Other County Government Updates

This post covers many of the other County level government and related news items for May and June. For County Board specific updates, see our other post today here. 

Mahomet Aquifer Updates:

A bill banning carbon sequestration in the Mahomet Aquifer is awaiting the Governor's signature. State Senator Faraci's (IL-52) office is expecting him to sign it in the coming weeks. It is still unknown whether the Governor will visit the area when he does so.

The Daily Illini had coverage of the bill being passed by the Illinois General Assembly back in May:

After months of debate, the Illinois House and Senate passed a bill to ban carbon sequestration projects at sole-source aquifers on Tuesday, May 20. In a bipartisan effort, the House voted 91-19, sending the legislation to Governor Pritzker’s desk for approval. 

“Although carbon sequestration undergoes rigorous federal and State permitting, the uniqueness of the Mahomet Aquifer being the sole source of drinking water for central Illinois residents warrants additional protection,” reads the bill.

Carbon sequestration is the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and injecting it underground. After Archer-Daniels-Midland’s carbon sequestration facility in Decatur, Illinois leaked, environmentalists started lobbying for efforts to protect the integrity of the Mahomet Aquifer, which serves nearly one million people. 

That full article here.

July 4th Events and Organizing.

There is a great deal of work that goes into local events, fundraising, and organizing body behind our local July 4th events. The Champaign County Freedom Celebration Committee is also looking for more volunteers for this year's events. The News-Gazette had a detailed overview of events here. Illinois Public Media also had a brief rundown of the events, timing, and security issues for this year's event:

The Champaign County Freedom Celebration has been East Central Illinois’ premier patriotic party since 1949 -honoring a longstanding custom to celebrate Independence Day in Champaign County. 

...

New Timing

This year’s event will include some changes to its parade route and time.

Captain Joe McCullough with the University of Illinois Police, said that due to the lack of volunteers, the celebration had to delay its parade time to 4:30 p.m. — several hours later than its traditional time. 

More at that full article here. Publicity Chair, Diane Ducey also explained some of the changes in a recent Kathy's Mailbag article here. For a little background, there was also a struggle for volunteers last year as well, as reported in the News-Gazette back in 2024.

After this year's July 4th events there were concerns raised about limiting protests, banning pamphlet distribution, and accessibility.

Kickapoo Rail Trail Update:

IPM also reported a large amount of State funding for the Kickapoo Rail Trail project:

The Kickapoo Rail Trail expansion received over $9.5 million dollars in the 2026 Illinois state budget to continue a construction project that involves converting an out of service railroad into a recreational trail... 

Bridgette Moen, planning director for the Champaign County Forest Preserves, said the final trail will be about 25 miles long. The trail will connect Urbana to Oakwood and cap out near Kickapoo State Park. 

“Currently we have about three miles built in Vermilion County and about eight in Champaign County,” she said. “But this project includes building close to nine additional miles in Vermilion County, about four and a half in Champaign County and then a trailhead structure in Urbana at the Urbana Park District.”

The funding for the project is from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity through the Rebuild Illinois Capital Plan. The total cost of the expansion is $11.2 million.

That full article here.

C-UPHD Updates:

There are ongoing disputes about the Sooie Bar-B-Que Joint dispute that had both the restaurant owner and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District claiming to be vindicated after Judge Bohm ruled that the restaurant was to remain closed until it was in compliance with its existing food-service plan. In May the restaurant's lawsuit against the C-UPHD was dismissed, with the option of filing an amended complaint. The latest update from the News-Gazette notes that amended $3.5 million complaint has been submitted last week after an extension. The recent News-Gazette article was primarily on a separate new legal petition against the C-UPHD.

A local restaurant that has been shut down for nearly four months claims that, by not allowing it to reopen, the health district has violated a court order.

Sooie Bros. Bar-B-Que Joint co-owner Alven Allison has filed a petition for adjudication of civil contempt arguing that the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District has not complied with the order issued by Champaign County Judge Jason Bohm in late April.

Bohm wrote that the injunction to close the restaurant will remain in effect until Allison either “comes into compliance with the existing food-service plan dated February 2, 2023,” or submits an amended plan that is approved by the health district...

According to the case docket, any materials opposing Allison’s motion must be filed by July 14, and any rebuttal by Allison to these materials must be filed by July 21.

The court will then review the documents and decide whether to schedule a hearing.

That full article here with details on both the recent petition and amended $3.5 million lawsuit against the C-UPHD.

State's Attorney and Campus Protest Cases:

We've previously covered the Champaign County State's Attorney's controversial decision to charge campus protesters with felony mob-action charges which organizations like the Illinois ACLU raised serious concerns over. In case after case after case, the felony mob action charges have been dropped. From the News-Gazette coverage of the Yafa Issa case back in May:

A 19-year-old Savoy woman’s trial on charges related to her actions at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Illinois last year came to a close Thursday, with her found guilty of a misdemeanor.

Champaign County Judge Roger Webber dismissed felony mob-action charges against Yafa Issa after the state rested its case, saying the “evidence falls woefully short” of demonstrating that she was involved in any kind of violent activity. Issa was the first individual connected with the protest to go to trial.

