Candidate Information

I've updated some of the local race information with additional links to candidate interviews and news coverage. Here's just a bit of what has been added:

In the County Board District 6 and District 10 races, Smile Politely has had interviews with the Democratic Primary candidates. In District 6 they have interviews for Dr. Charles Young and DeShawn Williams. And in District 10 they have interviews for Connie Dillard-Myers and Mary King.

Smile Politely started out with an overview of the Judicial races in the primary:

In just over a month, on March 17th, Champaign County and the rest of the State of Illinois will have their primary election. Though the Presidential election is obviously important to focus on, it’s equally pressing to consider our options at the local level. If you’re not one that pays attention to politics in general, you probably have a tendency to overlook these races until there are a bunch of names on a ballot, some of which you might recognize from yard signs. I was once this person. We don’t want you to be that person, so we’ll spend the next couple of weeks highlighting a few of the races that you should be paying attention to. Smile Politely does not do endorsements, so it’s up to you to sort out who you feel should represent you in these county level offices. First up, the race for circuit judge in Champaign County. 

More at the full article here. More at our Judges page here. The News-Gazette had coverage of the latest State bar polls where legal peers rate judicial candidiates:

Of seven lawyers running for two Champaign County judgeships, three have been not recommended for office by their legal colleagues.

Of the four Democrats who want to be their party’s candidate for the vacant seat of now-retired Judge Michael Jones, Urbana attorney Ruth Wyman was “not recommended” in the Illinois State Bar Association poll released Friday afternoon, netting the lowest rating of any judicial candidate in the Sixth Judicial Circuit...

The lawyers who choose to fill out the ballots are asked to also rate candidates on their integrity, impartiality, legal ability, temperament, court management skills, health and sensitivity to diversity and bias.

More at the full article here, including some comments by those candidates who explained their disappointment with the poll and how voters should interpret the results. The article gets into the general methodology of these polls where one could understand where their arguments are coming from.

There are still a lot of opportunities to learn more about the candidates in the Champaign County Voters Alliance non-partisan candidate guide, from their campaign links, or at one of the many meet and greet events happening all over the area. Generally if you look at the candidate's social media or website they'll have the latest information on upcoming events you can attend.

This past week there were two meet and greet events that involved County candidates for office and more than a little drama. I'm still trying to piece together exactly what happened at the downtown and campus events, but so far it seems that the county candidates were caught in the middle of local party factionalism. The downtown incident had more to do with the U.S. Congressional race and the Party divisions at that level. The campus incident appeared to involve the local County Democratic Party leadership clashing with student leaders. More details to come as (or if) I can sort through the rumors and verify anything informative.

Local Coronavirus Preparation Updates

With the latest updates nationally with community spread incidents on the West Coast, it's worth highlighting some local information sources and coverage about how to prepare for an increasing number of cases in the United States. The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District put out this informational flyer for the public:

More information available from their facebook post and facebook page for updates. The CDC has the national updates here. Some of the basics in that flyer were also reiterated in Tom's Mailbag today. WCCU had some coverage yesterday:

While there are no known cases in the C-U area, the virus is known to spread quickly around the world.

Now, the Champaign Urbana Public Health District is warning residents in the Champaign area to prepare for the spreading of the virus.

In a Facebook post, it tells people to prepare to stay in their homes for at least two weeks, in case you get sick.

More at that full article here with a video segment. The News-Gazette had additional information on preparation yesterday here:

Preparing for coronavirus? 'It's not as simple as slapping a mask on your face'
...
[Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator Julie Pryde] urged everyone looking to buy N-95 respirator masks to consider that these masks are going to be most urgently needed by health care workers and supply is running low.

She and Healy also advised taking similar precautions used to help prevent the spread of flu.

While there’s not a coronavirus vaccine, there are other protective steps, among them washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, disinfecting surfaces touched by sick people, staying home when you’re sick, covering up coughing and sneezes and staying alert to updates from public health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That full article here.

Champaign County Updates

This week had a lot of updates in the news related to Champaign County government. This post has links and coverage including:

• More Republican duplicate ballot concerns with the County Clerk's office.
• Housing Authority highlights that minimum wage growth isn't keeping up with housing costs.
• NOAA Weather Radio outage additional information.
• Champaign County Drug Court being re-certified.
• An overview of the State's Attorney's courtroom duties and restitution process.
• Update on the upcoming make-up Hazardous Waste Disposal event. 

Vote-by-Mail Duplicate Ballot Concerns:

Republicans have seized on social media reports that voters have been receiving duplicate Vote-by-Mail ballots. In the discussion on the facebook group, Spotted in Chambana, and the County Party's facebook post here, they also highlighted the ongoing delay in posting the generic specimen ballot. That sample ballot has since made available on the Clerk's website here. The primary complaint was the potential for multiple votes with the ballots and potential costs to the county. From WCIA yesterday:

It is Illinois law for every jurisdiction to report their early voting totals to the State Board of Elections. It is so others can cross check and make sure no one is registered in two different counties.

According to the state, Champaign County and Alexander County are the only ones who have not been recorded. The practice is part of a 2005 law that has those records available online for state and local political committees. Former County Clerk Mark Shelden remembers the procedure when he was in the office. He says when they talk about security measures, he is not sure why they have not taken care of this one...

Shelden brought up the scenario that right now, someone who has voted in Champaign County can register in another county and they would not be able to tell they already filled out a ballot. County Clerk Aaron Ammons declined to comment on the response from Republicans and the lack of early voting records with the state.

Full article here. The Republicans posted images of the reporting system and an explanation of their concerns here on the County Party's facebook account. On the Spotted in Chambana thread, County Board Member Mike Ingram weighed in on the duplicate ballot issue:

As one of the people who allocates money to the clerk's office, you better believe we're pissed off about this. There's a glitch in this old clerk website that will send out as many ballots as are requested, not catching doubles. Meaning if you forgot that you'd already requested and requested another, you'd get both. Or if you hit refresh or thought the page didn't load, it'll generate another. We're paying for a very expensive new website for the clerk and I can't wait for it to be done because everything we find out about it now is a problem. It's been patched together on an old system for years. Seems like security all checks out, but there's quirks like this everywhere.

