City Council Regular Meeting

URBANA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DATE: Rescheduled Wednesday, August 12, 2020 TIME: 6:30 P.M. PLACE: *Held virtually due to Governor’s and Mayoral Emergency Declarations The City Council of the City of Urbana, Illinois, met in regular session August 12, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Urbana City Council Chambers, 400 S. Vine St., Urbana, IL 61801 ELECTED OFFICIALS PHYSICALLY PRESENT: Mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin, Phyllis D. Clark, City Clerk ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: City Council Members (CM) *Bill Brown, Bill Colbrook, Shirese Hursey, Julie Laut, Jared Miller, *Dennis Roberts, Maryalice Wu ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT VIRTUALLY: Elizabeth Hannan, Wendy Hundley, Jason Liggett, Carol Mitten, Andrea Ruedi, Bryant Seraphin, James Simon, Scott Tess, Lily Wilcock OTHERS PRESENT VIA ZOOM: Allison, David Barber, Rita Conerly, Tracy Chong, Giovanna Dibenedetto, Anne Marie Esposito, Christopher Hansen, Justin Michael Hendrix, Austin Hoffman, Drake Materre, Meghan McDonald, Felipe Menanteau, Sarah Nixon, Allison O’Dwyer, Ameena Payne, Julia Rush, Nancy Westcott, Grace Wilken A. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL There being a quorum virtually present, Mayor Marlin called the meeting of the Urbana City Council to order at 6:30pm following Cunningham Township Board meeting. *CM Brown joined the meeting at 6:31p.m. and CM Roberts at 6:32p.m. not present during roll call. B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING CM Wu made a motion to approve minutes from the June 25, 2020 (Special Meeting) and July 27, 2020 (Regular Meeting). Motion seconded by CM Colbrook and carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nay: None C. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA Mayor Marlin asked to reschedule Closed Session from New Business to August 17, 2020 meeting. CM Roberts made a motion to approve changes to the agenda as mentioned. CM Hursey seconded and carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nay: None D. PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLIC INPUT 1. Economic Development Quarterly Report Community Development Economic Coordinator Stepheny McMahon presented the quarterly report, highlighting the following:  Covid-19 Resources for Business – payroll protection program (PPP), curbside, online, and sidewalk sales.  City Events Page 1 of 5   Market at the Square with a 90% compliance for wearing masks and following traffic signage, attendance has reached over 3,000 attendees.  Urbana Arts & Culture Program has hosted a variety of online and virtual activities for the public. Poets on a Park Bench, new Mural on Glass was installed, and local artists were awarded stipends to create outdoor installation in several Champaign – Urbana parks and community gardens.  New Business, Expansion, and changes  Work in progress at the Gather mixed use project at University and Lincoln Ave., 200 Vine St., 1007 University Ave., all on target for completion.  New businesses opening – Ceptier, a technology consulting company; Restyle at Bella, women’s boutique and consignment shop; Kutz barbershop. Ribbon cuttings will be held virtually.  Think Urbana  The program continues to be of interest as people take advantage of low mortgage interest rates. 2. COVID-19 Modeling: Implications for UIUC re-opening and City of Urbana Policy Eric Jakobsson and Santiago Nuñez Corrales from University of Illinois gave a brief summary about their Epidemiology Workbench model, which is a tool for communities to strategize in response to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Mr. Jakobsson said the research showed testing is more important than social distancing. In addition, Mayor Marlin said that City of Champaign, University of Illinois, and City of Urbana are working collaboratively by implementing emergency orders prior to students’ arrival. Some of the emergency orders will address face covering enforcement, indoor/outdoor dining restrictions, and private gatherings. Discussion ensued. 3. Clarification of Juvenile Arrest and Detention Data Mayor Marlin said that this presentation was going to be brief, to merely address some of the data presented during public input last week. Regarding the disproportionate number of juvenile arrest and detention among the African American youth in Urbana. Police Chief Bryant Seraphin provided clarification of juvenile arrest and detention data for 2019. The previous information presented said that there were 252 arrests, but it was 205 showing 84% of those being African American youth. In addition, showing disposition for all youth as follows:  Juvenile Detention Center (JDC)  Youth Assessment Center (YAC)  Warned and Released The information shown illustrated African American Youth with the highest police contact and resulting in trips to JDC, referrals to YAC, and given a warning or released. Chief Seraphin addressed questions from council members. Some of the comments and or questions included:  How many of the JDC trips resulted in felony charges?  How many are repeat offenders?  Where did the arrests originate? (SRO, field officers, schools)  Do officers have discretion of youth disposition?  Suggestion: refrain from using the word “trips” when talking about children going to jail.  