June Events Highlight: Juneteenth and Jettie Rhodes Community Events

I'd like to start off by highlighting a few of the many Juneteenth celebrations and activities happening this year, as well as the annual Jettie Rhodes event. People may have different opinions on these events. Some are clearly more secular in nature and others more overtly religious depending on your own preferences and interest. 

For our purposes at the Cheat Sheet, they tend to involve a great deal of local political information and outreach: from tabling by various organizations, voter registration events, and often a lot of education on local issues and advocacy. 

This list is in order of starting date/time. The flyers are by city location:

• June 13th, 12pm-3pm: Champaign Park District Juneteenth celebration including a lot of tabling and other events.
  
  
• June 19th, 10am-3pm: DREAAM hosting a Freedom Bike Ride, festival, basketball shootout, and voter registration events at Stratton Elementary campus. 
  
  
• June 19th, 2:30pm-5pm: The Well Experience is hosting a parade and celebration in Urbana starting and occurring at the Sunnycrest Mall parking lot.
  
  
• June 19th, 6pm-8pm: Champaign Park District hosting a free concert at Douglass Park. 
  
  
• June 27th, 12pm-4pm: Jettie Rhodes Day which will include tabling and other events.
  
  
• Wednesdays in June, 6pm: Juneteenth Bible Study via Zoom featuring AME pastors from Champaign, Bloomington, and Minneapolis.

Click to enlarge the images for the event flyers.

Champaign:

 

Urbana:

 

Online:

There are some events in June for Pride month, but the larger local Pride Fest event usually occurs in the fall here when the students are in town. For more information on local Pride events, reach out to the Uniting Pride Center. The UP Center is generally a good starting point for events and organizing around LGBT and related issues.

Of course there are always a lot more events going on locally, many may be directly related to your political interests or issues that you care about. It can be difficult to keep up with everything going on and many organizers struggle to get the word out on their events to a wider audience. 

The Champaign County Community Coalition may be a good starting point for most people learning about all the organizations and organizers out there related to local issues: on everything from gun violence to rental assistance, from youth programs to the need for nursing home beds.

County Updates for August

Meeting Coverage:

The News-Gazette had brief coverage of this month's Committee of the Whole meeting (agenda, video) for the County Board:

Coming next Thursday: the start of 2023 county board budget discussions, including the distribution of the second batch of American Rescue Plan funding. At this week’s committee-of-thewhole meeting, members moved forward with placing on a future consent agenda 16 appointments to fill expiring terms for drainage districts and cemetery association boards...

More at the full blurb in the 8/12 "Meeting Minutes" feature with additional appointment names listed.

August's regular County Board meeting (agenda, agenda addendum, video) began with public participation by Dave Beck of AFSCME regarding ongoing negotiations with the County government for a contract. Brad Gould from the Veterans’ Assistance Commission then gave a presentation on "Operation Green Light" to highlight veterans in the community. There was a discussion on getting the process started to officially support the initiative by the County Board.

Member Jim McGuire raised the issue of ballot order and access to sample ballots to ensure Republicans are listed correctly in the assigned order. He had some additional concerns about applications through the Clerk and Recorder's office. Member Jim Goss joined him with concerns on the list of general election polling places in rural areas as well. The vote on polling places fell along partisan lines.

Intergovernmental agreements with the Housing Authority of Champaign County on a few different ARPA funded programs were passed by voice vote without discussion or any apparent opposition.

The rest of the meeting and the bulk of the meeting was taken up by discussion on ARPA related programs, recommendations, and including presentations from the "iRead iCount" program and Habitat For Humanity. There was also a report (with recommendations) from the Broadband Task Force committee on using ARPA funds to fill in the rural gap in broadband internet access. That task force's most recent meetings and documents are available here (August meeting agenda, video).

County Clerk and Recorder Campaign News:

The 2022 campaign for County Clerk and Recorder got a little more interesting with a recent Tom Kacich interview with the Republican candidate, Terrence Stuber. Excerpt:

“2020 did a number on everyone’s faith in the election process, no matter what side of the aisle you’re on. If there are questions like that, something’s wrong,” he said.

But when asked if those questions are valid, Stuber said, “Who knows? Right now, we’re only hearing one side of the story.”

And when asked if Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, Stuber hedged and said only, “I don’t know if he truly was the winner or not, but I do think it is definitely the time to move past it.”

