Community Involvement

In yesterday's News-Gazette there was this excellent article by Mike Monson about Champaign's Garden Hills neighborhood, some of its history and challenges, and plans for it moving forward:

Garden Hills has a way of getting noticed.

The northwest neighborhood of roughly 1,000 homes – a proud, diverse and working-class neighborhood – has its share of problems. But it's also filled with many longtime residents who say they wouldn't live anyplace else.

This summer, Garden Hills is the focus of an intense city effort to provide activities and guidance to local youths, who alarmed city officials last spring by gathering in large numbers on many nights and sometimes clashing with police.

More than 50 years ago, Garden Hills was getting noticed for a different reason: its sheer unprecedented scale. The dream of developer Cecil Ozier and his two sons, Darrell and Mervyn, all now deceased, Garden Hills was described in a 1955 news article as "the largest single residential development ever proposed here at one time."

Discuss.

Earlier this week, I read this article at Time.come (printer dialog may open) about the state of patriotism in America.  Written by Peter Beinart, a former editor at The New Republic, the article discusses patriotism in America and the public faces of the two dominant strains, conservative and liberal, of patriotism.  In the article, Beinart briefly examines the sometimes stereotypical conservative ("my country, right or wrong) and liberal ("my country, wrong and wronger") and how both strains are important to us, as Americans, and reminds us that "...no matter how they define patriotism, Americans should tremble before suggesting that any fellow citizen lacks it."  From an earlier paragraph:

When it comes to patriotism, conservatives and liberals need each other, because love of country requires both affirmation and criticism. It's a good thing that Americans fly the flag on July 4. In a country as diverse as ours, patriotic symbols are a powerful balm. And if people stopped flying the flag every time the government did something they didn't like, it would become an emblem not of national unity but of political division. On the other hand, waving a flag, like holding a Bible, is supposed to be a spur to action. When it becomes an end in itself, America needs people willing to follow in the footsteps of the prophets and remind us that complacent ritual can be the enemy of true devotion.

When I first read the article, I was immediately taken by his style and thesis; I've read it again a handful of times, and my opinion hasn't changed.  It's an important reminder today, and every other day.

Happy Fourth of July!

HG

If you enjoy walking, tomorrow (Saturday) will be a fun opportunity to learn more about Champaign-Urbana in the 7.5 mile C-U on the Move Walk. Tom Kacich will host “a route designed to showcase some of Champaign-Urbana’s historic landmarks” (ok, so this isn’t historic Williamsburg but we do have many interesting sites).

It starts at 8 am at the Urbana Courthouse. If you aren’t up for the whole 7.5 miles, you could call a friend’s cell phone and join us at any point. There is a $ 5 donation that goes toward the Clock and Bell Tower fund (to rebuild a replica of the 1901 tower). It will also count for participants in the Moon Walk 2008.

Rain or shine.

An open invitation from Champaign County Libertarian Party Chair Dianna Visek:

Would you like to see more participation in the
political process? Greater voter turnout? A wider
range of views? More informed voters?

Then please join us at 7 pm on Thursday May 8 in the
auditorium of the Urbana Free Library to discuss:
"Enhancing Democracy in Champaign County: Where Do We
Go from Here?"

We will have a brief overview of issues affecting
democracy in Champaign County and brainstorm about
ways we might enhance it. We will then select the
issues we find most important and form working groups
to address them. Refreshments will be served.

Although this meeting is sponsored by the Champaign
Co. Libertarian Party, it will have no official
involvement after the working groups are formed. The
Urbana Free Library is not sponsoring this event.

Our goal: A coalition of diverse individuals and
viewpoints united to increase public participation in
the democratic process. No matter what your political
affiliation, we'd like your help. Please join us.

After the breakdown of another thread, I asked myself, what's the best way for political parties, of all stripes, to encourage more young people to vote, get involved, to get interested in the overall political process?  I have a few ideas, but I know that the wider IP community would have more, and probably better, ideas.  First, a couple of set-up questions...

