Friends of CCNH Defend Asset

The Chair of the Friends of the Champaign County Nursing Home pointed out concerns about the negativity towards the home (including criticism of push polling connected to the County Clerk and County Executive candidate) and offered some suggestions to ensure that patients are taken care of beyond the sales requirements. Here's an excerpt from the article in the News-Gazette:

While some of us in the county have had direct experience with the home and prize it as a public asset with a very long history of caring for the most vulnerable and destitute, there has been an onslaught of negativity from the Republicans, The News-Gazette and county board Democrat Patsi Petri...

It would be preferable if the county would also: (1) seek out, or give priority to, nonprofit buyers because of their better records nation-wide; (2) exclude from consideration corporations engaged in "related property transactions" that do business only with their own separate companies for services (according to Kaiser Health News, quality of care is worst among this kind of private company, New York Times, 1/7/18, page 1 Business); and (3) exclude from consideration any buyers, private or public, whose nursing homes average less than a 2-star rating, which is the rating of our nursing home now.

We have to consider the welfare of the residents of our nursing home. Whatever the problems our home is presently confronting, we cannot in good conscience deliver the residents to a worse situation as a result of a sale. Fortunately, an actual sale would require affirmative votes by 15 board members, two more than just approved putting the home up for sale. If we reach a point where we advocates cannot prevent a sale, then at least we can pressure members of the board to act in the best interests of present and future residents.

The Week Ahead 2/4 - 2/10

Other Events:

County Executive Candidate Town Halls: More from the N-G

Darlene Kloeppel doesn't have any this week.

Gordy Hulten has one this week:
— 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, Tolono Public Library, 111 E. Main, Tolono. Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2101906040041685/

RJTF City crossover: The Champaign City Human Relations Commission, which also may play a strong coordinated effort with County efforts to implement the Racial Justice Task Force recommendations is having their monthly meeting Monday, February 5th at 5:30pm in the City Council chambers (regularly the 1st Monday of the month at the same time/place).

Reminder: CU Indivisible's County Group is meeting February 10th, so members can look forward to an e-mail reminder and agenda earlier in the week.

County Calendar:

The first meat and potatoes meeting of the County Executive Transition Committee starts off the week. The first meeting mostly involved looking at the requirements, setting forth goals and setting a schedule going forward to transition to the County Executive form of government.

The Facilities and Environment & Land Use Committee meetings are both streamed live (link below) if you want to see what that's all about. You can also get a pretty good idea from their respective previous agenda packets that Facilities deals with maintaining the County's facilities throughout and the Environment & Land Use deals with environmental issues and how land is used within the County's jurisdiction. I'm interested in the "Update regarding Coal Ash in Floodplain of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River" from the Environment & Land Use Committee because that sounded just awful. Seriously, toxic sludge oozing into the Vermilion River (from the Chicago Tribune):

Probably less exciting is the County Administrator Evaluation Committee which, from the previous agendas, you can see looks at the process and paperwork from forms to surveys for evaluating department heads and staff.

The week ends with an RFP Evaluation Review, which given the people present and the recent Nursing Home "request for proposal" opening bids to be solicited from potential buyers for selling the Nursing Home, it's a safe bet this will be about that process.

There's no Build Programs Not Jails meeting this week. They are on new schedule of every other Wednesday which currently lands on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the Month with the next meeting on February 14th.

You might hear about the statutory Early Voting date this week. More information about that and voting by mail here.

The 2018 schedule is up on the Calendar page and the County page. The regular County Board meetings are back to Thursdays until next holiday season.

If you're curious about learning more about how your county government works, it's easy enough to live stream a meeting or go in person: Attend a Meeting.

*Meeting is broadcast live on Comcast Public Access and at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

Where is Brookens?

Brookens Administrative Center
1776 East Washington Street
Urbana, Illinois 61802-4581
Phone: 217-384-3772

After 4:30 the Washington Street side Parking Lot is Closed See Maps for the North East Parking Lot Access

Early Voting Statutory vs Reality

This upcoming week there may be some confusion on the early voting dates as the statutory date is coming up and some people are already have it on their calendars. The County Clerk has the details on the more likely dates once the ballots are actually finalized with the grace period:

For the March 20, 2018 General Primary Election, traditional Early Voting will take place March 12 through March 19. However, the statutory beginning of Early Voting is February 8.

