County Executive Conversation Lunches

A quick reminder for folks who want to talk to our new County Executive about the new County government, County issues, etc. From the News-Gazette last month:

Champaign County Executive Darlene Kloeppel has scheduled a series of "Community Conversation" lunches open to the public. The first will be March 6 at Crane Alley, 115 W. Main St., Urbana. To reserve a seat at the table — you're on your own for lunch — contact Tammy Asplund at 384-3776 or by email at tasplund@co.champaign.il.us. More lunches are planned for every Wednesday through July 3 at locations in Champaign, Rantoul, Mahomet, St. Joseph, Tolono and Savoy. The full schedule is at co.champaign.il.us/AdministrativeServices/CountyExecNewsReleases.php

Early Voting Update

There's been some election related news lately, from the new County Clerk taking office with an election right away, to avoiding hours long winding staircase lines for students. From WCCU Tuesday:

The Champaign County Clerk is reminding residents how important local elections can be.

"Your local elected officials are the ones you are going to bump into at the bank or at the store. The ones you can walk into their office and have a conversation with and make sure they really understand what is your concern or your idea,” said Aaron Ammons, Champaign county clerk.

So far, Ammons said about 400 absentee ballots have been returned and about 200 people have voted in-person in Champaign County...

Starting March 27, the Champaign County Clerk’s Office will extend their hours until 7 p.m. to accommodate voters. Also, eight other early voting locations will open across the county.

Voting in the April 2nd Consolidated Election has already started! If you haven't voted yet, you still have a lot of options. Here are some quick basics (mostly linking to the Champaign County Clerk website):

Still need to register to vote?

Information on Grace Period Registration.


Need to check to see if you're registered to vote in Champaign County?

The County has a Voter Information Lookup page. The State of Illinois has a more general voter registration lookup here if you need it.


Need a candidate guide?

Votechampaign.org has you covered: Candidate Guide.

We had a recent post on candidate forums and meet and greets here.


Need to vote?

Early voting at Brookens Administration Center has already begun (more information here).

Early voting at all early voting locations starts March 27th in just under two weeks (more information here)... including on the first floor of the Illini Union for students concerned about a repeat of the winding staircase lines last year.


Want to vote by mail?

Vote by mail requests are still being accepted online. Applications to vote by mail can also still be requested by phone, mail, or email (more information here). The application is also available on the website to print here with directions. The deadline to apply to vote by mail is five days before the election (or slightly less than two weeks from now).

I haven't spotted any news on voting problems or calamities yet, but it's early, even for early voting. A month ago the new County Clerk, Aaron O. Ammons was assuring voters that they would be ready for this election in spite of some unexpected staff turnover. From the News-Gazette in February:

Tom Kacich | For new Champaign County clerk, 'it's been a learning curve'
Aaron Ammons, about two and a half months into his new job as Champaign County clerk, said the start hasn't been smooth but that citizens shouldn't be concerned about this spring's municipal elections or the preparation of property tax bills...

Soon after he took over Dec. 1, the county clerk's office was down six employees. Ammons said it was a foregone conclusion that his Republican opponent, Matt Grandone, would leave the office, as would former clerk Gordy Hulten and Hulten's Chief Deputy Jeremy Cirks.

But he said he was unprepared for the loss of three other employees almost immediately, plus a fourth who left within a couple of months. He said it was "disheartening" that two of the former employees gave two days' notice and another gave no notice at all...

Slowly, he said, he's filling positions. He's hired an information technology specialist, expects to have a deputy county clerk within a week and is close to hiring a chief of staff. By May he thinks all the positions in the office will be filled...

Although he'll be shorthanded, Ammons said he doesn't expect problems with the April 2 election or with the on-time distribution of property tax bills around May 1.

More at the full article here, which includes more from Ammons on the amazing staff that remained as he focused on preparing.

One early success appears to be working with the University to have student voting in a larger and more accessible first floor area of the Illini Union in future elections (including the Pine Lounge for this election). The previous County Clerk had assured the County Board that better spaces were neither available nor necessary to accommodate student voters prior to the election which resulted in long lines down winding staircases. Whether the changes will be enough to prevent bottlenecks in 2020 remains to be seen.