Webber did not dismiss her misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing a peace officer, however, and, after hearing closing arguments, ruled it was clear beyond a reasonable doubt that Issa attempted to block officers from accessing tents erected by protestors near the Alma Mater statue.

That full article here with updates on that case, sentencing, and other cases in coverage last week here. 

While multiple other individuals who faced charges after the April 26, 2024, protest at the University of Illinois have taken plea deals, Issa was the first to go to trial.

Ultimately, Champaign County Judge Roger Webber made a similar ruling to the negotiated pleas others have accepted: He dismissed a felony mob-action charge and convicted her of resisting or obstructing a peace officer.

At the agreement of Assistant State’s Attorney Eileen Keeley and Issa’s attorney, Evan Bruno, Issa will be required to complete 100 hours of public service work and 12 months of conditional discharge.

That is also the sentence that other individuals have accepted as part of their negotiated pleas.

Given the passionate views on the topics of the protests themselves, I will repost the disclaimer from our previous coverage on these protests and related charges:

The Cheat Sheet does not take any position on foreign policy and generally limits its content to local government related news and information. On controversial issues like this, we will try our best to highlight different perspectives, while still doing our best to confirm any facts in contention. We leave it to the reader to form an opinion.

County Board February Updates

This post covers February Champaign County Board meetings and other County related news items. We'll be highlighting the nursing home updates, Willard airport expanded service pitch to local governments, recent board and judge appointments, and county law enforcement issues. At the end there is also a list of other county government and news highlights.

Old County Nursing Home and Bed Shortage:

WCIA had coverage of this week's special study session by the County Board on what to do about the old Champaign County Nursing Home property that was sold to a private entity that soon closed it. The meat and potatoes of that meeting begins around the 12 minute mark of the meeting video here (agenda prior to amendment moving up the presentations here). From the WCIA coverage:

The Champaign County Board and community members came together Tuesday night at a study session, talking about the future of University Rehab in Urbana...

When University Rehab closed, the community lost over 200 licensed beds.

Board members and advocates agree they need to think ahead and make a plan for the current and future aging population. The study session was one step to getting there.

Part of that will come from working with the Champaign County Healthcare Consumers and Advocates for Aging Care. They want to work together to bring more beds to the area.

That full article here. The News-Gazette had more in their coverage as well. A few key excerpts: 

“AAC has looked into the issue of using the current facility as a nursing home and has come to the realization that it would probably not be suitable, certainly not suitable for a contemporary, nonprofit nursing home,” she said. “If the Champaign County Board decides to lift the restriction on the sale of the facility, allowing it to be sold for something other than a nursing home, AAC will support that decision.”

...

[County Executive Steve Summers] said in a previous interview that a program manager with the Illinois Department of Public Health told him the license for the home has lapsed, and any new operator would have to invest significant capital to get the property in compliance with all current IDPH codes.

He added that the receiver has said they were told that “demolishing the building down to the foundation and rebuilding was the most likely way to have a nursing-home facility on that site.”

That full article here with a lot of additional information, background, and other perspectives. It highlights a key issue for the county is ensuring that it can recoup some of the 2 years worth of back taxes and future property taxes from the site. There was a lot of news coverage and discussion of the nursing home and beds shortage in the last County Board: Winter Updates Cheat Sheet post here.

The Advocates for Aging Care group had an opinion piece in the News-Gazette this month highlighting their community survey. As pointed out in this study session meeting, the group hopes to use the community survey and an additional upcoming market research study to supplement the Illinois Department of Public Health information on the local (as opposed to regional) shortage in order to make the licensing process feasible.

Willard Service Expansion and Public Funds:

Smile Politely had an opinion piece on the Minimum Revenue Guarantee proposals for a new leisure flight service out of Willard Airport with some helpful information and analysis. The Champaign County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has been collaborating on presentations to local government bodies, according to the News-Gazette. The presentation to the City of Champaign is available here, with a comprehensive staff report for that study session topic here. From the News-Gazette article:

In addition to the two city councils, representatives from the University of Illinois-owned airport also presented their pitch this week to the Rantoul Village Board.

According to the airport’s updated incentive policy, the university is offering a first-come, first-served minimum revenue guarantee of $500,000 for service to any airport in Florida or Arizona, or to Las Vegas.

Executive Director Tim Bannon has said that the airport is hoping to raise a community match of $500,000 so that it can offer a total minimum revenue guarantee of at least $1 million.

That full article here. There's already a similar outstanding minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) to expand Willard's services with a route to and from Washington, D.C. The presenters to local governments argued that these kind of risk limiting safeguards will help Willard compete with other downstate airports. 

One selling point that appeared to appeal to local government officials was that the University's half of the million dollar MRG would be used up first (as opposed to city, village, or county public funds), if the route struggles for profitability in the initial years. The anticipated timeline for local government bodies to approve the commitment appears to be for this April, with actual funds allocated to the MRG at a later date.

County Appointments:

Don Owen was appointed to fill the vacancy left by former County Board Chair Kyle Patterson as he became the City of Champaign Township Supervisor, according to the News-Gazette. Samantha Carter, the previous vice chair was selected as the new board chair. County Board member Jennifer Locke was selected as the new vice chair. You can see the nomination process for selecting the chair and vice-chair at the February County Board meeting video here. You can also see the vote to approve the vacancy appointment of Don Owen and his swearing in earlier at that same meeting here.

