Community Involvement

The state of Indiana is canceling its contract to privatize their $1.3 Billion welfare system.  From the article:

Clients, their legislators and advocates had complained that the new modernization system, which took away in-person caseworkers, loses documents, misses telephone appointments and has lengthy hold times.

Daniels said he canceled the contract because IBM did not make satisfactory progress to improve services as required by a corrective action plan.

Apparently the private sector has yet another thing it can't do better or cheaper than the public sector.

From WMBD:

BLOOMINGTON -- We now know where Ty Pennington and his gang from Extreme Makeover Home Edition are spending their morning.  It's in Philo, a small community southeast of Champaign.  A family there has reportedly been chosen to receive the home of their dreams.  Few details about the family are known.  It was previously reported that five families within a 50 mile radius of Brady Homes in Bloomington were being considered for the reality show.  Stay tuned to WMBD 31 News as this story develops.

UPDATE:  I didn't want to name the family until the media did:

The family of Nathan Montgomery, director of Salt and Light Ministries in Champaign, has been chosen as the recipient of the "Extreme Makeover" on ABC television.

Just posted on the News-Gazette website:  "Judge terminates most of Champaign consent decree."  The remaining parts of the Consent Decree that are still operable are those that the plaintiffs had filed a motion requesting an extension for a few months ago.  The specific areas, according to the article, are "special education, alternative education, and the addition of elementary seats in north Champaign."  The next hearing is currently set for August 3, but Judge McDade may schedule conferences in order to reach a settlement prior to that hearing date.  Personally, I don't see how the complaint about adding elementary seats in north Champaign would be extended, given how the recent tax increase measures failed during the last few elections.  The district seems to have done everything in its power to increase seats, but the voters would not approve a tx increase to fund those new seats; I don't see how the district could reasonably be faulted for that.

As an aside, I found the article is somewhat confusing to read; it may be a "breaking news" type entry, and will be refined later however.

As IP says, discuss...

HG

From gnightgrl's blog on the 3rd season of the project:

What is most important about this update, and what continues to amaze me is this: I received the names of 27 soldiers this week that wanted beanies or could use a care package or a letter from home. I put out a shout out with that fact on Facebook, and enough people stepped forward that there was a care package heading out to each of those names...in 2 hours' time. Cookies and letters were mailed that same day!

I have always told the soldiers on our mailing list that people here want to do something to help out, and that all we need is a little direction: A name, an address will usually do it. I will be proud to be able to send them yet another letter telling them about the great 2-hour accomplishment, and that "we mean it, now! Give us your name and tell us what you need!"

There are soldiers out there busting their asses in desert heat, missing their families, and checking empty mailboxes.

We can't have that.

I have names. I have addresses. I have suggestions.

ljstewart@gmail.com

Hit me up. I'll help you help.

If you're unfamiliar with this project, check out their website at http://www.toys-for-troops.com/ and see it for yourself.

Today's News-Gazette:

As with other nonprofits, delays in state grant payments have hurt cash flow. Fundraising fell short of the club's goals for the last three years, and without an influx of money it could be in trouble, officials said.

"We need to raise $152,000 to keep us going from January through March 31," said Executive Director Andre Arrington.

The club is launching a new fund drive that asks donors to sponsor a child for about $523 a year. If 101 people sponsor three children each, that would meet the goal, he said. Eventually, he'd like to have 297 such donors annually.

Several individuals and churches already have stepped forward, including the Rev. Lloyd Gwin of the Church of the Living God in Champaign. He and his wife plan to sponsor three children in the next year, and he hopes his congregation will sponsor at least three more.

"The Boys and Girls Club is a vital part of the community. It's a place of learning and growth for the children after school, when school is not in session and just a safe haven and a very positive place for them to go," Gwin said. "We're just trying to bind together as a community to raise the necessary funds to keep them going."

Arrington said the club has relied so heavily on state grant funding that it's never secured an ongoing source of money for basic operations. If the grants ceased, it would have trouble staying afloat, he said.

At the same time, grants have become more restrictive and are targeted at new programs, not ongoing operations, he said. If the club had sustained investors, "we'd be able to operate regardless of whether we had grants or not."

Discuss.

