruption to the flow of city infrastructure and services.

It's tit for tat. While you may start paying higher property taxes because of the annexation, you will get city police and fire protection, and possibly sanitary sewage service. But the argument against forcible annexation is the American sanctity of land ownership free from the unwanted intrusions of the tyrant king. Hence the 60-acre exception is a policy counterbalance...

The objection raised by the owners adjacent to the East Central Illinois village has to do with whether the unincorporated territory is properly wholly bounded under the requirements of the annexation statute.

Full article with more information here. What's next? It depends on if there's a lawsuit. From the previous trustees meeting:

The subdivisions in question are said by Mahomet leaders to be either completely surrounded by, or partially touching, village boundaries, making them eligible for annexation.

"Essentially, what happens next is going to depend on the area subdivisions," village President Sean Widener said.

The Tuesday vote doesn't mean the subdivisions will be immediately considered within the village limits. Widener noted that the village must file paperwork with the Champaign County Clerk's Office and finish the process of official annexation.

I'll leave it to the lawyers to figure out the odds in fighting it.

County Board Updates

This post covers the last regular County Board meeting in April and the May Committee of the Whole meeting yesterday. The full April meeting isn't yet available on the County Clerk's YouTube channel, but the Clerk recently said videos will be available again soon. The News-Gazette's coverage of the April regular County Board meeting focused mainly on the 5 year financial outlook presentation:

Ogden's report detailed financial pressures the county is under:

— The state's cut to county income-tax revenues has cost Champaign County $422,000 year-to-date, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposing the continuation of this cut.

— Less revenue is being distributed from the Personal Property Replacement Tax on corporations and partnerships due to the state's diversion of those funds...

— A 10-year capital facilities plan, which does not include the sheriff's office and downtown jail, calls for addressing deferred maintenance "to keep its buildings from declining." That plan calls for spending $1 million on infrastructure in 2020.

— The county is considering developing a strategic technology plan to update or improve software for everything from tax-cycle work to jail management, law enforcement and animal control...

— A ruling in the Carle property-tax exemption case could leave the county liable for as much as $2.65 million, not including possible interest.

Ogden's report forecasts expenses to outpace revenues in the general fund to the tune of $400,544 in 2020, $629,436 in 2021, $955,783 in 2022 and $999,970 in 2023.

Full article with more information here. The full Five Year Financial Forecast is available here and includes many of the challenges the County faces from critical building maintenance to dire technology problems on top of budgets already operating with tight belts and skeleton crews. From the "final thoughts" summary:

The Forecast has been prepared based on conservative revenue assumptions, including modest property and sales tax growth and the extension of income tax cuts. Forecasted expenditures assume consistent growth in personnel costs and modest increases in commodities and services costs. Deviations from these assumptions will have a subsequent impact on forecasted revenues and expenditures, particularly in the later fiscal years.

The Forecast does not included funding to replace the County’s financial system although this is an urgent need that can no longer be deferred and must be managed with currently available revenues. Upon issuance of an RFP, and receipt of responses, the County will have a better idea of the system cost. It is expected there will be limited Public Safety Sales Tax funds available beginning in FY2020 to partially fund the system. Unfortunately, there is a projected structural deficit within the General Fund. Unless new revenue sources are secured, it is essential the County restrict expenditure growth to the maximum extent possible within these funds in order to ensure it has adequate financial resources for its financial system and facility needs...

In May, a resolution establishing the FY2020 budget process will be presented to the Finance Committee. The County Executive will provide budget instructions to Department Heads and Elected Officials in June, followed by meetings in July to begin developing the FY2020 budget. By this time, more data will be available to better analyze revenue and expenditure performance in the current fiscal year and fine tune projections for the upcoming fiscal year.

Full report here. Yesterday's Committee of the Whole touched on the Five Year Forecast topics repeatedly and also had a few presentations of its own. The meeting ran over three hours, adjourning at just about a quarter to 10 o'clock. Here are links to the presentation materials for now: the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation presentation, the Circuit Clerk's presentation for the Criminal and Traffic Assessment Act, and the Champaign County Reentry Council's Third Quarter Report (page 27 of Agenda Packet, page 30 of PDF file). I'll be highlighting these presentations more later when board videos become available again.