The News-Gazette also had coverage of a new associate judge in the local area Sixth Judicial Circuit of Illinois:

Rob Jacobson, a partner at local law firm Tummelson, Bryan and Knox, will don the robes on March 1 and be sworn in as an associate judge at the Champaign County Courthouse.

Chief Judge Randy Rosenbaum said Thursday that the 14 elected judges of the Sixth Circuit selected Jacobson from a pool of 12 applicants to fill a brand-new position that the Illinois Supreme Court allowed Champaign County to create...

The new judge will oversee juvenile abuse and neglect cases, a load currently split between Judge Matthew Lee and Judge Brett Olmstead. Jacobson’s courtroom also will call guardianship cases, which Judge Anna Benjamin currently oversees.

More at that full article here, including concerns about space issues at the courthouse with 1 more judge than it was designed for.

County Law Enforcement Items:

The Redeploy youth incarceration diversion program is coming to Champaign County according to the News-Gazette:

The launch comes after a group of local partners won funding last year from the Juvenile Redeploy grant, a program sponsored by the Illinois Department of Human Services. It aims to help supplement typical probation plans by providing treatment services and resources to eligible juvenile offenders who would otherwise be sentenced to prison.

Juveniles who apply and enter the program in Champaign County may get life coaching and job training from DREAAM Academy, a Champaign nonprofit, or mental-health and substance-abuse counseling from Cunningham Children’s Home in Urbana...

Forty-five Illinois counties have participated in Redeploy since 2015, according to the state agency’s website, with 72 percent of the youths involved in 2019 having no new arrests while enrolled.

That full article here.

In other county law enforcement news, there was the largest multi-jurisdictional training exercise to prepare for a local mass casualty event. It was the third and largest annual exercise, according to the News-Gazette, of this type and occurred about a month ago. WCIA also had coverage of the exercise:

On Tuesday in Champaign, 163 area first responders prepared for emergencies no one hopes for, but everyone has to be ready for. It was all part of their joint training for departments across the county...

“How can we all work together, speak the right language and everyone knows what to expect when they come to one of these incidents,” [Champaign Police Lt. Aaron Lack] added.

He said smaller groups train together quite a bit, but big sessions like this one happen about once a year. He hopes they can happen a little more often if possible.

That full article here. The event exercise operated under the Active Shooter Incident Management framework.

Other County Law Enforcement Related Items:

• Illinois Public Media had an in depth look at the Rantoul Police Department response to officer involved shootings that included some follow up details on one officer who resigned and was briefly hired by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office soon after.
  
  
• There were a lot of updates in the last County Board Facilities Committee meeting on the satellite jail consolidation project (as well as a lot more details on the County Plaza project). The bulk of the information is very detailed financial and change order information in the 2/6/2024 meeting Agenda Packet here. The presentation at the meeting itself explained the reasons for the changes, generally unavoidable when a project plan meets reality.
  
  
• The County Sheriff's jurisdiction was included in the News-Gazette's ongoing examination of lost and stolen firearms entering the community, sometimes under implausibly convoluted "loss" or "theft," according to Editor Jeff D'Alessio in a recent 2/29/2024 WDWS interview.

Other County Government News:

• Solar farm zoning decisions continue to be a controversial subject for many local communities, especially after the State of Illinois limited some local authority in denying certain projects. WCIA highlighted one example in Urbana this month where residents were concerned about a project coming to their area.
  
  
• The Center Square highlighted a University of Illinois Extension program on revitalizing rural downtown areas.
  
  
• Smile Politely had an opinion piece pondering on the feasibility of non-partisan county elected offices, similar to some non-partisan local government bodies like the City of Champaign city council, for example. I hope to get some legal input soon on how that may or may not be possible under Illinois law and circle back to that question.
  
  
• There was additional Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding reported coming to the Champaign County Continuum of Care for Service Providers the Homeless at the Regional Planning Commission. For fans of acronyms, that's more HUD funding for the CSPH at the CCRPC. In simpler terms, CSPH brings together a lot of service providers, organizations, and resources to monthly meetings to collaborate and share information on our local homeless situation. The RPC is an umbrella organization of County and other local government bodies collaborating on local services more generally.
  
  
• The Champaign County Forest Preserve is acquiring a large piece of land by the River Bend Forest Preserve near Mahomet according to the News-Gazette using State grant money.
  
  
• There were questions this month about the status of the rural broadband projects using ARPA money and a desire for an update on the status of those projects. There is some general information about the rural broadband needs and planning here via the Illinois Farm Bureau. 
  
  There's a 270 page county report for background on the issue, but it has a concise "Executive Summary" and "Next Steps" section one can start with. There doesn't appear to be any recent meeting minutes (for the January or August 2023 meetings) on the County website yet, or any videos to catch up on with.

In other County News:

• C-U Public Health Department hosted a panel on Black Health, Wealth & Wellness in Champaign County (available on their facebook page here). There was additional news coverage of C-UPHD Narcan educational events (WCIA) and new solar panels on their facility (Daily Illini). 
  
  
• Steve Stierwalt, chairman of the Champaign County Soil and Water Conservation District, had remarks published in the News-Gazette about his role in ensuring the productivity of County farm lands, especially as we adapt to climate change locally.
  