I've found that the politicos in Champaign County have varying amounts of reasonableness behind their skepticism of the opposite party controlling the County Clerk's Office. The partisan suspicions can be healthy to pressure candidates to prove their claims of fairly managing elections, even if only to avoid feeding the conspiracy theories that often don't need help.

There are some serious disagreements to be had about what constitutes fairness, wise management, and the ethical bounds of a political office that serves all constituencies. Those disagreements may not always fall down party lines in local offices, but they can and often do. These local elections are a first test for County residents to gauge the success or failure of the Democratic change in this office... and whether it will be held by them or flip back to the Republicans.

Hazardous Waste Collection Efforts

A question to Tom's Mailbag last month inquired on hazardous waste collection in Champaign County. The answer revealed an effort to have such events in the County again after a years long lull. Below excerpts from that article, I'm also including additional information on a nearby (Gibson City) hazardous waste recycling event. From the Mailbag:

The last Illinois EPA one-day household hazardous waste collection event held in Champaign County took place in September 2012. Soon after that collection, Champaign County Recycling Coordinator Susan Monte submitted another application request to the IEPA.

"We have been waiting since 2013 to be selected as a site for an IEPA one-day HHW collection," she said.

In order to improve household hazardous waste collection options locally, Monte said, the HHW Leadership Team, a group of concerned citizens formed in 2017, has continued to meet with local government recycling coordinators "to guide efforts toward implementing a convenient, safe and environmentally responsible household hazardous waste management options for Champaign County residents," she said.

The group's current initiative is to launch a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting these efforts. For more information about how to become involved or how to assist in these efforts, call Monte at 217-819-4021 or email her at smonte@co.champaign.il.us.

Full Mailbag article here, which included links to information for County area collection of motor oil and transmission fluid. Smile Politely had information on the Gibson City hazardous waste collection opportunity later this month here:

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is sponsoring a Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Event on March 23rd in Gibson City. Even though this is in Ford County, it is open to all Illinois residents, and is the closest option for Champaign County residents.

From 8 a.m to 3 p.m you can bring the items mentioned below to 115 S. Sangamon Avenue in Gibson City.

State and Local Resource Fair and disABILITY Resource Expo

Two events are coming up this March for people who are looking to find information and ask questions about resources that may be available for themselves or family members on everything from health care, disabilities, employment, aging issues, veterans in need, and more. The first event involves State and local agencies and organizations this Thursday, March 14th. From Champaign County government facebook page:

"The Illinois State Treasurer's Office is partnering with the Champaign County Supervisor of Assessment's office to provide Champaign area residents one-stop access to local and statewide agencies. All are welcome to attend this event on Thursday, March 14th.

The following organizations will be at the event to provide you with information and assistance:

• Senior Resource Center at Family Service
• Champaign County Health Care Consumers
• Health Alliance
• Illinois Dept. on Aging
• City of Champaign Township
• Illinois Comptroller's Office
• Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs Office
• Illinois Home Care Ombudsman Program
• IlliniCare Health
• Veteran’s Assistance Commission
• Board of Review (Champaign)
• Molina Healthcare
• Illinois Dept. of Employment Security
• Illinois Epilepsy Foundation
• Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's Office (not mobile services, informational table)
• Champaign County Supervisor of Assessments"

Also later this month: the disABILITY Resource Expo on March 30. More information on that event here. Their mission statement: "To provide full access to information and resources from a wide variety of agencies and organizations, to promote a better quality of life for people with disabilities in Champaign County and East Central Illinois." They have a searchable interactive resource guide on their website here.

Champaign County Community Coalition Updates

There were a few updates on the work of the Community Coalition in February. Here are some of the highlights I found in the news heading into their March meeting this Wednesday (more information on that meeting here). WCCU had a quick blurb and a short video segment with highlights of the February meeting here. Excerpt:

Every month Champaign County leaders and concerned citizens gather to discuss community issues.

On Wednesday, the room was packed.

Since the last meeting in January, there have been five shootings in Champaign and six shots fired calls in Urbana.

The police chiefs continue to ask the community for their help in reporting this violence.

