Monday, March 14, 2022

COVID and Health Updates


After a great deal of litigation, resistance, and another pandemic wave, the mask mandate was lifted in Illinois again. Details about the local school districts and college masking will be covered in posts on the C-U Local Cheat Sheet hereWCIA had some local reactions, including from the local health department:

“Even though we are on a downhill with Covid, we are not completely out of it,” Awais Vaid, Champaign Urbana Public Health District, said...

“Just because the mandate has been lifted, does not mean we still don’t recommend people wearing the masks,” Vaid said.

That’s the message from Champaign-Urbana Public Health, after Governor Pritzker announced his plan to lift the indoor mask mandate for many places at the end of the month. Some bars in Champaign say this may not change business very much.

That full article here. Some businesses and services may still mandate masks, including (as of my last check) MTD buses. Also from WCIA:

The State of Illinois may be lifting its indoor mask mandate on Monday, but federal mandates still require masking on public transportation and on the property of public transportation districts.

Because the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is administered by the Transportation Security Administration, it falls under federal jurisdiction and is subject to federal mandates.

That article here. For the latest news on MTD COVID protocols, see their webpage here. Groups like Champaign County Health Care Consumers are still encouraging masking and good hygiene habits. The latest wave of the pandemic has begun to subside, with hospitalizations, death rates lagging cases again. The latest update in the News-Gazette put the local count at 292 dead with the latest data.


Champaign and Urbana marked the first COVID-19 Victims & Survivors Memorial Day on March 7th. WAND reported that Champaign's proclamation would make it the first Monday of March. More from WCCU:

The cities of Urbana and Champaign, along with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department, declared March 7th as "COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day" in both Champaign and Urbana.

Leaders from the cities of Champaign and Urbana, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department, and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department gathered today to honor the lives impacted by COVID-19.

Nearly 300 people lost their battle to COVID-19 in Champaign County, according to Awais Vaid, the deputy administrator and epidemiologist at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department, CUPHD.

That article here. Smile Politely had some additional coverage and links here. The WCCU article quotes health officials explaining that the unvaccinated continue to suffer the greatest odds of severe illness, hospitalization, and death as the pandemic continues.


Other Health Related News:

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Other County Updates


Champaign County Crime Stoppers has increased its reward payment for certain violent crimes, including gun related crimes. From the News-Gazette:

Sharing a tip that helps solve homicides and felony gun crimes in Champaign County will now yield a much higher reward.

Champaign County Crime Stoppers announced Wednesday it will now pay a $5,000 cash reward for tips leading to an arrest in a homicide and a $2,500 reward for tips leading to an arrest in a felony involving a firearm...

The organization previously paid a maximum reward of $1,000.

That full article here and similar coverage from WCIA here. For more updates on local violent crime and thefts, check out the latest Community Coalition meetings. News-Gazette coverage of the February meeting here.


The leader of the Ford County militia group, that firebombed a Minnesota mosque and attempted to firebomb a women's clinic here locally in Champaign, pleaded guilty to various federal charges related to the local incident. Hari has already been convicted and sentenced for crimes related to the mosque bombing. From the News-Gazette last month:

Hari’s plea agreement in Urbana wraps up four years of work by government agents against the former Ford County sheriff’s deputy turned leader of a Muslim-hating militia group dubbed “The Patriot Freedom Fighters,” later changed to “The White Rabbits.”

[Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene Miller] laid out for Long a summary of the Illinois case.

He said Hari’s leadership of the small band of followers, based in tiny Clarence in northern Ford County, wreaked havoc in several Illinois communities, including Champaign, Watseka, Mount Vernon and Effingham, and reached into Indiana...

The plan to firebomb the Champaign clinic fizzled — literally — when the PVC pipe stuffed with an ignitable powder did not catch fire. Morris admitted he broke a window at the clinic and put the homemade bomb inside. Hari had rented the truck that took the would-be arsonists to the office.

More at the full article here. As a previous Cheat Sheet post noted, the local attack preceded the end of surgical abortion services at that local Clinic, and the last of such services in Champaign County and much of the surrounding region. WCIA also had an overview of the guilty plea here.