  
• There's still a week left to register for the United Way Emergency Community Leaders program (or until all 55 spots are filled), according to Smile Politely.

Other County Government Updates

There's a lot going on with Champaign County government offices in general this month. From Amnesty Week in the Circuit Clerk's office to a lot of Champaign County Sheriff's Office updates, health care, housing, and history!

The Champaign County Circuit Clerk is hosting its annual "Amnesty Week" according to WCIA:

Starting October 11 to the 21, if you have delinquent tickets, you can settle them with the city.

Amnesty Week is hosted by the Champaign County Circuit Clerk’s office. Suppose you have a balance on any criminal, traffic, DUI, ordinance violation(s), or conservation violation(s); you can pay off your balance without any late or collection fees. Officials said this does not apply to any fines and costs already paid or tax refunds used against what is due.

That full article here. More information from the Circuit Clerk's website here.

The News-Gazette's 9/16 "Meeting Minutes" feature highlighted a CSSO Lieutenant's FBI training graduation:

Just back from Quantico, Va.: newly minted FBI National Academy graduate and Champaign County sheriff’s Lt. Dave Sherrick (right). The 22-year department veteran, who serves as the administrative support lieutenant in the Law Enforcement Division, spent 10 weeks learning about advanced communication, leadership and officer resiliency, among other topics.

That blurb with photo is available at the News-Gazette's eEdition here. WCIA also had a short blurb on the same story here.

The 9/2 "Meeting Minutes" feature had an article on area corrections hiring. Excerpt related to Champaign County: 

Current openings: 16 correctional officers (of 50), two sergeants (of eight)...

Sheriff says: Staff shortages aren’t unique to Champaign County, Dustin Heuerman has learned in conversations with fellow sheriffs in similar-sized cities: “One is down 15 correctional officers and the other is down 10. Sheriffs across the state are struggling to find quality staff to help fill our vacant positions.”

Unlike police and fire departments, Heuerman says, “the corrections division has never had a robust list of interested applicants, which makes it difficult to replace employees leaving in a timely manner.”

That full article is also available on the eEdition here. WCIA had additional coverage on low morale and staff shortages in Champaign County corrections:

Some Champaign County correctional officers say morale is low among jail workers. It’s been hard to hire and keep employees. So, they want to start negotiating for a better contract. Their current one expires in December...

They’re down 16 officers, and [union representative] Micah McMahon said it’s been taking a toll on their physical and mental health. That’s why he went to the County Board meeting Tuesday night and asked to start the negotiation process...

McMahon said some officers are working 12-16 extra hours of overtime per week and haven’t taken a regular day off for a while. He said closing the downtown jail helped, but housing is still limited.

That full article with video segment here. In a somewhat related story, the Champaign County Bailout Coalition was in the news attempting to protect the scope of the SAFE-T Act reforms on cash bail and pretrial detention. WCIA had coverage with a video segment here. County Board member Emily Rodriguez was also interviewed. WCCU had a recent article that suggested the reforms might help a bit with some of the staffing issues in the local jail and another article looking at how the reformed process may work (including comments by the Champaign County State's Attorney).

C-U Publich Health District employees formed a union and expressed some of their frustrations with working conditions throughout the pandemic.

More at the full WAND article here with additional links to more information and the News-Gazette's coverage with more details from their FOIA request here.

Additional County area health updates are in a separate Cheat Sheet post here.

Other County Updates:

• Illinois Newsroom had coverage of one of the area judicial election races between Democrat Chad Beckett and Republican Sam Limentato here.
• The News-Gazette had some of the latest news on the Champaign County African American Heritage Trail project working with MTD, Visit Champaign County, and other local organizations.
• WCIA highlighted some upcoming activities with the Champaign County Forest Preserve District.
• WCIA highlighted the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission – Workforce Development Division.
• WCIA also highlighted the Housing Authority of Champaign County's YouthBuild program in coverage here.
• Additional events at this year's Pride celebration from WAND.
• Electronic recycling collection registration is available, but as of yesterday only by phone and not on-line. The phone number is 217-403-4780. More information from Smile Politely here.

Health and COVID Updates

The latest coverage on COVID and some other local infectious disease updates (MPV, rabies). Also news on abortion services in the area and ambulance equipment shortages. Latest Champaign County data on COVID is available from the C-UPHD website here. WCIA reported that local COVID case rates are down. Excerpt:

COVID-19 is spreading in Illinois at the lowest rate since April.

Every county was designated either a low or medium ‘COVID-19 Community Level’ Monday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) online dashboard.

The map came in stark contrast to the largely yellow (medium) and orange (high level) map visible in late August when Champaign Urbana Public Health administrator Julie Pryde strongly recommended masks in public indoor spaces in Champaign County.

A month later, most counties, including Cook County, are considered at low risk for transmission. Champaign is back down to a medium-risk level.

That full article here. Illinois Newsroom had the latest information and contact links for the latest vaccine here. There was also coverage of the newly available bivalent COVID vaccine in Champaign county in other WCIA articles here and here. The Daily Illini also had an update on the expanded eligibility last month here.

