County Board Independent Challenge

Here's a follow up with a few more details of the challenge to the independent candidate for County Board District 4, Cathy Emanuel. She's challenging incumbent Republican Jim McGuire (more on that here). From Tom Kacich's local politics roundup in the News-Gazette yesterday:

Emanuel on the ballot

Cathy Emanuel, whose petitions to run as an independent candidate for the Champaign County Board were challenged, has won the right to run in the November general election. She will challenge Republican Jim McGire in District 4, which includes parts of southwest Champaign and the rural and suburban parts of southwestern Champaign County.

A challenge to her petitions was withdrawn last week after she presented affidavits proving the validity of 18 signatures.

"The voters signed the affidavits confirming their signatures and so that brought me to the number I needed for the 529 signatures to get on the ballot," Emanuel said.

After having collected the signatures originally, Emanuel said she went back to the voters to ask them to sign the affidavits.

"They were amazingly cooperative and supportive of it," she said. "Some of the voters were pretty indignant. They said, 'Wait a minute. I've been voting at this address for 15 years. Why am I being challenged?'"

Emanuel said she paid about $1,800 for legal representation in her appearance before the county electoral board, which handled the appeal.

"I'm pleased that I'm going to be on the ballot and that there will be one more choice, and now we go forward," she said.

Full roundup article here.

Crops and Agronomics

The News-Gazette had a couple good overviews of the crop situation with prices threatened by lower tariffs and an otherwise strong growing season. The wonky article had a summary for layman:

Doug Gucker: Crop, Stock & Ledger | Area crops moving rapidly to maturity
...
 Right now, the crops are looking good from the road. The corn is tall, green with good kernel set. Soybeans are podded to the top and still blooming and the plants are tall, some over 4.5 feet tall. Currently, the corn growing degree day decision-support tool at the Midwestern Regional Climate Center is projecting area corn to reach maturity or “black layer” (R7) stage between midand late August. This is a couple weeks ahead of normal, so harvest may be starting earlier than normal.

The next three weeks are the critical grain-filling stage for both corn and soybeans. This period will determine whether we have areawide bin-buster yields or not. The possible “flies in the ointment” to above-average yields are the current lack of subsoil moisture reserves and the possible return of above normal temperatures across the central region of Illinois.

Ag folks can get more details out of the full article. They had an article geared for the layman as well:

Crops looking great, but low prices taking luster off expected yields
While farmers are concerned about talk of trade and tariffs, they've also been busy growing what could be a record crop.

"It's looking really good," said Mark Pflugmacher, who farms in northern Champaign County. "We could use a little rain on the beans, but the corn looks phenomenal ... This is shaping up to be one of my best years on corn..."

In the second week of July, corn conditions are about 82 percent predictive of yields, and in the last week of July, soybean conditions are about 76 percent predictive of yields, Scott Irwin and Todd Hubbs wrote last month.

In June, based on these conclusions, they predicted average yields of 49.5 bushels per acre for soybeans and 176 bushels per acre for corn.

If those hold up, this year would be the fifth year in a row that yields were above the trend line average.
...
Higher yields are good for farmers, but that's not to say the relatively low corn and soybean prices aren't a concern.

"We're seeing crop prices swinging 20 cents a bushel per day. I have no idea where it's going to be," said Dennis Riggs, who farms near Sidney. "All it takes is a tweet, and it will go up or down."

"Commodity prices are below the cost of production, so in order to pay the bills it helps to have more bushels," said Jeff Fisher, who farms near Tolono.

While prices affect when and how farmers sell their grain, Riggs said, "the only thing we can do is grow as good a crop as we can."

Full article with a lot more information here.

RPC Reentry Program Expansion

[UPDATE - The News-Gazette had a slightly longer blurb on the Regional Planning Commission's expanding reentry program (highlighted in a recent Cheat Sheet post on the last County Board meeting):

Link to the eEdition section here.]


The News-Gazette had a short blurb on the Regional Planning Commission's expanding reentry program (highlighted in a recent Cheat Sheet post on the last County Board meeting):

Link to the eEdition section here.


[Updated. Originally posted 7/24/2018 at 6:21am]

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

Preparing Kids to Survive Active Shooters

In a follow up of other "Stop the Bleed" training in the area, area teens are also learning at summer camps to stop their friends from bleeding to death if and when their schools are a target of an active shooter. A sign of the times? The "cost of freedom?" I leave it to the reader to decide. From today's News-Gazette:

Stop the Bleed: Teens get a lesson in trauma response
Instead of relaxing by the pool on their summer vacation, 75 teens were thinking about worst-case scenarios Thursday afternoon. While learning about health care procedures at Carle's three-day Scrub Camp, they were also taught how to survive a school shooting.

"Even if they're in a library, we think every kid should know how to stop their friend from bleeding to death," said Mary Beth Voights, nurse practitioner and coordinator of trauma services at Carle...

The students were split into groups to test what they learned by practicing putting tourniquets on one another, making sure they were tight enough to stop the blood flow of a potential injury...

The national campaign Stop the Bleed has been offering presentations to public schools since last year. Now, Carle's trauma department offers Stop the Bleed training to schools in a 21-county area of East Central Illinois and has trained nearly 1,200 school employees through its hour-long training presentation.

"We start with the schools because students are a captive audience, and it's where the most traumatic injuries have occurred in groups," Voights said. "Schools are where we see the biggest mass shootings."

