County Board August Updates

A few points of interest from the agenda packet for tonight's Committee of the Whole meeting include:

• A possible update on the County Clerk and Recorder's Restrictive Covenants Project.
  
  
• Possible updates from the Sheriff's Office on boarding County Jail inmates in other facilities. See latest jail construction update links towards the end of this Cheat Sheet post.
  
  
• An agreement between the County and METCAD for a traffic e-citation system.
  
  
• Numerous appointments related to area drainage districts. You can find additional details about the various Drainage District commissioners on the County Executive's boards and commissions lookup tool.

July County Board Meeting:

A lot of the issues mentioned in last month's Cheat Sheet post came to a head or a vote in the (nearly 4 hour long) July regular meeting (agenda packet). The meeting video on the County's YouTube page appears to begin in the middle of a discussion on the amending the agenda order. There are a couple short clips available before that with partial recordings of the Call to Order, Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, etc. I'm assuming there was a bit of a technical issue.

The infighting between several County Board members and the County Board Chair continued in the Democratic Caucus meeting and the County Board meeting itself. This resulted in calls during the regular meeting for an official parliamentarian to hold the board to its own rules and civility standards by Republican member Farney. It also resulted in open calls for the Chair’s resignation by members of her own party.

The controversies with the County Auditor were also mixed into those arguments as both the County Board Chair and Auditor made inquiries into the “residency qualifications” of the sole latina member of the Board. Accusations and counter-accusations of racism ensued. The auditor’s role went further as he had directly contacted her landlord, under the guise of his official duties as auditor to “audit her residential qualifications.” He even inquired to see if her rent was paid up, according to copies of the emails he sent.

Jim Dey of the News-Gazette has continued his series of opinion articles on the Democratic Party infighting, including at the July County Board meeting here. Board Member Lokshin wrote a Letter to the Editor expanding on and criticizing the County Auditor's inquiry here.

Referendum and DEIA+ Task Force Votes:

The Board passed ballot referendums to put both the Public Safety Sales Tax ¼ cent tax increase and making the County Auditor’s office an appointed position on the November ballot. They also passed a version of the DEIA+ Task Force that would create a subcommittee of the Labor Committee and Justice & Social Services Committee, as opposed to a new committee. While the Chair remains an ex officio member of this and all other committees, her role in selecting the task force members was more limited with the subcommittee option. 

There were numerous public (e.g. social media) and in-meeting arguments over emails and scheduling meetings in the creation of the DEIA+ Task Force and the recommendations for its members. The Chair believes she was cut out of the process, start to finish, while most of the other board members pointed to email exchanges about scheduling and availability to deny those claims.

A list of those invited to participate in the DEIA+ Task Force were listed on page 99 (page 102 of the PDF file) of the agenda packet. More updates are likely to come on who on that list confirmed their participation and a final roster.

Replacing the County's Case Management System:

A consultant from BerryDunn presented recommendations for replacing and updating the County's case management system, from their Case Management System Study (video jump to link). The good news appears to be that replacing these systems may end up being cheaper than expected (a topic of debate with the need for the increased tax revenue). The bad news from the discussion appeared to be that there is not a one-size fits all solution for different County Offices and their needs.

There was an extended conversation between the County Board members, the BerryDunn consultant, and the Circuit Clerk, on exactly what may be needed moving forward.

More County Government News:

• There is growing controversy about the appropriateness of "mob action" charges against campus protesters by the State's Attorney's Office. The News-Gazette had a recent perspective piece here. The ACLU of Illinois highlighted their concerns with using the "mob action" statute here. There will be a separate Cheat Sheet post on this issue soon.
  
  
• The Broadband Task Force met last week (agenda packet, video, action summary). Mark Sheldon used the Public Comment opportunity to give updates from Pavlov Media. There was a discussion about the funding sources and what areas are eligible for using those funds. It focused quite a bit on the nitty gritty details of Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) eligible homes. These meetings are jargon heavy, so be ready to look up terms like RDOF and ARPA.
  
  
• There was an update on the Satellite Jail construction at this month's County Board's Facilities Committee meeting. The agenda item and presentation is available on the County's youtube page here (jump to link). Construction appears to be coming along and the packet included numerous pictures of a lot of the completed work thus far.
  
  
• Dey had additional opinion pieces on County government and especially Democratic infighting. His column on the infighting at the July County Board meeting was mentioned above. He also had another opinion piece on the auditor referendum here, Board Member Owen no longer running for re-election here, and two more opinion pieces on the County Auditor drama.

County Board July Updates

July only has a regular County Board meeting. Most months also have a Committee of the Whole or "COW" meeting of the full board and some additional committee meetings (e.g. Facilities). This post covers the June County Board meetings and a special Study Session meeting towards the end of the month.

Public Safety Sales Tax Referendum:

The big news out of the June meetings, and after much deliberation over previous months, was the passage of a resolution to put an increased sales tax measure on the ballot for voters to decide on. From the News-Gazette a few weeks ago:

On Thursday, the county board approved adding a referendum on a “Special County Retailers’ Occupation Tax for Public Safety,” which would add a quarter-cent to the county’s sales-tax rate, to the Nov. 5 ballot.