The coalition has also created a subcommittee to tackle gun issues — that includes developing a crisis plan when there is a shooting to keep everyone informed.

The blurb and video segment available here. A more detailed explanation of what the Community Coalition is and does at an earlier post here. Tracy Parsons, who facilitates the Community Coalition meetings, spoke later that same week as part of a lecture series at the campus YMCA on building a culture of nonviolence:

As communities across the U.S. grapple with gun violence, data from the city of Champaign suggests part of the problem stems from kids using guns to solve personal conflicts, according to Tracy Parsons, the city's community relations manager.

Parsons leads the Champaign Community Coalition, which brings together organizations and groups working to address local gun violence.

Speaking at the University of Illinois YMCA Friday Forum on February 15, Parsons said most shootings in Champaign-Urbana follow domestic incidents, or when interpersonal conflicts are handled with guns...

To help stop the shootings in Champaign-Urbana, Parsons said the University of Illinois should do more to address its root causes, which include poverty, racism, and lack of access to opportunities for black children...

Parsons said U of I faculty and staff too often swoop into black communities, collect data about kids and social issues, publish research studies, and then move on.

Full WILL article and audio segment here. WAND also had coverage in a short article and video segment on the same here. In the WAND interview he touched on the issues of reentry from the criminal justice system by formerly incarcerated people. Extreme difficulties in housing, employment, and educational opportunities can play a role a significant role in recidivism. For the latest updates on reentry issues, see this post on the most recent Champaign County Reentry Council meetings here.

As far as the crisis plan for shootings incidents, here's the explanation as I understood it from the January Community Coalition meeting:

A crisis plan is being worked on by the gun violence subcommittee of the the Community Coalition. As a community we have plans for fires and tornadoes and other tragedies, but the chaotic aftermath of gun violence still results in uncoordinated needs for trauma care, counseling, up to and including opposing gangs fighting in emergency rooms while health care providers desperately try to save lives. But it also includes a need to interrupt patterns of retaliation and community intervention to tamp down on the multiplicative effect that can have.

 Additionally, there was an update to the C-U Fresh Start program, now on its 5th call-in. Article and a short audio segment from WILL:

Eleven young men who had been involved in violent, gun-related offenses were offered a choice Thursday night --- stay on a path that could lead to prison or death, or accept an offer of help to turn their lives around. The choice was offered at a “Call-In” session held in downtown Champaign by C-U Fresh Start.

The event at the Illinois Terminal Building was the fifth such Call-In for the Fresh Start program, which was launched in 2016 by the Champaign Community Coalition, in response to a rise in gun violence in the community.

116 shooting incidents, including nine homicides, were reported in Champaign-Urbana in 2018. So far in 2019, there have been at least 16 shootings and one homicide.

The men heard messages from police, ministers, and from Shirley Bailey Phillips of Champaign, who admonished one of the young men to look at her, not at the floor, while she told how her daughter, Erica Cox, was killed by a stray bullet in 2016...

However, all of the participants who were offered help through C-U Fresh Start are 18 or older, on parole or probation, have a prior felony arrest or gun arrest or a violent crime conviction, or have been identified through credible information as having a recent involvement in violent crime.

The eleven participants later went to another room for the second part of the call-in, where they learned about the “Services Pillar” of C-U Fresh Start. This was the help they could receive in completing their parole or probation, educational and job training opportunities and help in finding employment.

More information and details at the full article here. More information about C-U Fresh Start at their webpage here. There are numerous organizations, activist groups, service providers, churches, and government collaborations working on criminal justice and equity issues from prevention to felon rights. A small sampling of organizations I've gotten to understand better are on our Organizations page with links to more information. It is far from an exhaustive list.

Area Park Grants and Updates

Local parks in Champaign County will be receiving State grant money soon, according to a recent announcement from the governor. Below there are also a couple news updates about local trees. From a blurb on Smile Politely earlier last month:

Governor Pritzker just announced $28.9 million in grant money that will fund 89 projects throughout the state through Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and a few Champaign County spaces will benefit:
Champaign County Forest Preserve District: $152,400 for expanding accessibility at Lake of the Woods
Champaign Park District:  $400,000 for Human Kinetics Park Development
Village of Rantoul: $360,000 for Rudzinksi Park Redevelopment
Urbana Park District: $400,000 for Crystal Lake Rehabilitation Project
You can find out more about the statewide grants here.