Moore said local schools have been receiving Stop the Bleed kits — with instructions, quick-clotting gauze, gloves, a marker and a tourniquet — which are installed near their automated external defibrillators.

"We want to teach not only schools but churches and assembly centers what to do during a traumatic event," he said. "For now, we'll start with places where big groups of people gather. Our next goal is to hit the universities. And soon, it has to go out to everyone."

Full article here.

County Poverty Rate

A slight improvement of the county's poverty rate from last year was in a recent poverty report that also points out that we still have a high poverty rate compared to most Illinois counties. From the News-Gazette's "Go Figure" article today citing a report by the Heartland Alliance:

Nursing Home Sale Delayed

The Champaign County Nursing Home sale was expected to go through around the end of July, but has been delayed by a requirement for a hearing by a state board:

Sale of Champaign County Nursing Home delayed at least until late October
A planned sale of the Champaign County Nursing Home is being delayed until after a state hearing process later this year.

The sale of the county-owned nursing home to Evanston-based Extended Care Clinical LLC and Altitude Health Services Inc. will require the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to approve a certificate of need, and the next opportunity for that won't be until Oct. 30.

In this case, approval of a certificate of need would mean the state board has reviewed the nursing home sale proposal, and believes the transaction is needed.

Involvement by the state planning board isn't typically required for sales of long-term care facilities. However, sales of government-owned nursing homes are an exception, according to Mike Constantino, a project reviewer on the planning board staff.

County Interim Administrator Deb Busey said she anticipates the hearing before the planning board will take place Oct. 30, which makes the earliest possible date for the sale to close Oct. 31.

More details, including further requirements of the sale and additional opportunities for public input, in the full article here.

Reentry Housing in Champaign Followup

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. From Wednesday:

Residents, landlords weigh in on housing code at Champaign council meeting
...
Those who have been to prison told the council that they've experienced landlords who automatically reject rental candidates if they have a criminal background. Some landlords and property owners then acknowledged that that sometimes happens, especially among big companies.

However, the landlords and property owners argued, city code allows them to further ask a candidate about their criminal record without the fear of being reprimanded.

"I had a person who just came out of jail, and I rented to them," said Janice Vidovic, a property manager and realtor in Champaign. "That was my choice, because Champaign allows us to ask."

The council hasn't formally discussed the issue in a public meeting, but several council members said Tuesday night that they'd like to put it on the agenda. The council has the option to repeal or modify the code's language.

An online petition urging the council to remove Section 17-4.5 was set up by CU Indivisible and Bend the Arc: CU.

And both the Champaign County Board and Racial Justice Task Force have formally encouraged the city to repeal the code.

Full article from Wednesday here. And the News-Gazette also had a little bit more yesterday:

Citizens and Champaign City Council members divided over city code
...
From here, Stock said he would like to start over and discuss the petition more thoroughly and deliberately.

He said there's likely not enough council support for repealing the section only, but modifying it is on the table.

"There's going to have to be a compromise," he said. "I've always felt that the five years part was too long."

Other council members said Tuesday that they're also open to modification discussion.

Those who have voiced objection to Section 17-4.5, including members of the FirstFollowers re-entry program, note how barriers to housing can lead to recidivism, disproportionately affect African-Americans and enable a "lifetime sentence" treatment.

Local landlords and property owners have said the section allows them to further ask about an applicant's criminal background without fear of being reprimanded.

That full article is available here.

ICE in Champaign County

Today the News-Gazette had a breakdown of METCAD (Metropolitan Computer-Aided Dispatch) data on ICE notifications in the area over the past couple years:

Records show ICE activity on rise in Champaign County since 2016
...
Champaign County has been a frequent stop for ICE agents in the past two years, with agents making stops at 70 addresses in Champaign, Urbana and Rantoul during that time, according to records obtained by The News-Gazette under the Freedom of Information Act.

Champaign County METCAD records show the dates, times and addresses of where ICE agents have operated since the practice of notifying local authorities in advance began in January 2013. The agency’s cooperation started after Rantoul police received a missing person report, only to learn later that the person had been taken by ICE. Officials said that asking ICE to call ahead of their visits would help prevent something like that from happening again.

METCAD records since mid-2016 show that agents have targeted majority-Hispanic neighborhoods and workplaces staffed by immigrants, as well as making frequent visits to the county courthouse and satellite jail. All are places ICE is authorized to work.

— In the second half of 2016, ICE agents made 15 stops in Rantoul, 13 in Urbana and five in Champaign.

— Last year was busier. Of the 54 addresses visited in 2017, 39 occurred in four months (February, April, June, August). Stops at the satellite jail and county courthouse also increased, from three in the latter part of 2016 to 14 in 2017.

— Through the first six months of 2018, METCAD logged 10 calls from ICE, most recently before two May visits to the satellite jail and an April 27 stop at Rantoul Foods.

The full article has more details and local feedback, including advice on how to prepare for a breadwinner being taken from your household. For those more familiar with the issue and the difference between ICE "detainers" as opposed to arrest warrants, they also had an additional bit on the Champaign County Sheriff's current policy:

For example, Champaign County Sheriff Dan Walsh has said he won’t honor “detainers,” the term for written requests that a local jail or other law enforcement agency keep an individual for an additional 48 hours after their release date to allow ICE agents extra time to decide whether to take that person into federal custody.

Walsh bases that stance on a decision by the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals directing him not to. However, he’s quick to add, ICE is “free to pick someone up when they leave jail,” based on “out” dates the sheriff’s department itself gives ICE when asked for them.