We anticipate that ballots will not be available at the beginning of this period. The ballots will be available no later than February 21, the beginning of Grace Period, by which time most challenges seeking to remove candidates from the ballot should have been decided and we have been able to prepare voting equipment.

It is possible that ballots may be available prior to February 21, so please check our website for more information. Anyone who appears to vote at our office before ballots are ready will be given an application for voting by mail.

There's no conspiracy or partisan trickery afoot, it's just the reality of the system that allows various ballot challenges by candidates and just can be a bit confusing. When they announce early voting has started I'll pass it along here (or if there are any actual problems).

Applications for voting by mail can already be submitted, but the earliest date to submit once you receive your ballot is also the February 8th. More information on voting by mail here at the County Clerk's website as well.

CCVA Questionnaire Responses

 
The Champaign County Voters Alliance has a candidate guide with candidate information for the upcoming primary contests. They received questionnaire responses from candidates in contested primaries for County Board seats available here.

It looks like they got a response from one each of the Sheriff's and County Clerk candidates on the Republican side, with Allen E. Jones and Matt Grandone, respectively.

It's easy to navigate, well organized and with quick links to communicate and get more information about the candidates. I'll be adding links on the main Elections page and pages for contested races.

New Housing Authority Director

The Housing Authority of Champaign County (website currently in limbo here) is the local, county level face of a federal program, as explained in this older N-G article when a director search was ongoing:

The housing authority is funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which doesn't require public input for executive director searches, said Gina Rodriguez, a public affairs officer with HUD's Midwest office.

In Illinois, housing authority boards are required to select and appoint their executive directors, according to the state Housing Authorities Act. Directors report to their boards.

But due to its role in Section 8 housing it plays a key role in local politics, so it's worth highlighting. Unfortunately their main page is down, so temporarily I'm going to rely on the localwiki for a brief overview until I can update it with something more official later:

Since 1939, the Housing Authority of Champaign County (HACC) has provided affordable housing for low-income families and individuals of central Illinois.  The HACC is an important organization in Champaign County, especially in Urbana and Champaign. HACC has had a close relationship with the University of Illinois and in the 1980s HACC worked with the U of I Housing Research Center to redesign public housing communities built in the 1940s. Focus was put on reducing crimes and creating safe spaces for children. Since 2000, much attention has gone to rebuilding and re-conceptualizing existing housing projects.

What will its role be under a HUD run by Ben Carson and a Trump Administration? Will it change much? A lot? This is the man who will probably make that clear going into the future:

New housing authority director isn't one to take job sitting down
David A. Northern Sr. is of the mindset that in his field, a job well done means leaving your desk.

The newly appointed director of the Housing Authority of Champaign County said he doesn't see his work as a spectator sport.

"You have to be in the trenches working hard, and that's the type of person I am," Northern said. "You have to let individuals know and see that you care about where they work and play."

Nearly eight months after former HACC Director Ed Bland left for a job in Virginia, the agency's board of commissioners announced Northern's appointment Wednesday following a national search.

In related HACC news, Cunningham Township's (Urbana) appointment to the HACC board was recently denied by the board chairman:

Housing authority rejects township supervisor's appointment to board
The Housing Authority of Champaign County won't accept the appointment of Cunningham Township Supervisor Danielle Chynoweth to its board because of an ongoing property-tax dispute between the township and the agency, HACC board Chairman Larry Lewis said Wednesday.

Lewis announced the decision in a letter to Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin and the city council, which approved Chynoweth's appointment Dec. 18.

Public Input for County Judge

I couldn't find this on the News-Gazette website yet, but saw it shared elsewhere. Public input on Champaign County's next judge is being solicited, so if you know, support, or oppose a candidate, here's your chance to sing their praises or criticize them. I'll be adding a link to the Election page to this post for now:

Cheat Sheet Updates

• Added a link to the News-Gazette Questionnaire for the Republican County Clerk primary race. in the County Office races page.

