Sangamon Sun

Sangamon County Board met April 12

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

The Sangamon County Board met in Reconvened Adjourned September Session at the Bank of Springfield Center. Chairman Van Meter called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mrs. Williams gave the Invocation and Mr. Fraase led the County Board in the Pledge of Allegiance.

ROLL CALL

Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. There were 26 Present – 3 Absent. Mrs. Ruzic, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Stumpf were excused.

CONDUCT OF PUBLIC HEARING BY THE BOARD OF SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS WITH REGARD TO THE PROPOSED ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $46,000,000 IN LIMITED BONDS OR ALTERNATE BONDS, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH.

The public hearing was called to order by Chairman VanMeter. This hearing is preliminary to the financing of the transportation center and the improvements to the County Building and the two outbuildings. This is only a hearing about issuing bonds, it is not actually a point of decision-making on issuing the bonds. Let the record reflect this is a public hearing being held pursuant to the requirements of Section 10 and 20 of the Bond Issue Notification Act of the State of Illinois as amended. Notice of this hearing was published April 3rd, 2021 in the State Journal Register. It is a hearing regarding a plan to issue not to exceed $46,000,000 in aggregate principal amount in the County’s general obligated limited tax bonds series 2021. The proceeds of the bonds will be used to finance various capital improvements in the county, including construction of a new parking garage and renovations to the County Complex. They will also pay for certain costs of the issuance of the bonds thereof. The bonds will be issued by the County in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of the local government Debt Reform Act of the State of Illinois as amended and to the “Debt

Reform Act” and shall constitute a general obligation of the County payable from ad valorem taxes of the county for which its full faith and credit have been irrevocably pledged unlimited as to rate, but limited as to amount under the property tax extension law limitation, as amended “limited bonds.” In the event the bonds be issued as alternate bonds in accordance with the Debt Reform Act, said alternate bonds would constitute a general obligation of the county, payable from the issuance of limited bonds or other funds of the County. The public hearing is required by Section 10 and 20 of the Bond Issue Notification Act of the State of Illinois, as amended. Chairman Van Meter asked if there were any written comments that needed to be submitted. There were none. Chairman VanMeter asked if there were any tax-paying residents of Sangamon County or any interested person that wanted to speak. There were none. Chairman VanMeter concluded the public hearing at 7:06 PM on April 12, 2021.

SIU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PRESENTATION

Rikeesha Phelon, Executive Director of Marketing, Communication, and Engagement at SIU School of Medicine, addressed the County Board. One of the first things they decided to do was to make sure they were capturing good imagery of people in the community that were influential with communities of color in terms of providing them with an opportunity to say why they chose to be vaccinated. They have posters ready with real quotes from influential people in the community. They are also constantly updating the FAQ’s. They have a new one they are going to be posting soon. These FAQ’s, along with other materials are housed in a tool kit that people can find online through SIU’s website and the Department of Public Health’s website. Another thing they have included in the tool kit are a list of videos that are ready for download and use. There are currently six videos out there right now that are performing very well. They have doctors, such as Dr. McNeese, on the videos answering some of the top questions that came out of those listening sessions with people of color. Of everything they have used and created, the actual text graphics with the yes and no answers have been the most impactful pieces of content and it has been shared the most. They thought the imagery that showed families and faces people recognized would be way more important, but people just want the facts. They want people to understand that it is okay to be undecided about getting the vaccine. People do not want to feel compelled or forced, so they wanted to let them know that it is okay to be in the middle about it. They turned this into half a page in the Illinois Times because it had so much resonance. They first put it on digital media so they could see how people were responding to it and saw there was great response to that frame of reference. It was letting people know that it was okay to wait and feel ready. When that time came, they could contact the Department of Public Health. They have already made a lot of organic social media posts and paid media posts, and both are performing very well. They have also started the part of Phase 2, which is their digital strategy. On the first three days of using the digital media, they had about 72,000 impressions. The next steps are the more traditional forms of advertising like radio, TV, and paper. They look forward to getting feedback from the community.