Abortion access in the Champaign County area increased with the latest announcement by the local Planned Parenthood clinic in the City of Champaign. From the News-Gazette:

As Indiana’s near-total abortion ban goes into effect, the Champaign Planned Parenthood location has reworked its facility to add in-clinic abortions to its services for the first time in its history.

Champaign’s Planned Parenthood is now the second location in central Illinois, and seventh statewide, to offer in-clinic abortions along with medication-induced options for patients...

Planned Parenthood’s Champaign Health Center renovated its first floor area to add two procedure rooms, a recovery room, two waiting rooms, four consultation rooms, two ultrasound rooms, one lab and one clinicians’ office — and has doubled its staff, according to a spokesperson.

That full article here. Surgical abortions had ceased in Champaign County and region with a womens clinic that ended its services soon after it was targeted in a series of white nationalist terrorist attacks by a militant group out of Ford County (more on that in a previous Cheat Sheet post here).

Local protesters had a recent event in support of abortion access and limiting so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" accused of deceptive tactics and spreading misinformation to intervene in women's abortion care, according to the Daily Illini. Abortion access was also a primary topic of this year's local Women's March which was also covered by the Daily Illini here. 

WCIA also highlighted a recent concern about ambulance equipment amid microchip shortages. Excerpts:

Some ambulance providers feel their vehicles need critical improvements, but a national shortage is putting up a roadblock. 

The Champaign County Fire Cheifs Association (CCFCA) reached out to state leaders for help. In a letter to Sen. Tammy Duckworth, they said their equipment needs microchips to function and are concerned about the lack of them available for emergency vehicles... 

Greg Chance, regional CEO for Advanced Medical Transport East and Medics First, said the microchip shortage is also making it hard to buy new vehicles. 

That full article here.

Other Health Updates:

• Champaign County monkeypox cases jumped up to 10, according to WCIA. This article provides a lot of helpful information on how the virus is spread, dispelling some common misinformation, and current vaccination guidance for those who might be at risk. 
• There was also a recent warning about rabid bats in the area. WCIA had coverage on that here.
• An additional saliva testing site for COVID opened in Urbana last month. From WCIA.

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 here. WCIA 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:

• The Smile Politely editorial staff put out an overview and analysis of Champaign County's opioid situation.
• Elizabeth Holder, a local attorney, laid out concerns about Carle's non-profit status and their COVID protocols during the pandemic in Smile Politely.
• Smile Politely also highlighted a Maternal and Child Health event by the C-U Public Health District. Event information on their facebook page here. 

COVID and Health Updates

The News-Gazette had an update on COVID cases in Champaign County this past weekend here. Regular updates on COVID cases and vaccinations is available at the Public Health website here. In today's paper, the News-Gazette noted that roughly a third of Champaign County residents have received vaccine boosters:

About onethird of Champaign County adults eligible for COVID-19 booster shots have received them.

As of Friday, 36,913 booster shots had been given, which is 33.6 percent of Champaign County’s fully vaccinated residents 18 and older, according to Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Deputy Administrator Awais Vaid. About 110,000 Champaign County residents 18 and older have been fully vaccinated and have been urged to get booster shots at least six months past their second Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots or at least two months after the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

That article is available on the eEdition here. WGPU also had updates on their audio segment here.

COVID vaccine clinics for children have begun in the area after recent FDA approval. From WAND:

After the CDC approved the COVID-19 vaccine for children in the 5-11 age range earlier this week, health departments like Champaign-Urbana started making appointments available for the community.

Deputy Administrator for the Champaign Urbana Public Health District Awais Vaid said leaders are excited to see a vulnerable population now able to protect themselves.

"Until now, you know, the big group was the kids who were not eligible. We are really happy right now that the (5-11 age range is) eligible for it," Vaid said. "That means about 16,000 kids in Champaign County become eligible immediately. So we hope that people get these vaccines as soon as possible so that the transmission that we are seeing a lot in the kids right now, we will start to see a decline in that going forward."

That full article here. WCCU had a listing of area vaccine clinics with links to additional information here. WAND also pointed out some concern last month about a rise in local youth cases:

In a concerning trend, Champaign County health officials are seeing a COVID-19 case surge in mostly unvaccinated school children and teens. 

Data shows 90 percent of cases among those in the 12 to 17 age range are among people who didn't get their shot. Health officials said the virus is spreading quickly in schools. 

The epidemiologist for the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District said vaccines are crucial to prevent hospitalizations...

CUPHD said it has seen a good turnout for kids to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but it hasn't been enough. 

That full blurb here. A more recent WCCU article highlighted eligible child vaccination rates locally over 15%. In another article WCCU noted that health officials were monitoring ICU bed availability with some concern last month:

As regions across Illinois respond to rising cases of COVID-19, hospitals say they’re on the lookout when it comes to intensive care unit (ICU) bed availability...

Recent data as of November 15 from the Illinois Department of Public Health shows 31 percent of ICU beds are available in Region three which covers Sangamon County. But availability in Region 6 which covers Champaign is at 16 percent.

It’s a concern that other health officials have especially as the holidays approach. 

That full article here.