Since that blurb, there's been additional coverage in the News-Gazette and the Rantoul Press on the individual projects that will benefit from the grants. Starting with the coverage on Champaign County Forest Preserve and its use of the Lake of the Woods grant here at their eEdition. Excerpt:

Lake of the Woods will expand its lake accessibility within the next two years following Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s awarding of $152,400 from the state’s Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant, which assists parks in acquiring open space or developing and improving local recreational facilities throughout the state.

“We’re very excited about it,” said Mary Ellen Wuellner, executive director of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District.

Grant coordinator Jarrod Scheunemann said the money will be used to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities in the area near the intersection of Tin Cup and Lake of the Woods roads, commonly referred to as the peninsula.

Full article here (requires digital subscription). The grant for the Champaign Park District was covered here:

Money from the grant will pay for outdoor sports fields and courts, a path system, a shelter and a playground...

The grant money will be added to a $4.4 million donation from Rainer and Julie Martens to construct a community center, called the Martens Center, on the site.

This state-of-the-art multipurpose facility will be owned and operated by the park district...

Among the offerings will be exercise and nutrition classes, English as a second language programs, business courses and swimming lessons.

The development is part of a partnership with the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club.

Full article here. The Rantoul Press had coverage for the Rudzinski Park grant:

A new playground and swing set, shade structures and circuit-training area are among the items to be added to Rantoul’s Christopher Rudzinski Park.

Work could begin this spring on a redevelopment of the park, thanks to a $360,000 state grant...

The state will provide 90 percent of Rantoul’s $400,000 project cost. The village will kick in the remaining $40,000.

Mayor Chuck Smith formally announced the award at last week’s Rantoul Village Board study session.

Recreation Department Superintendent Luke Humphrey said in November, the goal is to upgrade the park area west of Baerman Drive. The upgrade would include new playground equipment, swing set, rubber safety surfacing, parking lot, shade structure, furnishings and an outdoor circuit training area...

He said because Rantoul is considered a “distressed community” economically, it qualified for 90 percent funding of the project.

Full article here. And finally on the Urbana Crystal Lake Park grant:

Plans to revitalize the area around Crystal Lake Park have been at the top of the Urbana Park District's wish list for years...

Hopes are that the $400,000 will fund work on a large section of the lake edge, in an effort to rehabilitate it "into more naturalized systems," [Executive Director Tim Bartlett] said.

The strategy for improving the water quality at Crystal Lake calls for removing as many invasive tree species and shrubs as the park district can without damaging existing ecosystems.

The money will also go toward construction of a new nature-themed playground, a family game area and a boat dock with an accessible kayak launch.

But it's the water quality piece that's most important for attracting more visitors. Last fall, when park district officials presented the Crystal Lake improvement plans to the Urbana City Council, then-council member Aaron Ammons said it should be a top priority to decrease the level of pollution in the lake from runoff nitrates and invasive species.

Bartlett said the water quality will improve once the edge of the lake is planted with native species that can filter and cleanse the water of chemicals and runoff.

Full article here.


And finally a couple local tree updates: 

• The Daily Illini on how MCORE construction includes planning to replace lost trees. Tom's Mailbag answers a question on the same subject.
• The emerald ash borer beetle continues to menace area ash trees. News-Gazette had coverage yesterday and today about the ramifications, as laid out by a local arborist, and to let people know why Champaign County Forest Preserve staff are cutting down affected trees:

  If you’ve visited Champaign County Forest Preserve District parks this week, you may have seen freshly cut tree stumps or trees actually being felled. Unfortunately, there’s a very good reason. District crews were cutting ash trees, a species that’s been decimated by the emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle native to Asia that’s killed millions of ash trees in Illinois and more throughout the Midwest. Preserve district staff were taking down trees at Lake of the Woods in Mahomet this week and at Homer Lake Forest Preserve on Thursday, along trails and the road, said Michael Daab, director of natural resources. A lot of ash trees have also been felled at Kickapoo State Recreation Area near Oakwood.