Outside of the presentations, the meeting was fairly contentious on budget challenges facing the board and more Democrats concerned about the County Executive's exclusive appointment process. Member McGuire began the budget discussion by proposing a measure to help balance the budget. He offered an amendment to Resolution Adopting Champaign County Financial Policies on the agenda (page 13 of the packet, page 16 of the PDF) that would require a supermajority of 15 votes for budget increases over 2% without matching cuts or added revenue to cover the costs.

McGuire pointed to the financial forecast and argued that the county simply can't spend more money it doesn't have. A handful of Democrats questioned the mechanics of the amendment with County Departments, while members McGuire and Goss reiterated the necessity due to the County's financial situation in the aftermath of the Nursing Home sale. The amendment voice vote was close enough that it fell to a hand vote which failed to pass closely along party lines. The originally worded policy resolution then passed.

The next debate was about amending the County Executive's proposed budget process (agenda page 20, page 23 of the PDF) with priorities for technological upgrades, including those related to the Capital Asset Replacement Fund and election equipment upgrades. The debate fell mostly along party lines again with Republicans standing by the original language. Members Goss and McGuire argued that the process described already allows for all departments to make their case for funding to the County Executive who is tasked with creating the budget. Attempts to prioritize departments over others was painted as unfair and unnecessary.

The debate also covered previous equipment issues raised by the prior Republican County Clerk and accusations both directions about hypocrisy of a long standing issue that the board made the previous clerk make do with. Several Democratic members argued the security and technology concerns with elections has only grown with the equipment becoming more outdated and unsecure. Member Goss emphasized the importance of qualified people over software and made a dig at the recent property tax bill delays and new Democratic office holders.

The County Executive weighed in towards the end noting the changes with the new County Executive form of government. She said the language had been removed as a compromise with member Goss (as the Finance Committee vice chair). She explained how she intended to outline the process and why. She said she'll listen to department heads and she will listen to the board in the process. A suggestion to split the vote between the Capital Asset Replacement Fund language and the election technology priorities was accepted and voted on separately. Both passed by roll call vote, with heavier Republican opposition on the second half. The final process was approved as amended by roll call vote with heavy Republican opposition again.

There was some information presented about the General Corporate Fund Budget Projection that mentioned a call with Moody's on Friday in which the administrative staff hoped to retain their bond rating.

The Finance Chair report was delivered by a visibly irritated member Goss. He criticized the "highly paid" County officeholders for failing to attend County Board meetings again, specifically targeting the Treasurer and calling her incompetent outright. He criticized the County Clerk for being too busy lobbying to get the taxes right and complained that if the shoe was on the other foot they'd be screaming at the previous Republican office holders and not blaming old software. He reiterated concerns about the debt and pointed to mail in ballots as a sensible alternative to some of the election needs.

The final argument of the evening also involved the County Executive and Republicans appearing to defend the new process under the County Executive form of government with the majority Democrats arguing to ensure the board is included in that process. Fortado and other Democrats argued that they had an advise and consent role in the appointment process. They argued that without more transparency into the application process they weren't able to give informed advise and some were willing to start voting against consent under those circumstances. Republicans argued that the process was reasonable and that the complaints were ridiculous. They pointed out that its hard enough to get applicants to do these important appointed jobs and people might say it's not worth it if it gets tainted with political maneuvers.

The debate escalated to a crescendo, quite literally, as member Rector loudly criticized the Democrats for angry partisan politics. It's a criticism he's leveled in the past, but the Democrats were able to point to the appointee specifically being debated over at the moment being a Democrat himself. The Democrats laughed a bit at Rector's expense, but the Republicans may have gotten the last laugh. The Democrats merely pointed out that at a public and recorded meeting they were having open disagreements between Democratic board members and the Democratic County Executive to the point they were seriously trying to undermine a Democratic appointee that the Republicans were happy to vote for.

