Champaign County Board Updates

It has been a long time since our last update and so much has happened since the November 2024 election that it would be difficult to catch up on all of it. This post will mostly be about the last couple months of County Board and related news items. We've also updated our About Page with some new disclaimers for our collaborations.

You can always check out the latest County Board meetings from the County's YouTube page here. Agendas, minutes, action reports, and other documentation are available on the County website here. We'll start with the May and June updates first and then a longer look back for those interested (jump to link). For other County government related updates, see our other post today: Other County Government Updates.

May and June County Board Updates:

One of the bigger issues facing the County recently was a potential strike by County employees over a new contract. As of last night, plans for a strike today were canceled as the union and county reached a tentative deal on a new contract. The News-Gazette had an update to their article on the potential strike today:

The Champaign County Board Labor Committee has reached a tentative deal with AFSCME Council 31 Local 900 for a new contract, which will need approval from both the bargaining unit and the county board.

That full News-Gazette article with details of the tentative agreement and more information is available here. WCIA just posted their coverage of the tentative agreement here:

Just hours before Champaign County employees were set to go on strike, a tentative deal was reached between their union and their employer.

The Champaign County Board Labor Committee and AFSCME Local 900 separately announced Tuesday night that a tentative deal had been reached that evening. The two parties negotiated for more than eight hours on Tuesday to reach this deal, and it potentially ends more than six months of bargaining on a new union contract.

That WCIA article is available here with details of the tentative agreement as well. The News-Gazette also spoke with County elected officials on what a strike could have meant for County government. Illinois Public Media had coverage of the negotiations heading into this week:

Champaign County employees are threatening to strike if county officials do not negotiate in good faith on a new contract.

More than 100 workers rallied Monday afternoon outside the Champaign County Courthouse in Urbana. The group, represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, claims administrators are not offering fair wages or affordable insurance...

In May, the union took a vote in which 96% of its members voted to support a strike if necessary. The group’s last contract ran through the end of last year.

More from that IPM article here. The Daily Illini had coverage after the union voted to authorize a strike as part of the negotiations if deemed appropriate by leaders:

Negotiations have stalled for 150 days following the expiration of the union’s contract with Champaign County at the end of 2024. AFSCME Council 31 wrote county officials “still have failed to come forward with the fair wage increases and affordable health insurance they know are needed to settle a new contract.”

Emily Rodriguez, the chair of the Champaign County Labor Committee said in a statement that they remain “committed” to continue negotiations with AFSCME.

“We believe our current offer is fair, ambitious, and one that our neighbors can be proud of,” Rodriguez said. “I remember my vote to authorize a strike against UIUC as a picket captain of GEO in 2018. It was a momentous vote I was proud to make.”

More in that DI article here with a lot more details and analysis. WICS had similar coverage ahead of the vote:

Union leaders say today’s vote doesn’t mean they’re walking off the job; it simply gives them the legal authority to strike if negotiations fall through.

Cecilia Phillips, president of AFSCME Local 900 and a deputy clerk, says if they do go on strike, she’s not exactly sure what that would even look like...

AFSCME represents workers across nearly every department in the county — from the courthouse and jail to the highway department and animal control.

That full article here. The News-Gazette also had coverage ahead of the strike authorization and afterward. The News-Gazette had a bit more background in their May 7th article here.

County Board members who have spoken on the topic have generally signaled support for the union and workers, but there have been continued public disagreements on the state of the County's budget. This is especially true on the context of the failed Public Safety Sales Tax referendum and disagreements on spending priorities and conflicting views on the official financial forecast.

Other County Board Updates:

• Longtime District 10 representative Chris Stohr has resigned to join the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District Board.
  
  
• Members of the Champaign-Urbana Reparations Coalition used the public comment portion of the June Committee of the Whole meeting to explain and promote reparations initiatives for Black residents of Champaign County (video jump to link).
  