“We go by what the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals says,” Walsh said. “It’s a requirement that they have to have a judge-signed court order, not a detainer signed by an immigration officer. But if they have an arrest warrant, we’ll honor it like any other arrest warrant.”

Independent County Board Challenges

[UPDATE - The challenge was dropped and the Electoral Board has adjourned (so never mind on that hearing on Thursday). From the County Clerk's Twitter feed:

]

This is a followup to the challenge against Cathy Emmanuel's Independent bid for County Board District 4. More information on that at this Cheat Sheet post: Objections and County Electoral Boards. Tom Kacich had an opinion piece supporting more non-partisan changes to County government, but also covered some important explanatory information about the situation.

Tom Kacich | Independent wants board to become less partisan
Cathy Emanuel of Champaign, a member of the county nursing home board of directors and a past candidate for the Champaign City Council, is taking an unusual route to the county board. Rather than run as a Democrat or Republican, Emanuel hopes to run as an independent.

No one has run for the board as an independent in recent memory, if ever, and independent candidates for any office have not had a lot of success in this area...

Emanuel wants to run in County Board District 4, where only Republican Jim McGuire is on the ballot. District 4 includes parts of south Champaign and the entire southwestern quadrant of the county.

But a challenge has been filed to Emanuel's candidate petitions, and it's possible the three-member county electoral board will vote later this month to keep her name off the November general election ballot...

Emanuel's petitions are being challenged by Larry Kearns, a Republican precinct committeeman and a Tolono Township trustee. He contends that more than 80 of the approximately 600 petition signatures gathered by Emanuel and her allies are invalid for various reasons. If that contention is upheld and those signatures are ruled invalid, she would have only 515 signatures, just short of the 529 signatures an independent candidate needs to get on the ballot in District 4.

That steep signature requirement doesn't apply to Democratic or Republican candidates because it's the Republicans and Democrats who make the election rules.

Full opinion piece here. The next hearing of the Electoral Board is July 26th at 9am (more explanation of what that is exactly is here). Champaign County Clerk Gordy Hulten has told me that the hearing is open to the public. Normal Courthouse security procedures apply (i.e. no phones or laptops).


[Updated. Originally posted 7/17/2018 at 9:01pm]

Reentry Housing Issue

For some background, CU Indivisible has laid out an overview of the issue which I've shared in a Cheat Sheet post here. More on the Racial Justice Task Force recommendations here.From the News-Gazette today:

For felons, Champaign's housing code a hindrance
When a person returns to society after prison, the clock immediately starts ticking.

To reintegrate back into civilian life, most journeys start with finding sustainable employment and housing. Time is of the essence as each post-release day and week goes by.

The longer one goes without employment or housing could heighten their chances of falling back into the criminal justice system. Once a month has passed, James Kilgore argues, a person's future is likely determined.

"Some people even talk about the first week being the most critical," the former Symbionese Liberation Army activist said about his own recovery after spending 6 years in a California prison. "It's real easy to lapse into depression or self-medication — a downward spiral."

As co-director of the First Followers re-entry program, Kilgore navigates people through the stark changes that life after prison can bring. He's also part of a push to modify the portion of Champaign's city code that allows for housing discrimination against certain former inmates.

Chapter 17 of the code concerns human rights, and section 17-4.5 was added in 1994 to allow "discrimination in the leasing of residential property based upon a person's record of convictions for a forcible felony or a felony drug conviction or the conviction of the sale, manufacture or distribution of illegal drugs," up to five years after release.

Despite that, the section states that it shouldn't be used to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, disability and other protected categories.

More at the full article here. The key problem with the current language is that it pretends that the results of our criminal justice system haven't already built discrimination into their results. As we've found out time and time again on the national and local level. For example, from a recent RJTF presentation to the County Board (direct video link here):

There was a presentation by Ryan Huges and Doctor Carolyn Randolph from the Racial Justice Task Force advocating for the Community Engagement recommendations to be adopted. They discusses a project (more information here and database here) in coordination with Dr. Bev Wilson and U of I students collecting and analyzing criminal justice statistics in the area from the County Sheriff's department, Jail, Circuit Clerk, and four other police departments. One example they noted was that controlling for age, sex, and type of crime across five departments, Africian-Americans were still four times more likely to go to jail than white suspects.

And it starts early. Unit 4 is already trying to address "pushout" that criminalizes young black women (more on that in a Cheat Sheet post here). The school to prison pipeline isn't some concept foreign to Champaign-Urbana here. Local school disciplinary data shows racial disparities in local school districts and individual schools right here in Champaign County: Education Racial Disparity Data. At every step of the way from police contact, to bail, to legal counsel, prosecution, sentencing, and reentry,... many minorities experience the same justice system differently than whites. Racial disparity rears its ugly head even while controlling for factors other than race.

It is dangerous and unnecessary to throw our hands up in the air and take no responsibility for the discrimination with a law that directly perpetuates it. We can't willfully ignore the other problems and not become complicit in them.

The counter-argument given in this article turns the whole issue on its head. They make it sound like they could no longer screen problematic tenants, which is bass-ackwards. It would require them to actually screen for problematic tenants in order to deny them housing and not just assume all convicts are problematic tenants. There are plenty of completely legal and valid reasons for landlords not to rent to someone with or without a criminal conviction. All of the safety concerns of victims and limits on predators are still there.