Nursing Home Sale Delay Update

WCIA had a blurb confirming that the State board who needed to approve the most recent delay in the sale of the Nursing Home did so last week:

The Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted to extend the ownership permit for the Champaign County Nursing Home for another month.

It means the sale is still pending. The nursing home was supposed to be sold in November.

The county has spent millions of dollars to keep it afloat and get the sale through.

The extension gives the county ownership until April 1. 

Article here (including a video segment restating this information). The big question is: "Now what?" From the News-Gazette article explaining the reason for this vote extending the sale deadline:

One factor that had been holding up the sale has been addressed.

As of Jan. 23, the county nursing home had corrected the deficiencies related to a Jan. 3 state Department of Public Health inspection, according to the letter from Chicago attorney Anne Cooper to the state board.

"The applicants are diligently working to transfer the existing contracts and to obtain a new license for the skilled nursing facility," the letter said.

That included the state approving plans of correction and the nursing home clearing all of the deficiencies.

A separate communication to the state board from Cooper said the buyer is waiting for a new license to be issued before filing for a change of ownership with Medicaid and Medicare. Under Medicare rules, the owner must file for the change of ownership within 60 days of completing the sale, she said.

So, as long as nothing goes wrong, it sounds like the Nursing Home will officially belong to the new owners under their new names on April 1st. How likely that is, I cannot say. No matter what side of the issue people were on about selling the home, the budget ramifications appear to only get more complicated with each delay.

For folks hoping for a clear "will it" or "won't it" be sold, I'm afraid all I've got is "sounds likes" and "appears." I suppose we'll know if it sold or not on April Fool's Day. I might avoid posting that day and wait until April 2nd to confirm any news.

Reentry Council Updates

This update will highlight information from the last two reentry council meetings on February 6th and March 6th of 2019. For the last Reentry Council meeting post from January click here.

First off, there were some helpful informational guides and flyer about local reentry resources. The first is for people interested in more information about participating in the new Young Adult Reentry Program getting started by the Regional Planning Commission: YARP Participant Handbook. The second is a local resource flyer for people needing services upon reentry to the community from the criminal justice system. The third is a Reentry and Resource Guide and Workbook from Rosecrance for people reentering. It provides step by step information for some critical starting issues, such as obtaining a valid ID (no easy task when the prison issue ID isn't accepted): 

There will also be a presentation of the Reentry Council's mid-annual report to the Champaign County Board this Tuesday at 6:30pm at their Committee of the Whole meeting. The text of that report is on the County website here (page of 7 of the packet and page 10 of the PDF file). I'll post a link of the video presentation when it's available. These presentations, like this one last year, help explain the data and charts involved in reentry collaboration, which can be heavy on jargon and abbreviations, even to those on the council. For the reader's sake, I'm highlighting probably the key bit from the conclusion:

It remains the view of the Reentry Council that more resources are needed in Champaign County to better support the successful transition of citizens returning here from incarceration. With recent leadership changes at the Champaign County Housing Authority, it appears that housing options, perhaps the most critical need faced, for the reentry population, will be increased.

As reentry case management is a vital component of success for all persons returning from incarceration, willing to engage in supportive services - particularly those with behavioral health needs, it is the hope of the Council that all supportive resources will become sustainable. On-going, reliable support for releasing individuals will offer the best opportunity to formerly-incarcerated people to establish productive lives that will serve the betterment of themselves, their families, and the Champaign County community

Although the data is more recent, this language is the same as the council report last summer and remains true (That July 2018 report is available here on page 14 of the agenda packet PDF (page 9 on the printed version). The difficulties and hurdles for people reentering are multi-layered and intertwined. It's complicated for those trying to help people navigate the system to meet their basic needs, let alone the people going through it themselves.

Both the February and March Reenty Council meetings touched on this upcoming presentation and further efforts to compile data in a useful way for all of the agencies and organizations involved. For example, flowcharts of how people leaving the criminal justice system from Jail or Illinois prisons (IDOC) and how do they get referred to the reentry services, how are they followed up on, etc: Local Reentry Flowchart (note: abbreviation help on last page).