Do not place blame on family economic status or their race. Page 2 of 5  4. Input via zoom From following people: Allison, David Barber, Rita Conerly, Tracy Chong, Anne Marie Esposito, Christopher Hansen, Justin Michael Hendrix, Austin Hoffman, Drake Materre, Meghan McDonald, Felipe Menanteau, Sarah Nixon, Allison O’Dwyer, Ameena Payne, Julia Rush, Nancy Westcott, Grace Wilken. Summary of comments included: police misconduct, police accountability, defund police, dropped charges against Aleyah Lewis and protestors, remove school resource officers out of the school districts, what are the City of Urbana Mission and Core Values?, School to Prison Pipeline is real, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request processes and fees, address policing, juvenile crime is not a new problem, Urbana cops are racist, address systematic racism, do not expect the government to fix problems, but grateful for what you are doing, proceed with caution when addressing the disparities revealed about youth arrests, lack of empathy for protestors, Giovanna Dibenedetto addressed council to report improvements of violence at the Silverwood neighborhood and to invite council for a prayer walk against violence and crime. The prayer walk will be by invitation only Monday, August 17, 2020 from 5:30-6:30pm. 5. Input via email Mayor Marlin read the following names into the records for submitting public input via email. Chelsea Birchmier, River Brown, Nancy Dietrich, Kat Fuenty, Sarah Hoag, Lara Jobe, Kauryn Karmazinas, Karen Linder, Matt Soyland, Danielle McFarland, Naomi Paik, Rebecca Powell, Debbie Sperry, Nate Wahl, Janice Walker, Zachary Wilken. Mayor Marlin announced the One Door presentation that will be presented at the August 17, 2020 meeting and the Hillard Heintze report will be presented at the August 24, 2020 meeting. E. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Ordinance No. 2020-07-038: An Ordinance Approving an Amendment to the 2005 Comprehensive Plan (Urbana Pedestrian Master Plan / Plan Case 2401-CP-20) [COW 07/20/2020; CC 07/27/2020] Community Development Planner I Lily Wilcock presented Ordinance No. 2020-07-038 with the recommendation for approval. Ms. Wilcock gave a brief summary about the changes to the original ordinance presented at the July 20, 2020 meeting. The changes included page 124 about brick sidewalks, and page 147 regarding funding implementation. Ms. Wilcock reminded council that a more comprehensive memorandum was available at the July 20, 2020. Discussion ensued. After presentation and discussion, CM Roberts made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2020-07-038 to approve as presented. CM Wu seconded. Motion carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nay: None F. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES Committee Of The Whole 1. CONSENT AGENDA 2. REGULAR AGENDA a. Resolution No. 2020-08-034R: A Resolution Approving a Champaign-Urbana Solid Waste Disposal System Agreement Page 3 of 5  On behalf of the committee, CM Brown made a motion to approve Resolution No. 2020-08-034R as forwarded from committee. CM Miller seconded. No discussion. Motion carried by roll call as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nay: None b. Resolution No. 2020-08-035R: A Resolution Authorizing Acceptance of a Grant for Market at the Square (Farm Credit Illinois Grant – Snap Double Value Program – 2020) On behalf of the committee, CM Brown made a motion to approve Resolution No. 2020-08-035R as forwarded from committee. CM Wu seconded. No discussion. Motion carried by roll call as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nay: None c. Resolution No. 2020-08-036R: A Resolution Approving Amendment No. 1 to a Subgrantee Agreement for a Tenant Based Rental Assistance Program (Courage Connection TBRA FY 2017-2018 No. 1718-CC01) On behalf of the committee, CM Brown made a motion to approve Resolution No. 2020-08-036R as forwarded from committee. CM Roberts seconded. No discussion. Motion carried by roll call as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nay: None d. Resolution No. 2020-08-037R: A Resolution Accepting a “Tornado Trees” for Tree Town Grant from Rotary Club of Urbana On behalf of the committee, CM Brown made a motion to approve Resolution No. 2020-08-037R as forwarded from committee. CM Laut seconded. Mayor Marlin addressed questions about the value of trees and the number of lost trees. Motion carried by roll call as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu Nay: None e. Ordinance No. 2020-08-041: An Ordinance Revising the Annual Budget Ordinance (Budget Amendment #1 – Omnibus) On behalf of the committee, CM Brown made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2020-08-041 as forwarded from committee. CM Colbrook seconded. No discussion. Motion carried by roll call as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Laut, Miller, Roberts, Wu, Marlin Nay: None G. REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES There were none H. REPORTS OF OFFICERS 1. Information Item – Emergency Purchase of Overhead Doors Page 4 of 5  City Administrator Carol Mitten gave a brief summary about the need to replace Fire Station #1 overhead doors, which were identified in the facilities condition assessment plan as being in poor condition. Mayor Marlin announced new timelines for completing the 2020 Census. The census bureau moved the completion