Other local health news and articles:

• UIUC campus update on COVID last month from Illinois Newsroom.
• UIUC is recommending booster shots, but it is not currently requiring booster documentation as part of its vaccine requirements, according to WCIA.
• Smile Politely had an interview on "Blueprint," a program to increase access to mental health care locally.
• A Smile Politely opinion piece on gender diverse health care and issues of transgender health care needs locally. Regardless of one's own views on these issues, this piece highlighted certain aspects of our local health care system that may come up in future policy and political discussions.

Catching Up - June County Updates

Sometimes the Cheat Sheet gets behind and we have to catch up. The process involved can be helpful to anyone wanting to get caught up on what's been going on at the County Board and other County government bodies lately. Over the last few years we've attended and watched endless local government and organization meetings with notes filling up the filing cabinet. When we don't have anyone available, we have to play catch up, and we start with the local press. To jump to information on other resources, click one of the links below:

• County Board and Government Resources
• County Board Members
• Other Organization Meetings

Local Press:

The local press can be complicated for activists on various issues or political ideologies, but as a general rule I'd encourage supporting the local paper. For those with serious grievances, one might have to rely on access through their local library's online tools. For most people, a simple key word search for Champaign County Board on the website will do (sorting by "start time" so you get recent articles as opposed to years ago):

You can usually get more hits by searching from within the News-Gazette's eEdition tools, but you'll have to skip over a lot of Section D legal notices too! Here's a list of County Board articles and updates in June:

• The Board of Review seats are now all vacant after ongoing appointment battles and recent resignations. 
• An earlier article had more general coverage of the June County Board meeting here, including highlighting the support for rural broadband internet expansion. It is missing coverage of the mental health care related vote that failed to pass, however (see more on that below).
• There was additional coverage of the discussions behind the feasibility and fairness of extra compensation for County employees who had to work in-person during the pandemic.

There's almost always some hidden gems in the search results that might not appear related to the County Board in the preview text. There's usually an article or two related to County government, if not necessarily County Board business:

• Barbara Scott, a former elected Champaign County Board member, died.
• Jonathon Westfield died. He was active in local politics, a former police officer, and criminal justice issues including coordinator at the Youth Assessment Center.
• There was a profile of Champaign County Auditor George Danos.
• And there was some concern over profanity at a board meeting and YouTube rules addressed in an article and a letter to the editor.

The May and April County Board updates are covered in a separate post here.

Other local news sources can be more hit or miss on something as specific as the business of the local County Board, but tend to pick up other angles on bigger news items or additional news not picked up by other outlets. WCIA has a "Champaign County" local news page here where you can keep loading articles further back in time or a simple keyword search. For example, from WCIA's coverage in June:

• More details about the Board of Review situation, resignations, and documentation.
• Additional coverage on Jonathon Westfield.
• Updates on the Delta variant of COVID from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District including a recent update yesterday and one earlier this month here.

Other area television news stations include WAND and WICS/WCCU which often have some local coverage in Champaign County. WAND's search function is similar to the News-Gazette website. WICS's Fox Illinois web search feature is a bit more limited and will mix in some older results relevant to the keywords as well. For June there was a County government related story worth noting from WICS here:

• There Sheriff's office hired a social worker as part of its new justice diversion program.

Between the local newspaper and one of the local tv news station searches you'll probably get a decent gist of what's happening when checking out the agenda of the next County Board or committee meetings you're interested in.

There is almost always more out there if you've got the time or have another preferred local news source. Some good examples of sources we cite regularly here on the Cheat Sheet include the Daily Illini, Smile Politely, and Illinois Newsroom / WILL. Here's some County news item examples that pop up in basic keyword searchers in June:

• DI: HUD emergency housing voucher updates with the Housing Authority of Champaign County.
• DI: Updates on the MTD terminal expansion project.
• SP: Vaccine programs for underserved communities.
• SP: Information on the Champaign County Forest Preserve District and League of Women Voters Summer Concert series.
• SP: Information on the limited Independence Day festivities and fireworks this year.
• IN: Overdoses and homicides are up in Champaign County and Illinois generally.
• IN: More details on the County Board's process towards expanding rural broadband.

As you can see, broader search keywords (e.g. Champaign County) on these websites will pop up other local government bodies and issues from the MTD to the Forest Preserve to the Housing Authority. All of which have unique relationships and collaborations with local government, funding sources, and governing bodies.

Of course the most comprehensive source of information about the County Board and County government is directly from the source.

County Board and Government Resources:

Meeting information, including agendas, agenda packets, minutes, etc are available on the County website here. We have some basic information on the overall structure of the County government under the Executive Form of County Government here. The general flow of County Board meetings each month tends to start with committee meetings where a smaller group of County Board members look at a set of issues and items and make recommendations or move resolutions towards the full board for a vote. The Committee of the Whole meetings are generally the next step where all the committee and other resolutions before the board are either moved to the full regular meeting of the County Board for a final vote or discussed, amended, etc.

The regular County Board meeting tends to pass uncontroversial items with unanimous support from the Committee of the Whole before moving on to other votes that can be contentious or pass fairly easily. Certain votes, like budget votes that increase spending, can often require a supermajority to pass.

June's regular County Board meeting agenda packet is available here. The most recent videos of the County Board meetings are available on the County's facebook page (and later the County Clerk's YouTube channel here after it is processed). The June regular County Board meeting is available here.