1.  What's the best definition of a "young voter"?  Is it a certain age range (18-25 or maybe 18-27)?  Is it educational status (high school vs community college vs university, or some combination)?  Is it employment status (full-time vs part-time vs part-time while in school)?  Is it some combination of everything I've listed above, or maybe something completely different, something outside the little box I just described?

2.  What's the best way to get a young voter to connect with a party, a candidate, a political philosophy, whatever?  What's the best way to get a young voter to connect, and then get them to act on their connection, by voting, by organizing for a party or candidate, by maybe even running for office themselves?

3.  What's the best way to keep a young voter connected, to keep them involved, so that they continue that connection into "non-young voter" status?  Not necessarily keep them chained to a specific party or candidate per se, but more how do we maintain their interest in the process and continue to keep it relevant for the voter?

4.  What am I forgetting, or missing?

I'm not writing this to mock anyone, or to throw gasoline on the floor and wait for the trolls to come by with matches, but I want to ask this seriously, as a "non-young voter":  How do we get young people to get connected and stay connected?  I'm not as interested in hearing about how a specific political party or candidate can connect with young voters, so much as I'm interested in hearing how we can get young voters connected and interested in the first place.

HG

The NG had three stories yesterday that touched on the Urban League of Champaign County and their quest for a new building.

First, "Urban League wants to downsize headquarters."

Second, "Deal made to sell current Urban League building."

The Urban League, which ran into financial problems last year after it lost two major state grants worth 60 percent of its budget, has been cutting staff and closing programs ever since.

I guess that's one way of putting it.

Third, "Some officials have reservations about Urban League plan," as the Urban League is asking the City to donate a new building to them.

Council member Ken Pirok also said he "definitely will not be supporting" the Urban League's proposal.

"There's no reason to give something away that truly has some value to the city," Pirok said.

The lodge building was appraised at $340,000 in 2004. Pirok said he would support the city keeping the building and possibly reserving it for future city use if none of the six proposals are attractive enough.

City Manager Steve Carter also said the fact that the Urban League's proposal provides no compensation "is a problem."

Discuss.

From today's News-Gazette:

After the cash-strapped Community Day Care closed in February, the Urban League re-evaluated all of its programs and decided that "we really didn't belong in education," said Sandra Jones, the league's interim chief executive officer.

With Parkland College, the University of Illinois and "excellent" local school systems, she said, "any grant money we had would be a drop in the bucket compared to all of their resources. It was smarter for us to advocate on their behalf rather than trying to run the programs ourselves."

The intent is to focus on business and work force development, housing and transportation, she said.

Interesting.

From yesterday's News-Gazette:

"Illinois has a lot of rivers. They are ecologically important. It all starts with rivers. If you protect rivers you have to reach out and try to address the things that affect them," says Eric Freyfogle, a professor of law at the UI and a Prairie Rivers Network board member. The organization is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.

"The organization has grown quite substantially over the last decade – it's gone from 1 1/2 staff members to 5 1/2 staff members," he adds. "Our huge strength is that we really do science right. We're very strong on science and also on the law side. You have to do your legal homework when it comes to land use issues."

Based in new offices in Champaign, the Prairie Rivers Network has about 400 members who are known for their loyalty.

"We raise well over $100,000 a year. We depend totally on private donations. We have no endowment. Our strategy is to keep fundraising costs to an absolute minimum and make a direct appeal to our main fundraisers. The pitch I give at our annual dinner is, 'You give us your money and we put it to good use. You know exactly where it goes,' " Freyfogle says.

Discuss.

From today's News-Gazette:

Tracy Parsons resigned today after 13 years as head of the Champaign County Urban League, saying "the time is right."

"I've been doing this for 13 years," Parsons said this morning. "We've done a lot of good stuff, helped a lot of people. And in some ways I think I changed the climate in this community a little bit. We're going to give somebody else the reins to handle this challenge."