Mr. Bunch asked if there was a better way to encourage teachers and students to get the vaccine because that is very important and he has not heard much about it. Mrs. Phelon stated with this campaign, it should not be very hard to find an older student who has received a vaccine or a teacher to help with that. Chairman Van Meter said they have looked into this and it seems like most of the teachers have gotten vaccinated.

Chairman Van Meter said he loves that they used Dr. McNeese. He was a critical person in creating a single health department in Sangamon County. Because of him, there has been a more positive response to the COVID-19 vaccine. He asked if they are advertising in the Pure News. Mrs. Phelon said they have not yet, the traditional advertising will be starting in the next couple of weeks. Chairman Van Meter stated Gail and her team have done a phenomenal job in getting the vaccine out to people here in Sangamon County. He asked if they are keeping track of the numbers with the minorities. Mrs. Phelon said they have not cross-referenced their numbers in terms of engagement or impressions with the number of shots in arms. She said they can definitely try and find a correlation between the advertising and the number of people getting the vaccine.

COVID-19 REPORT

Gail O’Neill, Sangamon County Public Health Director, addressed the County Board. They are benefiting from the promotions and will be able to document that more in the future. As of April 12th, 31% of Sangamon County residents are fully vaccinated. The frenzy of the initial vaccination demand has slowed down, so they do still need to encourage people to vaccinate. There is going to be a push for school-age children to get fully vaccinated before the start of school in the fall if the vaccine is approved for their age group. The other thing they are trying to do in the more rural part of Sangamon County is to use the National Guard teams to go out and provide some vaccination clinics. To date they have been involved with 83,132 doses of vaccines in arms. They are pretty happy with that and she thanked everyone for their support.

Mr. Ratts said currently the age to get vaccinated in Sangamon County is 16. He said that when he looked on the website, the age said it is 18. He asked if they were going to change that. Mrs. O’Neill stated that the Public Health Department does the Moderna, which is 18 and over, but the Pfizer is 16 and over and is distributed at the Fairgrounds.

HANSON PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PRESENTATION

Jim Maul with Hanson Professional Services addressed the County Board. They are the consultants on the new Transportation Center Project and the overall Springfield Rail Improvements Project, which is allowing them to bring in their Amtrak riders and SMTD riders all to one spot. Their

goal is to move the trains off the 3rd Street corridor and onto an expanded 10th Street corridor and they are building a series of underpasses among the 10th Street corridor and at Ash Street, North Grand Ave, and 19th Street. They have already begun the project at Carpenter Street and Ash Street, and they are now working on Laurel Street. There is also a lot of construction on 5th and 6th Street. Over the next few months they are going to begin working around South Grand Ave and Cook Street. After this is completed, they will begin construction at Jefferson and Madison Street. As part of the overall Rail Improvement Project, they are building a new transportation center, parking garage, and are renovating part of the County Building. There will also be new waiting areas, restrooms, and break rooms. Adams Street will be closed during this part of the construction. Mr. Maul has a visual presentation showing where the different construction is and how it all will look when it is done. They want to have all of these projects and construction done by the year 2025. As of right now, they are on schedule and under budget.

FARNSWORTH GROUP PRESENTATION

Paul Wheeler with Farnsworth Group addressed the County Board. They are the architects and engineers for this project for the County Building. This is providing them a much needed opportunity to make some improvements to the building. They have four major goals they want to achieve. The first goal they have is to improve security. Security has changed a lot in the past 30 years and the County Building was not ready for that. The new security line they are going to have is going to be a huge improvement. It will be more visible and easier to access. They are also building a two story atrium between the County Building and the jail. That allows them the space to make this improvement. The second goal is to provide better access to services the County Building offers to the public. They are trying to move all of the main services including the Recorder, Supervisor of Assessments, and Treasurer to the 1st floor so people are not trying to crowd onto elevators. Besides moving the services to the 1st floor, they also decided to bring a courtroom to the 1st floor that is easy to access. They will have the Circuit Clerk right next to it, so when people are done in the courtroom they can go right to the Circuit Clerk’s counter. Moving all of these services down to the 1st floor will make it a lot more accessible to the public. The third goal is to improve their ADA compliance. With the new renovation, they will bring the building into full compliance with the current ADA regulations. On the 2nd floor of the County Building, they wanted to create a conference center. By concentrating these conference rooms to the 2nd floor, they are going to get used a lot more than they are now. It also brings all of the different people, services, and departments on one floor. The County Board chambers and a couple training rooms will also be on the 2nd floor. They are viewing this as an 18-month project. They hope to be completed with construction documents in early September, get bids taken in October, and hopefully break ground in November. They hope to complete this in four phases. The first phase is the 1st floor atrium and the 1st floor north side. When that is complete, they are going to go to the 1st floor south side. The next phase is the entire 2nd floor. Once that is all completed, the train station is built, and they can open the north entrance up, they will close the west entrance. They are going to beautify that area up and make it look really nice.

