More County Updates

There were a few other items outside of the County Board Updates posted earlier worth pointing out, including candidate petitions, MTD grant funding, Chambana Proud, and apartment companies complaining to the Board of Review. First off, it's filing time today for candidates in Champaign County. From the News-Gazette last Friday:

The Champaign County Clerk’s Office will begin accepting petitions for candidates running for countywide offices in 2020 at 8 a.m. Monday.

Petitions can be brought to the clerk’s office at 1776 E. Washington St., U, through 5 p.m. Dec. 2 — with the exception of Nov. 28-29, when it will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Filings will be accepted for countywide offices up for election next year, including auditor, circuit clerk, recorder, state’s attorney and coroner, plus five county board seats and precinct committeemen.

More details at the full blurb here and the County Clerk's website here. The MTD is getting a boost in grant funding towards its expansion project. The Daily Illini had an overview here with links to more coverage and information:

U.S. Representative Rodney Davis announced Wednesday that the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District has been awarded more than $17 million in grant money from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Buses and Bus Facilities Grant Program for the Illinois Terminal Expansion Project.

The $25 million Expansion Project is just one part of a $250 million project in downtown Champaign called “The Yards,” which will include a 175-room hotel, convention space and a possible hockey arena for a Division I Illinois hockey team, according to The News-Gazette.

In a press release, Davis praised the award and the benefits the partnership with developer Core Spaces will bring to downtown Champaign.

More at the full article here. Additional coverage from WILL here and an overview of "The Yards" project from Smile Politely here. Smile Politely also highlighted a new collaboration called "Chambana Proud." Excerpt from the press release:

Chambana Proud, a joint collaboration with Visit Champaign County, the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, and You’re Welcome CU, officially launched at ChambanaProud.com to bolster pride among residents of the area...

Following the initial launch of this campaign with Weiskamp Screen Printing, Reifsteck and McCrory plan to bring these designs into local shops and destinations bringing in visitors. Long-term, they expect to add more designs available on multiple items from canvas bags to mugs.

Additionally, Chambana Proud will continue to find ways to create community ambassadors, seeking input from what residents love about Chambana, to ultimately creating an ambassador program that helps recruit and welcome newcomers to the area.

More at Smile Politely here.

Earlier this month there was also some coverage by Tom Kacich about apartment building owners raising complaints about appraisal rates to the County Board of Review. From the News-Gazette two weeks ago:

Ever-growing apartment construction in Champaign-Urbana is increasing vacancy rates and depressing monthly rents, according to apartment building owners who have filed property assessment complaints with the Champaign County Board of Review.

Although most of the recent apartment construction has been focused around the University of Illinois campus, the assessment complaints come from owners of properties away from the Campustown area...

In any case the new construction is sure to increase the local apartment vacancy rate now estimated at 10 percent or more.

Raymond Timpone Jr., owner of the Stratford Apartment in downtown Urbana, told the board of review that an 18 percent increase in his development’s assessment was unjustifiable.

Full article available here.