Either way, only one ballot gets counted. These are all coded uniquely to the voter, so if a second one came back from you it would throw up an alert. I've been very curious about stuff like this and that part of the system is good, thankfully. Apparently this is a thing that has happened a few times in the past.

That comment link here with a lot of Q & A replies. The question remains if the additional concerns the Republicans are raising now allow the potential for multiple votes by the same person in some situations including or regardless of the duplicate ballots. The concerns appear speculative at this point, but I'm still waiting to get more information.

Housing Authority on Affordable Housing Crisis:

The Housing Authority of Champaign County (HACC) was in the news this week pointing out that the modest increases in Illinois' minimum wage aren't enough to make up for the increasing costs of housing. WAND had a basic overview and video segment:

On Tuesday, the Housing Authority of Champaign County held a panel to discuss affordable housing.

One of the main topics discussed was affordable housing and the barriers being faced in Champaign. Even though construction costs for housing developments are remaining stagnant, housing prices themselves continue to be on the rise.

Right now, the average person makes about $10 per hour, and in order to live in most apartments in Champaign, a person should be making close to $16 per hour.

That full article here. A bit more from the News-Gazette:

And while [Sheila Dodd, manager of the city of Urbana’s grants management department, has] been glad to see Illinois’ gradual increase in minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, Dodd said, she fears the cost of housing will continue to rise along with it.

Those burdened by unaffordable rents face difficult budget decisions, such as paying for housing or food, and can they afford health care, said Chad Hoffman, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Champaign County...

While construction costs for new housing development are relatively stagnant, housing prices continue to rise and government regulations often unnecessarily inflate construction and housing rehab costs, according to the housing authority.

That full article here. The HACC had a brief description and photos on their facebook page here.

NOAA Weather Radio Outage Updates:

Today's web version of Tom's Mailbag has an additional item on the NOAA weather radio outage and the complications that led to it. The cabling for such a high power antenna appears to be one of the primary issues mentioned before, but it appears to go far beyond replacing the coaxial cable to your cable box:

"A year ago January during the high winds a section of the weather transmitter coax came loose. The copper from that coax became exposed and when it touched the tower it created a problem for DWS on full power. So quickly we got our tower crew up to patch up the coax and fix the broken standoffs that keep the coax from touching the live tower.  Unfortunately our fix while helping NOAA/NWS did not let us return to full power on a day in day out basis.

"So when severe weather season began I made the decision we’d limp through this situation until tornado season passed.

"We finally got an understanding with the NOAA contracts division that they had to be off the tower ahead of the 2020 severe weather season.  We found them a new site that the Lincoln office loved. Unfortunately the government played hardball on the contract terms with Sharad Tak, my former boss who owned WKIO from 1984 thru 2000. He still owns the tower site on Neil across from WCIA.

More at that full Mailbag article here. WCCU's recent update included a note about the timing involved:

Timing is everything because as we flip the calendar ahead another month, this 40-year-old technology needs to be up and running, ready for anything.

"Because we're entering a very critical time of the year with thunderstorm season approaching", Miller adds.

The National Weather Service says the NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter in Champaign covering East Central Illinois could be out of commission for the next six months.

That full article here.

Other Updates:

The News-Gazette had an article on the Champaign County Drug Court being certified by the State prior to Judge Ford's retirement here. It included some information on Ford's Successor:

Ford has already persuaded Presiding Judge Tom Difanis to have Judge Randy Rosenbaum be his successor in drug court.

It should be an easy transition for Rosenbaum, who has filled in as the drug court judge while Ford took care of medical issues.

Additionally, when Rosenbaum was Champaign County public defender prior to his 2016 appointment to the bench, he served as his office’s representative in drug court.

That full article here.

A couple recent Tom's Mailbag articles had information about the State's Attorney Office including on the Crime Victim Restitution process and the courtroom duties of our State's Attorney.

And finally there have been some updates on the Hazardous Waste disposal make-up event being run by the IEPA with the cooperation of local governments in Champaign County. The opportunity for those who signed up, but weren't able to participate due to delays at the last event have had their opportunity to sign up for this one first. Registration is now open to the general public. More information at the registration page here:

Another IEPA-sponsored one-day Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event in Champaign County will take place on Saturday, April 4, 2020 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Market Place Mall (click this map link for exact drop-off location; you must use the designated Entrance on the day of the event!)  It is open to all Illinois residents; however, residents must register for an appointment in order to attend.  To prevent the long wait times experienced during the Oct 2019 event, the hazardous waste contractor for the collection will provide additional drop-off lines, more staff, and fewer residents will be registered in each time slot.

Previous Cheat Sheet coverage on the event here. Local coverage from WCIA on open slots here and from WCCU here.

February County Board and Committee Meetings

The County Clerk's YouTube channel has the various County Board and committee meeting videos up for the month of February:

• Facilities Committee 2/4: Video, agenda packet and Cheat Sheet post here.
• Environmental and Land Use Committee 2/6: Video and agenda packet.
• County Board Committee of the Whole 2/11: Video, agenda packet and Cheat Sheet post here.
• Regular County Board Meeting 2/20: Video and agenda packet.

There's also a video of one of the County Board of Review meetings (video here, agenda here) for anyone interested in seeing that board in action, though for an unusual circumstance. In this meeting they're looking at the charitable organization exemption for local hospitals in light of a recent ruling (more on that at this recent Cheat Sheet post here). The Board of Review's normal duties are explained on their web page here. Excerpt:

The Board of Review reviews property tax assessments in the County.  Three (3) members are appointed by the County Board after passing an exam administered by the State of Illinois.  The Board of Review meets each June to select a Chair and Secretary and to formulate and publish rules and regulations for that year's session...

Other duties of the Board of Review include the following:  intra-County equalization of property values, representing the County in all State of Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board proceedings, adding omitted properties to the tax rolls, acting on exemption requests and performing sales ratio studies.