CORONER’S OFFICE PRESENTATION

Jim Allmon, Sangamon County Coroner, addressed the County Board. The new Coroner’s Office is going to be a stand-alone facility located near the juvenile detention center. During his first year of Coroner, they have continued to move forward serving families as best as they can. The changes he has made since taking office have prepared them for this next step. Last fall, they brought a forensic pathologist back to Springfield that helped them with traveling to other regional facilities in the state. This saved them a lot of money in labor, travel, and morgue fees. They also trained their full-time investigators to help with autopsies. He has also arranged to have some autopsy lab equipment from Memorial Medical Center. This will help offset some of the costs of furnishing this facility. These cost savings will benefit our constituents and help provide them a better service. As part of the National Advisory Council, he has had the opportunity to tour some of the different medical examiner’s facilities and Coroner’s Offices. He has taken a lot of good ideas from those facilities and has tried to learn from their mistakes.

Mr. Allmon stated he has been working in autopsy labs for about 20 years. There have been amazing advances in forensic medicine over the years. All those procedures were done at these local hospitals. Their office has benefited from a great relationship with their two local hospitals for decades. They are very thankful for that. But the hospitals are in the practice of taking care of the living and not the deceased. Illinois statute has charged his office with doing that. With the increase in their caseload over the years, they have simply outgrown the space at the hospitals. On a typical day, their office operates out of four or five different locations. Their office is on the third floor of the County Building. Their transport vehicles are located at a county facility a few miles away. If somebody happens to pass away at home and does not have funeral home arrangements, that individual is taken to St. John’s Hospital for storage purposes. Memorial Medical Center assists them in lending their autopsy suites. Their disaster management equipment is located in the Sheriff’s garage that is about ready to be torn down. Over the years, they have managed and they have gotten by. It is because they have an obligation to do the best they can with the equipment they have, but it has been challenging. Consolidating everything under one roof would be very benefiting. Right now there are eight counties who currently bring their cases to their forensic pathologist in Springfield. This affects the refrigerator space and the morgue settings. Like other regional facilities in Illinois, this facility would act as a hub for County Coroner’s to operate more efficiently. Each county that uses their facility will be responsible for paying for their own autopsies and costs associated with their cases. Those counties are currently paying the pathologist here for autopsies and Memorial Medical Center for morgue fees. Their facility would charge for a morgue like the hospitals and other medical centers do. This should help offset some of their operational expenses a bit. Other counties comparable in size to Sangamon County already have regional medical centers and because of where Sangamon County is located geographically, they are strategically placed to be able to assist additional counties should they request or need it. Most importantly, they will be in a better position to help the families.

Mrs. Scaife asked when the facility would be completed. Mr. Allmon said he does not know if this is going to happen yet. He is trying to sell this idea. Chairman Van Meter said this is the one project that is still contingent on funding. They are very encouraged the funding will be there, but it has not been confirmed. The construction time for the facility would be at least a year.

