Reentry Council and Summit of Hope

There was a virtual "Summit of Hope" for reentry programs and services available in Champaign County last month. It involved many participants and service providers who work with the Champaign County Reentry Council. The Reentry Council has also had a couple meetings since the last update on the Cheat Sheet in January. A quick reminder of what the Reentry Council is:

The purpose of the Reentry Council of Champaign County is to provide a means of communication and coordination among community organizations, public officials, advocates, and others involved in the community response to persons returning to Champaign County from incarceration in federal prison, state prison, or the county jail. The Council also receives and reviews data regarding jail bookings, jail-based screenings, and connections to services for the purpose of coordinating community services and planning. The Council receives regular reports from organizations providing reentry and related services, reviews funding opportunities, and recommends actions which will enhance public safety, reduce recidivism, and improve outcomes for those returning from incarceration and their families.

The February Reentry Council meeting had program updates and information on the March virtual "Summit of Hope" event. The April Reentry Council meeting had a couple new faces. Alicia Beck joined as the new Parkland College SWFT director. Among the many programs SWFT offers, Director Beck says they're looking for more people interested in their Construction program. Lieutenant Cory Koker of the Urbana Police Department joined the Council (Lieutenant Joel Sanders is now Chief at another police department). As a leader for the Urbana PD's Crisis Intervention Team (More on CIT and mental health). he's likely to be a critical player in the One Door pilot program being implemented by Urbana and in collaboration with Champaign.

There were two presentations this month at the Reentry Council. The first was by Stephanie Cockrell, Executive Director of The Well Experience. She highlighted the ReNew HER program and other services for Black women and teenage girls. The programs include trauma informed and culturally relevant care that include reentry and other services for well being.

The second presentation was by Caleb Brooks with Navis Health and the upcoming official opening of two homes for substance abuse detox services. The openings will be on April 15th in two Champaign locations.

Summit of Hope

The full video of the Champaign County virtual Summit of Hope event is available on the Champaign County Community Coalition's facebook page here. It is a series of presentations on the latest services and programs available for people reentering the community from incarceration. The State's program webpage has a brief general description:

The Summit of Hope is a community expo that will bring service providers together to provide the necessary services and resources to ex-offenders with the mission to guide and assist ex-offenders with community services to ensure reintegration into the community while reducing recidivism...

Each participant is assisted by a volunteer who guides each parolee through the maze of services and exhibits. Services that will be offered include: State identification, counseling, transportation, food, clothing, shelter, child support services, primary health care referrals, screening for blood pressure, vision, HIV testing and care, veterans’ information, Social Security Administration, employment services, mock interviews, education/training services and a variety of other social service agencies and you. Numerous faith-based organizations will also lend a helping hand to assist this group to get back on the right track and to stay there.

The pandemic restrictions limited the event to a virtual event this year, but it is hoped that eventually an in-person event can be had to better assist locally. The Education Justice Project has reentry services guides here. The Champaign County Sheriff's Office and Rosecrance also offer printed fliers (generally available with the free materials in the jail waiting room) with local services. First Followers Reentry Program can also help connect people to various services and assistance.

March County Roundup

Early voting has started for everyone in Champaign County for the Consolidated General Election (times and locations available here from the County Clerk's website). A non-partisan candidate guide is available here and more voter information here. More on the Champaign Counter Voter Alliance and election turnout information by Fox Illinois, yesterday here.

We may be a step closer to having a functional weather radio tower again in Champaign County. From WAND:

The U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) has signed a new tower lease to restore NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) WXJ-76 service to Champaign and Piatt counties.

Champaign and Piatt counties have had little to no NWR service since the previous tower became inoperable on Feb. 20, 2020...

According to NOAA, the next step is for a structural analysis to be done soon to ensure the new tower location can support the NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter antenna and associated equipment. Once the structural analysis is done, NOAA will then execute the lease with the tower owner. Once the lease is executed, the installation of equipment can take place.

Full article here. Previous updates here. Last summer it looked like they had found a tower, but that fell through.

In other news relevant to Champaign County government:

• The Champaign-Urbana Health District in cooperation with Carle Hospital and the United Way released its latest community health plan (coverage from WAND here). The full 2021-2023 Community Health Improvement Plan document is available here and is worth at least skimming for all sorts of local data maps and useful information beyond health care.

• The recording of the Champaign County Summit of Hope for reentry programs and services from earlier this month is available on the Champaign County Community Coalition's facebook page here.

• The latest Champaign County vaccination updates were covered by the Daily Illini here.

• The Champaign County Forest Preserve is still raising funds for its "Peninsula" accessibility project. More on that from the News-Gazette here.

• A ballot error incorrectly describing a race for two year terms as for four year terms was noted by WCIA, but isn't considered to have any significant impact on voting itself according to the County Clerk. The News-Gazette had additional coverage on the error and voting in the County here.