Proponents say the increase is necessary to support investments such as competitive wages to attract correctional officers for the understaffed juvenile detention center, an additional sheriff’s deputy to support a new mental-health-focused court program and a budget that enables the public defender’s office to hire more expert witnesses...

Board member Brett Peugh acknowledged that the county needs the funds but noted that his constituents who live in a historically Black district will be hit the hardest by the tax and don’t support the measure.

That full article here. WAND had a very brief overview of the sale tax referendum here.

Nursing Home Needs Assessment:

At the June Committee of the Whole meeting, the Advocates for Aging Care group presented the findings of the local needs assessment to the County Board. That full presentation is available here. WCCU had coverage of the group's findings and the need assessment.

Advocates for Aging Care (AAC) along with the Champaign County Board, the Champaign County Health Board, and Champaign-Urbana Public Health District came together to conduct a survey assessing nursing home, rehabilitation, and long-term care facilities in Champaign County.

With over 850 consumer responses and over 50 providers, they found what they expected to be true, that there aren’t enough skilled care beds in Champaign County.

"So in our community, we’ve known by the numbers that we only have about 411 of the 748 beds we need, or are projected to need by the end of 2026 because not only do we have the need now but our older population is growing,” explained Cathy Emanuel with AAC.

That full article here.

More Auditor Drama:

There was a Study Session / Special Meeting of the County Board last month, a few days after their regular monthly meeting (video, agenda packet). The topic was about eliminating the Auditor as an elected position for Champaign County and looking at alternative models. The County Auditor made remarks during the public comment portion of the agenda (video go to link). He spoke in support of keeping the office elected and independent. He took issue with the local League of Women Voters report on a couple points (also here on his facebook page).

The League of Women Voters presented their study from a couple years ago on the benefits and alternatives to having an elected auditor for county governments. Their position predates any of the current drama with the current auditor and views the position as archaic and, in many ways, duplicative. The original study report is available here at the Illinois Public Media Newsroom website. Their presentation on the report from 2 years ago is available on the LWV YouTube page here.

Michelle Jett, the County's Director of Administration, presented and laid out more information on alternatives in other Illinois Counties and some of the nuance of what instituting that would look like in Champaign County if the voters approved it (video jump to link).

Republicans on the County Board seemed less enthusiastic about a ballot referendum on this question now that they've slated a candidate to oppose the current Democratic Party Auditor. There was continued discussion on the appropriate timing of such a referendum and how best to uphold democratic principles in local government.

Chair Carter continued to press the issue of the County Executive and the Executive form of government, but met resistance from within her own party due to the limits of the agenda itself and what the public had been given notice of. This continues some previous contention between the Board Chair and the County Executive's office and staff highlighted in June's Cheat Sheet here.

The meeting left off with planning to discuss the issue as an agenda item on the July regular County Board meeting (there is no Committee of the Whole meeting before the regular meeting in July).

The News-Gazette's Jim Dey has added three more articles to his plethora of Democratic intraparty squabble opinion pieces this month to cover the Auditor and County Board Chair / County Executive drama.

United Sovereign Americans:

At the June regular County Board meeting, there was a series of speakers on behalf of a national group called United Sovereign Americans, including two co-chairs for their Illinois chapter (jump to video link). They read the text of their proposed resolution for the County Board to pass for an "election audit." The version of the resolution they proposed to the DeKalb County Board is available here (starting on page 15 of the PDF file).

There's a separate Cheat Sheet post on this group, its background, and other coverage of it across the country here.

Rural Broadband Updates:

There was another presentation at the most recent Broadband Task Force this week. After last month's presentation, there were concerns about the need to lay fiberoptic cable to begin to lay the groundwork for broadband expansion to rural towns and areas. The presentation this month focused on initial ideas to lay cable to Royal, Ogden, Homer, and Sidney and the details of how many households may be close enough to get connected to those lines.

There was also a long discussion about the types of funding available, from federal (e.g. RDOF versus ARPA) to ongoing concerns that the State funding may not be awarded to these projects here locally.

More County Government News:

• There are indications that the old Champaign County Nursing Home building may have a prospective buyer, according to the News-Gazette.
  
  
• There was a presentation on the cover crop ARPA funded project and updates at the June COW (jump to video link).
  
  
• President Minnie Pearson of the NAACP Champaign County Branch spoke shared some concerns about the treatment of the County Board Chair by other board members and others (jump to video link). She insisted that board members treat each other with respect.
  
  
• WCIA had coverage of local efforts around the county to put on Independence Day parades, fireworks, and other events. They also had an overview of the county's main July 4th celebration organization this year.
  
  
• WCIA also had coverage of the removal of a very full animal barnyard near the City of Champaign, but within the County's jurisdiction after a long ordeal by neighbors.
  
  
• The Daily Illini had coverage of the local County tourism organization Experience C-U's collaboration with Champaign County African American Heritage Trail and others for local African American heritage murals.
  
  
• The acronym laden county organization for coordinating homelessness service providers in Champaign County (The RPC's CSPH) has found increased homelessness in Champaign County in 2024.