More information, including more meeting documents here. I don't entirely understand the Board of Review yet, so that'll almost certainly be a future Cheat Sheet post. I'm especially curious where more current minutes are kept and if they're more detailed than older ones I've found, like this annual one from 2015.

There was an earlier Cheat Sheet post on the February Committee of the Whole meeting here.

The February 20th regular County Board meeting was a culmination of earlier work and discussions in the Environment and Land Use Committee on Solar farm regulations changes. Two versions of the revised regulations similarly addressed concerns about timing and the ability of localities to have sufficient notification and ability to respond to possible solar farm projects near their communities. They differed on how far outside their municipal borders and into unincorporated County jurisdiction that the balance of County versus local concerns was weighed in the process.

In both the ELUC committee and the regular County Board meeting, the issue came down to a 1.5 mile versus a half mile where the nearby municipality had greater influence on weather the solar farm would be placed there. Municipal concerns included future expansion and growth, which over the 20+ years of some solar farms could be highly unpredictable. The Mayor of St. Joseph attended both meetings (she had a five minute overview in the regular meeting here, but she spoke at length to the ELUC here) and explained those concerns in detail. There were also letters and input by proxy by other towns and villages in the County.

Another concern raised by some Democrats on the board was representation, since the unincorporated areas can't vote for the representatives in those nearby municipalities, the County has a role in representing and prioritizing their interests. Some of the nuance included whether a municipality had a Continuous Urban Growth Area (CUGA) that would give additional consideration to planned future growth. There's a wonky explanation here. Excerpt:

CUGA represents areas with multiple planning jurisdictions that are destined for urban type land uses. Area inclusion within a CUGA is largely dependent on physical feasibility and established planning for expanding sanitary sewer service. CUGA is defined as unincorporated land within the County that meets one of the following criteria:

• Land designated for urban land use on the future land use map of an adopted municipal comprehensive land use plan, intergovernmental plan or special area plan, and located within the service area of a public sanitary sewer system with existing sewer service or sewer service planned to be available in the near- to mid-term (over a period of the next five years or so).
• Land to be annexed by a municipality and located within the service area of a public sanitary sewer system with existing sewer service or sewer service planned to be available in the near- to mid-term (over a period of the next five years or so); or
• Land surrounded by incorporated land or other urban land within the County

The nuance gets even more complicated since we're mainly talking about the default process for solar farm approval. Exemptions can still be made by the County Board, but these bills differed in what distances and situations exemptions would be made versus a more straightforward approval process.

Localities would still have the ability to protest and make their case against developments they don't want, but depending on the distance they'd essentially have more leverage closer to their borders than other areas.

In the end the Democrats passed the version that weighed the County's interest more up to the half-mile of the municipality. Republicans, Chairman Giraldo Rosales and Connie Dillard-Myers appeared to join the Republicans in wanting to weigh the municipal interests more out to 1.5 miles out.


Other Issues:

The jail consolidation plans were discussed at length in the Facilities committee meeting (at the 11 minute mark in the video). For activists concerned about consolidation plans and what the hurdles and pressures specifically are, the full discussion is nearly an hour long, but addresses a lot of critical questions and issues.

The meeting documents included a letter from the Sheriff explaining some of his response to potential reform impacts on future jail populations raised by criminal justice reform activists including State Representative Carol Ammons (Cheat Sheet post including video link for recent panel event here). That full letter is here. While backing reforms in future possible legislation, he highlights the urgency of the current situation under current law, especially in the downtown jail:

At the regular County Board meeting the public participation also included advocates for criminal justice reforms to avoid adding overall bed space to the satellite jail that could create systemic and budget pressures to fill.

A concern raised by Member Goss at the COW about the County Clerk's polling place location in his district was answered and explained it appeared to everyone's satisfaction to avoid another move and the costs of reissuing new registration ID cards.

Towards the end in New Business, Member Fortado uged expediting the selection of a replacement Treasurer. There appears to have been an expectation by some for a decision sooner rather than later. She expressed disappointment it hadn't been brought to resolution at this meeting. (the YouTube video is cut off, but the streaming buffer link still has it at the 1:42:33 mark here).

The meeting ended in closed session to discuss litigation issues, which I believe was related to the property tax ruling given the news that emerged from the Board of Review afterward in support of an appeal decision. More on that here. One issue that was raised before the Board went into closed session was the timing on the agenda. It had apparently been placed at the beginning of the meeting as lawyers were waiting and possibly billing waiting for it at the end. I couldn't tell if that was just a possible concern or a definite cost issue at the time. The discussion happened at the 1:44 mark on the video (cut off on the YouTube channel, but still available on the streaming buffer here).

County Updates

This post covers recent Board of Review decisions on hospital property tax exemptions, the County Executive in the news on appointments and referendums, and the County's NOAA weather radio station being down and unavailable for possibly months.


Hospital Property Taxes:

In the recent Court decision granting Carle Hospital charitable organization exemptions on disputed property taxes over several past years, there remained a question on a decision whether or not to appeal by the County Board of Review. Previous updates on the ruling available at this Cheat Sheet post from earlier this month. A News-Gazette article previewed the two decisions facing the Board of Review on 2019 exemptions going forward and whether to appeal the decision on previous years:

Nearly a week after a judge found the Carle health system was entitled to charitable property tax exemptions for 2005 to 2011, the Champaign County Board of Review faces a decision about what to do with Carle’s property tax exemption requests for tax year 2019.

In a brief hearing before the board Monday, county Assistant State’s Attorney Joel Fletcher said local taxing authorities haven’t yet determined whether they will appeal the decision on the prior years’ exemptions.

That full article here. OSF Hospital believes that decision will aid their case for exemptions on hospital properties locally as well. They recently urged local governments to consider the recent court rulings as indicative that the law is on their side. More on that in another News-Gazette article here. The Board of Review's decisions were covered in Saturday's News-Gazette:

Champaign County isn’t ready to walk away from a long-standing dispute with the Carle health system over property taxes.