Even with the beginning of the meeting cut off, the video of just this meeting is over two and half hours long. For folks with limited time, jumping to agenda items of interest can be a bit of a guess and test. I have a process of jumping ahead and listening to hear which agenda item the Board is on to see if I jumped too far, or not far enough.

The debate on the mental health funding resolutions begins just before the 1:42 (hour:minute) mark on the facebook video here with a reading of the first resolution. The resolutions were discussed and voted on together. Both required 15 votes to pass. The agenda had a long description of the item purpose:

This [American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)] funding will be utilized by the CCMHB to expand grant funding for local agencies providing mental health and substance abuse treatment services to individuals and families in Champaign County. This expanded grant funding will allow local agencies to continue to strive to meet the growing need for these services in Champaign County. The CCMHB grant year runs from July 1 through June 30. In order to provide consistent, uninterrupted grant funding for these local agencies throughout the entirety of the upcoming grant year, 50% of the ARPA funding will be utilized from July 1 through December 31 of FY21. The remaining 50% of ARPA funds will be utilized from January 1 through June 30 of FY22.

The debate and discussion revolved around the timing and a disagreement about why this specific ARPA funding needs to be approved so quickly compared to other funding to be discussed in future meetings. This approval would only be for a small percentage of the overall funding, but related to programs and grants that need more immediate funding. It failed mostly along partisan lines with Democrats in support and Republicans opposing.

A deeper dive into the details of this resolution and the programs involved is available in the agenda packet on pages 98-122 (pages 103 through 127 of the PDF).

County Board Members:

Beyond the arguments you might hear in the County Board and committee meetings themselves, County Board members are generally happy to explain their votes and positions on issues from previous meetings. You can contact them from their contact information on the County website here and district maps on the County Clerk's website here (currently more up to date than the Cheat Sheet with Samantha Carter joining the Board). If you follow them on social media, you might get long arguments on various subjects or links to more information and resources.

Often Republicans and Democrats will simply complain about the other being partisan or political, like Board member Jim Goss criticizing the Democratic majority's redistricting vote last month. This month Democrats complained about the Mental Health care vote, such as on board member Jennifer Traub's public facebook page that took issue with a few Republicans leaving without putting their name to a no vote. Board member Samantha Carter echoed the frustration on her own public page and shared a longer criticism of the Republican no votes and not voting.

One can sometimes find some public comments or even extended arguments by board members on various local social media groups and neighborhood apps as well.

Other Organization Meetings:

Following up with the various impacted organizations and communities related to or directly affected by County Board votes is probably one of the more difficult and time consuming end of catching up on County Board business. It's also probably one of the most important. It'll be interesting to see if there's any discussion on this contentious funding vote in the upcoming Mental Health Board meetings next month at the end of July. 

The previous MHB meeting in June, just prior to the regular County Board meeting had some discussion on the violence in the community as it relates to mental health starting with MHB President Joseph Omo-Osagie and then Executive Director Lynn Canfield at around the 9:15 mark in the meeting video (agenda available here). Lynn Canfield's report directly addressed the County Board resolution, the doubts about whether the vote may succeed, and what that may mean going forward.

Follow up on the rural broadband issue will likely be simpler to follow up as the Board works through the issue in study sessions like the one last night (agenda packet available under the Committee of the Whole page). That meeting video (the first fully in person County Board meeting since the pandemic) is available here. It has presentations on the County's role in broadband expansion, groups and service providers with introductory information on the topic. This is working towards work that will be done by the "broadband committee" going forward.

It's definitely a challenge to keep up with all of the various local government and organizations related to local government on the County level and the C-U Local Cheat Sheet. The goal is still to help make it easier to stay informed and involved in your local government.

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.

COVID Updates

There's always news and information about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic coming out every day. It has been a challenge both to keep up with it all and picking a time to highlight that information here. This post provides a recent news roundup and informational links.

As school sports programs are ramping up, there's an increased need to look out for the long term effects and damage COVID may have caused to those children who have had it, even if asymptomatic. From the News-Gazette today:

As school sports have been ramping back up, a local doctor is advising kids who have had COVID-19 recently to get a medical checkup before they return to play.

And by recently, that means having COVID-19 within six weeks of any planned return to sports, according to Dr. Jerrad Zimmerman, a sports-medicine doctor at Carle.

Some kids who had COVID-19 less recently — even many months ago — may also need to be checked out before a return to sports if they have some lingering symptoms, among them fatigue or breathing issues, that may signal a heart risk, he said.

Full article here.

The Daily Illini had an overview of the precautions suggested for the variants now circulating in Illinois and locally contrasted with current local policy:

Many researchers have suggested to double mask and avoid in-person eating, while the county has opened up in-person dining, including limited space at dining halls. The B117 variant, the variant that resulted in the UK’s third lockdown, stands as a threat to the safety of students. 

“There is definitely a disconnect between researchers’ concerns about more infectious variants and public policy, not just in the county but in the nation as a whole,” said Nigel Goldenfeld, professor in Grainger. “The criteria for relaxing tiered mitigation levels are heavily based on hospital occupancy and downward case trends and were developed at a time when there was no awareness of rapidly emerging more transmissible and deadly variants such as B117.”

That full article here.