United Sovereign Americans

Snippet of LA Times Coverage 5/10/2024

At the June regular County Board meeting, there was a series of speakers on behalf of a national group called United Sovereign Americans, including two co-chairs for their Illinois chapter (jump to video link). They read the text of their proposed resolution for the County Board to pass for an "election audit." The version of the resolution they proposed to the DeKalb County Board is available here (starting on page 15 of the PDF file).

In spite of the name, it does not appear to be affiliated with the far more notorious "sovereign citizens" movement. The LA Times however had a front page article on the group, however, stating:

United Sovereign Americans is part of a cottage industry of far-right election deniers that has sown disinformation since Trump lost his reelection bid. The group aims to scrutinize elections with a legal strategy that can “throw massive amounts of sand in their gears,” [Marly Hornik, co-founder of United Sovereign Americans] said during a February presentation in Orange County.

While the Illinois group here described their activities as attempting to rebuild faith in the election system, many of their statements here and across the country openly question election integrity. The figure that brought the group national from its early and legally troubled years in New York, Harry Haury, is himself a long time part of the "Stop the Steal" movement and participant in debunked election disinformation such as the "2,000 Mules" documentary, according to the LA Times.

The group is extremely litigious in addition to promoting election conspiracies and sowing doubt about the integrity of American voting systems across the United States. The Baltimore Sun noted in its coverage of its Maryland Lawsuit that the group was bragging about "actively preparing litigation in 23 states." On the flip side, the LA Times also highlighted a lawsuit against an LA County Prosecutor last year for relying on "election denier" groups and conspiracy theorists for a case.

This included a description of United Sovereign Americans Co-Founder Harry Haury and his business associate as having "deep ties to the 'Stop the Steal' movement" and related election disinformation efforts.

Champaign County has its own history of political and legal battles over ensuring the County Clerk runs local elections fairly. There are some legitimate concerns about how to spend limited human and financial resources to ensure that everyone who wants to vote can do so without being unfairly burdened. Often that comes down to issues like rural access and transportation issues, high density districts and campus dealing with excessively long lines, and issues of fairness.

Sometimes it's a matter of ensuring protocol and precedent are adhered to, with each party tending to be a bit more critical of the other, and counter-accusations of partisanship (or worse) by the sitting County Clerk over the years.

The reader can decide for themselves if they agree with the concerns raised by a group like United Sovereign Citizens or if they share some of the more mainstream media criticisms of them. It may be worth considering if their solution would be helpful to the ongoing local battles over election integrity and fairness, or just drag us into some national fight far removed from those more tangible local issues.

County Board Updates into June

There continued to be a great deal of drama between Auditor and a great deal of the rest of the County government. Recent public statements by those involved appear to put the Auditor at odds with many of the staff of the County Auditor’s office itself, most of the County Board members of both parties, the County Executive, and the administrative staff under the Executive). This culminated in a County Board censure of the County Auditor for alleged mistreatment of staff, pornographic material on a work computer, and other criticisms of his work (or allegedly the lack thereof). From the News-Gazette:

After at least a month of discussion on the subject, the Champaign County Board has voted to censure county auditor George Danos for alleged failure to act as an "independent watchdog" of taxpayer funds and actions "unbecoming an elected official."

...

"The actions of Champaign County Auditor, George P. Danos, have created a work environment the County Board does not condone or support," the resolution states. "... The Champaign County Board seeks to make Champaign County government a safe working environment, free of harassment and misconduct for all employees."

Voting for the resolution: Elly Hanauer-Friedman, Jennifer Locke, Jenny Lokshin, Diane Michaels, Don Owen, Emily Rodriguez, Jilmala Rogers, Ed Sexton, Mike Smith, Chris Stohr, Jennifer Straub, Leah Taylor, Jeff Wilson, John Farney and Stephanie Fortado voted for the resolution.

That full article here. We had a previous Cheat Sheet post on the controversies surrounding the Auditor back in April here. The Auditor gave his perspective and answered many questions about the accusations in the censure resolution on WDWS' "Penny for your Thoughts" radio show this past week (in the second hour of the June 5th episode here). The conservative opinions editor of the News-Gazette, Jim Dey, has also taken an interest in the local Democratic Party infighting with no less than seven opinion articles focused on the dispute in the last two months.

May County Board Regular Meeting:

The last regular County Board meeting (video, agenda packet) lasted over 5 hours due to a great number of presentations on a variety of important programs and topics, as well as public comments in support of looking at the contract / bidding process for minority owned contractors and sub-contractors. Highlights with video links:

• Public Participation included several comments in support of looking at the process of awarding contracts, ensuring minority owned businesses are given proper consideration per the County's own equity goals (go to video link).
  
  
• Presentation on the Racial Covenant Project out of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office (go to video link).
  
  
• Updates on the wider H3 program from many of the organizers behind that and the local First Followers Reentry program (go to video link).
  
  
• Updates on C-CARTS (Champaign-County Area Rural Transit System) funding and projects (go to video link). Staff from C-CARTS had been waiting well over 4 hours by the time their funding item came up and they had a chance to speak on it.