The county and its board of review will appeal the Feb. 5 circuit court decision that restored seven years worth of charitable property-tax exemptions on four of Carle’s Urbana properties, among them Carle Foundation Hospital, according to county Assistant State’s Attorney Joel Fletcher...

In the decision earlier this month, Champaign County Judge Randy Rosenbaum found Carle was entitled to partial charitable exemptions for tax years 2005-2011 on the four Urbana properties...

Based on that ruling, the board of review further voted to recommend to the state Department of Revenue that property tax exemptions sought by both Carle and OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center properties for tax year 2019 be approved, Fletcher said. Most of those properties are in Urbana.

That full article here with additional information on other specific items.


County Executive:

Yesterday the News-Gazette highlighted the ongoing appointment dispute between the Champaign County Executive Darlene Kloeppel and the County Board Chairman Giraldo Rosales. Both appear to believe that under the new Executive Form of Government that they are the presiding officer who should be making appointment decisions for County office vacancies, such as that of the County Treasurer's replacement. The State's Attorney, Julia Rietz, agreed with the County Board Chairman that in that case, State law gives him appointment authority. Kloeppel still disagrees and may be looking for additional information and guidance from outside the County:

Kloeppel said she disagrees with Rietz’s opinion on this issue, and she’s consulted her own attorney.

The legal question is whether the county executive’s authority is limited to exactly what’s specified in the county executive statute, or whether the split between executive and legislative functions under the county executive form of government supersedes other references throughout state statutes to certain functions of a county board chairman as the chief elected officer of a county, she said.

Kloeppel said she’s prepared to take the issue of appointment-making authority to court, if necessary. For now, she’s waiting to see what Attorney General Kwame Raoul has to say in response to a request for an opinion on county executive powers and duties from Will County, which also has an elected county executive.

More at that full article at the News-Gazette's eEdition here (subscription). The article points out that Kloeppel, given the urgency of filling the position, is not interfering with the appointment of the replacement Treasurer while looking for a more definitive answer on the question for the future.


The County Executive also had more information about how County government works in her ongoing guest commentary series in the News-Gazette. Last week she discussed County referendums, their requirements, limits, and other details. One relevant issue with some of the County Board primary races is changing government structure or funding services. Excerpt:

Referendums can also address the way the local government operates in ways that state law allows. In Champaign County, the county recorder, auditor and coroner are currently elected instead of appointed, and in 2016, creation of the office of the county executive created a three-branch government for checks and balances. Others can change the board structure, such as determining the number of elected board members, electing board members by district or at large, and establishing term limits. These types of referendums are usually for political reasons, although sometimes cost effectiveness or process efficiencies can be a factor as well.

Referendums also can raise funds for the addition of services or discontinue these services.

For example, in Champaign County, the mental-health board and the board for the care and treatment of persons with developmental disabilities were created by referendums that committing additional property-tax revenue for these special purposes. In 2020, the mental-health board will have revenue of $5.74 million ($28.58 per capita) and the developmental-disabilities board is budgeted at $4.37 million ($21.75 per capita) with which to fund local services. You can check out their activities at co.champaign.il.us/mhbddb/mhbddb.php.

Full article with all sorts of helpful information here.


NOAA Weather Radio:

From the weather service website:

NOAA Weather Radio station WXJ-76 in Champaign, serving east central Illinois on a frequency of 162.550 MHz, will be out of service for an extended period of time, effective immediately.

This outage is due to a damaged coaxial cable, which connects the radio transmitter to the antenna. In addition, a new tower location must be secured to prevent future damage to cabling, which could result in additional future long-term outages. The station will remain offline as the National Weather Service works to relocate the weather radio transmitter to a new tower...

While the entire process could take up to six months, we are working to get the NOAA Weather Radio broadcast online as soon as possible.

Several nearby NOAA Weather Radio transmitters also serve portions of the WXJ-76 listening area. None of these cover Champaign County (fringes of the county may receive a signal at times, but not reliable enough to use warning alarm tones). 

More information at the weather service website here. WCCU's coverage had a concise list of alternate frequencies and geographic coverage descriptions for neighboring counties here.

County Clerk Ballot Concerns

This post covers some recent additional concerns about a ballot order error on previously published sample ballots and a delay in voter registration cards. The order error is on the Democratic Primary ballot race concerning delegates for the Democratic National Convention. The voter registration cards aren't required to actually vote, but typically have important voter information on them.


Ballot Order Correction:

The Champaign County Republican Party is pointing to State Board of Elections documents as proof that the Champaign County Clerk, Democrat Aaron O. Ammons, was the source of a ballot order error for what were already corrected sample ballots published in the News-Gazette earlier this month. The ballot order error appears to be on one section involving the selection of actual delegates who would go to the Democratic National Convention for specific presidential candidates. The Republican's facebook page explained their concerns:

A couple of weeks ago we posted about the News-Gazette article concerning the mistake in ballot design by our County Clerk. Within the comments (and no doubt in other online chatter) some Democrats claimed that this was a mistake by the State Board of Elections.

The photos here are of the official certification by the State Board of Elections which were emailed to the County Clerk on January 13. This error was entirely on our County Clerk.

By the way, that article from two weeks ago also stated that the specimen would be "published on the county clerk's website." It still isn't there.

The post refers to a blurb in the News-Gazette excerpted at this previous County Updates Cheat Sheet post here and on the Republican Party's facebook page here. The generic specimen ballots were published in the News-Gazette earlier this month, apparently with the differing order on Democratic delegates being the only remaining issue. Copies of those sample ballots are available at this previous Cheat Sheet post here.

The State Board of Elections documents posted on the Republican's facebook page do appear to show a different order than the generic specimen ballots published. And as of this writing, the corrected generic specimen ballots still do not appear on the sample ballots page on the County Clerk's website. There is a link to request sample ballots specific to individual voters which is a change from previous elections. The previous automated system allowed voters to look up their basic voter, registration, and ballot information. That section of the website currently states:

Voter look up is not available now, please call our office (217) 384-3720 to verify information or e-mail elections@co.champaign.il.us

Other election information and updates are available from the County Clerk's website here.