February's meeting had some brief highlights of a couple local programs. Parkland and Salt & Light Ministries had a collaboration for adult basic education, including "Free GED, literacy, job-prep skill classes." More information here. An organization called GROW is offering help in a peer-support program that offers some alternatives and advantages to compliment the work of traditional mental health services. More information from the GROW website here and I'll have additional information in a future post as well.

March's meeting highlighted some upcoming presentations to the reentry council from organizations doing work related to reentry including the CUPHD's community outreach in April, TASC in May, and the Salvation Army in June on their transitional employment and training program (information, application, and upcoming dates at that link).

There were some other highlights as well. The Regional Planning Commission's new reentry program will also be giving a presentation to the County Board at the March 12th meeting. Heartland Bank is collaborating with the Housing Authority of Champaign County to offer classes on fixing credit and other financial help. Information is available from any local Heartland Bank branch or by calling 309-664-4524.

Both meetings dealt a bit with internal organization issues and housekeeping. Getting the voting members properly established for the bylaws. The issue of the Executive Committee having a member that can ensure a voice for the impacted community was debated on specifics and effectively tabled for now.

If you're interested in finding out more about reentry issues or criminal justice reform in the community, I'd encourage checking out the upcoming County Board Committee of the Whole either by attending the meeting, streaming it at home, or when it's posted on the County Clerk YouTube channel a few days later.

Citizens Police Academy

The Police Training Institute is offering its Citizen Police Academy course again next month. Registration has begun with local departments to submit your information and pass a background check. The series of 10 three-hour classes will be on Thursday evenings from April 4th through June 6th. Here's a little information to help you get started:


What is the Police Training Institute?

From their about webpage:

Established in 1955 by state statute, the University of Illinois Police Training Institute is one of the largest and longest running police academies in the United States. The institute has trained thousands of police and correctional officers since its inception, preparing students to be leaders and professionals in the ever more important peace-keeping function in our communities.

The University of Illinois and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board have formed a partnership to provide premier law enforcement training and academic research in the field of law enforcement and criminal justice. The Police Training Institute provides a 560-hour Basic Law Enforcement Academy, 200-hour Basic Correctional Officer Academy, and advanced specialty courses in firearms and arrest & control tactics. We also offer a citizens police academy for community members to learn about law enforcement and partnering with police to keep our communities safe.

What is the Citizen Police Academy?

From the Citizen Police Academy webpage:

The Citizen Police Academy is an educational and informative program that allows citizens the opportunity to learn about the issues that face law enforcement efforts in Champaign County. This program is offered in cooperation with the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, University of Illinois Police Department, Urbana Police Department, Champaign Police Department, Rantoul Police Department, the Mahomet Police Department, Parkland Public Safety, and District 10 of the Illinois State Police.

It's available for free to local residents. To register you only need to contact your local cooperating police department in the list above (non-emergency telephone numbers available at the links). The background check requires basic personal and contact information such as your birth date and local address. Here is the pamphlet and information posted by the Champaign Police Department's facebook page as an example:

Registration is open for the 2019 Champaign County Citizen Police Academy!

This is a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of the structure and operations of local law enforcement agencies and how to improve lines of communication between police and the community.

Interested in attending? Contact your local police department to begin the process.

Regardless of one's political views, being better informed about criminal justice information and perspectives from police and police educators could certainly be helpful in understanding local policies and the government's current role in policing.


(Hat tip to Nicole Padilla in Spotted in Chambana for highlighting this earlier.)

County Jail Updates

Here's a few news items involving the Champaign County Jail this past month:

First a quick reminder that applications for the Sheriff's scholarship are due next week: more info here.
 
The new County Board and Sheriff along with jail staff toured the jail facilities. From the News-Gazette earlier in February:

Champaign County Board facilities committee gets firsthand look at jails
Champaign County's new sheriff and new county board leadership have begun the process of addressing the needs of an aging jail built in 1980 and a second jail, built in 1996, that is bursting at the seams to meet modern needs...

The visit was billed as the first step in helping the county respond to ongoing needs at the two facilities.