The meeting also went on to cover some contentious issues such as the salaries for countywide offices and their historical imbalances. The new salaries would continue to be imbalanced between the countywide elected office holders. The meeting ended on a long discussion and vote to censure the County Auditor (jump to video link) that was covered in the News-Gazette article mentioned above.

During board member Communications, Chair Carter expressed her ongoing frustration that she is facing racism within the County government and a double standard by her own colleagues. Some of the frustrations appeared intertwined with the County Board's concerns with the Auditor's office. A heated moment came when she complained about the behavior others during and after the 4/4 Special Finance Committee Meeting disagreement. She had previously publicly apologized for her own behavior in that incident (at the 4/9 Committee of the Whole a few days later).

There were repeated points of order and admonishments not to criticize other board members during meetings per the County Board's rules. Carter yelled over the admonishments and received some applause from the audience when she finished her statement.

April County Board and Committee Meetings Roundup:

• 4/4 Special Finance Committee Meeting: the only agenda item for this meeting was discussing a response to the public FOIA information on the County Auditor. The agenda packet also included that same FOIAd information that had been made public.
  
  County Board Member John Farney made a point of order early in this meeting that the County Board Chair, Samantha Carter, took issue with (jump to video). While it appeared that the point of order was mundane, the gestures, yelling, and other behavior during this moment has become the subject of further apologies and arguments.
  
  
• 4/9 Committee of the Whole: This meeting began with admonishment by various board members about Samantha Carter's behavior at the 4/4 special meeting. Chair Carter apologized, noted some ongoing frustrations, but assured the board that it wouldn't happen again. Bruce Hannon was honored as the "eternal keeper of the clock" for the County Court House (see more on that later in this post below). There were updates on the Reentry Program by Rosecrance (jump to video here) and the censure process regarding the auditor.
  
  
• 4/11 Labor Committee: This meeting (agenda packet, minutes) was almost entirely about the auditor, proposed censure language, and the priority of the committee's intent to protect County staff in the Auditor's office who lack many labor protections afforded County employees in other departments. There is a separate Cheat Sheet post that got into the weeds of that meeting and the Auditor issues here. I wasn't able to cover May's Labor Committee meeting, and it appears that the only media coverage was an opinion piece by Jim Dey here. It also centered on censure language (agenda packet including a new proposed censure resolution, tentative minutes of the May meeting are available in the June Labor committee agenda packet).
  
  
• 4/18 County Board Regular Meeting: This meeting included a presentation by the County Auditor with his own interpretation of the County's financial situation and dispute on the budget projections. There was a separate Cheat Sheet post on this dispute over budget forecasts as part of the budget process and the Public Safety Sales Tax here.
  
  
• 4/23 County Board Special Meeting / Study Session: This meeting (agenda packet, video) was focused on addressing board member questions about a referendum to increase the Public Safety Sales Tax by a quarter cent. In the end, it was decided that the County Board's intent was to move forward with putting the question on the ballot. There would still have to be additional approval by the County Board itself.

Bruce Hannon, Eternal Keeper of the Clock:

The County Board passed a resolution to dedicate the courthouse clock as the "Bruce Hannon Memorial Clock" at the April Regular Meeting. From the News-Gazette:

“Bruce Hannon was instrumental in forming the Citizens Committee to Restore the Clock and Bell Tower at the Champaign County Courthouse in 2001 and became Chair of said Committee,” county officials said. “... Under his leadership, the Clock and Bell Tower Committee raised $1.15 million of non-public funds by private donations to underwrite the re-construction of the historic tower at the Champaign County Courthouse and to restore the Clock therein.”

...

A plaque will be placed at the site and a dedication ceremony will be held at a later date.

Steve Beckett, a local lawyer and former Champaign County Board member who was part of the clock tower committee, said Hannon had a gift for persuading people to get involved with different projects, including the clock tower restoration.

That full article here. Steve Becket's full remarks in at the April Committee of the Whole meeting in favor of the resolution, and a touching story of Bruce Hannon's clock work in the community that made him a legend, are available here at the County government's YouTube page.

 

More County Government News:

• There was a 6/10 meeting of the County Board's Broadband Task Force (agenda packet, video starting after the staff resolved some serious technical issues with the sound), which included some presentations and a long discussion on the rural broadband goals. It appears that a lack of state funding had seriously reduced the number of households the VOLO project had hoped to reach. State funding appeared to be an issue with Nextlink's goals as well. The discussion by Task Force members afterwards appeared to highlight a number of technical disagreements and concerns about the lack of progress.
  
  
• Tom Kacich had a profile of the new Champaign County Republican Chair in the News-Gazette.
  
  
• Savoy voted to go ahead with an agreement with the Champaign County government towards its viaduct project, according to WCIA. There was an additional article previewing the vote with more information here.

County Auditor Controversies

It must be pointed out up front that many of the accusations in this post are disputed by the County Auditor George Danos. They include staff complaints from the auditor's office, an IT forensic report about pornography on the auditor's work computer, and accusations of nonfeasance. I've tried to lay the accusations and the denials out as fairly as possible with links to the documentation available.