Voter Registration Card Delays:

In last week's Tom's Mailbag there was a question about a lag in voter registration cards being sent out due to a new system:

Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons said his office is “currently processing all voter registrations. We are transferring to a new Voter Registration Program because the old program was a proprietary program that no longer has tech support.”

He said there would be “a lag in people getting their actual cards” but, he added, “they do not need them to vote. Everyone in this situation will definitely receive a voter registration card. I anticipate being able to start sending them out by the end of this week and from there it’s usually seven to 10 business days to receive it in the mail. Anyone who has registered recently is being processed and will be able to vote in the (March 17) primary.”

He said there are not a lot of people in this situation and stressed that a voter registration card is not needed to vote.

Full Mailbag article available here with additional information on when other forms of ID might be required. Example from the County Clerk's website:
If the person is a first time voter required to show ID, the acceptable forms of ID include:

• a current and valid photo ID
• a current utility bill
• bank statement
• government check
• paycheck
• a student ID along with a lease or other government document that shows name and address

More Early Voting information available here.

As usual I leave it to the reader to decide how much weight to give to these issues, from mild annoyances to concerning patterns, or maybe even valid partisan checks and balances.

Community Coalition Meeting and Other Events

This post covers the latest Champaign County Community Coalition meeting (video available here) and a few other community activities and events going on in the area that have been highlighted in local news recently.

Police Chiefs Updates:

The Police Chiefs Updates began at the 4:30 minute mark in the video. Topics included the first homicide in Champaign, a separate shooting incident at Marketplace Mall, the County Sheriff's annual report and other topics. UIPD's interim chief introduced himself after Chief Stone moved back to Ohio. and talked about the upcoming Youth Leadership Camp (more information and application for that program here). WCIA had coverage that highlighted the chiefs talking about safe spaces at local police stations for on-line and other sales exchanges. From WCIA earlier this week:

Champaign, Urbana and the U of I’s police stations are all “internet exchange purchase locations.” In other words, they are “safe zones.” That means you can go there to meet up with a buyer to make sure things go off without a hitch.

However, police officers have other tips you can use to protect yourself. “You obviously don’t know who you’re selling this stuff to, so don’t have them come to your house,” said Matt Myrick, Interim Chief of Police for UIPD Don’t let them know where you live, or your personal residence is. Meet them at a public place. If you don’t want to come to the police departments, that’s fine. But at least meet them at some kind of public place, where there’s lots of people around that you can use to get help if you need it.”

Full article here with a video segment. Urbana Police also noted the recent training completion for the new School Resource Officers (more on that at a recent Cheat Sheet post here).


Other Presentations:

A Community Schools presentation is available at the 27:00 minute mark of the video. The Community Coalition has a tight schedule so she wasn't able to make her full presentation at the meeting. A full presentation with slide links and Q & A with the Unit 4 school board is available from last week at this Cheat Sheet post here for additional information.

Jameel Jones highlighted an empowerment program for teen girls that's part of the That's What She Said Project whose national director was recently highlighted in the News-Gazette here. A quick description of the teen program from its website:

That’s What Teens Say is a 3-Day immersion program – no cell phones allowed –  that takes girls through confidence building exercises, improv games, and developing and writing their personal stories….which culminates in a final story-sharing performance...

That’s What Teens Say was originally created by Jenette Jurczyk of The She Said Project and Erin Tarr of Be the Benchmark in Champaign, Illinois. Be the Benchmark offers in depth teen and tween mentoring and confidence coaching. 

More information available from the That's What Teens Say program website here. More information on the whole That's What She Said project at their main website here.


Karen Simms had an update on the Trauma Resiliency Initiative (at the 48 minute mark of the video) that included a call for more volunteers to work on-call with those affected by trauma in partnership with Carle. More information from a TRI facebook post:

We are still looking for individuals who might be willing to provide a meaningful role in supporting individuals and families impacted by gun violence.

Whatever your gifts are – we need for you!

However, we are especially looking for individuals who :
· Might be willing to participate in our response efforts at Carle & in the community*
· Who want to make a commitment to serve on a care team to provide support to a family/individual impacted by gun violence,
· And/or individuals who want to part of our mental health support network*!

Contact information and additional details at that facebook post here. Simms also highlighted Helen Neville's work with the #PowerUp project, "a youth participatory action research project exploring youth civic and community engagement." There are couple specific neighborhood safety meetings coming up in Urbana March 3rd at Salt & Light and Champaign the month after that. More details on those safety meetings to come.

Facilitator Tracy Parsons spoke after Karen Simms and had an overview of the violence response work being done to build infrastructure and address the needs of the community through TRI and other Community Coalition efforts.


Lodgic Everyday Community had a presentation on their non-profit facility in town (introduced at the 55:50 mark in the video), the Kids Camp, events and other services. The video presentation begins here at the minute mark. A quick overview from Lodgic's about page on their website:

Lodgic is an ambitious new concept to do more of what the Moose have been doing since 1888. The Moose is one of the original fraternal service organizations that shaped the 20th century in America. We were doing great things for communities across America long before Fred and Barney joined Bedrock’s Water Buffalo Lodge.

We’ve been supporting communities, inspiring working families, and caring for at-risk children for more than 100 years. Lodgic is an all-new way for a new generation to participate in the timelessly good things we've always stood for — to work hard, take care of each other, and have fun.

More information at their website here.


There was also an overview of the upcoming 2020 Census work and the importance of getting everyone counted locally at the 1:09:30 mark in the video. It included information about what to expect, what questions Census takers don't ask and how they identify themselves. It also had an update on the ongoing hiring for Census workers and how to apply at the 2020 Census hiring website here.


Other Community Programs in the News:

An area Peace Meal program was looking for volunteers, especially for delivery in various locations in the County. From WCIA:

A program that delivers meals to seniors is in need of volunteers. It’s called the Peace Meal program, and it’s about more than just food. These volunteers also check on clients and make sure they’re doing okay. That lets them be independent longer.