The Urban League board said this morning it will conduct a national search for Parsons' replacement and appoint an interim leader shortly.

Parsons, an Urbana native, was named president and chief executive officer in August 1994. He led the league through rapid growth, taking it from a $1 million agency with five programs to one with a budget of more than $5 million, 25 programs and 60 employees.

But the last year has been a troubled one, with the agency losing two state grants worth $3 million annually . State officials questioned the Urban League's fiscal oversight and demanded it repay hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on the energy-assistance and weatherization programs.

Discuss.

UPDATE: Title fixed - I had written "Urbana League" instead of "Urban League."  Sorry!

The News-Gazette had two interesting articles yesterday about the Urban Legue of Champaign County.  The first:

When Parsons, an Urbana native, moved back from Chicago to take over the Urban League in 1994, he inherited six programs, 12 employees and a $1.2 million budget.

Ten years later, the agency had 25 programs, 60 workers and a $5 million budget, a growth rate unmatched in the National Urban League system. It ranked in the top fifth of 104 Urban League chapters, larger than either Cincinnati or Detroit.

That rapid growth, to some extent, became its Achilles' heel. Even as the financial staff oversaw more programs with complex regulations, the demands on Parsons' time grew. He was out of the office up to 80 percent of the time, asked to lead the charge on school reform, police-community relations and other issues.

Late last year, state officials yanked two major grants from the Urban League – the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program – questioning the agency's financial oversight. The$3 million in grants represented 60 percent of its budget.

Now, coming off three years of deficits and the layoff of nearly half its staff, the Urban League has regrouped. It's leaner – with 30 employees, 16 programs and a $2 million balanced budget – and a lot more cautious. It's launching new initiatives, with a sharper focus.

The second:

The Urban League is still fighting with the state over hundreds of thousands of dollars of claims from the LIHEAP and weatherization programs.

The programs help qualified households pay utility bills and cut energy costs by making homes more energy-efficient. Locally, they serve more than 6,000 people annually.

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services said last December that the Urban League had failed to make $249,000 in energy assistance payments to Ameren on behalf of program customers in fiscal 2006 and that the state paid $200,000 for home weatherization work that wasn't completed.

Urban League Board President Sandra Jones said the work was completed. The problem, she said, was a matter of timing. The agency submitted bills at the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2006 – before the work was finished.

"We absolutely had every intention of doing the work," she said, but added, "We did make a mistake, there's no question about it."

Discuss.

From today's News-Gazette:

In other business, the board released a list of 26 community members who will help oversee the district's planning process for its building and program needs for the next 20 to 25 years.

Each board member suggested six to seven people for the "vision" committee, and the board looked at about 50 names and came up with the committee announced Monday. Board members Kristine Chalifoux and Greg Novak, who are in charge of developing the planning process, said a few more names will likely be added. They were unable to confirm the participation of a few suggested committee members.

They said other residents who are interested in participating in the planning will be asked to be part of two working groups that will look at building and program needs.

Vision committee members

CHAMPAIGN – The members of the Champaign school district's vision committee are:

• Doug Abbott, owner of Abbott's Florist and a parent.
• Sam Banks, president of Cunningham Children's Home.
• Imani Bazzell, director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Social Justice at the Urban League of Champaign County, parent and a member of the district's equity committee.
• William Berry, University of Illinois associate chancellor.
• Paul Curtis, owner of Curtis Orchard.
• Barb Daly, assistant superintendent for the Regional Office of Education and a former Champaign principal and teacher.
• Joan Dixon, executive director of the Community Foundation of East Central Illinois.
• Deb Frank Feinen, Champaign City Council member.
• Deb Foertsch, president of the Champaign Federation of Teachers.
• Peter Fox, chairman of Fox Development Corp.
• Tom Grimsey, president of the Champaign Educational Services Personnel.
• Mike Haile, WDWS/WHMS station manager and a parent.
• Richard Helton, Savoy village manager.
• Gina Jackson, Champaign City Council member.
• Bruce Knight, Champaign planning director.
• Happy Leman, pastor of the Vineyard church.
• Dan McCall, president of the East Central Illinois Building Trades Council.
• Dannel McCollum, former Champaign mayor and a former Champaign teacher.
• Brian Minsker, president of the PTA Council.
• Thom Moore, former Champaign school board member and a member of the district's equity committee.
• Tracy Parsons, president and CEO of the Urban League of Champaign County, and a member of the district's equity committee.
• Thomas Ramage, president of Parkland College.
• Gail Rost, executive director of the C-U Schools Foundation.
• Linda Tortorelli, a coordinator in the UI Department of Special Education and a parent.
• Phil Van Ness, former Champaign school board member, attorney and a parent.
• Laura Weis, president of the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce.