If one believes the County Auditor and his public supporters, the controversies laid out in this post are part of a smear campaign to undermine his stance on the County budget and a possible 1/4 cent increase to the Public Safety Sales Tax. Those issues are covered in more detail in a previous Cheat Sheet post here. There is a special study session meeting of the County Board on the specific issue of adding a sale tax referendum to the November ballot tomorrow as well.

The Auditor's critics have pointed to a regular flow of complaints coming from multiple staff members in his office during his tenure. At this month's meeting of the County Board's Labor Committee there was a draft resolution to censure the auditor (page 19 and 20 of the agenda packet PDF). There was a discussion on the complaints received by administrators received in the County Administrator's office in addition to those documented in a recent set of documents made public after a FOIA request.

Those FOIA documents were discussed in a special meeting of the County Board at the beginning of the month and included in the agenda packet for that meeting. Most of that documentation appears to be a list of complaints from at least one staff member of the County Auditor's office. It alleges bizarre and inappropriate behavior and nonfeasance on the part of the Auditor. The discussions in that special meeting and later in the Labor Committee meeting revolved around additional complaints that have been verbally reported, but not officially documented by the staffers themselves.

IT Forensic Report and Pornographic Material:

A brief one page IT Forensic Report in the FOIA documents has received a great deal of attention due to the fact that it noted "compelling documents were found on Danos’ hard drive, which included numerous files which could be construed as pornographic, as well as some images which featured fully naked men."

There has been speculation on what that could mean, from inadvertent pop-up ads to whether the images were actually explicitly pornographic. Multiple members of the County Board from both parties were able to view the images from the IT forensic investigation and described it as "explicit" and "curated" pornography. It was similarly described by the County Executive and administrative staff that observed the material found on the Auditor's computer as part of the forensic investigation.

In the Labor Committee meeting, Director of Administration Michelle Jett pointed out that the initial "bland" language related to the pornographic material may have been due to hopes that the matter had been successfully resolved. Continued staff complaints about inappropriate behavior by the Auditor, however, undermined those hopes.

Munis Log Ins:

The FOIA documents also included records of the Auditor's use of the Munis budget software application. His critics have pointed out a rarity in log ins and accused him of not fulfilling his duties as Auditor. They similarly praised the staff in his office for producing the office's work product in spite of him. 

The Auditor disputed those accusations in his recent presentation to the County Board, in which he also disputed the accuracy of the budget director's financial forecast and opposed a sales tax increase. He argued that he can access the Munis budget data in other ways and can work from the generated compiled reports the system sends out.

During the presentation he responded to a number of questions and concerns about his process. He entered in data and updated his Excel spreadsheets in real time as board members raised various items and alleged discrepancies. The Auditor denied any substantial differences with his main point: that he forecasts an ongoing budget surplus and views the budget director's forecasts as fear mongering.

FOIA Request and "Cookie Cutter:"

We haven't been able to confirm who made the very specific and seemingly targeted FOIA request that led to the public release of these documents. In the documents the FOIA request is attributed to someone who calls themselve "Cookie Cutter." Jim Dey, a notable critic of Democratic Party Politics, has repeatedly claimed in recent opinion pieces that "Cookie Cutter" is former Champaign County Democratic Party official (and former Cunningham Township Assessor) Wayne Williams. He initially appeared to base this confirmation on public statements by the Democratic chair of the County Board, Samantha Carter.

Those statements at the April 4th special meeting included accusations against the County Executive being part of some coordinated effort with Wayne Williams to talk to her in the parking lot of the County's Brookens Administrative Center and perhaps other activities. The source of the FOIA request seems more relevant to the Auditor's defenders and issues of intraparty distrust than the accusations themselves.

I'll leave it to the reader to decide what relevance the FOIA requester's identity may or may not have to the content of the documents themselves.

Taxes and Budget Forecasts

One of the larger controversies and disputes in the County government right now is on the budget and a possible 1/4 cent tax increase. There is a special study session of the County Board tomorrow April 23rd to discuss both (agenda). The County Board would have to vote to put a referendum question on the ballot for voters to approve a tax increase first. They would have to do that sooner rather than later if they want to meet the deadline to put the question on the November general election ballot.

County officials and board members who believe a tax would bring some stability to the county budget face a couple big hurdles: 

• First and more generally, practically nobody likes having their taxes raised, even if you can convince them it's necessary. 
  
  
• Second and more specifically, the county budget funds are atypically in the green and plush beyond the recommended fund reserves at the moment. It's hard enough to convince people to dish out more tax money when the situation looks dire, let alone when there's an annual surplus. That's where the dispute over financial forecasts come in to play.

For folks who have been following the County's budget woes over the years, the idea of a budget surplus might sound far-fetched. The county has faced dire budget scenarios for years and years, with the threat of a structural deficit almost always looming over the horizon. Prior to the pandemic we've seen desperate attempts to increase revenue, failed tax proposals, skeleton crews in county offices, facilities and IT systems desperately needing maintenance, replacement and repair, etc.

The federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) pandemic relief funding played a role in giving the county budget woes a lifeline, of course. Other positive economic factors have helped keep tax revenue strong. More negative factors like staffing shortages have provided a mixed bag of problems and savings. Personnel costs are some of the biggest chunks of the budget, after all.