The appointment passed 12-9 on a roll call vote. The remaining appointments passed easily by voice vote, though a couple votes had some audible nays. The meeting rushed to an adjournment at approximately 9:45pm.

Community Coalition Meeting and Walk as One Event

[UPDATE: Local coverage and video segments of yesterday's Walk as One event are available here from WCCU and two segments here from WCIA. The News-Gazette also had an article covering the walk here.]

Tomorrow Wednesday May 15th, the Champaign Community Coalition will be having a Walk as One event (WILL coverage) in the 'North End' to connect people with their neighbors and information. Here are two of the information cards for the event. The first one is for folks who want to volunteer and participate and the other is information for residents in the neighborhood (click to enlarge):

Last week's Community Coalition Meeting also announced a new location for future meetings. From the News-Gazette coverage:

Parsons also announced that this year's Walk as One event, which promotes peace and community resiliency, is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 15 at Salem Baptist Church in Champaign. This will be a door-knocking initiative to hand out information to the north end neighborhood about the city's summer community programs and crisis-response efforts for gun violence.

And after three years at the library, the coalition will again move its meetings. The regular gatherings will now take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month at the Holiday Inn, 101 Trade Center Drive, C.

More at the full article here. The full article describes in detail plans towards community forums within 36 hours of a gun violence incident to connect the community affected with resources (a post on the first of these forums here). The aim is interrupt the cycle of trauma and violence. It's also to react almost as if to a natural disaster, to ensure the community has the tools and resources to deal with the fallout of these events.


More from the meeting...

Police Chief Updates: This week is Police Memorial Week and there will be an event for local departments at West Side Park at 11:15am on Friday May 17th.

Shooting incidents involving multiple shooters (with multiple types of bullet casings at scene) occurred in both Champaign and Urbana. The chiefs laid out their reports of shootings, including some with injuries and at least two homicides at the time of the meeting. Since the meeting a 14 year old was also killed: more on that in today's paper here. The campus police for Parkland and the University of Illinois are expecting things to slow down some as students leave in their areas. U of I police reminded folks of the Youth Leadership Camp coming up again.


The Champaign Park District had an announcement for their Summer Neighborhood Block Parties program with the latest dates and locations at the link.

Among the other program updates was an announcement that Urbana would be starting a pilot program modeled after the Unit 4 "Goal Getter" program. More information that from WCCU:

After seeing the success of Champaign's Goal Getters Program, community activists in Urbana decided to create a similar blueprint, for what they will be calling, The Urbana Youth High School Program.

The program will focus on students who have struggled socially and academically.

The program is expected to begin in June, which will include 16 sessions over the summer and will run through the school year as well.

Full blurb with video segment here. The project was pending final approval, although I'm not sure if that will be coming from the City of Urbana or the District 116 school board at this point (perhaps both?). More on the announcement to the Urbana City Council from the News-Gazette a week ago here.

There were some updates on the progress of the iRead/iCount program through the United Way. They're going to be looking for volunteers who can give an hour a week to help with basic reading skills, including improving letter recognition. More information available at this WCIA interview from January here. Flyer (click to enlarge):

Bend the Arc had a presentation on white nationalism locally, including active white nationalist groups in the area. They are going to have an event later this month on the subject. I'll post an update with that information when available.

Mothers Demand Action had information about their Wear Orange event working with Truce and the Champaign Park District next month: Saturday, June 8th 2-5pm Douglass Park at 512 E Grove St, Champaign, IL 61820.

The meeting ran low on time at the end and a couple of the hurried presenters were invited back to a future meeting:

• The Money Mentors program at the University of Illinois Extension
• Community Data: Mixed Methods for Community Centered Design which appeared to focus on how algorithms by various entities we interact with could be reinforcing previous problems (e.g. feedback loops of red lined neighborhoods causing discriminatory results in your Amazon purchases)

There was also information about the Leadership Development Academy's 4 week summer program (click to enlarge flyer):

There was more, including an overview of the "Embracing Your Past" event last month. A post on that will be coming up after a little more research.