• Added a new page by Amy on appointed positions and how to apply for them under the County Offices list.

Did you know that you, as a Champaign County community member, can apply for term-limited positions through the Champaign County Board? The County Board accepts applications for positions on “appointed bodies,” which consist of various commissions, advisory boards, and task forces.

If you are interested in learning more check out the Appointments Information page for an explanation and links!

• Added and updated links on election information on the Election page and elsewhere, including outside link to the Champaign County Voter Alliance website that also has additional information on registration, voting options, and a candidates guide!

Nursing Home Payroll Loan

The financial situation at the Nursing Home and County budget continues to scrape by "paycheck to paycheck" it seems. This week they literally needed to get a loan to pay paychecks. From the News-Gazette today:

$170K advance ordered to help nursing home meet payroll

Champaign County Treasurer John Farney said Tuesday that he has ordered his staff to prepare a $170,000 advance from property-tax funds to help the county nursing home meet its payroll this Friday.

SAK Management, the suburban Chicago company that manages the nursing home for the county, notified Farney and County Auditor Diane Michaels on Tuesday that it will be unable to make payroll.

Farney said the cash advance is to be used only for employee pay and not for payments to vendors.

The treasurer said he can make the cash advances without county board approval. But he said the nursing home must begin to repay the amount “upon receipt of all deposits” starting Thursday “and continuing until the debt has been retired. There will be no exceptions.”

Earlier this month, the county board agreed to place the nursing home up for sale.

Bids for its purchase are due by Feb. 28.

It's certainly an inauspicious start for 2018 and any remaining hopes by Democrats and others to keep the home as a County asset, with the labor and service protections they see comes with that.

County Clerk Candidate Forum and a Fundraiser

From the bottom of Tom Kacich's piece today (where a lot of local political tidbits get lumped for those looking for where they hide this stuff):

Republican forum

The two Republican candidates for Champaign County clerk, Matt Grandone and Jon Rector, will answer questions at the Monday’s meeting of the Champaign County Active Senior Republicans at the Champaign Public Library. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. Judge Randy Rosenbaum also will take questions, but his primary election opponent, Sami Anderson, will be unable to attend because she said she is in court at that time.

Democratic fundraiser

A campaign fundraiser for county board Democratic candidate Tanisha King-Taylor of Urbana (District 10) and to support Aaron Ammons’ campaign for county clerk will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Riggs Brewery in Urbana.

The Week Ahead 1/28 - 2/3

[UPDATE: a Litigation Committee meeting has been added, the bulk of which appears to be in closed session according to the agenda. Will update with more information when I have it.]

I'm posting an image link to the clickable PDF weekly calendar at the County main website again:

County Executive Candidate Town Halls: More from the N-G

Darlene Kloeppel has one this week:
— 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 2, Urbana Free Library, 210 W. Green St., Urbana. Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/185037495562784/

Gordy Hulten has one this week:
— 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 29, Mahomet Township Community Center, 510 E. Main St., Mahomet. Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/2112772848951139/

The Board Calendar itself is pretty empty this week except for the Lincoln Legacy Committee:

The Lincoln Legacy Committee is a collaborative committee of the Champaign County Forest Preserve and the Champaign County Board formed for the purpose of promoting the Bicentennial Celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth through the creation of exhibits at the Champaign County Courthouse and the Museum of the Grand Prairie. The committee continues its work with other Lincoln-related projects.

The 2018 schedule is up on the Calendar page and the County page. The regular County Board meetings are back to Thursdays until next holiday season.

If you're curious about learning more about how your county government works, it's easy enough to live stream a meeting or go in person: Attend a Meeting.

*Meeting is broadcast live on Comcast Public Access and at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

Where is Brookens?

Brookens Administrative Center
1776 East Washington Street
Urbana, Illinois 61802-4581
Phone: 217-384-3772

After 4:30 the Washington Street side Parking Lot is Closed See Maps for the North East Parking Lot Access

Dark Sky Park and Ice Adventures

Tonight's first of the year Champaign County Forest Preserve Board meeting kicked off with a fairly large audience, including new staff and folks behind the Dark Sky Park project. All board members were present except Sarah Livesay, as were the interim Executive Director Mary Ellen Wuellner and Finance Director John Baker. The agenda is available here.