The scare tactics are unfortunate given that this language was originally changed without any of the nightmare scenarios being the driving force. In fact, it was exactly what you'd expect it to be... they brought it on themselves. There was zero-regard for inequities in the system or any expectation of rehabilitation or redemption. The message was clear (click to enlarge):

As our community has tried to improve on race and equity, this language remains an anachronistic stain on our community. HUD and the Housing Authority have documented the need for better housing access nationally and laid out why they're also starting to end such restrictions. They perpetuate discrimination and increase recidivism (HUD guidance here).

It's worth noting that this applies only to renters. A wealthy fellow who pleads out to the same felony can still buy a house right next door. It would be illegal to discriminate against him for that conviction. He could rent it out. He could legally discriminate against tenants in the same situation. He could be your landlord. That says it all really.

Bumblebees and Home Sales

A couple quick county related blurbs worth mentioning in the News-Gazette this weekend. First, if you see a bumblebee nest, say something! From yesterday:

Be on the lookout for bumblebees

Bird watchers, hikers, farmers and anyone else exploring East Central Illinois’ wild places — or even backyards in urban areas — are asked to be on the lookout for any wild bumblebee colonies this summer. If you come across one, researchers at the University of Illinois would love for you to contact them and let them know.

Ling-Hsiu Liao, who works in Professor May Berenbaum’s lab in the entymology department at the UI, said researchers at the university are starting a new project studying the phytochemical composition of honey of the bumblebee colonies. But, she said they have had a hard time finding wild colonies this summer. She said they decided to enlist the help of the local community in finding some nests...

Anyone who runs across a nest of these fluffy pollinators can contact Ruben Martin Blazquez by email at rumabl@illinois.edu or Ling-Hsiu Liao at liao19@illinois.edu.

Full article with tips and tricks to identify a bumblebee nest here. There was a recent science article on the urban refuge cities may be providing bumblebees from agricultural environments where they're struggling in the LA Times here. And the monthly home sales numbers for June:

Slightly more homes were sold in Champaign County this June compared with a year ago.

Champaign County home sales up slightly in June over 2017
According to the latest report from the Champaign County Association of Realtors, 391 homes were sold, up 1.82 percent from the 384 that were sold in June 2017...

The average home-sale price in June was $195,470, up 4.9 percent from $186,277 a year ago.

Halfway through the year, the area has seen a significant uptick in new home sales, with 88 sold, compared with 43 a year ago...

Despite that, the total number of homes for sale in the Champaign County area dropped 10 percent from a year ago, from 974 to 874.

The average mortgage rate was 4.57 percent in June, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, up from 3.89 percent a year ago.

That's projected to increased to 5.1 percent by June 2019.

Full blurb on that here.

The Week Ahead: 7/22 - 7/28

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:

Champaign City Council Study Session w/ First Followers Presentation July 24th at the Champaign City Council chambers (more info and how to attend here) at 7pm. This relates to the housing ordinance issue and the exemption (more information on that here and a recent letter to the editor by the CU Tenants Union here). Support among local organizations continues to grow.

Build Programs Not Jails meets Wednesday, July 25th at 7pm at the Independent Media Center. Meetings are every other Wednesday at 7pm at the IMC.

The Housing Authority of Champaign County Board of Commissioners has its monthly meeting Thursday July 26th at 3pm at their offices at 205 W. Park Ave (agenda here when available).

The Housing Authority of Champaign County's new Executive Director reaffirmed the board's focus on expanding reentry opportunities in the community and the problems exacerbated when people with conviction histories are denied access to housing. He pointed out that HACC is still working with the Champaign County Reentry Council towards that end and he is reaching out to community organizations and government bodies in the area to work together on that and other issues.

County Calendar:

The Labor/Management Health Insurance Committee deals with benefits issues for County Staff which is probably mostly interesting to County Staff. Agenda and previous meeting's minutes here.

On Wednesday there is the Developmental Disability board (agenda packet here). If you're interested in finding out more about county Mental Health and Developmental Disability programs and agencies they can be a bit wonky. They are, 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. 

The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting Thursday doesn't appear to be addressing any solar farm issues this week (upcoming agenda here). Board page here. The solar farm issues appear to have mostly moved on to the Environment and Land Use Committee that's waiting for the 30 day review period to move their preliminarily approved rules to 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

Champaign County Voter Alliance

First off, here's a quick description of who they are from their website:

The Champaign County Voters Alliance (or CCVA) is a local non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the Voter Turnout in Champaign County by as much as possible. In doing so we hope to create a more representative democracy of citizens.

As an organization, we are strictly nonpartisan. We strive to invite all political opinions to the table for an open and honest discussion of what it means to be a citizen of this county. We strive to educate the citizens of this county on the options they have available to them. We will not endorse any specific candidate.

Their next meeting is September 27th at the Champaign Public Library at 7-9pm, but in the mean time you can check them out on social media and get involved in events and the work they do on facebook and Twitter. Be sure to check out their non-partisan Candidate Guide!

Yesterday's meeting covered some of the county and campus data on voter registration and turnout over the past 16 years. The slide show presentation is available here with charts and graphs. Here's the county wide data showing total voters registered versus voters turning out for various primary and general elections (click to enlarge):

More graphs with individual detail are on the slide show presentation here. The gist of the data shows an increase in voter interest in 2016 and local races since after years of fairly steady and low turnout in most elections. The groups goal is to improve voter participation and education in the area and eventually try to scale what works to other counties as well.

So how do they work to improve voter participation? "Register, Research, VOTE!"