date from October 31, 2020 to September 30, 2020. Census assistance will be available at Market at the Square every Saturday starting August 15, 2020. Mayor Marlin acknowledged CM Hursey for reaching out efforts in her ward. Anyone wanting to complete that census can go to my2020census.gov. I. NEW BUSINESS 1. Mayoral Appointments to Boards and Commissions a. Civilian Police Review Board 1. Katrina Marie Kindle – term ending June 30, 2023 2. Tony Allegretti – term ending June 30, 2022 Mayor Marlin presented the appointment of Katrina Marie Kindle and Tony Allegretti to the CPRB board with the recommendation for approval. CM Hursey made a motion to approve the appointments as presented. CM Colbrook seconded. CM Miller asked if these appointments could be postponed for a later date and have the applicants attend the meeting for questions. Motion carried by roll call vote as follows: Aye: Brown, Colbrook, Hursey, Roberts, Wu, Marlin Nay: Miller Abstentions: Laut 2. Closed Session a. To consider pending, probable or imminent litigation pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11) ***This item was removed from during Additions to the Agenda*** J. ADJOURNMENT With no further business to come before the council, Mayor Marlin adjourned the virtual meeting at 9:18 p.m. Wendy M. Hundley Deputy City Clerk This meeting was video recorded and is viewable on-demand. Minutes Approved: September 14, 2020 Page 5 of 5 From: To: !City Council Subject: Public Input for August 10 Meeting Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 12:13:39 PM Dear City Council, My name is Chelsea Birchmier, and I'm a PhD student and graduate employee at the University of Illinois, and the co-president of the Graduate Employees' Organization or GEO. Mayor Marlin indicated at the recent WILL TV panel on policing that the City of Urbana is about to renegotiate their contract with the police union, the Fraternal Order of Police. Currently, the police contract allows for the removal of disciplinary notices, seniority provisions that make it so more senior officers are not impacted by layoffs regardless of their history of misconduct, 120 hours of paid leave for police union conferences, a memorandum of understanding that renders the Civilian Police Review Board (CPRB) powerless, and other items that make it difficult to hold police accountable. What accountability measures is the city of Urbana planning to advocate for on behalf of your residents in the police union contract? I would also like to continue to advocate that the charges against Ms. Lewis be dropped. Additionally, I support the call for an end to the intergovernmental agreement with the Urbana Police Department and the removal of SROs from Urbana’s public schools as well as a significant defunding of Urbana Police to allow more funds to go toward reinvesting in Black neighborhoods. Thank you, Chelsea Birchmier From: To: !City Council Subject: PUBLIC INPUT - 10 Aug Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 8:01:03 AM Dear Urbana City Council - The connection between academic underachievement and student involvement in the justice system needs to be highlighted and addressed; when students do not graduate from high school and obtain the skills to procure adequate employment, they are more likely to also be involved in the justice system at later stages in their lives. Policing was never meant to solve all problems. School Resource Officers (SROs) do not have specialized training in adolescent or childhood development. They are not mental health experts, social workers with licensed degrees, psychologists, or school counselors. They are not educators. To be clear, school resource officers are career law enforcement officers, with arresting authority, and a license to carry a weapon (paid for by the school district). Police officers patrol school hallways just like they do city streets. There are better, safer, and cheaper alternatives. We must end the Intergovernmental agreement with the Urbana Police Department and remove SROs from Urbana’s public schools. If we are to acknowledge the truth about the systemic racism in our communities, we must also acknowledge the impact that systemic racism has on youth. As a means to be actively working to be anti-racist in our educational systems, resolutions against racism are key policy doctrines that can help to govern how we think about safety, health care, the economy and certainly public schools. City Council must commit to and enact a resolution to end systemic racism and achieve racial quality. If you are looking to empower & not exploit a community, as public officials, it is your duty to use legal and moral authority to protect all members of the Urbana community, no matter their race or color, to foster a community free of fear, intimidation and violence — a community in which people are not targeted or hurt unnecessarily by law enforcement or vigilantes. It is time to take bold steps toward real action; use funds to better support the community. Alternatives to policing are predicated on the understanding that crime often arises out of unaddressed needs. Here are some ways our community can build need-based responding: 1) Ending drug use incarceration - instead, provide services and support networks to combat drug addiction. 2) Remove SRO's - instead, train staff on restorative justice techniques, increase the number of available counselors, and grow programs (i.e. art, music, science, etc.) meant to engage students during/after school. 