Discuss.

I love Orange Krush, not only for being an amazing cheering section, but because of stuff like this.

The University athletic community renewed its ties to an Urbana facility for special-needs youth after the Orange Krush Foundation agreed to back construction efforts earlier this month.

The foundation will donate $50,000 over five years to Cunningham Children's Home, said Orange Krush President Eric Benz, senior in LAS.

The facility is entering the fourth year of an extensive - and expensive - building project.

"With the special needs kids have today, we need facilities to give staff the chance to be successful with them," said Sam Banks, president and CEO of the Cunningham Children's Home.

This is a great story.

From Toys For Troops:

As Toys for Troops continues to send beanie babies to the soldiers, we focus, now, on the upcoming holidays. We intend, with your help, to send care packages to every soldier on our list at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please join us, to make sure this happens.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2007
COOKOUT & CARE PACKAGES
BRATS PROVIDED, POTLUCK SIDES & DESSERTS
4:00-8:00 P.M.
GREENHOUSE AT SILVERCREEK RESTAURANT
402 N. RACE, URBANA

Our Thanksgiving care packages will be packed on November 3, as we cook brats in the Silvercreek parking lot, and come together in the greenhouse to pack up stuff for our boys. Brats will be provided; Bring a side or a dessert.  In addition, everything on the Silvercreek menu, including appetizers, drinks, and desserts, will be available for purchase.

Help them out if you can.  They're local and they're doing great work.

The United Way of Champaign County is doing a huge Block Party on Tuesday, September 25, from 5:30 - 8:30 PM in West Side Park in Champaign to kick off their 2008 Fundraising Campaign:

It’s a great family friendly event featuring free food, music, games, inflatables, a classic car show and an opportunity for a free child ID kit.  Lots of our agencies will be there with information and fun activities.  For more information, visit www.uwayhelps.org or call United Way of Champaign County at 352-5151.

I hope to see you there!

UPDATE:  Bumped as a reminder.

Those of you who know me personally have probably heard that I relinquished a foster dog to the Champaign County Humane Society a couple of weeks ago.  Patsy probably came from a back-yard breeder or puppy mill, most likely someone who was primarily concerned about making money.  She was apparently sold to a guy who was interested in hunting ducks and rabbits for a while.  But then he decided that he'd rather hunt quail and didn't need a Labrador retriever anymore.  So he abandoned her at Kennelwood, a facility that does research using animals.  The people there felt sorry for her and placed an adoption ad on Craigslist, and I offered to try to house her while we looked for an adoptive home for her.

Patsy was a sweet dog, though she was very energetic and it didn't seem like her owner had spent much time training her.  Maybe it should have come as no surprise that he also hadn't gotten around to having her spayed and their were no vaccine tags adorning her lovely neck.  She got distressed when I had to leave for any reason (like going to work), and leaving her alone in the house didn't seem like the best idea.  It wasn't too clear how soon her next heat cycle might occur, and it occurred to me that leaving her in the back yard could also be tempting fate.  So I looked into low-cost spaying, and it turned out that Champaign County Humane Society had temporarily discontinued their program and Animal Control would only do it if I was on public assistance.  In the end, it turned out that since Patsy's owner had abandoned her and nobody else wanted her, the ownership defaulted to me and I could legally relinquish her to the CCHS.  If she'd been considered a stray, it would have been worse since she would have had to go to Animal Control first.