This is from yesterday's News-Gazette:

The league, which closed Nov. 14 amid mounting financial problems, helped low-income families buy homes, ex-felons find jobs and young adults hone their work skills. For families on hard times, it was a hub for services throughout the community.

But, particularly under former president Tracy Parsons, the league also spoke out on civic issues, pushing for educational equity in Champaign-Urbana schools, working to open minority business opportunities, and brokering disputes between police and the black community.

Who will take on that role now?

Most likely a combination of organizations and individuals, community members and civic leaders said last week.

The league's programs have been parceled off to other groups, and several government agencies and nonprofits do similar work. But it leaves a "huge void" no one agency can fill, said former county board Chairwoman Patricia Avery.

"We have a lot of good people doing good work. But no one has the mission statement of the league," Gipson said.

Discuss.

RE: Parkland students try to make healthy lunches that kids like

I was talking to Jeff (Toni's husband) about something totally unrelated, and he mentioned that he and his wife were putting on an Iron Chef for B. T. Washington. I thought this was an awesome idea!! It is great to see Parkland get involved with the community like this. I hope it is practical and that something positive comes of it.

And this got me to thinking. Is the University getting involved in the community in similar ways? If so, how? If not, why the heck not!?!?

Kudos to the Burkhalters, and may their labor bear much fruit!

Calling all Lovers of Liberty!

Allan Stevo will be in Champaign on Monday, October 27th, 7pm, at the Champaign public library to speak on his experiences running for office.

Please join us for an informative inspiring evening. What he has to share will be especially beneficial for individuals interested in running for public office, and those who wish to support liberty candidates in their campaigns.

If you do not know who Allan is, you can read about him here: http://www.stevoforcongress.com/

RSVP to andrealeerice@yahoo.com

Yesterday's News-Gazette:

The 45-year-old Urban League of Champaign County is shrinking fast.

Mounting financial problems have prompted the league to sell off property, jettison programs, cut staff and even consider closing altogether. Once a $5 million operation with 60 employees, it's down to nine workers and counting.

Sandra Jones, the interim director and former board chairwoman – who works for free because the agency can't afford to pay a director – said an internal audit to be released soon will again raise questions about the agency's financial viability. Board members are actively discussing the Urban League's future, and Jones expects to know in a month if it will continue at all.

"We've talked about this since last November," after the resignation of longtime President and CEO Tracy Parsons, Jones said. "The answer is you can't make decisions pro or con until you know what the facts are. It continues to be a fact-finding mission."

My wife was telling me about this last night, and I was thinking about participating:

Illinois Food Bank Association is participating in Hunger Action Month as part of a nationwide effort to engage communities to take action to end hunger. From September 22-28, the eight executive directors of IFBA, community leaders and members of the media will be taking the $25 Challenge to highlight the struggle that families in Illinois face in accessing nutritious food. This blog documents the emotional and physical struggles of the $25 Challenge in their own words.

Sen. Mike Frerichs is taking the challenge:

Forget the chicken dinner circuit. State Sen. Mike Frerichs plans to be eating a lot of PB&J next week.

He's taking part in a challenge from the Eastern Illinois Foodbank to get by on $25 worth of food for the week – the same amount given to the average person receiving government food stamps.

Frerichs is enthusiastic about it. His wife, who is 8 1/2 months pregnant, not so much. Since she's eating for two, $25 probably wouldn't provide the healthiest diet – and that's part of the point, according to food bank Executive Director Jim Hires.

Even if you don't take the challenge, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank does great work throughout our region.  Please support them.

I just received the following email from Lori DeYoung (Dem candidate for Ill. House 104th):

Please join me and my committee as we support Ryce Tuggle's efforts to save Kickapoo. Ryce has started the KICK campaign (Kids Interested in Conserving Kickapoo) and has scheduled a rally/picket from 9 to noon on Saturday 9/6/08 at Kickapoo.   There is also a sign up tent to get petitions at Lincoln Square this Saturday at 7 a.m. 

Listen to Ryce and I on WITY starting tomorrow - we all can make a difference to save this wonderful park. Many of us have had the privilege of camping, fishing, hiking, listening to music and having picnics/reunions at Kickapoo - don't we owe it to Ryce, her friends, and all children to have this place to enjoy in the years to come?

Please let me know if you can join us - 

thanks - lori

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!