There has been an update on early work by area County recorders investigating racial covenants in property deeds, including here in Champaign County. WAND had coverage on the new State law that may make it easier to remove the currently unenforceable, but offensive, language from the official paper work. Excerpt:

Full article here. Previous WAND coverage on area racial covenants here and the second part here.

WAND News extensively reported on this topic and similar issues in a 2021 I-TEAM report. WAND News reporter Doug Wolfe uncovered real estate deeds and other documents dating back to the 1930s and 1940s that discriminated against minorities while allowing whites to get bank loans for homes. County recorders helped Wolfe find restrictive racial covenants and racial restrictions in real estate records that still existed in 2021.

[State Sen. Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove)] believes the new law will make life easier for those who want their property records updated. 

“Although racial restrictive covenants are no longer enforceable, residents have been forced to jump through hoops to strike the harmful and antiquated provisions from their property records,” Johnson said. “By empowering homeowners to easily remove racist language from their property deeds, our state is taking steps to combat a painful relic of the historical harms done to our communities of color and to root out racism in all of our institutions.”


Other County News and Updates:

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Other County Government Updates


 

This post includes several Sheriff's department updates, some on the local dispatching agency METCAD, and other updates (including an "I Voted" sticker redesign contest).

Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman will be attended a "Coffee with a Cop" outreach event along with other Sheriff's deputies this past Wednesday. From WCIA:

A cup of joe and conversation with a cop. Sheriff Dustin Heuerman said they have done this event before, but this year’s event had one of the best turnouts yet. It is about getting to know the person behind the badge...

“I was talking to a couple of reverends who were here this morning,” said the sheriff. “We’re working on collaborations on how to tackle some of this violent crime from a holistic stance. That’s really the key here.” He said the past couple years have unfortunately proven that no one is immune to the rise in violence and talking about it is the first step in fighting it...

The sheriff said they plan to have more events like this in the summer.

Full article here. A preview of the event was in the News-Gazette here. More Sheriff's Office updates:

In related news, the intergovernmental METCAD agency that handles dispatch for many local and County government emergency services is dealing with staffing issues. From WCIA:

Vacancies are not unusual at METCAD 9-1-1, but they are unusually high right now at the dispatch center that answers all of Champaign County’s emergency calls.

Staff members are often working 12-hour days, sometimes five or more days a week and it’s taking a toll, according to METCAD operations manager Betsy Smith.

It’s not far removed from the trend seen at local law enforcement agencies, and although they’re not officially recognized by state and federal government as first responders, Smith described those fielding initial emergency calls as the first, first-responders. What police, firefighters and EMS see, they hear.

That full article here. One METCAD employee is also being recognized for his work on a tough 911 call.


The News-Gazette had an overview of the Champaign County Housing Authority's YouthBuild program a couple weeks ago:

YouthBuild, now in its third year in Champaign County, is a U.S. Department of Labor-funded program that provides job training at construction sites and educational support for those ages 16 to 24.

The program is now poised to expand with a $150,000 grant approved as part of Champaign’s Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint.

The $1.5 million in federal funding already committed to the housing authority is enough for 84 youths to participate in YouthBuild over three years — 2020 through the end of this year — but there are more than 100 who have been referred to it and are on a waiting list, Walton said.

More at that full article here


Other County Government News Items:

County Board Updates: February and Early March


There was quite a bit going on this month with the County Board for political wonks. The upcoming Committee of the Whole doesn't have much in the way of fireworks on the agenda (video now available here), though perhaps there will be more arguments about food reimbursement rules (more on that below). But this past month or so had a lot of news on the fight over how an Executive Form of County Government should be run, ARPA funding for cover crops through the Environment and Land Use Committee and some Animal Control safety rules to prevent any more euthanasia mistakes and tragedies.

There was some possible legislative solutions to the ongoing legal dispute on the appointment power under our new Executive Form of County government. From the News-Gazette:

That bill (SB 1015) would effectively impact only the two counties in Illinois that have a county-executive form of government, Champaign and Will. But it could affect any others that adopt that form of government in the future.

The bill states that in counties “other than Champaign County operating under the county-executive form of government,” a vacancy is to be filled by appointment of the county executive, with the advice and consent of the county board.