Most of them would be delivery drivers. The meals will already be packaged and bagged. All volunteers will have to do is pick them up and hit the road. These volunteers can have a short conversation with the clients and make sure they’re doing okay. This is important because most of the clients are seniors and need someone to check on them. It also lets family members know they don’t have to worry. In many cases, meal deliveries are the best part of the clients’ day.

More information at the full article here. More contact information on the program at its website here and older overview from the Rantoul Press here.


There was an update on the Peace Pilgrimage of Centennial High School students to the non-violence training center in Atlanta. From the News-Gazette last week:

The trip is hosted by Centennial’s after-school Empower club, which works to dismantle rape culture and gender-equality issues.

Most of the students heading to Atlanta today are members of Empower, but others volunteered, had violence impact their lives in some way or were nominated by school administrators.

With every trip comes a price tag, but Hindes said all participants have been actively raising funds to keep costs as low as possible. Every student attending is on a scholarship, so no one has to pay full price for the trip.

More at the full article here. The group made a presentation at the December 2019 Community Coalition covered in a Cheat Sheet post here.


The United Way was in the news for it's support of local dental care and expanding services for the homeless. From a WCCU blurb:

The agency said it has committed $50,000 for three years to help Promise Healthcare cover the salary of a second dentist at the Smile Healthy Dental Center.

Another $50,000 over three years will go to C-U at Home, to help merge with Austin's Place.

Full blurb available here with a brief video segment. The News-Gazette had additional coverage and details here. The United Way also recently honored the Champaign County Community Coalition's facilitator, Tracy Parsons, as a "Difference Maker." More on that from News-Gazette coverage earlier this month:

“It’s very humbling to receive an award like this,” said Tracy Parsons, who also serves as Champaign’s community-relations manager. “There are a lot of people that I work with through the Community Coalition that helped make this happen, so it’s not an individualized award, but it’s certainly humbling, and I’m very appreciative of the recognition.”

The Community Coalition works with various local groups to improve youth development and community engagement, and curb gun violence...

The United Way of Champaign County noted that Parsons works at all hours to help those affected by trauma from gun violence and that he also mentors young people and supports after-school opportunities.

More information about the event at the full article here. Parsons reiterated his view at this February meeting that the recognition belongs to the people who attend and work through the Community Coalition to help each other.

Democratic Party Airs More Dirty Laundry

The ongoing public feud with the Champaign County Democratic Party has continued to be pushed into the public by its own leadership for months now. From the Party Chair, Maryam Ar-Raheem denouncing the racism of her party at a recorded Champaign County Board meeting to endless public fights over appointments at public meetings and forums. The County Board Chairman Giraldo Rosales clarified on his campaign website recently that he wasn't invoking Goebbels as an attack on fellow Democrats after warning fellow Democrats against using propaganda tactics.

The recent candidate forums involving the Champaign County Democrats have involved comparisons of other Democrats with the tribalism of Cuban communists and accusations of Democratic Party cliques against diversity. Now those same accusations have been made by the Party Chair in emails sent to Democrats and Republicans on the County Board and since made public.

Again the accusations appear to suggest more coordination against diversity in Democratic leadership positions. The County Board Chairman, the Party Chair, and surrogates continue to accuse other members of the Democratic Party as being a part of the effort along with "predominantly white" young progressive groups, while including African-American members, a Latina member, women and Members of Color.

In the recent emails, the Party Chair accused the African-American Champaign County Clerk of acting in a way that could be seen as supporting one side of the feud against the Chairman Rosales and his appointments:

Dear County Clerk,

I am incredulous that the gross errors listed below appear on the County Clerk website.

1. Pranjal Vachaspati is still listed for County Board 9, although Cynthia Fears was sworn in to represent the district on January 23rd.

2. The term for Giraldo Rosales is listed a "12/2016 - 11/2022". His term ends 11/2020. Please be reminded that there are no six year terms on the County Board.

Fortunately, no county board member has publicly repeated the threats that Eric Thorsland made in response to the appointment of Connie Dillard-Myers, however, one could easily surmise that you may be using your office to show support for the acrimony of the County Board members who have targeted Chair Rosales and the persons he has appointed.

I am requesting that you expeditiously take action to correct the County Clerk website.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this matter.


Maryam Ar-Raheem

The County Clerk responded by refusing to become part of what he deemed a "ridiculous feud" and pointed out that the County Party's website contained some of the same errors and out of date information:

Madame Chair,

I am responding to your email now as a member of the local Democratic Party.

Below are screenshots of the Champaign County Democratic Party's website as of yesterday AFTER you sent the email.

You all but accused me of using my office to further the ridiculous feud that is happening within the local party. Your assertion is that by not replacing Pranjal's picture and information with Ms. Fears information and picture, that I was doing something nefarious. Yet the party's website, that YOU control, still has Pranjal as the Representative for CB9. Should "one surmise that you are using your position to show support for the acrimony of County Board members who have targeted Chair Rosales and the persons he has appointed?"

For the record, Ms. Dillard-Myers called me on MLK Day to raise her concern and it was addressed within a day or two. Not sure Ms. Dillard-Myers why you thought it was appropriate to chime in on the email thread with that information but since you did, were you seconding the motion of the Chair that I was doing something inappropriate, or did you just think it needed to be said to the entire county board for some reason? I sure hope you take a principled approach with Ms. Ar-Raheem and ask her to spell your name correctly on the County Party's website as well. You were appointed before Ms. Fears so there has been plenty of time to make that spelling correction don't you think?

Let me be Crystal Clear Madame Chair. I have nothing to do with any perceived threats, or any attacks on you, Giraldo, Ms. Fears, Ms. Dillard-Myers or any other Democrats on the County Board. Your baseless attack just highlights the paranoia you have operated under since being elected to your second term and that is something I cannot help you with.