Off and on, the possible closure of the older downtown site and the renovation and expansion of the other site have been discussed...

Jail staff first led the board members on a tour of the satellite site, including booking, the holding area, video court, visitation room, the B-Pod, the A-Pod, kitchen, laundry, medical unit, mental health office and control room.

Then the committee toured the downtown site's visitation area, living units, classroom, library and indoor recreation area.

Jail staff said the rise of gun violence, gangs and people with mental health issues have created modern challenges perhaps not anticipated when the satellite facility was built.

"By statute, we are in charge of providing a safe, healthy and clean facility for all the people who come here," Heuerman said. "It is difficult to expand our offerings given the time and space restraints that we have." 

Full article here. The County Sheriff, State's Attorney, and Public Health Administrator were among those on a panel discussing the likely legalization of marijuana in the future. More details on that event here: 'Let's face it: This is probably going to happen.' A relevant excerpt:

Of the 198 people in the county jail, [State's Attorney Julia Rietz] said that only five of them are there on cannabis charges, and all five of them face additional charges, such as gun possession or aggravated domestic battery.

 A couple worrisome news items popped up this past week involving a case of tuberculosis and malfunctioning doors. First from the News-Gazette:

Champaign County Jail inmate tests positive for tuberculosis
An inmate at the Champaign County Jail has tested positive for tuberculosis, according to the sheriff's office.

The inmate is hospitalized and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District already has an investigation under way, according to health district Administrator Julie Pryde...

The sheriff's office said jail staff have been working to identify those who were in contact with the inmate and with the public health district to administer TB tests to anyone who may have been in contact.

People at greatest risk for catching TB from someone with the disease are those who have been in close contact, such as a cellmate, Pryde said.

and from WCIA (video segment at link):

Malfunctioning doors latest issue at jail
Problems at the downtown jail have been going on for several years. The building was built in the early 80s and county officials say it's in very bad shape.

"The older jail, which is the downtown jail, has pretty much outlived its life span."

Now, another issue has sprouted up. The decades-old jail's door panels are malfunctioning, unlocking and sometimes opening different, unintended doors at random times.

The sheriff says they're expecting it to be fixed next week. The doors malfunctioning are just the latest problem they're having to try to slap a Band-Aid on...

Discussions over what to do with the downtown jail have been going on for years. They're not at capacity right now, but the state of the jail wouldn't allow for the needs of more inmates to be filled.

Full article with video segment here. WCIA had an additional article and video segment on the County's plan to start dealing with long neglected facility maintenance here. I've added it to links in an earlier post with News-Gazette coverage and Facilities Committee meeting links:

March County Facilities Meeting: News-Gazette coverage of Youth Detention Center's potential new roof. This is one of many facility maintenance issues the county has been delaying due to budget crunches.

For more resources and posts on the jail, check our Jail Issues page setup prior to last year's County election.

County Roundup

It's catch up time for the Cheat Sheet! We've been running behind, but will have a bunch of overviews of February local government information as we get swinging in March.

Here's are County Board meeting links and coverage for the last month as well as a couple quick March County news items from to get things going:

February County Board Meetings:

• Committee of the Whole: Video, Agenda, News-Gazette Coverage on solar farm approval,


• County Board 2/21/2019 (regular meeting): Video, Agenda Packet, Addendum, News-Gazette Coverage with highlights of the Nursing Home sale delays cause more consternation as the Nursing Home rating drops to the lowest level.


• Study Session: Video (not yet available), Agenda (more information in Handouts), News-Gazette Coverage, Bonus: Champaign County Government Strategic Planning Overview

March County Facilities Meeting: News-Gazette coverage of Youth Detention Center's potential new roof. This is one of many facility maintenance issues the county has been delaying due to budget crunches. WCIA had an additional article and video segment on the County's plan to start dealing with long neglected facility maintenance here.

Emergency Management News:

• News-Gazette coverage of Champaign County Emergency Management Agency advice on weather radios and having at least two sources for receiving emergency notifications.
  