3) Stop policing homelessness, intoxication, domestic disputes, etc. - instead, build community intervention strategies like CAHOOTS in OR 4) End citations for things like broken tail lights (which further strain financial situations) - instead create the means to fix the issues immediately (e.g. hire city mechanics) so as not to prolong the danger posed to other drivers. 5) Addressing violence - crimes such as sexual assault are underreported. Charges against Ms. Lewis must be dropped and the officers who brutalized her should be taken off duty pending the completion of an independent investigation of her arrest. Furthermore, there should be clear communication and transparency between the council and the community about who is being tasked with this investigation. Regards, Respectfully, Danielle McFarland From: To: !City Council Subject: [*** SPAM ***] PUBLIC INPUT Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 12:37:52 AM Importance: Low To the Urbana City Council, I am shocked and beyond dismayed that I must write again to speak out against the arrest and beating of Aleyah Lewis. I am not alone in the sentiment that my words to the City Council have not been meaningfully heard. This young woman was in need of our community's support and not a brutal beating. Nothing about her presentation or actions was threatening. Yet, police officers chose to provoke and escalate conflict and violence rather than quell it. Their well recorded words to Aleyah were clearly not only racist but sexist and deeply disturbing. I have watched footage of the police assault on Aliyah and wondered why a male police officer would continue to physically straddle a young woman so long after she could even move at all. Even more disturbingly, police response has been to attempt to retract and cover up evidence or present skewed and slanted information. All efforts have been invested in discrediting and blaming the victim. Investigative agencies have been hired that have clear track records of bias in favor of the police. The system has been busy stacking cards against Aleyah. The ultimate tragedy is that the state's attorney's office sees no wrongdoing and continues to support enforcement of a possible twelve year imprisonment of this young woman. Our community pays the salaries of our police officers, attorneys, and the investigative agencies involved in these situations. We will not continue to pay for corrupt systems that victimize our fellow citizens. If police are allowed to treat Aleyah Lewis as they have then none of us are safe. For these reasons I demand that all charges against Aleyah Lewis be dropped. I continue to stand with peaceful protesters, my professional colleagues, and the members of my faith community who demand the same. There is extensive evidence that the actions of these police officers were clearly inappropriate and we will distribute it far and wide. We will continue to relentlessly support Aleyah in every way possible and will intensify our efforts until justice is served. No justice, no peace! Debbie Sperry, Ph.D. From: To: !City Council Subject: PUBLIC INPUT Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 8:47:07 AM Subject: Council Meeting August 10, 2020 Good Evening Mayor and City Council Members. We are all aware of the ongoing, disproportionate arrests of African American youth in Champaign Urbana and the terrible impact this has on their lives, the lives of their family members and on our community. I leave it to your office to provide the accurate data on this matter; what we know and have known for years now, is that it’s not where we want it to be. As long as arrests are significantly above 12% (the percentage of African American youth in this community), we need to do better. Now is the time to take concerted action to focus on problem solving, not punishing our youth, so they can become contributing members of our community. Their lives matter to the future viability of our town, Champaign Urbana. We have a diverse, intellectually rich, and compassionate community. Surely, we can put our collective power and resources together and make some much needed improvements in our policies, training practices, selection criteria and whatever is needed to turn the tide on this situation. I ask the City Council to urgently address this now. Sincerely, Janice A. Walker From: To: !City Council Subject: Public Input Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 11:44:41 AM Dear council members, Why are we still having to write to you about Aleyah Lewis? It is hugely disappointing to see this body not intervene on her behalf. Racism is real, systemic and traumatic for those of color in our community. If Ms. Lewis was your daughter, is this how you would want the UPD to act toward her? I cannot believe that the Chief of Police and the State’s Attorney are being allowed to dig in, upholding racist systems and violence against those of color. Find the courage to be on the right side of history and force a change! See that the charges against Ms. Lewis are dropped. Do the right thing, Karen Linder From: To: !City Council Subject: Call on State"s Attorney Julia Reitz to drop all charges against Ms. Aleyah Lewis Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 9:03:27 AM Dear City Council Members, I write as a concerned