All of the agenda items passed unanimously so I'll focus on the highlights.

The interim Executive Director was made the permanent Executive Director. More on that from the News-Gazette article from the previous post. The board was complimentary and there was applause around the room on the motion carrying.

The motion for "Designation of Middle Fork River Forest Preserve as a Dark Sky Park" passed with fanfare and applause as well. Commissioner Herakovich said it was a long time coming. Director Wuellner thanked the people behind the project and the Citizens Advisory Committee for the heavy lifting on lightscape management and others. This included David Leake whose only additional comment was "Let's do it!"

More on the project from the News-Gazette here. Excerpt below:

Forest preserve district hoping you'll see stars at Middle Fork

...
This year, park-goers with an eye to the sky may realize it's even darker.

Since fall 2016, after a suggestion from David Leake, director of Parkland's Staerkel Planetarium, Kuntz and Champaign County Forest Preserve District staff have been making specific lighting changes at Middle Fork that have it poised to become the first certified Dark-Sky Park in Illinois. There are only 55 in the world, and 39 of those are in the United States.

"It looks pretty promising," Leake said of the park district's chances to achieve the designation this spring after its application to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is submitted early this year.

The association's Dark-Sky Places Program was started in 2001 "to encourage communities around the world to preserve and protect dark sites through responsible lighting policies and public education." The program has five types of designations — dark-sky communities, parks, reserves, sanctuaries and developments. Each has its own set of parameters that must be met to achieve the distinction from the international group.

Members pointed out the possibility of astro-tourism, camping advantages, as well as excitement in the area, including the Mayor of Rantoul. Commissioner Hays pointed it out this may be the only "dark sky" rated park in Illinois and possibly the only one at a county level.

Earlier in the meeting they introduced a few new members to the Citizens Advisory Committee (more information here, but as of tonight not yet updated with new member names).

Concerns were raised about a possible future hog farm adjacent to the Southwest Middle Fork district area which was described as a potential "epic disaster" that the board should get out in front of. I believe it was Commissioner Hays who brought it up as well as possibly circulating information for opposition. The approval would be through the Department of Agriculture and simple NIMBY (not in my back yard) objections would probably not sway them as they generally approve due to the economic positives. Herakovich suggested staying in contact with the County Board and its land use committee on the subject.

A conference was attended by members and staff and included in various reports and future reports on what they learned in the various sessions. Diversity of staff considerations were discussed as well as two new staff members. A natural resources specialist and "GIS whiz" as well as a natural resource technician who was first out on the ice in an adventure the previous evening removing illegally dumped carpet rolls from the icy Sangamon River. Apparently someone felt dumping it off a bridge was a cost saver.

There was a potential vote on the purchasing policy was discussed, but eventually tabled until next month to get feedback on the approval before a vote. The changes discussed didn't appear to be substantive so much as necessary after seeing the challenges facing the staff on various tasks. All the changes were well within the required limits.

The highlights above covered what the agenda outline didn't make obvious (except perhaps that the F-150 they purchased has a tow bar, which would have come in handy for the carpet ice adventures). Another fascinating bit of County government that's always going on. If you're interested in learning more, check out their website's about page and check out the links. If you want to get involved check out the Citizens Advisory Committee and other opportunities under the "Get Involved" tab at the top of their website.

Champaign County Forest Preserve Meeting

Short notice, but here's some information on the Champaign County Forest Preserve in the News-Gazette:

Forest preserve district's interim director expected to be made permanent

Mary Ellen Wuellner, the interim director of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District since September, is expected to be formally approved tonight as the district's ninth executive director and the first woman to hold the post.

She will be paid $100,000 a year.

Wuellner, 57, replaces Dan Olson, who resigned last summer to become director of operations for the Champaign Park District. She was deputy executive director under Olson.

The meeting is tonight in Mahomet (future meeting dates/places here. Tonight's agenda here):

On Thursday, January  25, 2018 at the Museum of the Grand Prairie Classroom, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, 900 N. Lombard, Mahomet, Illinois, at 6:00 P.M.  