So it all comes down to the future and budget forecasts and when, not if, the next recession comes into play. Recessions are notoriously difficult to predict, but you'll find a lot of economists arguing we're overdue and pointing to the various indicators that have preceded recessions in the past. Only time will tell, however.

For the official budget forecast presentation from the April County Board Committee of the Whole meeting you can jump to this video link (presentations slides here) or read the financial forecast report itself.

The County Auditor has very publicly disputed the county budget director's financial forecast at the regular County Board meeting this month. A video link to his presentation and some heated Q&A with board members is available here. 

The auditor is facing a possible censure from the board on his treatment of county staff in his office and some more salacious accusations. An early draft of the censure was discussed at the County Board's Labor Committee meeting this month (page 19 and 20 of the agenda packet PDF). He and his supporters believe that this is a coordinated smear effort over his budget and tax positions. There is a separate Cheat Sheet post on the Auditor controversies.

2025 Budget Process and Forecast:

It's very early in next year's FY2025 budget process for the County Board. The county government's Fiscal Year (FY) matches its calendar year, so we can talk about the 2024 or 2025 budget without much confusion. Some other local government budgets have a fiscal year offset from the calendar year, and that can take some adjustment. The process is laid out each year and generally takes most of the year to complete and pass with a final vote by the County Board itself. From the financial forecast presentation this month:

The County Auditor and his supporters have pointed out that past financial forecasts were not predictive, which is generally true. If one looks at financial forecasts by government bodies, including the county government, they tend to be conservative estimates of how current policies might play out over time (holding for certain economic factors like a steady economy or a possible recession).

Their role as a budget planning tool is typically explained up front. It was the second informational slide of the budget director's financial forecast presentation, for example. They generally don't claim to be predictive and they aren't typically judged on how close they end up coming to future outcomes. They can include "what if" scenarios requested by board members and others curious how an additional tax, spending cut, or economic change may impact long term planning. That's typically just for getting an idea of how that may impact long term budget numbers, not a prediction of the future.

Board members who have defended the county budget directors numbers don't appear to dispute the non-predictive nature of financial forecasts, but also point to the context of why the recent budget surplus exists. One argument raised in the Q&A of the last County Board meeting was that they can't model a budget based on staffing shortages and other costs savings that may be undesirable or temporary at best.

I encourage people who are interested in this debate to watch both the county budget director's presentation and the auditor's presentation to decide for themselves. One might have different opinions on the necessity or political plausibility of passing a sales tax increase at this time, regardless of where one falls on the financial forecast dispute, however. The County Board meeting on that tax issue tomorrow will probably get into the nitty gritty of arguments for and against such a measure. 

Decennial Committee Reports: Local Taxing Bodies Tell Us About Themselves

Illinois local government involves a lot of local government entities. Not just county boards, village boards, city councils, and such. There are overlapping township governments, library boards, sanitary districts, water and drainage districts, etc. The County linked to a handy two page explainer on all the various entities that have to make one of these 10 year reports here. Excerpt:

The Act requires certain (not all) units of local government to establish a committee within one year after the effective date, and at least once every 10 years thereafter, to study local efficiencies and report recommendations to the county board in which the governmental unit is located. The Act applies to units of local government that may levy any tax, except municipalities and counties. 

The Act specifically does not apply to municipalities and counties. 

However, the Act applies to units of local government whose governing board may include a municipal appointee, as detailed in Table 1, and units of local government whose operations may be of interest to, or may directly impact, municipalities, as detailed in Table 2.

The tables list a wide variety of the kinds of local government bodies most people never know even exist, but may provide oversight on their library's budget, hire directors for important public agencies, or ensure that the former swamp land they live and work on doesn't flood (a constant battle in Champaign County). The Cheat Sheet had an overview of the first MTD Decennial Committee meeting here, where they were attempting to figure out how to abide by the new law and use the opportunity in a productive way.

Reports:

Some of the early Decennial Committee Reports are being posted on the County website. The timeline requirements of establishing a committee was a fairly wide window, with 18 months allowed to provide a final report to the local County Board. Here are the reports so far (see the County's Decennial page for the latest updates here):

Community Colleges:

• Parkland College

Fire Protection Districts:

• Homer Fire Protection District
  
  
• Sidney Fire Protection District
  
  
• Sidney Fire Protection District – Amended

Park Districts:

• Champaign Park District

Public Library Districts:

• Tolono Public Library District 

Road Districts:

• Joint Champaign Township and Champaign Township Road District
  
  
• Joint Scott Township and Scott Township Road District

As a quick example, if one were curious as to what the Homer Fire Protection District actually is and does, they have a pretty concise overview of the people the district employs, services it provides, and the role of the governing body in selecting the Fire Chief and some budget matters:

The reports tend to have a pretty useful summary followed by a deeper dive into the people, facilities, and services of each local taxing body. The Homer Fire Protection District has a nice summary about its budget primarily going to equipment costs, payroll, and facilities.