From doorknob campaigns on campus, to flyers on community cork boards, to door to door and event outreach... they're working to get people registered to vote. A lot of people are already registered to vote, but should verify their registration is up-to-date.

They provide a non-partisan candidate guide and have been successful in getting candidates to respond to questionnaires for additional information on why they're running and where they stand. It's an extremely helpful tool for looking up candidates on your sample ballot or mail in ballot so that you can cast an informed vote, even on local races where it can be tough to find information on the candidates.

They'll also be participating in events to encourage people to get to the polls, vote by mail, and early vote as those options become available in the lead up to the election. The CCVA website has a quick and easy homepage with quick links to help on all three fronts: register, research, and voting!

The meeting itself had discussions on the doorknob hanger design and ideas on how to make it as inclusive as possible to all potential voters. They're looking for volunteers with a graphic design background that may be able to help with that aspect.

There was quite a bit of discussion of the time gap between registering students to vote and the voting day itself and how to make sure the folks getting registered make it to the polls later. With the early voting and vote by mail options, this may be mitigated somewhat. The group plans on having events to encourage getting out to vote throughout that gap. They're also looking into voting promotion events such as GOTV concerts and events locally. County Board member Pattsi Petrie was in attendance and emphasized her concerns on addressing the interest drop off over that time gap.


Looking ahead:

They already have about a third of the candidates responses to their questionnaires (from gubernatorial candidates to the County Board) and roughly half already have given a preliminary response towards doing so. They had a lot of success with this in the primary, so they appear on track to repeat that broad participation in the general as well.

Quad day events and volunteer opportunities to register and get information out are coming up soon.

They're reaching out to other organizations to piggy-back on their efforts to get people registered and get out the vote, from local activist groups, high school groups, interfaith groups, etc. They'll be trying to get more information out via letters to the editor as well.

If you're interested in spreading the word or simply getting more information on early voting and candidates, check them out!

Transportation Planning and Public Input

Do you have transportation needs or ideas that you wish local government would consider. Wish there was bike access here, or rail access there, or parking somewhere else? They want to hear from you and they have an interactive map where you can plop down your input and get support from others. From their website:

Area residents have helped shape transportation in the area. In the past, residents have voiced to the Champaign Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study (CUUATS) the desire for a high-speed rail line to Chicago, more bike trails, and restructuring road corridors to help with traffic flow and safety, among other projects.

CUUATS needs public input to continue implementing innovative transportation projects. Residents of Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, Tolono, Bondville, and Mahomet may post comments directly on the map web page. Public input shapes the content of the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and people may suggest ideas for all modes of transportation: walking, driving, biking, taking the bus or train, or riding on an airplane. CUUATS staff will set up information tables at local events to explain the initiative to the public and collect feedback on transportation.
Rita Morocoima-Black, Director of Planning and Community Development, passes out water bottles and information packets

“It’s difficult to get people to come to meetings, so we like to set up information tables at popular public events around the region” explains Ashlee McLaughlin, a planner with CUUATS. “People seem to really appreciate that we come to their neighborhood. Once we explain the project, people are happy to provide input, good or bad.”

CUUATS completes an updated LRTP every five years. The plan helps secure transportation project funding from state and federal transportation agencies. The plan models proposed projects using a suite of models to predict and evaluate transportation conditions and impacts 25 years into the future. “It’s almost like our brochure for the funding agencies,” says McLaughlin. “When they have funding, or they are looking for places to invest in certain types of projects, the LRTP is the main document for seeing what our regional priorities are.”

Area residents can directly place their comments in the correlating location on the interactive map. People may also star or “like” other residents’ comments if they agree. The map’s web page includes a transportation survey to gauge current and future mobility trends in the area, as well. McLaughlin says the public will shape the 2045 plan by providing feedback.

“That’s the most exciting part for us because it’s a total unknown until we go out and talk to our fellow community members,” she comments. “We received over 2,000 comments on a variety of topics last time and we are continually working to improve our outreach methods.”

More information at the link, including upcoming area events where they'll be looking for more public input.

County Board 7/19

Reminder: Last month's County Board meeting is available on video now at the County Clerk's YouTube channel for those waiting for it. This month's video is already up and available here.

Last night's County Board meeting saw another failure to consolidate the County Recorder's office into the Champaign County Clerk's office.  From today's News-Gazette:

Champaign County Board votes to keep recorder around
In July 1968, Democrats on the Champaign County Board proposed eliminating the independent elected position of recorder of deeds.

The elimination never happened.

Exactly 50 years later, another generation of county board Democrats proposed the same thing.

And once again, it won't happen.

On Thursday night, the county board voted 15-7 against putting a question on the November ballot asking for the elimination of the office.

Five Democrats joined all 10 Republicans to ensure the status quo...

In other business, county board member Robert King said he will be resigning because he is moving to upstate New York, where he will work with students at Cornell University in residential programs there.

"I absolutely have enjoyed my time on the county board," King said. "I had a chance to work both with folks with the same opinions and differing opinions, and it has been great."

Full article here. According to the County Clerk, County Board member Shana Jo Crews, a Democrat representing District 9 also resigned last night. This page will be updated soon to reflect those changes and any appointment or election updates that result.


Meeting overview:

Public participation started with a couple Scottswood development residents pleading for more assistance in cleaning up their neighborhood. Two citizens explained their efforts towards encouraging better maintenance and organizing a low cost neighborhood mowing service to help those efforts.