He questioned why so many University of Illinois students vote in local elections, a longtime source of pain and frustration for Republicans whose candidates tend to do poorly in campus precincts.

That full article here. His Democratic opponent and incumbent Aaron Ammons immediately criticized the statements on social media. Excerpts:

Even in the wake of the January 6th attack, the overwhelming evidence of the Jan 6th Committee Hearings, the countless Experienced, Trained Election Officials, Democrats AND Republicans, who have said under oath that there’s no election fraud, numerous Audits, hand Recounts, and a 7 MILLION vote difference, my opponent STILL won’t say Donald Trump Lost the Presidential Election in 2020! And he wants you to trust him counting your votes!! 

The County Clerk’s Job is to administer Fair, Free, and ACCESSIBLE elections but my opponent said in a recent interview with the News Gazette that he would “eliminate” the drop boxes that voters use to return their mail in ballots! You can’t run for an office that requires voter accessibility and campaign on limiting access!? 

... 

It’s views like the ones recently espoused by my Republican opponent that create fertile ground for the misinformation and the disinformation that led to chants of “hang Mike Pence” on the United States Capital grounds just a little over a year ago. 

That full statement from Ammons is available here on his campaign facebook page. Stuber's comments on the Kacich interview on his campaign facebook page noted that the "article is an accurate representation of the time we spent together."

Other County Updates:

• The News-Gazette highlighted Sheriff's Deputy and School Resource Officer Shawn Hallett in their 8/19 "Meeting Minutes" feature.
• Remembering Kent Weeks with the Champaign County Fair board from the News-Gazette.
• The News-Gazette enumerated the tax revenue gained in the first half of 2022 by gambling machines in towns across Champaign County here.
• Bike clearance signs are going up around the County according to WCIA.
• Sheriff's office warnings about tall corn and stopping at rural intersections.
• WCCU reporting that first responders throughout the County are training for mass attacks.
• Smile Politely had local features on the area impact of Monkeypox and climate change.

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!

Coronavirus Updates 6/5

It was announced that the daily flyer / announcement updates (see 6/3 informational flyer here) will become a weekly update on Wednesdays. The website will still have daily updated coronavirus information here. Public testing sites like the one at Marketplace Mall will also be open to everyone now, regardless of whether they have symptoms or other factor. WAND had more on the opening of testing to all here.

There was a meeting of the Joint Information Center with some questions from the media after the local updates from C-U Public Health District administrator Julie Pryde and City of Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen. The video of that meeting is available here. Previous videos are available at the C-UPHD website at this link and under the heading "Champaign County Joint Information Center Public Outreach Videos" near the bottom of the page.

A highlight from the questions was an explanation about people who attended the protests and the need to get tested. Administrator Pryde explained how long one should wait to get tested after a possible exposure. The way this infection takes hold and the way PCR tests work, at least 4 days is probably good to avoid a higher chance of a false negative. She reminded listeners that the testing is a tool, not a certainty, however. She encouraged vigilance and safe distancing as in some cases it can take longer (e.g. 14 days).

Mayor Feinen explained her latest Executive Order and how it expanded additional hours for private spaces that would apply to certain businesses. The City is looking to expand outdoor seating options next week. While Urbana is adding some more public music options this week, that's something Champaign isn't doing yet, but also considering.

WAND had an article with an overview of the changes from the State's Phase 2 to Phase 3 with a lot of additional details here. A snippet with a basic overview of Phase 2 and Phase 3 from the public chart:

 

WCCU had an article yesterday specifically looking at Phase 3 guidance for Illinois schools and the very different setting kids will be entering when they return to classes. There was a link to the full guidance from the Illinois State Board of Education here.

The News-Gazette's latest update today suggests signs that we could be moving to phase 4 in the central region if outbreaks and cases can be kept under control and within our regional hospital capacities:

To advance to Phase 4 of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase Restore Illinois plan three weeks from now, regions will have to hit the same metrics that they did to move on to Phase 3 last week.

So far, so good for the central region, which includes Champaign, Douglas, Ford, Piatt and Vermilion counties.

More on that at the full article with today's Champaign County updated numbers (including 4 new cases for a cumulative total of 675). WCCU had a brief overview of the County numbers today here. More data from the C-UPHD website here.