• Champaign County Crime Stoppers has a scholarship opportunity for local youths. More on that from WAND here and the Crime Stoppers website here.

• The University's saliva testing program for local communities was advancing. WAND had coverage on that here. The County Executive noted that a third of the County Staff had been vaccinated and they had arranged a contract with OSF for rapid COVID testing available for staff at the end of the March regular County Board meeting.

• Savoy has the possibility of becoming another "home rule" locality in Champaign County on the April 6th ballot this election. Illinois Newsroom has coverage of that here.

There are still some openings and vacancies among the appointed positions in the County. The list is available on the County Executive's page here. Information on how to submit an application is available here. An overview of County appointments information is available here on the Cheat Sheet.

County Board Updates

March was a busy month for local government, and the Champaign County Board was no exception. The biggest issue had to do with the continued delays related to the County's finances. County Board members from both parties appeared to give credit to the improving situation in the Treasurer's office under the newly elected C.J. Johnson, but the fallout from her fellow Democratic Party predecessors has left the Auditor facing questions about his role as an "independent watchdog for taxpayers." Programs that depend on timely audit reports have been put in jeopardy by delays. From the News-Gazette a couple week ago:

Champaign County is facing a potential freeze on its state and federal grant funding because the 2019 county audit remains unfinished.

The county’s Regional Planning Commission and Children’s Advocacy Center have already received notices of a funding suspension from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and County Executive Darlene Kloeppel said more county offices could potentially receive similar notices...

At a special session of the RPC board meeting Friday morning, CEO Dalitso Sulamoyo said the bulk of its $34 million budget — about 90 percent — comes from federal and state grant money, some of which helps pay for critical services for some of the county’s most vulnerable people.

That full article with a lot of additional information here. The RPC's Dalitso Sulamoyo also spoke during public participation at the beginning of the regular County Board meeting (at the 10:25 mark in the video here).

The County Board has approved temporary funding to ensure the RPC continues to function, but it remains critical for the overdue audit to be completed as soon as possible to prevent further loss of reputation and program funding. More from the News-Gazette after the regular County Board meeting (agenda, other handouts, addendum and auditor memo available here, video):

Champaign County will make a short-term loan of up to $5.3 million to the county Regional Planning Commission to help the agency through a state and federal funding freeze resulting from the county’s overdue 2019 audit.

The county board approved the move Thursday night, but not before some Republican members chastised Democratic Auditor George Danos about the late audit and called on him to resign...

Of the $5.3 million loan being made to the RPC from the county’s general fund, $2 million will be covered by reserves and the balance will come from a general-obligation promissory note not to exceed $3.3 million.

The county will pay up to 4.4 percent interest and a $10,000 bond counsel fee on the note, according to Deputy Finance Director Tami Ogden.

That full article here. In coverage following up on this situation, the RPC's executive noted that these issues may arise again if the audit work isn't completed by May 1st. WCIA also had coverage on the audit issue with video segments here and here.

The debate on changing the Deputy Treasurer position and paygrade to better reflect the actual duties of the office was mainly during the Committee of the Whole meeting on March 9th (agenda, video). The position hadn't been reevaluated since 2009. Many of the concerns involved whether one looked at this like a raise for the duties previous office holders held before, or correcting the pay for an office that has long been underpaid for the actual duties it performs compared to its description and paygrade. The board eventually approved the changes, with an additional compromise (lower on the pay scale than the mid-point proposed).

At this same Committee of the Whole meeting, Wayne Williams, Cunningham Township Assessor, raised concerns about redistricting delays because of the 2020 Census data delays. He encouraged approval of the new maps by the statutory deadlines regardless of the Census delays. There was also a helpful presentation for understanding the County's FY2020 Budget with a slides and breakdowns for folks who want to get into the nitty gritty of the County's financial situation. It included an overview of the Nursing Home issues related to the budget still (presentation slides, video at 1:16:40 mark)

Other March Committee Meetings:

The Facilities Committee (agenda, video) is still reviewing and approving the various projects to repair the roof and HVAC damage from the hail storm that damaged numerous County buildings as well as a large project for the Satellite Jail's outdated system (on a similar schedule to the hail damage process). Some RPC staff were complaining about air quality and related medical concerns at one of their offices in a County facility. Testing is being conducted to pinpoint the problem.

The Downtown Jail came up in regards to the indoor recreation room that is currently out of service and need extensive work to be safe and usable again. This raised the issue of how long the Downtown Jail will be operational at all. It remains possible for the facility to be shutdown at any time due to legal and safety issues. Dana Brenner, Facilities Director, expressed his hope that the Downtown Jail facility remains operational at least for the next year. There is currently no workable alternative or plan being actively considered to deal with its sudden closure. This remains a serious problem for the County government. Complicating this is a great deal of vocal of opposition for more investment or expansion of incarceration systems locally and across the nation.

The Environment and Land Use Committee (agenda, video) had part 3 of 5 of its waste management overview (starts at the 11:45 mark of the video).