Lastly, given that we are Democrats, I am incredulous that you would send what is meant to disparage my character and ability to run my office, to the Republicans who are still reeling from losing to me and looking for every opportunity to tear me down. Maybe it was your intent for them to use your lies to hurt me... be advised, NO weapon formed against me shall prosper!

Connie Dillard-Myers added a reply riddled with misspellings, errors, and frequent ALL CAPS to repeatedly demand the County Clerk "proof, reproof, and then proof it again" in order to be a professional person such as herself. As much as that may sound like a biased description, the exact text with errors left as they appear will show it to be accurate:

COUNTY CLERK Aaron Ammons - I CHIMED IN BECAUSE IT WAS ME WHO.POINTED OUT THE ERROR IN MY NAME ON YOUR OFFICIAL WEB SITE to you and CCDChair Ar-Raheem. The initial error started on your office's official web site and spreaded from there. I can tell because one on the ELECTED OFFICIALS site was identical to the initial spelling on your site. So, this stems from your ERROR. Spoke with you that night. You changed the certificate, but fail to correct any other documents connected to you offices process because somehow it made to your website as the official spelling anyway. Why? It should have been corrected because I pointed this out before the processing of being added to the county county CLERK's official web site. This is so elementary because as professionals, we always proof and reproof your work, especially as an official governing body -- this is unacceptabl, escially since YOU are the county's record keeper. Should we be inspecting all your work? I hope this takes priority for office today and serve as a learning lesson. PROOF, REPROOF AND THEN PROOF IT AGAIN. Don't get mad. Get busy and do your job. Clean up your mess. Yall quick to criticize other but can not take it when its your turn.

Sincerely

Connie Dillard-Myers

Please note that there is only one "E" in my last name and its after the "Y"

Connie Dillard-Myers gives some weight in these emails to a couple sources that saw her appear to go after her primary opponent after the LWV Candidate Forum earlier this month. Her forum conclusions criticizing Democratic cliques and her clear disdain and frustration with other Democrats was on display there and she appears to be in alignment with the County Board Chairman and Party Chair in believing there is an organized racist effort against them. Apparently they believe this is being done even with the help of other Democratic Party members who are People of Color.

In elected offices, on the County Board, and other candidates, they have been suggesting that there is a coordinated effort against diversity in positions of power by other Democrats, even as they openly target a diverse range of Democratic Party members as being part of those efforts.


Preliminary Reaction:

A couple initial reactions from other County officials and candidates included County Board member Jim Goss:

Honestly I am more worried about our clerk and the upcoming election with new software that has not been adequately tested than I am about what I perceive as an inner party issue.  The issues at the county are larger than someone's name being misspelled.

Emily Rodriguez who is running in a primary race against the current County Board Chairman Giraldo Rosales said the emails made her cringe, but that she wasn't surprised:

In my experience, that is how old-guard Democrats like Rosales communicate with constituents. It’s one reason I’m in this race. If our most vulnerable neighbors weren’t paying the consequences, the chaos they cause would almost be comical.

On March 17, voters will decide what it means to be a Democrat in Champaign County. The progressive candidates running for Champaign County Board share a vision. We want to use the county board as a safety net for those that need it. We want to solve problems. We’re raising expectations. Every vote cast for a progressive candidate is a vote to revitalize the Democratic Party of Champaign County from the bottom-up.

Jennifer Straub, who is running in another primary race with one of the Chairman's appointees expressed confidence in the County Clerk's office:

I have total confidence in the ability of the County Clerk’s Office staff to remain neutral and professional in the way they conduct their work. 

Most of the other people involved in the email exchange or referenced in it did not respond to questions or opportunities to add their perspective.

Primary elections, by definition, involve infighting between competing interests within a party. In elections where the biggest coalition often wins, it also by that same virtue invites more competing interests to the table. Normally these battles are fought with some civility and decorum for the sake of winning in the general election. Rivalries, frustrations, and personal slights play out behind the scenes, just as with almost all human affairs. It never helps a party to hurt its overall image in the public square.

Training Opportunities

There are so many free and public training and education opportunities happening in the area, it can be impossible to keep up. This post highlights just a few upcoming opportunities in the area and/or related to local government. Topics cover tutoring, tutor training, black birthing know your rights workshop, Open Meetings Act and FOIA training, court stenography, trauma, women's shelter volunteers, and "pushout."

Project READ at Parkland College has free classes coming up for adults to get tutoring in reading, English as a second language, and math. It also offers introductory training and has upcoming classes for volunteer tutors:

Project READ provides free tutoring to adult learners who seek to improve their basic reading, writing, math, and English skills. This program is made possible by volunteers who give their time to improve the quality of life for hundreds of people in our community.

Together, we have provided support to adult learners in District 505 since 1984. Our office is housed in the Adult Education building at Parkland College in Champaign.

More links and information at the Project READ website here. Additional information for those interested in becoming a tutor for the program and taking advantage of the introductory tutoring course available here.


"Know Your Rights workshop" on Black Birthing. Smile Politely highlighted an educational event addressing the higher mortality rate for black maternity and birthing health. The program offers to educate participants on their rights to promote greater self-advocacy and safety against current systemic shortcomings. From the Smile Politely blurb:

On February 29th and March 7th, from 2-4 p.m. at Douglass Branch Library, Tafi Brown and Isis Rose are hosting Champaign-Urbana's first ever "Know Your Rights" workshop for black birthing people. This workshop will prepare families for hospital birth by addressing racial disparities in maternal health, emphasizing consumer rights, and teaching tools for self-advocacy during pregnancy, labor, and birth.

On February 29th, Chicago-based birth professionals Jeanine Logan and Shaquan Dupart of Birthworker Baes podcast will co-facilitate the workshop sharing their expertise in midwifery, herbalism, breastfeeding, and more. If you are a person of childbearing age, currently pregnant, or simply interested in black maternal health this event is for you. This event is free and open to the public. Parents with babies and small children are encouraged to attend!

Full blurb available here. The event's website with additional information is available here.