She passed the tests and was spayed and put up for adoption at CCHS.  I've been in to see her a few times since then, and have thought about applying for her.  But I'm not sure whether I could make it work.  The adoptions staff at CCHS is optimistic, and I really hope that she does find a good home.  The whole situation has made me more frustrated with irresponsible breeders and idiot owners, which often go hand in hand.

Provena is taking matters into its own hands:

The deadline to pay the second installment of Champaign County property taxes passed last week.

And it passed without a $577,000 payment that was due from Provena Covenant Medical Center, Champaign County Treasurer Daniel Welch confirmed Monday.

The unpaid bill reflects the second installment on the Urbana hospital's $1.15 million in property taxes owed for 2006, and it was due Sept. 4.

Now, Welch says, Covenant owes an interest penalty charge of 1.5 percent, or $8,655, for the first month.

If the taxes remain unpaid by Oct. 5, the penalty doubles to 3 percent, and those properties on which taxes still aren't paid by Oct. 25 go into a tax sale, Welch said.

Covenant officials contend they don't owe the second tax installment because a circuit judge last month restored the hospital's property tax exemption.

Discuss.

The Center for Women in Transition is an amazing organization, and Cathy will be missed.

This is interesting:

Americans gave nearly $300 billion to charitable causes last year, setting a new record and besting the 2005 total that had been boosted by a surge in aid to victims of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma and the Asian tsunami.

Donors contributed an estimated $295.02 billion in 2006, a 1 percent increase when adjusted for inflation, up from $283.05 billion in 2005. Excluding donations for disaster relief, the total rose 3.2 percent, inflation-adjusted, according to an annual report released Monday by the Giving USA Foundation at Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.

Giving historically tracks the health of the overall economy, with the rise amounting to about one-third the rise in the stock market, according to Giving USA. Last year was right on target, with a 3.2 percent rise as stocks rose more than 10 percent on an inflation-adjusted basis.

"What people find especially interesting about this, and it's true year after year, that such a high percentage comes from individual donors," Giving USA Chairman Richard Jolly said.

Individuals gave a combined 75.6 percent of the total. With bequests, that rises to 83.4 percent.

Clearly, we need to raise taxes, so that these people have less money to give to charity, and because the government certainly identifies critical needs more efficiently than individual donors.  Obviously, these rich fat cats aren't paying their fair share...

I have recently moved back to Champaign-Urbana from a 4 year hiatus in Southern California. I noticed that what is lacking and may be one of the reasons behind the GOP loosing traction in Champaign County is that there is not an organized grassroots effort independent of the parties that can put pressure on governmental units. I am a convert and have been involved on the other side. I helped get several far-leftist onto the Urbana City Council. As a smoker, (trying to quit) i feel responsible for the smoking ban in Urbana.

How the Left won in 2000, and how they were able to chase out the reasonable Democrats and lurch the Urbana City Council further to the Left was due to organizations at the grassroots.

We can't just rely on our party central committee to do the work for us. If it was not for radical groups like AWARE, the UCIMC, and others, Laurel Prussing would not be mayor of Urbana, the Democrats would have not gained control of the County Board, and Naomi Jacobsson would have to waste her own money instead of taxpayer dollars.

Where are the rights equivalents to AWARE, the UCIMC and other Leftist groups in the CU community? Where was the opposition to the "Anti-war referendum" at the Township levels? Why is there not a contingent of people on the opposite side of Main Street in Champaign when AWARE demonstrates against our troops?

What should happen is local conservative residents of the CU/Champaign County area needs to team up with campus groups like the College/Young Republicans, the Orange and Blue Observer to network and bring back the conservative silent majority. We are not silent when it came to our defense of the honored Chief Illiniwek, however, when our troops are being dishonored by Carl Estabrooks and other radical elites, where is the noise?