I missed the June 1st Board of Health special meeting and update mentioned in my last coronavirus update that covered the previous May meeting. I don't have any additional details on that yet.

A few other recent highlights:

Smile Politely had a quick blurb about a COVID-19 Relief Fund grant and a link to additional information here.

WCIA had an article about the Housing Authority of Champaign County's Youthbuild program providing care packages to seniors as part of COVID-19 assistance.

Unit 4's summer food program is still going on this summer. More details on that from WCIA here.

Community Coalition Meeting and Walk as One Event

[UPDATE: Local coverage and video segments of yesterday's Walk as One event are available here from WCCU and two segments here from WCIA. The News-Gazette also had an article covering the walk here.]

Tomorrow Wednesday May 15th, the Champaign Community Coalition will be having a Walk as One event (WILL coverage) in the 'North End' to connect people with their neighbors and information. Here are two of the information cards for the event. The first one is for folks who want to volunteer and participate and the other is information for residents in the neighborhood (click to enlarge):

Last week's Community Coalition Meeting also announced a new location for future meetings. From the News-Gazette coverage:

Parsons also announced that this year's Walk as One event, which promotes peace and community resiliency, is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 15 at Salem Baptist Church in Champaign. This will be a door-knocking initiative to hand out information to the north end neighborhood about the city's summer community programs and crisis-response efforts for gun violence.

And after three years at the library, the coalition will again move its meetings. The regular gatherings will now take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month at the Holiday Inn, 101 Trade Center Drive, C.

More at the full article here. The full article describes in detail plans towards community forums within 36 hours of a gun violence incident to connect the community affected with resources (a post on the first of these forums here). The aim is interrupt the cycle of trauma and violence. It's also to react almost as if to a natural disaster, to ensure the community has the tools and resources to deal with the fallout of these events.


More from the meeting...

Police Chief Updates: This week is Police Memorial Week and there will be an event for local departments at West Side Park at 11:15am on Friday May 17th.

Shooting incidents involving multiple shooters (with multiple types of bullet casings at scene) occurred in both Champaign and Urbana. The chiefs laid out their reports of shootings, including some with injuries and at least two homicides at the time of the meeting. Since the meeting a 14 year old was also killed: more on that in today's paper here. The campus police for Parkland and the University of Illinois are expecting things to slow down some as students leave in their areas. U of I police reminded folks of the Youth Leadership Camp coming up again.


The Champaign Park District had an announcement for their Summer Neighborhood Block Parties program with the latest dates and locations at the link.

Among the other program updates was an announcement that Urbana would be starting a pilot program modeled after the Unit 4 "Goal Getter" program. More information that from WCCU:

After seeing the success of Champaign's Goal Getters Program, community activists in Urbana decided to create a similar blueprint, for what they will be calling, The Urbana Youth High School Program.

The program will focus on students who have struggled socially and academically.

The program is expected to begin in June, which will include 16 sessions over the summer and will run through the school year as well.

Full blurb with video segment here. The project was pending final approval, although I'm not sure if that will be coming from the City of Urbana or the District 116 school board at this point (perhaps both?). More on the announcement to the Urbana City Council from the News-Gazette a week ago here.

There were some updates on the progress of the iRead/iCount program through the United Way. They're going to be looking for volunteers who can give an hour a week to help with basic reading skills, including improving letter recognition. More information available at this WCIA interview from January here. Flyer (click to enlarge):

Bend the Arc had a presentation on white nationalism locally, including active white nationalist groups in the area. They are going to have an event later this month on the subject. I'll post an update with that information when available.

Mothers Demand Action had information about their Wear Orange event working with Truce and the Champaign Park District next month: Saturday, June 8th 2-5pm Douglass Park at 512 E Grove St, Champaign, IL 61820.

The meeting ran low on time at the end and a couple of the hurried presenters were invited back to a future meeting:

• The Money Mentors program at the University of Illinois Extension
• Community Data: Mixed Methods for Community Centered Design which appeared to focus on how algorithms by various entities we interact with could be reinforcing previous problems (e.g. feedback loops of red lined neighborhoods causing discriminatory results in your Amazon purchases)

There was also information about the Leadership Development Academy's 4 week summer program (click to enlarge flyer):

There was more, including an overview of the "Embracing Your Past" event last month. A post on that will be coming up after a little more research.