OMA/FOIA: The Illinois Attorney General's website has a couple free training modules intended for public employees who need to understand the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act rules. The training, however, is also free to the public as well here. For folks interesting in learning more about the rules of public meetings or how to request information from public bodies using FOIA requests, it's a very useful tool.


Court Stenography: For anyone interested in becoming a Court Reporter, there are local training opportunities coming up next month at the Champaign Public Library. In a News-Gazette story last month about a Douglass County court reporter retiring and there being a shortage of potential replacement court reporters to fill the role, they also highlighted this upcoming training opportunity.

Late last summer, court reporters around the state launched a series of introductory classes to people interested in the trade for which a college degree is not required.

People could sign up for four weeks worth of classes taught for free by certified reporters to see if it was worth pursuing. One of the first round of classes was taught in Champaign. There were others in another 10 cities...

The next “First Steps” classes are scheduled for March 17, 24, and 31 at the Champaign Public Library, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Full article with more information here (the portion on the First Steps classes is towards the bottom of the page). More information is available from the Illinois Court Reporters website here.


Trauma Informed Care: This week there are also continuing classes on trauma informed care by the Trauma Resilience Initiative. More information is available in the TRI presentation at the Champaign County Community Coalition covered at a previous Cheat Sheet post here. This week begins a two class training for people to become educators on trauma informed care. More details from the facebook event page:

The CU Trauma & Resilience Initiative invites you to attend our Educator training to learn how to educate others about trauma and healing!

We are looking for a few good educators and teachers who want to feel more comfortable talking about trauma!

Meet us on Monday, February 17th & 24th at the Champaign Public Library, Busey Conference Room from 12:30- 4:30 pm.

We're looking for individuals who want to help:
-Educate others in the community, their organizations, groups or
 families about trauma;
-Help share information with families, community members, and
 friends about healing from trauma and resiliency;
-Share resources with those impacted by trauma(s) and help identify
 and find healing and helpful solutions!

More information at the event page here. There's also another trauma informed care class for those working with people affected by trauma coming up next Sunday. More information on that training event here. A list of the ongoing TRI training events here at their facebook page.


Austin's Place women's shelter has training for volunteers coming up this week as well. From the CU Progressive Calendar description:

Are you interested in volunteering with Austin's Place? Come join us for one of our training sessions. We'll discuss the services we provide, go through procedures, offer opportunities to sign up for nights, and answer any questions you may have.

Saturday, February 22, 10:00 a.m.

More information available at their training information website here:

Training sessions are held at First United Methodist Church of Champaign, 210 W. Church Street, Champaign, IL.

Parking: ​There is a large parking lot behind the church building to the north, off of Hill Street.
We will gather at the entrance for training & a walk-through of the facility.
Opportunity to sign up for overnight shifts will be available towards the end of the training sessions.

Season 13 training:
January 30, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
February 22, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.

If you can't make it to the training sessions, you can still contact us about volunteering.

More information at that link here. Additional information on Austin's Place on their main website here. Recent news coverage on their future with CU at Home homeless program here. Recent News-Gazette coverage on Austin's Place here.


This is just a handful of training events that are free and/or available to the public that have been in local news coverage or coming up recently. There are other training opportunities happening regularly throughout the area. There are surely other events coming up that I'm simply not aware of or have overlooked. Sometimes digging through local news coverage and organizational updates I just don't get to them in time.

Pushout: One recent educational event that I wasn't able to get up on the Cheat Sheet in time involved a screening of the "Pushout" documentary film at Centennial High School by the C-U Black Teacher Alliance. The topic involves the disparities in perception and treatment of black girls in school, disciplinary outcomes and the school to prison pipeline. More information on that below for anyone interested in more information:

• Belated event information on the Pushout film screening that happened at Centennial High School earlier this week here on its facebook event page.
• Smile Politely interview with local founder of the C-U Black Teacher Alliance about the screening here. 
• Film information: https://pushoutfilm.com/
• Book information from Amazon here.
• TED talk on the subject by the author available here.

An older Cheat Sheet post on Unit 4 and addressing pushout is available here. A post on local education and discipline disparities here.


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HACC, FirstFollowers and FirstSteps

The Housing Authority of Champaign County has been in the news recently for their role in new reentry housing pilot program in collaboration with the FirstFollowers Re-entry Program as well as a recent federal funding announcement (more information on that funding from WCCU here). This post has information and links about the reentry housing pilot program. WCCU had an overview of the program and a video segment with interviews with FirstFollowers founder Marlon Mitchell. From their article last week:

FirstFollowers staff said it will be an adjustment. Residents will have their own room, a place to work out and a newfound sense of freedom. But the house will be supervised 24/7.

“They won't have those worries of where I’m going to sleep tomorrow? What am I going to eat tomorrow? Where am I going to work tomorrow?" Mitchell said.

FirstFollowers case managers will come up with a plan for each resident to help with anything from education or a job.

More from the full article here, including a video segment. More from the FirstSteps web page:

FirstFollowers has partnered with the Housing Authority of Champaign County to open FirstSteps Community House, a transitional residence for people coming home from men's prisons. The house officially opened in December of 2019.
​
FirstSteps offers a program for success. Our FirstFollowers peer mentors, who have been through the criminal justice system themselves and found that path to success, will support each resident on their journey back into the community. The house will be rent free for those who are admitted. 

More at that web page including an application link and additional information on groups who collaborated on the effort. The News-Gazette had additional details and interviews in their coverage last week:

Kilgore, the advocacy and outreach director for FirstFollowers, said the idea was sparked by the results of a community survey showed that 83 percent of respondents believed authorities should provide transitional housing. When David Northern took over as head of the housing authority, with transitional housing already on his agenda, a proposal was created and the partnership between FirstFollowers and HACC was born.

FirstFollowers was given money to renovate the house, and Kilgore said all of the work was done by men who have been through the program...

The house is owned by the housing authority, and FirstFollowers is responsible for utilities, although Kilgore said once residents are employed, they will be expected to contribute at least 10 percent of each paycheck toward utility bills. There are four bedrooms for residents and a fifth for an overnight supervisor.

That full article here.