County Recorder Mark Shelden made his argument to keep his office elected and separate from the County Clerk's office. He argued that his office is running effectively as is and the proposed changes couldn't be absorbed as explained by proponents of consolidation. He explained that simply replacing him with a lower paid staffer wouldn't work unless quality was reduced or other responsibilities of the County Clerk and staff suffered. Meanwhile the Democratic County Executive candidate Darlene Kloepel argued it made fiscal sense and was an unnecessary complication and expense for voters.

The Reentry Council Report was filed without any significant discussion. Member Petrie noted that she had some additional questions she'd be taking up with the Council. That report is available here on page 14 of the agenda packet PDF (page 9 on the printed version).

The Agenda items were generally passed unanimously and with little significant discussion outside of the Recorder's Office vote. The other exception was an question and answer session with a guest from the Regional Planning Commission about a criminal justice related grant and program (that required Board approval to go ahead). There weren't a lot of specifics yet as the project will be entering the planning phase in the near future. Board members pushed for specifics, but the RPC representative only had broad information at this time. The general consensus was that this was an important and positive victory for the County and appreciation was noted for the hard work behind the competitive grant process (RPC is only one of 41 organizations awarded the reentry funds). The program description (from the agenda XIV. New Business, Item 4.) lays out the general idea:

Multi-Year Federal Funding to Service Over 188 Young Adults Ages 18-24 Who Reside in High Crime & Poverty Census Tract Areas in Probation, Court or Detention or are High School Dropouts. Based on the Needs of the Target Population for the Project, Evidence-Based Interventions and Practices will be Implemented Including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Structural Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress, Intensive Mentoring & Development of Support Groups, Job Coaching and On-the-Job Training and Development of Apprenticeships in Building Trades. RPC & Community Partners will Utilize a Positive Youth Justice Framework that will Guide Development of Career Plans and Case Management to Positively Impact Employment and Reduce Recidivism Rates with High-Risk Young Adults.

More updates on this program as I find them.

There was an item authorizing more appropriations for litigation costs with the Carle Property Tax issue. Petrie and Administrator Busey discussed the complexities that prevent a full accounting of the County Costs as the issue is intergovernmental and multifaceted. There doesn't appear to be a way to track to compare costs to potential gain back to the county if successful.

The Recorder vote had a quick amendment attempt to change the starting date of the change to the end of the election cycle for the office (2020 instead of 2018 in the current wording for the referendum). That failed in a tie vote 11-11. The motion itself failed 7 to 15. I believe the yes votes were Patterson, Summers, Tinsley, Crews, Douglass, Fortado, and Chair Weibel. I was expecting a bit more argument, but folks seem to have gotten that mostly out of their system last month.

McGuire thanked all those who volunteer and work on the elections in relation to their approval of Election Judge appointments. They truly make this whole crazy democratic institution function. 

Petrie thanked Deputy Administrator Ogden for all her hard work on the ADA report to the Department of Justice (with additional information available at the very end of the agenda packet).

The Board went into closed session about a county employee/employment issue prior to adjourning.

Champaign County Crimestoppers Award

[UPDATE - The News-Gazette had additional photos and details of the event they published on August 12th and available in their eEdition here.]

Champaign County Crime Stoppers awarded a local Central High School administrator for running towards the sound of danger to usher people to safety. From today's News-Gazette:

Crime Stoppers honors Central admin for actions during shooting
Brandon Thomas and Bryan Yacko were doing what they had done countless Friday nights before at Champaign Central High School — keeping a watchful eye on the crowd leaving after a basketball game.

But for the Champaign police sergeant and the assistant principal, Dec. 15, 2017, differed markedly from previous Fridays — when gunfire outside the 83-year-old school building created fear in the departing crowd and wounded three young people.

As Thomas, the police sergeant, ran with other officers toward the shots, Yacko the educator, radioed to coworkers about what was happening, then headed toward the shots to direct people back inside to safety.

For his quick thinking and action, the 38-year-old Yacko was honored Thursday with the Dave Benton Crime Fighter of the Year Award by Champaign County Crime Stoppers at its annual meeting in Savoy.

The award is named in honor of the late television anchorman who served on the Crime Stoppers board for many years prior to his death in 2015.

Full article here.

Area Transportation Lab

There's a place in Champaign County where local government, State government and our area University, renowned for engineering, are collaborating in ways that may affect local government transportation options everywhere: The Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory. From the Wednesday News-Gazette:

UI's transportation lab in Rantoul could soon get test track, 'smart city'
...
Self-healing roads are just one of the innovative areas where the Illinois Center for Transportation is in the vanguard. And it's all happening in Rantoul.

The center is located at the Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory, tucked away in the northeast corner of the former Chanute Air Force Base. Researchers from the University of Illinois and other universities in Illinois and nationwide, as well as the Illinois Department of Transportation, study transportation-related issues there.

And while it is already the place to be for transportation-related research in this area, it might get a lot busier.

The center, which sits on 47 acres of the former base ("Most people don't know we're out here," said Kristi Anderson, financial operations manager) could grow exponentially in size. A proposed project — housing a 1.9-mile test track where vehicles could reach speeds of up to 65 mph — would add 257 acres to the site.

"In the middle of the (site) will be a smart city with different opportunities to test different types of transportation," she said...

The UI's lab spans 67,000 square feet of laboratories with three main buildings. The center's accelerated transportation loading system enables researchers to evaluate different transportation systems "under real environmental and loading systems, whether it be trucks, aircraft or rail systems," Anderson said.