There are some volunteer opportunities that have been in the news related to the pandemic:

• The CRIS Healthy-Aging Center is looking for volunteers to help with vaccine outreach. Details from WICS here. 
• The Hope Center offers groceries to those in need (more information from WCIA here). To get involved with the Silver Hearts they have volunteer information here. The University has information on its Food Assistance and Well-Being program here.
• Carle Friends program to help people in isolation stay socially connected. Details and links from WAND here.

Other recent local news updates related to COVID:

• The Champaign County Courthouse is going to be welcoming back jurors and jury trials according to News-Gazette coverage today.
• This month saw the expansion of vaccine access in smaller towns and rural areas in Champaign County according to WICS earlier this month.
• Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker toured local facilities here earlier this month. Coverage from Illinois Newsroom here.
• The VA in Danville has been doing outreach to eligible veterans for the vaccine according to WAND.
• CU at Home and public health have been working together to ensure access to the vaccine by homeless members of the community. More that from WCIA here.
• Outreach to local immigrant communities and the New American Center at the campus YMCA was covered by WICS here.

General Updates:

The latest Champaign County COVID data is available from the C-UPHD website here.

The latest updates on vaccinations is available from their website here. The News-Gazettes data updates on vaccination included a helpful chart on 1st and 2nd doses locally by Ben Zigterman:

Full article and more data here.

There are also regular updates with the C-UPHD Administrator Julie Pryde on Urbana Public Television (UPTV6 YouTube Channel here). The most recent interview with Elizabeth Hess is available here from February 22nd.

The Daily Illini also had a recent overview of local contact tracing for anyone interested in how that system works here.

WCIA had an overview of all of the extra work and overtime that has had to be put in at the C-UPHD here.

COVID News Roundup 1/26

There has been a mountain of news and updates since our last COVID update post a week ago. That Cheat Sheet post highlighted that officials were announcing sustained reductions in cases, hospitalizations and thus reduced mitigations. Soon after that, Region 6, including Champaign County, returned to Phase 4 guidance without additional mitigation. From the News-Gazette:

Region 6 has moved out of the state’s Tier 1 COVID-19 mitigation restrictions to the less restrictive Phase 4.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced the change Thursday morning for the 21-county region that includes Champaign, Douglas, Ford, Piatt and Vermilion counties.

The change was based on improving COVID-19 metrics for the region, including a test-positivity rate of 6.5 percent for three consecutive days, plus staffed intensive care unit bed capacity of 20 percent or more for three consecutive days and no sustained increase in COVID-19 patients in the hospital for seven out of 10 days.

That full article here. The previous Cheat Sheet post had a description and links for the recovery Phases and mitigation Tiers to get back on track after outbreaks. For additional local data and vaccine information check out the C-UPHD coronavirus data page and vaccination dashboard. The return to Phase 4 has meant less restrictions on everything from indoor dining to libraries to sports. Here are just some of the stories on loosening restrictions in the area:

• Youth Sports opening back up from the News-Gazette. There was also an earlier article prior to the decision explaining the metrics and the why.
• Impacts of Phase 4 on campus from the Daily Illini.
• The University Chancellor is pleading with students to adhere to the remaining safety guidance after some concerns were raised by long lines. Coverage by WCIA here. The student infection rate is still far lower than the general community at this time with the News-Gazette reporting its "seven-day positivity rate held at 0.3 percent."
• Champaign Park District and Urbana Park District resuming some indoor activities, reported by Smile Politely.
• Public libraries in Champaign and Urbana have limited openings as reported by the News-Gazette.

There were also some updates on vaccinations (C-UPHD vaccination dashboard):

• Some students and teachers at Unit 4 are able to start signing up for vaccinations according to the News-Gazette today. WCIA had more coverage here.
• WICS had an article on the overwhelming demand in Champaign County and surrounding areas.
• Illinois Newsroom had coverage about building trust with agricultural workers and migrant communities with outreach on the vaccine.
• The Pantagraph had coverage on vaccine delays and nursing homes.
• WICS also had updates on a new Illinois State portal on COVID vaccination information.
• The Daily Illini took a look at the possible student vaccination timeline.
• The Daily Illini also had an overview of the local vaccination push in Champaign County.

Unfortunately as we race to get as many people as possible vaccinated and get this pandemic under control, the new more contagious variant threatens to do more damage. WAND had coverage about more confirmed cases of the virus variant spreading in Illinois. The News-Gazette today laid out specific concerns with the University and the new variant possibly coming here.

Other COVID-19 related updates:

• There is now a memorial established by the Unitarian Universalist church for those lost to the pandemic locally. Reporting from WICS. 
• The IFT teachers union has announced a COVID tracker on its website according to WICS.
• The University of Illinois Board of Trustees says it is still waiting on FDA approval for expanding its testing to more people according to the News-Gazette.
• WCIA had coverage on continued visitor restrictions at local hospitals.
• WCIA and WAND had coverage on the University's "Party Patrol" to help ensure adherence to pandemic guidance.
• The University's "Mom's Weekend" in-person activities were canceled, also from WICS.
• The Daily Illini had an overview of local COVID trends while students were gone.
• There was coverage on how COVID is still impacting "Restaurant Week" events locally in the Daily Illini and WCIA.

It was a busy week for local pandemic news. By the time you read this, there will likely be more news and updates!