  
• At the May COW and Regular Board meetings, the Board approved a collaboration between DCFS and the Sheriff's office. From the CCSO memo on the agreement (page 8 of the PDF agenda packet):

• This opportunity will place a fulltime deputy sheriff in the local DCFS field office to assist with the safety of DCFS workers in the field while also allowing for more effective and efficient investigations of DCFS cases that would be investigated by the Sheriff’s Office anyway. This collaboration, formalized through an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Champaign County and the State of Illinois, will fully reimburse the County for salary, benefits, and equipment expenses of the deputy.

• There was a presentation for the expansion of the Street College Programming at the Champaign Count Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) at the May COW (jump to video link).
  
  
• It was announced at the June COW that the County was no longer paying Rosecrance for their reentry program and that funding would be available to work with a new partner on reentry programs. Rosecrance confirmed that they will be moving currently clients to their criminal justice program for continued services. The Rosecrance criminal justice program is no longer relying on the Champaign County Mental Health Board funding for that work either. The Champaign County Reentry Council will be reorganizing given these changes.
  
  
• The approval of the expansion of the Street College Programming referenced the funds made available from those previously budgeted for Rosecrance reentry programming funding (see page 4 of the PDF June County Board agenda addendum). This expansion passed (jump to video link).
  
  
• There were two special meetings over the past two months relating to the settlement agreement on the tax-exempt status of hospitals and local property taxes. The May Special Meeting related to Carle (documentation in the agenda packet here) while the June Special Meeting addressed the claims of Presence Central and Suburban Hospitals Network (former owners of OSF HealthCare).

Potential Late Audit and Impacts:

There has also been a great deal of disagreement over the work on the 2024 audit. Much of the County Board and the Auditor remain at odds after he won re-election in November in spite of a great deal of opposition within the local Party leadership and other elected officials. Some of those officials are commissioners on the Regional Planning Commission which penned a warning in the News-Gazette on what delays in the audit could mean.

Any delays in the completion of Fiscal Year 2024 Single Audit poses serious risks.

If the audit is not completed when it is due, barring any grace periods, existing grants may be frozen and new applications as well as modifications to grants may be denied. The Regional Planning Commission would be unable to draw down funds — both state and federal pass-through grants — to reimburse agency costs for payroll and accounts payable.

These are conditions which have been temporarily imposed on the RPC in previous years when Champaign County was delinquent in its completion of the audit. These delays in the completion of the audit directly threaten our ability to serve the public and could lead to devastating consequences for the individuals and families who depend on these vital services.

Their full letter is available here, and included in the May County Board documents here. The Auditor wrote a reply in which he lamented the call for usurping his authority and then stated that he was "washing his hands" of the 2024 audit:

In a recent letter to The News-Gazette, the Regional Planning Commission expressed support for county administration to prepare the county’s annual financial report and the audit thereof.

This is a seizure of a portion of my duties. The county board and the county executive did this without my input and justify their move by worrying that — for the first time ever — the RPC might have to wait on a grant due to a late audit.

...

As for the 2024 audit, I wash my hands. It is only just that the board and administration who destabilized my office last year take full responsibility for the timeliness and success of this year’s audit. I pray they succeed. I will audit their spending.

The full printed letter is in the News-Gazette here.

Moving:

There have been a variety of updates and some fighting over the County's move to the newly renovated Bennett Administrative Center in downtown Urbana from the old Brookens building on Washington Street.

• The County website has general information and a list of tentative moving dates for various offices.
• There was a tentative general timeline from April on how the moving was expected to go from WCIA for those who'd like to compare that to the current schedule.
• Updates and timelines for the Champaign County Clerk's office move from WCIA.
• More disagreements between the Auditor and the Executive office on space considerations. News-Gazette Opinions Editor Jim Dey had an opinion piece on various parts of that drama here.

What's happened since the November 2024 Election:

The News-Gazette has the November 2024 General Election (including County races and referenda) results here and 2025 Consolidated Election (municipal/local) results here.

In November, the referendum to abolish the auditor's office failed and the embattled and censured County Auditor George Danos won re-election. The Public Safety Sales Tax referendum also failed, which was opposed by Danos and others in intraparty disagreements on budget realities and whether it was necessary. 