Its mission includes implementation of technologies that improve safety and reliability, reduce congestion and impact on the environment.

IDOT is one of the center's largest sponsors. Since 2005, it has contributed $77.2 million worth of funding for the facility.

The new smart transportation initiative, under the UI College of Engineering, will focus all transportation research under one umbrella, pulling together academia, government and industry, Anderson said. Its mission will be to accelerate development and deployment of automated transportation with a focus on freight and autonomous vehicles. The UI, Northwestern and University of Illinois-Chicago are assisting with the project.

More at the full article here.

Solar Farm Tour

The Champaign County Sustainability Network (or CCNet) had a presentation and tour of the U of I solar farm yesterday and brought out a lot of folks interested in the new county rules on solar farms. The County Board will be voting to implement those rules next month after the 30-day review period required (more on that at this Cheat Sheet post). For a quick peek at the presentation, they provided a fact sheet and slide shows from the presentation:

• Fact Sheet
   
• Presentation Slide Show
   
• Photo Timeline of Construction

Agricultural Impact Mitigation (protecting the topsoil for later use) was brought up by County Board member Pattsi Petrie who was in attendance and a discussion ensued about panel spacing and the effect on areas that get less moisture over time. There appeared to be more questions than answers on this issue at this time, however. On the tour the ground cover of plants was uniform, though growth was did appear stunted a bit under the panels compared to in between.

Morgan White, the facilitator of the presentation and tour, was asked about County rules, but it did not appear that the University was following the County's work on that closely. Petrie noted the 30 day review period and emphasized the boards need for input.

A lot of the details that were discussed can be gleaned from the Fact Sheet. There was some discussion about the co-generation of both steam being used for heating as well as to drive turbines for electricity and a brief overview of the chilled water system (odd factoid: apparently the chilled water generators are partially steam driven, though they prioritize electric powered chillers).  They have a thermal energy storage tank to help deal with intermittent power issues from energy sources such as solar that vary. The University also has a wind power purchase agreement with another site and multiple smaller solar installations.

They also discussed some other sites and projects from a biomass boiler that allows for field to flame on-site handling of material and energy production. Research and testing sites are scattered around the area, such as the Solar Decathlon House which is available for conferences.

Land use efficiency came up, especially as it applies to spacing required for optimal fixed tilt. The optimal tilt of a single row versus multiple and the cost benefit limits of variable tilt panels were discussed. Reduction of efficiency of solar panels over time were discussed in the context of long term viability. The gist appeared to be that over a long period of time the units would still produce significant electricity, but with less efficiently in regards to cost per kilowatt as well.

Noise was discussed. The primary source of noise come from the cooling units on the inverter cabinets (where all the direct current electricity from the panels runs to and is converted to alternating current for the grid). The rural units we saw on the tour weren't insulated for sound and were similar to the noise you'd hear next to any small commercial building's rooftop AC unit. For a city dweller it may not be very annoying or noticeable depending on your situation/proximity. For folks wanting a quite country existence with nothing but the sound of nature, some sort of sound dampening and distance would probably be required. A quick video with me speaking a couple feet from the microphone at an indoor voice level (adjust volume up to hear background versus voice noise):

The inverters tend to be centralized in the middle of the panel rows for electrical and logistical reasons. In this case they're along a column road for access, down the middle of the solar farm.

There were some questions about the solar farm having an extended down time recently. This was apparently due to a parts backlog after the hurricanes last year causing a dramatic wait. Only one inverter was affected, but as they ran in series, that took the whole farm offline. The design has been modified to allow partial use in similar scenarios in the future.

The University appears to be going by the assumption that they will purchase the farm and continue to use it (and have first rights to do so) after the 10 year contract and perhaps even 25 years out. At that point it comes down to future circumstances and how cost effective it is to keep. The University therefore doesn't have any immediate concerns about decommissioning costs that the County Board does and that Petrie raised during the presentation.

When it comes to other environmental concerns like pollinators or pollinator improvements, this site is generally controlled by the vendor on those issues, though the University can encourage such improvements. They are looking at those issues more in depth for a future solar farm expansion, however. (more on pollinator issues on the Cheat Sheet here).

There was a discussion towards the end of the presentation about land use efficiency, both in the context of killowatts produced, but also economic and agricultural production. Wind farms do take up space around each turbine that adds up, even though it's spaced out, whereas solar farms are necessarily condensed in their land usage. Wind has overall advantages here, but the disadvantages are that wind blows more at night and more in winter... which aren't peak electrical usage times, generally. Proximity and ability to connect to the grid plays a role as well.

People's Hearing on Middle Fork Toxic Spill

[UPDATE - In national news directly related to toxic coal ash regulation from Reuters yesterday:

U.S. EPA eases Obama-era standards on toxic coal ash
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday it has eased Obama-era standards on the disposal of toxic coal ash, a move expected to be the agency’s first revision of the standards and one that was slammed by environmentalists.

The 2015 rule established minimum national standards for the disposal of coal ash, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants that contains materials such as arsenic and lead.

The EPA said the revision would give flexibility to utility companies and states, which had fought against the standards calling them unduly burdensome, and save $28 million to $31 million per year in regulatory costs...

Under the new rule, state and EPA officials will be able to suspend groundwater monitoring requirements at coal ash sites if it is determined there is no potential for pollutants to move into certain aquifers. The rule also extends the life of some coal ash ponds from early 2019 to late 2020.