Township governments in Illinois tend to be the focus of many efforts to reduce overlapping and local government bodies throughout every County in Illinois. Each County is comprised of multiple townships. There are 20 cities like Champaign and Urbana having coterminous townships where members of ethe City Council are also the township board (for City of Champaign Township and Cunningham Township, respectively).

The current Decennial Reports include Champaign Township (which surrounds the City of Champaign / City of Champaign Township) and Scott Township just west of that (including Bondville).

Anyone unfamiliar with township government can quickly get a sense of the role they generally play and how that can vary from township to township depending on the need and elected officials in charge. They can also consider how those services (e.g. road maintenance) could conceivably be put under a different jurisdiction, such as a county highway department.

County Board February Updates

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

Old County Nursing Home and Bed Shortage:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

Willard Service Expansion and Public Funds:

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

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

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

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

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

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

County Appointments:

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

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

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

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

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

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

County Law Enforcement Items:

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

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

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

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

That full article here.

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

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

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

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

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

Other County Law Enforcement Related Items:

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

Other County Government News:

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

In other County News:

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

Election Updates

A reminder that early voting has already begun for the March 19th, 2024 primary election. There are local, state, and federal races on the ballot from precinct committeepersons to presidential delegates. This post has an update on write-in and other candidates you may see on your ballot in Champaign County. You can see your sample ballot at the Champaign County Clerk's website here. 

This post follows up on a previous election update that included a link to the League of Women Voters candidate forum for Democratic candidates competing to get on the general election ballot for County Coroner in the fall. 

Write-in and Other Candidates:

Tom Kacich had an overview of some write-in candidates folks may find on their ballot within Champaign County for federal and State races (depending on where they fall in those federal and state districts). The Champaign County Clerk's website has a list of the write-in candidates here if you can't access the News-Gazette article:

• United States Representative 15th District - Kevin A. Gaither (Democratic)
• Illinois State Representative 102nd District - Adam Niemerg (Republican)
• Illinois State Representative 102nd District - Edward "Ed" Blade (Republican)
• Illinois State Representative 102nd District - Jim Acklin (Republican)
• County Board District 8 - Latrina Peete (Republican)
• Precinct Committeeperson City of Champaign 12 - Latrina Peete (Republican)
• Precinct Committeeperson Cunningham 23 - Ronald Vlach (Republican)

You'll notice that there a few local government races with write-in candidates on your ballot too, but only if you live in those particular districts. You can look up which districts you are in and get sample ballots for either party's primary races on the Clerk's website here. There is likely a non-partisan ballot available for folks who live in the Northern Piatt Fire Protection District, where there is a referendum question outside of the party primary races.

The VoteChampaign non-partisan voter guide (a project in collaboration with the local League of Women Voters) has information, questionnaire answers and links to more information on contested races within Champaign County. The Republican primary ballot for a representative in the Illinois 13th Congressional District is contested.  We only cover local government on the Cheat Sheet, but there is other local coverage of federal candidates. For example, the Daily Illini had an overview of the Republican federal congressional primary candidates and and an interview with one of them recently for the 13th District here. Arguably the top contested race at the county level in this primary is on the Democratic ballot between two candidates vying for the coroner's office.

Precinct Committeepersons:

People may notice a number of precinct committee races on their ballots, including a handful contested on both the Republican and Democratic party ballots. These local party positions help choose a party chair and have votes in how the local county parties operate. The major parties tend to be "big tent" organizations with internal competing factions and ideologies.

County Board member Jeff Wilson was on the WDWS program "Penny For Your Thoughts" yesterday (2/29/2024) explaining the importance of these committeeperson seats and how their votes are weighed when voting on a party chair or other local party decisions. This applies to both major parties in Champaign County. The countywide precinct committeeperson makeup can determine if a local party apparatus aligns with certain candidates or more conservative, liberal, or moderate ideological views.

Later in that same interview, Wilson also commented on local election integrity. He addressed a caller's concern that the local system was rigged and argued that people should volunteer to be election judges and watchers to watch how the process works. He pointed to the chain of custody procedures and bipartisan collaboration in the process to ensure votes are fairly processed and counted.

Early Voting has Begun | March 19, 2024 Primary

 Early voting has already begun for the March 19th, 2024 primary election. VoteChampaign and the League of Women Voters of Champaign County have a non-partisan candidate guide available to look at all of the contested local races. It also includes a list of contested and uncontested races you may find on your ballot in Champaign County here. Sample ballots are available from the County Clerk's website under My Voter Information here.

For a list of Early Voting locations, times, dates, and mail-in ballot information and more, see the County Clerk's Many Ways To Vote webpage.

The primary election generally pits candidates of the same party against each other to be on the general election ballot later that year. There are likely to be more contested elections between nominees of each party in the November 5th general election. The big local contested race in this primary is between two Democratic candidates for Champaign County Coroner: Laurie Brauer and Seon Williams.

The League of Women Voters had a candidate forum with both Democratic candidates last week:

The VoteChampaign / LWV non-partisan candidate guide also had questionnaire answers from both Laurie Brauer and Seon Williams.