More information on the board and board meetings are available at their website here: http://www.ccfpd.org/about/board-meetings

CU Indivisible and RJTF Recommendations

Many local programs and organizations are looking at the New Year to begin work on the Racial Justice Task Force recommendations from their final report (available here with a summary of the recommendations on pages 5-9). CU Indivisible, a local indivisible group (what is this?) is no exception. They have a general meeting coming up this weekend, Saturday January 27th at 3pm at the Champaign Public Library (facebook event page here) where this and other issues will be discussed. Here's an announcement that highlights their current focus/priorities on those RJTF recommendations:

Were you able to attend the Racial Justice Task Force meeting last fall? If not, we have some information about the important points covered in the meeting. [Full report here]

There were two areas that are ripe for possible change: pretrial justice and legalized housing discrimination.

According to the Racial Justice Task Force Report, "64% of the people confined in the jail were African American" (p. 31). Many of the people in jail do not know whether a charge will be filed, dismissed, or resolved. They are often unable to leave because they need to pay a "D-bond" set at about 10% of the bail amount. Others were jailed for failure to appear in court. The Task Force recommends better notice of court appearances, better risk-assessment for release, and improved pretial services. Specific recommendations are described in the full Task Force Report.

A second major issue is legalized housing discrimination. Section 17.4-5 of Champaign municipal code allows landlords in the city to lawfully deny anyone convicted of a forcible felony or a felony drug charge housing until he or she has lived outside of jail or prison for at least five consecutive years without another conviction related to drugs or force. This is exclusive to renters, and it makes it harder for those reentering to secure housing.

This provision was struck from the record in the 1970s and then put back on the books with no explanation in 1994. There was not data or justification provided to support this action. In October 2016, both the Champaign County Reentry Council and the City of Champaign’s Human Relations Commission have advised the City Council to strike this exception from the city code.

This is a Civil Rights violation, specifically the Fair Housing Act. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released an advisory against this practice in 2016, read that report here. The report argues that since higher than average incarceration rates exist among Hispanics and African Americans in the U.S., the use of criminal records to deny housing can cause a “disparate impact” on these races. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2015 population estimates for Champaign County, 41.5% of African Americans have incomes below the poverty level compared to 17.2% of white people.

The CUI and the CUI County Board group will be working with other local groups and activists on this issue. If you would like get involved, contact Grace Hebert (contact info here)

Getting started on these issues can feel like a daunting task. Fortunately there are many amazing people who have spent years and sometimes their whole lives fighting for justice and reforms and there are many organizations and programs already in the fight every day working to make our community a better place. The first step is to grab a notepad (paper or digital) and find out what's already happening. A good start for you may be your local indivisible group, but there are many other starting points as well.

Here are just a few starting points. If any of them sound like they may interest you, all you have to do is show up with an open mind and a willingness to learn:

Build Programs Not Jails has been fighting for years to encourage alternatives to the criminal justice system and care for citizens in need here in Champaign County. They have regular meetings you can attend and find out what they're up to.

Champaign Human Relations Commission and the Human Relations Commission of Urbana: The respective city HRCs serve their communities by offering programs against discrimination, dealing with cases of discrimination, and working to improve community relations for all citizens with their government and policing agencies. They have regular meetings you can attend as well.

Champaign County Community Coalition is a local group that works with "local government; law enforcement; juvenile justice; behavioral health; education; child welfare; and community based service providers. This network is designed to identify critical community issues that impact the lives of youth and their families." They have a meeting coming up February 14 at 3:30pm at the Champaign Public Library if you want to learn more.

Taking the first step may seem overwhelming at first, but everyone who got involved had to start somewhere. Usually at a meeting with strangers trying to figure out what they're talking about, taking notes so you can find answers to all the new questions you may have.

These are by far not the only starting points... a more comprehensive chart for this site is in the works of various local government and community organizations and programs surrounding our criminal justice system. These range from prevention, services, diversion and assistance programs, to programs all the way through the criminal justice system and back again. This includes re-entry assistance, regaining/protecting your rights, and building a livelihood after. I'm shooting to have it linked up and looking spiffy by this weekend... so the weekend after next is probably a safer bet. I'm still learning too.