When the County Board reorganized in December, Jennifer Locke was selected as the new Chair. The outgoing Chair and fellow Democrat Samantha Carter is still on the County Board representing District 6. The News-Gazette had coverage of both results and additional details here.

News-Gazette Opinions Editor Jim Dey also noted that this election resulted in the first time the Democratic Party held every County-wide elected office. Excerpt:

Democrats hold all the countywide offices and have a supermajority on the county board. The party claimed its last GOP holdout — the coroner’s office — in the Nov. 5 election...

The coroner’s race featured two non-incumbents who were veteran employees of the office: Democrat Laurie Brauer and Republican Steve Thuney.

Brauer received 50,236 votes (58 percent) to 36,219 votes (42 percent) to Thuney.

So good luck to the Republicans in future elections, because they’ll need it. Now the GOP knows how the Dems felt for all those years when they were a solid minority in Champaign County.

That full opinion piece is here.

With the local Democratic Party holding an overwhelming amount of the elected County seats, a great deal of the politics revolves around intraparty disputes and disagreements (with local Republicans openly taking sides on those intraparty disputes). The News-Gazette highlighted some of the ongoing disagreements with the County labor negotiations today. It noted continuing disagreements with the auditor on budget realities underlying the dispute.

The last County Board meeting recessed after the previous County Board chair was accused of violating decorum rules. Another Board member began throwing things when the board voted to end further board communications and move on with the agenda. Jim Dey had another opinion piece on that public drama here.

It remains to be seen how much these continuing disagreements, especially on what the budget realities are, will have on the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget process, already in progress. 

If the past is any guide, those disagreements helped undermine the local Democratic Party's attempt at a united front for raising tax revenue towards that budget already. It has already complicated the negotiations for County worker contracts, with personnel costs being a substantial budget concern moving forward.

Old County Nursing Home Updates:

There was some indication that the new owners of what was once the old Champaign County Nursing Home may have been looking at going through the convoluted and expensive process required to reopen the facility as a nursing home again. I have not heard or found any updates since local news reported that possibility back in January and February 2025, however. From WCIA:

A former Urbana nursing home could be re-opening its doors. County documents show Ayodhya Dham Urbana LLC purchased University Rehab for $1.5 million. Now, the community is left wondering what happens next.

Steve Summers, the Champaign County executive, said there has been very little information shared with the board, and the county’s only involvement was releasing a restricted covenant about one year ago. That allowed the land to be used for something other than a nursing home.

That full WCIA article here. The News-Gazette coverage also indicated that reopening was a possibility:

Despite previous reports that opening another nursing home at the former University Rehabilitation Center of C-U site would not be feasible, the property’s new owners are eyeing this possibility.

County records show that Ayodhya Dham Urbana LLC has purchased the property at 500 Art Bartell Road in Urbana for $1.5 million.

“We haven’t solidified any concrete plans with the building,” said Dipak Patel, a managing member of the group. “We are interested in working with nursing-home operators, though we haven’t decided on anyone specifically. At the moment, we are renovating the building and considering what to do with it after, as many nursing-home operators are indeed interested.”.

That full article here. We will post updates on this once more information is available.

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.

County and County Board Updates

This post is following up on previous County Board committee and Committee of the Whole meetings in February (previous Cheat Sheet post here) as well as some other County government related updates. 

This week's County Board meeting (agenda packet, addendum, video) started off with the appointment of a new Democratic member for District 6, Jenny Lokshin (District 6 page has been updated). The rest of the meeting focused quite a bit on dividers for the Circuit Clerk's office staff and rapid testing for County employees. The rapid testing would be derived from the UI saliva test developed locally. From the News-Gazette coverage:

In addition to authorizing Kloeppel to negotiate a contract for testing county employees, the county board also Thursday authorized a budget amendment that would cover up to $70,000 in testing expenses...

The cost will likely run $10 to $20 per test, she said, but, “I think I can get it for $10 a test.”

Testing may begin as soon as in March, and county employees will probably be going to UI State Farm Center for testing, Kloeppel said.

Full article here. WCIA also had coverage here. The News-Gazette had more background on this issue in its article previewing the topic before the County Board meeting here.