Specifically in Champaign County, it states, the elected county board chair makes the appointment with the advice and consent of the full board. 

That full article here. It goes on to explain that Will County would like to continue its tradition of appointment via their County Executive. The Champaign case is currently being appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court after the Board's latest victory in the courts. If they ultimately prevail through the courts or more uniform legislation in their favor, I'm not sure where that will leave Will County's options. 

The local coverage in Will County suggests they may be more concerned about how the language may still impact them (e.g. on how the Executive's office is organized) in articles here and here (it appears to have a paywall with zero free articles, but a cheaper trial option). From the latest article:

Will County Board members voiced specific concerns about legislation pushed by County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant which could change the way county government functions.

During a meeting on Tuesday, members of the Legislative & Judicial Committee discussed aj amendment to SB 1015, which has already passed the Illinois Senate to the surprise of many county officials on Feb. 24. The bill still needs to pass the House of Representatives to become law...

[Mitch Schaben, Bertino-Tarrant’s chief of staff] also addressed the proposed change to give the county executive control over the “internal operations of the county executive’s office and procure the necessary equipment, materials and services to perform the duties of the office.” Schaben said it’s the same language used for the duties of other countywide elected officials, though board members have argued the executive doesn’t have the same authority as a treasurer or sheriff.

That full article here. A few days prior, there was an article that delved more into the nitty gritty of the Will County Board's concerns about the legislation and the process in both parties.


There was some discussion about the various rules on paying for meals, using a county credit card, and a new Board of Review member's charges (since reimbursed). From the News-Gazette:

But for [Champaign County Auditor George Danos], these purchases — along with some county board members’ recent chastising of the county’s Board of Review chairman for using a county credit card to purchase two staff meals — demonstrate a need for the county to rewrite what he calls an “incomplete and outdated” purchasing policy....

What is clear is if a county department has a line item in its budget for employee recognition expenses, the expenses are permitted, according to Kloeppel.

For departments that don’t have a line item for that purpose, as is the case with the Board of Review, the purchases aren’t permitted, she said.

That full article here. The incident that started this discussion was reported on by the News-Gazette last month here. A quick overview noted that the County was reimbursed as soon as the new Review Board member was made aware of the rule:

The purchases, one for $18.63 from Jimmy John’s and the other for $140 for a year-end celebratory meal from Biaggi’s, were made with the supervisor of assessment’s county credit card.

At Thursday’s county board meeting, Bergee said he reimbursed the county before the credit-card bill arrived after speaking to County Executive Darlene Kloeppel, who told him it was against policy to use a county credit card for meals.


The Environment and Land Use Committee will be considering using some of the County's ARPA funds towards incentivizing cover crop planting locally to help with various related agricultural issues. More from the News-Gazette last month. The minutes from the February ELUC meeting had an overview of the discussion on page 2 and 3 of the latest meeting's Agenda Packet. Excerpt:

It was felt that this needs to go back to the caucuses for discussion and then come back to ELUC in March and then take to the full County Board after that. There were some unanswered questions from tonight that we should let Mr. Uken and the Farm Bureau do some research and come back as an agenda item again next month to discuss in more detail. It would also give the rural districts time to discuss the various water projects and what they may want to fund.

The discussion continued in the March meeting a couple days ago (available on the County's YouTube page here around the 10:33 minute mark). By the end of that discussion there appeared to be some technical changes (dates and total funding) to fit within the ARPA guidelines left to resolve for the next ELUC meeting.


There was also an update to the County's Animal Control Ordinance on euthanasia decisions. The rule follows a widely publicized mistake at Animal Control over the holidays the year before. From the News-Gazette:

More than a year after a dog was accidentally euthanized while being detained in Champaign County’s animal-control facility, the county board is poised to vote on a resolution in which a double-check safety procedure is named after the deceased dog.

“Dada’s Rule” would require that two animal-control officers sign off on any euthanasia before proceeding — a practice County Executive Darlene Kloeppel said has already been in effect for many months.  

More at the full article here. The resolution text is available on page 68 of the Agenda Packet and passed at the February 24th meeting.