citizen of Champaign-Urbana. Ms. Aleyah Lewis, who was assaulted by police in April, stands to go to court tomorrow. Video evidence shows that she was the victim of excessive force by police, including the threat of an assault rifle at her back, for resisting being grabbed by a police officer. In no way was the officer's life threatened, yet officers Michael Cervantes and James Koker saw fit to throw her to the ground, strike her multiple times in the head, and put a rifle to her back. In the midst of nationwide protests against police violence, I hope you will consider that this case will stand as a historic marker of whether the City of Urbana is willing to do the right thing or simply conform to the status quo. Please call on Julia Reitz to drop charges against Aleyah Lewis. Thank you for your time. Kat Fuenty From: To: ! Roberts, Dennis; !City Council Subject: PUBLIC INPUT-AUG 10th Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 3:36:10 PM Dear Urbana City Council, I continue to write to you and call for an end to the intergovernmental agreement signed back in December between the City of Urbana and the Urbana School Board for $321,000. Not only does it cost much needed educational dollars that could support the hiring of teachers (currently there is a shortage), academic supports such as counselors and psychologists, the agreement hardly addresses the connection between academic underachievement and student involvement in the justice system. When students do not graduate from high school and obtain the skills to procure adequate employment, they are more likely to also be involved in the justice system at later stages in their lives. Policing was never meant to solve all problems. School Resource Officers (SROs) do not have specialized training in adolescent or childhood development. They are not mental health experts, social workers with licensed degrees, psychologists, or school counselors. They are not educators. To be clear, school resource officers are career law enforcement officers, with arresting authority, and a license to carry a weapon (paid for by the school district). Police officers patrol school hallways just like they do city streets. There are better, safer, and cheaper alternatives. So again I say, we must end the Intergovernmental agreement with the Urbana Police Department and remove SROs from Urbana’s public schools. Respectfully, Lara Orr- Ward 5 From: To: !City Council Subject: Aleyah Lewis - Drop the Charges Date: Sunday, August 09, 2020 6:42:59 PM Hello, As a member of the Urbana community I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the city's handling of Aleyah Lewis' case. I firmly believe, along with all members of the Champaign County Anti-Racist Coalition (CC- ARC), that Julia Reitz should drop all charges against Ms. Lewis. The council, by blatantly ignoring the concerns of the people, show that they do not represent the interests of the people. Do the right thing. Sincerely, Matt Soyland From: To: !City Council Subject: Aleya Lewis Date: Sunday, August 09, 2020 3:25:12 PM Hello City Council, I Champaign/Urbana. am a community member of Champaign/Urbana. After viewing several videos of the arrest of Aleya Lewis, I am disgusted with the way in which she was treated by the officers. Rather than de escalate their interaction, they chose to escalate and make it worse. This is why people want the police defunded! Representatives of our community whose professional training and jobs are to communicate effectively and with empathy and compassion should be the ones sent out into our community. This situation would not have taken place, I am certain, with a professional approach, not an escalation and physically violent approach! I request that you ask Julia Reitz to drop charges against this young woman, Aleya Lewis, and take another look at who you send into the streets. Sincerely, Michele Brown Sent from my iPhone From: To: !City Council Subject: Concerns about excessive force used by police Date: Sunday, August 09, 2020 1:17:28 PM To the members of the Urbana City Council, I am writing to add my voice to the many others who have expressed concern over excessive force used by members of the Urbana Police Department in the arrest of Urbana resident Aleyah Lewis. I agree with Minnie Pearson of the NAACP in her recent commentary in the News-Gazette, in which she states that had Ms. Lewis been white, she would not have been treated in this manner by the officers. In addition, the charges against Ms. Lewis which could result in 12 years in prison are very much out of proportion to the situation in which was luckily recorded by other Urbana citizens. I also am pretty shocked by the fact that the Urbana Police Department has not yet adopted the NAACP and IL Association of Chiefs of Police “Ten Shared Principles,” common-sense principles that our Police Department should be more than willing to agree to. I also share concerns with other Urbana residents that the Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB) has not been effective as a way to review citizen complaints against police officers, and as I’ve mentioned before in a previous email, I would like to see the city of Urbana re-allocate funding from policing into investments in the community. In summary, I would like to urge the members of the City Council to: -contact Julia Rietz, as I have, to ask that the charges against Ms. Lewis be dropped, -urge the Urbana Police Dept. to sign on and adhere to the Ten Shared Principles already agreed to by the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police: https://www.ilchiefs.org/shared-principles, and - Re-allocate funding from policing into investments in neighborhoods, affordable food and housing, social services, education, mental health services, and public works, to more fully reflect the needs of the residents of this community, in addition to continuing to reform the CPRB to make it an effective tool of oversight. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Nancy A. Dietrich Urbana resident, Ward 6 From: To: !City Council Subject: PUBLIC INPUT - 10 Aug Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 8:18:48 AM Dear Urbana City Council, The connection between academic underachievement and student involvement in the justice system needs to be highlighted and addressed; when students do not graduate from high school and obtain the skills to procure adequate employment, they are more likely to also be involved in the justice system at later stages in their lives. Policing was never meant to solve all problems. School Resource Officers (SROs) do not have specialized training in adolescent or childhood development. They are not mental health experts, social workers with licensed degrees, psychologists, or school counselors. They are not educators. To be clear, school resource officers are career law enforcement officers, with arresting authority, and a license to carry a weapon (paid for by the school district). Police officers patrol school hallways just like they do city streets. There are better, safer, and cheaper alternatives. I have heard the mayor and police chiefs say that SROs perform good work "mentoring" students. As an educator who has mentored hundreds of students over my career thus far, I can assure it does not require a weapon and badge to mentor students. The massive funds that go to SROs should be reallocated to people who care for, not control, students, like nurses, counselors, career/internship and college counselors, and so on. We must end the Intergovernmental agreement with the Urbana Police Department and remove SROs from Urbana’s public schools. Respectfully, -- A. Naomi Paik Rightlessness: Testimony and Redress in U.S. Prison Camps since World War II http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/11907.html Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary: Understanding US Immigration for the 21st Century https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520305120/bans-walls-raids-sanctuary From: To: !City Council Subject: PUBLIC INPUT - 10 Aug Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 10:31:26 AM Dear Urbana City Council - Alternatives to policing are predicated on the understanding that crime often arises out of unaddressed needs. Here are some ways our community can build need-based responding: 1) Ending drug use incarceration - instead, provide services and support networks to combat drug addiction. 2) Remove SRO's - instead, train staff on restorative justice techniques, increase the number of available counselors, and grow programs (i.e. art, music, science, etc.) meant to engage students during/after school. 3) Stop policing homelessness, intoxication, domestic disputes, etc. - instead, build community intervention strategies like CAHOOTS in OR 4) End citations for things like broken tail lights (which further strain financial situations) - instead create the means to fix the issues immediately (e.g. hire city mechanics) so as not to prolong the danger posed to other drivers. 5) Addressing violence - crimes such as sexual assault are underreported. Nate Wahl and Jo Johnson Urbana Community Members From: To: !City Council; statesatty@co.champaign.il.us Subject: PUBLIC INPUT - 10 Aug Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 12:03:56 PM Dear City Council & Julia Reitz, As a resident of Urbana-Champaign, Charges against Ms. Lewis must be dropped and the officers who brutalized her should be taken off duty pending the completion of an independent investigation of her arrest. Furthermore, there should be clear communication and transparency between the council and the community about who is being tasked with this investigation. I want to know that I can trust the people who are supposed to be taking care of us the way that I should be able to. Regards, Rebecca Powell From: To: !City Council Subject: To be read at city council Monday August 10: Drop all charges against Aleyah Lewis Date: Sunday, August 09, 2020 2:29:38 PM Hello City Council, My name is River (they/them), and I email you with one last petition to call on Julia Reitz to drop the charges against Aleyah Lewis. You have the power to make this an agenda item and really take a position. Move us in the right direction. Vote to Drop all charges against Aleyah Lewis. End the process of state-sanctioned violence against Black people by making this first step. And if you have not already, please watch the videos covering the events that day. This is an urgent matter, and I hope to see you address this request in a real and meaningful way at city council. Please watch the video and imagine it is your daughter, your sister, your child, your son, whatever it takes for you to empathize with her position. Imagine if it were you being brutally apprehended and beaten by