• METCAD will likely be hiring in the Spring. METCAD is the agency that does a great deal of the area emergency dispatch for emergency services. Information available from Tom's Mailbag and the City of Champaign website. METCAD is a collaboration of local governments, including the City of Champaign which manages the personnel. From Tom's Mailbag last week:
  

  "Our hiring is done through the city of Champaign Human Resources, as we are employees of the city. Our requirements include a high school diploma or equivalent, ability to pass a data entry test that equates to about 30-35 words per minute with 90 percent accuracy, and the ability to earn a passing score on our telecommunicator aptitude test," she said. "We have some preferred qualifications as well: prior dispatch experience, customer service experience, and experience working with computers...
  
  "We are currently exploring some updates to this process to make sure that we are visible and accessible to those looking for a career in emergency communications and that we are finding good people to fill the openings we have. We plan to hire again in the spring and people can always check the city of Champaign website (champaignil.gov) to see when we start accepting applications."

  More details at the News-Gazette article here.

First Step to Another Solar Farm

Another potential solar farm near Homer passed the first step towards eventual approval this week. The proposed solar farm this time is much smaller than that 1,600 acre behemoth approved at the last regular County Board meeting. From Friday's News-Gazette:

Champaign County zoning board OKs plan for solar farm near Homer
...
Representatives from Atlanta-based SolAmerica Energy LLC appeared before the Champaign County Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday night to seek a special-use permit for a 2-megawatt solar farm, to be called the Champaign Sinclair Farm.

After a two-hour discussion, the board voted 4-0 to recommend approval of the permit, which advances the proposal to the county's Environment and Land Use Committee.

The proposed facility would be built on a 75.33-acre tract of land owned by Phyllis Jane Sinclair east of the village of Homer, west of the Vermilion County line and north of the sewage treatment plant.

Solar panels would take up 14.6 acres of that property and would generate enough energy for between 200 and 300 homes...

If the Champaign Sinclair Farm is ultimately approved by the county board and is selected in the Illinois Power Agency's lottery for contracts for renewable energy credits, Peters said construction would begin in May or June of this year.

Full article here.

Measle Update: New Case

[UPDATE: WCIA had further information on possible exposure times and locations on their on-line article on the second case here. The additional information on a couple bus routes caught my eye:

January 28, 2019, 9:00 AM - Noon, MTD #22 Bus

January 28, 2019, 2:30 – 5:30 PM, MTD #22 Bus]

In addition to a previous case (more information and possible points of contact list here) a second case of the measles has been identified in the area with more possible points of contact. If you suspect you may have symptoms, they emphasize limiting your exposure to others due to the highly contagious nature of the illness. From today's News-Gazette:

Second case of measles confirmed in Champaign-Urbana
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is reporting a second local case of measles, with both of the infected people connected to the University of Illinois.

But there's no reason to believe they know each other since the virus lingers in the air for two hours after the infectious person has left, said health district Administrator Julie Pryde...

Possible sites of measles exposure

URBANA — Public health officials have released possible measles exposure sites for the second person confirmed to be infected:
➜ Jan. 18: 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at McKinley Health Center, University of Illinois.
➜ Jan. 27 to 31: Maywood Apartment Building, 51 E. John St., C.
➜ Jan. 28: 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. at UI School of Social Work.
➜ Jan. 29: 3 to 6 p.m. at UI School of Social Work.
➜ Jan. 31: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Carle Foundation Hospital Emergency Department.

More at the full article here. Additional information on the measles from the Illinois Department of Public Health here. WCCU looked into information on the number of area people who may be at risk due to a lack of vaccinations and found it to be very small: Most, not all local students vaccinated for measles.

Previous testing had been negative for new infections and it was hoped that the outbreak could be declared over on February 9th. In an article earlier this week the News-Gazette had some additional information for people experiencing measles symptoms:

The hotline can be reached at 217-902-6000, and it's available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Carle patients can check on their measles vaccination history through the hotline and through the MyCarle system, she said.

Carle also has staff members posted at the doors of its clinic locations handing out facial masks to patients walking in with symptoms of contagious illness, according to Mullin.

Christie Clinic is encouraging people to call their doctors' offices first if they are experiencing a rash and fever or suspect they have measles, according to clinic spokeswoman Jenna Koss.

Full article here. More information on the measles, including symptoms, from IDPH here.