Precinct Committeeperson candidates probably do not get enough attention in local political coverage. They play an important role in organizing each party's get out the vote activities and voting at county level political party meetings. This is why some county parties may seem more extreme or moderate. It can also play a role in which internal party factions / ideologies control nominees appointed to vacancies.

The vacancy issue has been especially critical with local Democratic Party politics on the County Board with many younger and up and coming candidates being elected recently. When a younger elected official moves to a new home, even within the county, they often find themselves in a new district. If their career takes them elsewhere, even to other county positions, the Party plays a primary role in nominating who will replace the seat previously held by that party (under current rules).

County Board Special Meeting Updates

In addition to the extensive County Board Winter Updates from earlier this week, there were a couple extra meetings right at the end of January this month: a special meeting of the County Board (agenda, addenda, and video) and another meeting of the Opioid Settlement Task Force (agenda, video).

The content of both meetings merits an extra post as opposed to simply updating the previous updates.

County Board Special Meeting:

Chief Deputy Coroner Stephen Thuney was appointed as Champaign County Coroner by what appeared to be a unanimous voice vote. There was a vacancy when Coroner Duane Northrup resigned in November. Thuney is also the Republican candidate for Coroner in the upcoming 2024 election. There are two Democratic candidates vying for the office in the Democratic Party's primary election this March, "Deputy Coroner Laurie Brauer and Champaign funeral home owner Seon Williams," according to the News-Gazette.

There was also a resolution recognizing the service of Kyle Patterson who is retiring his position on the County Board to become the City of Champaign Township Supervisor. More on that in the City of Champaign Winter Updates Cheat Sheet post here.

There was also a discussion on the County collaborating with an area consortium, including other government bodies and Economic Development Corporations, to invest in the Illinois Fermentation and Agricultural Biomanufacturing Tech Hub (iFAB Tech Hub) that would likely draw a great deal of investment and skilled jobs to this and other counties in the area. 

At the beginning of the meeting a typo was fixed via an amendment to this addenda item (the correct and amended amount as passed was $10,000, not $25,000 as printed). Carly McCrory-McKay, Executive Director of Champaign County Economic Development Corporation, presented the details of the hub to the board.

Most of the County Board members appeared excited about the low cost for the County's investment and confident in returns in tax base and economic growth to the community. Board Member Brett Peugh, however, raised concerns that the County has been desperately trying to manage its budget issues and looking to make other cuts and budget maneuvers lately. 

Peugh also argued that some county staff have been denied pay raises to this end. This was disputed by the County Executive Steve Summers and staff who stated that all staff received pay raises this year and last.

The $10,000 iFab Hub funding passed with a voice vote after the discussion.

 

Opioid Settlement Task Force Meeting:

Following up on the previous Cheat Sheet update on the Opioid committee, the members heard another presentation from organizations and experts dealing with the opioid crisis locally. This time the task force heard rom the Champaign County Mental Health Board's Executive Director, Lynn Canfield.

The discussion centered around ensuring that diverse voices from the recovery community are heard from in any solutions that may be decided upon. Staffing issues within substance abuse and mental health service providers were discussed in addition to staffing issues in almost every organization, including the County government, that play a role in substance abuse and mental health programs, funding, and services.

During the staff report, there was a discussion of how best to utilize settlement funds towards transportation and treatment needs in the County. For example there was a specific discussion about how the County's rural transportation service via MTD, C-CARTS, might be able to connect Rantoul residents in recovery to services within Champaign-Urbana. Staffing, specifically with drivers, may again be a difficulty.

Chair Locke explained some of the benefits of the data dashboard of local relevant information from local departments, METCAD, etc. She raised concerns about the efficacy of educational outreach with older D.A.R.E. generation adults in recovery and where funds may be best utilized.

Member Jen Straub raised the idea of a substance abuse council similar to the Champaign County Reentry Council or the Continuum of Service Providers to the Homeless, that would bring disparate entities together for collaboration. There was a discussion on how best to do that, how best to ensure that diverse voices of the recovery community aren't lost, and ensuring that such a council didn't divert funding and resources away from clear needs already presented to the Task Force (e.g. medical addiction treatment needs raised by Judge Ben Dyer of the County's Drug Court).

Going forward the task force is looking to hear from the local mental health and substance abuse treatment provider, Rosecrance. The committee will be looking for their input and expectations versus the reality of the services they're providing to the area. A common theme among law enforcement, mental health service providers, and government bodies (local to State officials) is the simple lack of a place to treat some people with severe conditions. This can include serious gaps for folks needing immediate drug treatment when they seize the opportunity to get help or people reentering the community from the criminal justice system.

It can also be the lack of mental health and substance abuse facilities for people who are currently put into the jail facilities because there are no other treatment options available to handle the severity of their circumstances. A recurring theme is that our jail and prison system has become our primary mental health care treatment facilities. Which appears to be born out in the data.

From my own observations in these kinds of mental health committees and boards, there appears to be a frustration that we no longer have the kind of psychiatric facilities that could handle more severe patients anymore. This is matched, however, by serious concerns about not repeating the abuses and mistreatment commonly associated with the same.

The next Opioid Settlement Task Force meeting does not have a set date yet, as it will depend on the availability of a presenter from Rosecrance and meeting room availability.