Coal ash is stored at hundreds of power plants throughout the country. Spills in Tennessee and North Carolina leached sludge containing toxic materials into rivers in those states over the last decade...

The EPA said on Wednesday it plans to propose other changes to the 2015 coal ash rule later this year.

Full article here.]

A "People's Hearing" on Monday June 11th will be held to get public input and inform the public on the coal ash pits seeping toxic chemicals into the Middle Fork River. More information is available at their facebook event page and they also had a blurb in the News-Gazette recently:

People's Hearing to Protect the Middle Fork
It's Our River!  Let's Protect It.
Join neighbors and friends at the June 11 People’s Hearing in Danville. Now is the time to call on the IEPA and Governor to protect the state’s National Scenic River by ensuring the removal and relocation of coal ash to a properly-constructed, monitored landfill away from the river. Coal ash includes toxic heavy metals like arsenic, chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel that are known to cause birth defects, cancer and neurological damage in humans and harm and kill wildlife, especially fish.

Senator Scott Bennett, Vermilion County Board Chair Michael Marron, and Danville’s Mayor Scott Eisenhauer will preside over the meeting. The hearing will include a ten-minute overview of the problem and solution under consideration before hearing from experts.

More event details and contact information at the full blurb here. There was also some background information on the issue and players from the News-Gazette yesterday:

Dynegy faces federal lawsuit over coal-ash pits on Middle Fork
The Prairie Rivers Network, which hopes to force Dynegy to clean up coal-ash dumps along the Middle Fork River, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the power company is allowing harmful pollution to leach into the river upstream from Kickapoo State Recreation Area.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Urbana, asks the court to declare that Dynegy is violating the nation's Clean Water Act at its former coal-fired Vermilion Power Station along the banks of the Middle Fork and order the company to cease all unpermitted discharges of pollutants into the state's only National Scenic River, as well as pay civil penalties.

In January, Prairie Rivers Network and Earthjustice officials announced the filing of a 60-day notice of intent to sue Dynegy, which closed the Vermilion Power Station in 2011 — the same year that sampling from underground monitoring wells on the property detected levels of boron, manganese and sulfate in excess of groundwater quality standards.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency declared Dynegy to be in violation as a result of that sampling.

Though the power station has been shuttered for several years, three pits remain there filled with coal ash left over from decades of the coal-burning process. The ash contains contaminants, like boron, manganese and more, that can be harmful to the environment.

A lot more information, details and background at the full article here.

Following up on these previous Cheat Sheet posts: Local River Endangered (4/10/2018), More Coal Ash News (3/2/2018) and Coal Ash Cleanup in the News (2/9/2018).


[This post originally published on 6/1/2018 at 4:43pm]

County Board and the Recorder Preview

Whether or not the County Recorder's office is superfluous and its duties made part of the County Clerk's office doesn't seem like a political question. Would it be cheaper? Yes. The office is self-funded now and would be if it was happening under the Clerk's office too. There's an honest discussion to be had on whether having a separately elected head of the office is necessary or just more complications in local governance. But the seat is held by a long time Champaign County Republican Party politician and party player. These types of seats are often used by political parties to springboard careers. Each party's partisans will happily explain how they're being the rational and objective ones here.

I leave it to the reader to decide whether one side, the other, or both are playing politics. More importantly: whether it's relevant to the key question of whether they find the extra elected office necessary to ensure the Recorder honestly performs his duties, or whether holding the County Clerk accountable would be sufficient. Use the links on this page to your County Board members to let them know how you feel. From the News-Gazette today:

Round 3: Recorder’s job back on agenda
...
Tonight, the board is expected to vote on whether to put a binding question on the November ballot asking voters if the recorder’s office should be rolled into the county clerk’s by December.

That’s a change from the original proposal, which called for nixing the office in 2020 — the end of Recorder Mark Shelden’s four-year term.

Shelden, a Republican, said his office funds itself through recording fees. He added that he knows of only a couple of people who support the change.

This will mark the third time in five years that the board has considered this measure. Democrat Shana Jo Crews, who could not be reached for comment, is leading this push.

When the subject came up at a board meeting last month, Republican member Jon Rector called it “borderline ridiculous” and “totally political.”

Interim County Administrator Deb Busey said eliminating the position would save $60,000. Busey said only 13 other Illinois counties — including Vermilion — have a recorder.

The full blurb is available here. The County Board meets tonight at 6:30pm (agenda here). If you'd like to attend a County Board meeting, you can find more information on how to attend here. Probably one of the more contentious items is the referendum proposal to merge the County Recorder's office into the County Clerk's office. The current Recorder is Mark Shelden, prominent in Champaign County Republican Party politics, so there are concerns by Republicans that this is more political than reformative. The vote to put it on the ballot was delayed and discussed at the last regular County Board meeting.

UPDATE: From the News-Gazette after the vote:

In July 1968, Democrats on the Champaign County Board proposed eliminating the independent elected position of recorder of deeds.

The elimination never happened.

Exactly 50 years later, another generation of county board Democrats proposed the same thing.

And once again, it won't happen.

On Thursday night, the county board voted 15-7 against putting a question on the November ballot asking for the elimination of the office.

Five Democrats joined all 10 Republicans to ensure the status quo.

That full article is available here with some the details about cost savings versus concerns about keeping the office independent as well as some of the political and partisan realities.

UPDATE: 10/22/2019: The issue appears to be coming up again with the 2020 election. More on consolidation at a recent post here: Merging County Clerk and Recorder