three large white men. My heart breaks that this is what our children will inherit. Sincerely, -River Andres, PA-C -- River Andres (pronouns: they/them/theirs) From: To: !City Council Subject: PUBLIC INPUT - 10 Aug Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 1:37:38 PM Dear Urbana City Council, If we are to acknowledge the truth about the systemic racism in our communities, we must also acknowledge the impact that systemic racism has on youth. As a means to be actively working to be anti-racist in our educational systems, resolutions against racism are key policy doctrines that can help to govern how we think about safety, health care, the economy and certainly public schools. City Council must commit to and enact a resolution to end systemic racism and achieve racial quality. Furthermore, The connection between academic underachievement and student involvement in the justice system needs to be highlighted and addressed; when students do not graduate from high school and obtain the skills to procure adequate employment, they are more likely to also be involved in the justice system at later stages in their lives. We, as caring citizens, need to make sure our schools have the resources that they need to help students overcome barriers (such as systemic racism and poverty) in order to achieve their full potential. School Resource Officers (SROs) do not have specialized training in adolescent or childhood development. They are not mental health experts, social workers with licensed degrees, psychologists, or school counselors. They are not educators. They are not the resource these students need to succeed. To be clear, school resource officers are career law enforcement officers, with arresting authority, and a license to carry a weapon (paid for by the school district). Police officers patrol school hallways just like they do city streets. There are better, safer, and cheaper alternatives. We must end the Intergovernmental agreement with the Urbana Police Department and remove SROs from Urbana’s public schools. If you are looking to empower & not exploit a community, as public officials, it is your duty to use legal and moral authority to protect all members of the Urbana community, no matter their race or color, to foster a community free of fear, intimidation and violence — a community in which people are not targeted or hurt unnecessarily by law enforcement or vigilantes. It is time to take bold steps toward real action; use funds to better support the community and its vulnerable youth. Sincerely, Sara Hoag From: To: !City Council Subject: Fwd: Public Input 8/10/20 Date: Monday, August 10, 2020 3:16:45 PM ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Grace Walworth < > Date: Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 3:16 PM Subject: Public Input 8/10/20 To: Zachary Wilken > Dear Urbana City Council and Urbana Police Chief Bryant Seraphin, My name is Zach Wilken and I am an Urbana Resident. Last week at the city council meeting, the UPD police chief Seraphin justified the actions of a driver who hit a protestor with her car on June 23rd.  Witnesses who saw the assault said that nothing was done to provoke this woman, no one jumped on her car (as the police chief stated) and that she was released from the scene by police, with no consequences. The police chief justified the assault by saying that the driver was upset after “visiting a loved one in the hospital.” On April 10th, Aleyah Lewis was taken into custody after a domestic dispute and discharge of a firearm.   Aleyah Lewis is on trial tomorrow for aggravated battery towards a police office.  Her “crime” would have never taken place if your police officers had not failed to deescalate the situation like they did with this driver who actually committed an assault. Aleyah Lewis was having a bad day as well. I only see two differences between Ms. Lewis’s situation and that of the woman who drove through the protest. 1)    Aleyah Lewis was not wielding the deadly weapon that could have killed a person. The driver from June was the party responsible. 2)    While police responded to calls about both situations, they escalated the situation with Aleyah Lewis to the point where she was kicked on the ground and tasered, while the driver who actually committed an assault was allowed to go free. Similarly, after the hit and run incident in June, witnesses said that the driver was upset and yelling at police.  However, police did not tackle this woman to the ground and press charges  against her, as they did with Aleyah Lewis. For the police chief to dismiss one of these situations with empathy and not the other is unjust. I would ask the UPD and the police chief move forward to have a zero-tolerance policy on people driving through protests. This has happened multiple times now in C-U with an incident recently outside of Rogue Barber Shop.  If you do not properly address these assaults, someone could be seriously injured or killed. I would also ask the police chief AND city council to continue to show empathy by recommending that all charges against Aleyah Lewis be dropped. If our police can deescalate one situation and empathize with the assailant, then they should have done the same with Ms. Lewis. Aleyah Lewis has already suffered enough. Please make direct statements on what you believe to be right and stay consistent with your beliefs and how you enforce them.