Public participation in the meeting included continued concerns about the management of the Champaign County Animal Control Department in light of recent incidents, including the mistaken euthanization of a family pet. County Board Chair Kyle Patterson highlighted several of the first black County and Countwide office holders in Champaign County for Black History Month. He also highlighted the likely record tenure of County Board member Lorrain Cowert who has served on the County Board for 36 years.

There was a long discussion and debate on the Circuit Clerk dividers. A handful of Republicans questioned the urgency and long term need of the dividers. Democrats and the Circuit Clerk herself highlighted an ongoing need for both noise control for the call service staff and safety during the pandemic, which may be a long term concern. The proposal failed to gain the 15 votes required for a budgetary amendment. The No votes were Republicans Esry, Goss, Harper, Michaels, Passalacqua, and Paul. McGuire recused (I believe due to a potential conflict of interest) and Jodi Wolken was absent from the meeting.

Another item that received bipartisan opposition and did not pass was a health care contract negotiated by the County Executive. Discussion revolved around the County Board not being included in the process by the County Executive again. The UI saliva testing proposal received support from the board for negotiations with amended language. The County Executive can negotiate for tests up to a $70,000 commitment and assuming weekly volunteer testing as the norm. As noted above that passed over some Republican opposition.

At the end of the meeting the vote on the health care contract was discussed. Board members asked for additional information to consider voting on the contract again at the next meeting with that additional information. Members Michaels and McGuire suggested they might be able to support it in a future vote with more information. The Executive affirmed that it can be brought up at the next meeting and there's still time to approve it within the deadlines. The meeting adjourned just before 8:30pm.

Other County News:

The News-Gazette reported a new associate judge, Matthew D. Lee, will be appointed to the Sixth Circuit:

When he’s sworn in Feb. 25, the Champaign County bench will be back to its full strength of 11: five associate judges and six elected circuit judges.

Associate judges serve at the pleasure of the circuit judges.

Lee will step into the post vacated two weeks ago by the retirement of John Kennedy, an associate judge for 20 years.

That full article here.

The County Clerk has been in the news the past few weeks with the local municipal primary elections coming up and Early Voting already begun (more on the C-U Local Cheat Sheet here). The News-Gazette had coverage of the public testing of voting machines here. Tom's Mailbag answered questions on who makes voting machines for Champaign County here. WICS had an article earlier this month with the initial early voting being down from the high turnout general election here.

Sample ballots and other voter information links are available on the Champaign County Clerk website here. Specimen ballots were printed in the News-Gazette (subscription eEdition links here and here). The News-Gazette also had an update on the non-partisan group in Champaign County promoting voter turnout in cooperation with the League of Women Voters. The Champaign County Voter Alliance also produces the non-partisan candidate guide in Champaign County.

There are continued concerns about Census delays and how that may impact election timelines and the data used for various programs and services in the area. Illinois Newsroom had an overview this week:

The U.S. Census Bureau announced Friday that due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other delays, it will not be able to deliver the detailed, block-level data that states need for redistricting until Sept. 30, long past the deadline spelled out in the Illinois Constitution for the General Assembly to approve new maps.

That’s also a full month after candidates are scheduled to begin circulating petitions to run for office and qualify for the March 15, 2022, primary election. The petition period begins Aug. 31 and filing begins Nov. 22, according to a spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Full article available here. The Regional Planning Commission noted their concerns about the Census delays at their January meeting (Cheat Sheet post on that here). The Regional Planning Commission was also in the news for LIHEAP assistance available for utility bills. From WCIA:

Through the RPC’s LIHEAP program, people can catch up on their utility bills, and cover themselves for any extra usage over the coming weeks. The RPC’s director, Lisa Benson, said to apply for benefits as soon as possible.

State moratoriums end March 31. Benson said the RPC is already anticipating a large influx of applicants in the coming weeks. If you have already received benefits, you can apply to have your utilities covered by the RPC’s Emergency Rental Assistance program.

Full article here.

Tom's Mailbag had an answer to the question on how cannabis tax money is collected by the State and then the portion of the tax money the County is eligible for is returned to the local governments 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!