Mr. Hall said he appreciates the talks he had with Mr. Allmon about this. He said every part of the floor plan is important. Most people would not want to see the things he has seen, so he thinks this is very important and he appreciates everything they do. He thinks a debriefing room would be beneficial for the staff to unwind after some of the cases Mr. Allmon said he has talked to a lot of the guys and girls that work for them and he tells them to try not to take the work home. A debriefing room would be great and he appreciates the recognition.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE PRESENTATION

Jack Campbell, Sangamon County Sheriff, addressed the County Board. He wants to add to what Mr. Maul said about the new entrance to the County Building. They have been fully engaged with the architects on both of these projects and he appreciates them asking for their input. These are customized buildings specific to what they need, and the attention to detail is amazing. In any given day, around 1000-1500 people enter the County Building. Safety and security of all those people are their main concern. The current configuration of the County Building was not designed for the magnetometers and x-ray machines they have down there now. That has caused a lot of inconveniences to the visitors and they just need more space for them. With the new design, they will be able to keep a better eye on the ingress and egress of the people who come in and out of the County Building. They will have a lot more space downstairs and it will be a lot safer for their court security officers and everyone else inside the building.

Their evidence and vehicle storage area is a part of the railroad relocation project. Their current configuration is a 12,500-foot facility and they are increasing it to 15,000 square feet. When the architects walked through their garage over a year ago they had five or six vehicles stored and now they have ten vehicles. They have doubled the number in just one year. They also store other large ticket items like bicycles, generators, ATV’s, and other things that accumulate over time and they need the extra room. They also store their own vehicles in there. They have command post, tactical vehicles, and surplus vehicles, so they need a lot of room. They really appreciate this project and will put it to good use for years to come.

Linda Fulgenzi asked about the evidence storage. Sheriff Campbell explained in addition to storing vehicles, there would be more room to store bigger items. Right now, they have an evidence vault in the basement of the County Building, and there are some larger items that either will not fit or are not appropriate to be in there. This new facility has a 20-foot ceiling, so there will be more than enough room for everything. They also spoke with the architects about reinforcing the concrete floor so they will be able to stack four vehicles high. It will be an interesting day when the time comes to move the evidence. There is a chain-of-custody situation they will need to consult with the State’s Attorney’s Office about.

Chairman Van Meter stated there was a presentation about these projects on Facebook Live. Several board members participated, as well as the architects and the Sheriff and Coroner. Jeff Wilhite is here now to speak about that.

Jeff Wilhite addressed the County Board. He stated about 19,500 people have watched at least a portion of the video, and a little over 8,500 have watched the whole thing. Facebook gives them guidance on what to look for with their content. It says 30% of the total reached should watch at least 10 seconds of the video. They are at 62.8%, which is well over that minimum. The second thing Facebook says a video should do is 15% of the total reach should watch 90% of the video. They are at 27.5%. This is proof the way they set up the video and the content of the video were enjoyable for viewers to watch. They also look at the positive and negative comments. The positive outweigh the negative almost 10 to 1. There is a handful of people not happy with it, but a lot more people were happy. They had at one point, over 1,000 people watching live with them and those viewers stayed with them throughout the video. It is important to note that over 11,000 people have watched at least 20 minutes of the video. Mr. Wilhite also broke the video up into different sections that talked about different aspects of the project, and those videos are up on Facebook and YouTube now.

MINUTES

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, for approval of the Minutes of March 9, 2021. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

MINUTES ADOPTED

CORRESPONDENCE

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mrs. Williams, to place correspondence on file with the County Clerk. A voice vote was unanimous.

RESOLUTION 1

1. Resolutions approving the purchase of a single-axle dump truck from Rush Truck Centers utilizing the State of Illinois Joint Purchasing Contract.

A motion was made by Mr. Fraase, seconded by Mr. Mendenhall, to place Resolution 1 on the floor. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll. Upon the roll call vote, there were 25 Yeas and 0 Nays.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 2

2. 2021-010 – Ralph and Kathy Winch, 3 Treece Court, Springfield – Granting a Rezoning. County Board Member – Tom Fraase, Jr., District #1.

A motion was made by Mr. Fraase, seconded by Mr. Miller, to place Resolution 2 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 2. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 3

3. 2021-011 – Charles E. Robbins, 10000-11000 Block of Waverly Road, Waverly – Granting a Variance. County Board Member – Craig Hall, District #7.

A motion was made by Mr. Hall, seconded by Mrs. Small, to place Resolution 3 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 3. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 4

4. 2021-013 – Chelsea Grubb, 6720 Wesley Chapel Road, Chatham – Granting a Rezoning and a Variance. County Board Member – Craig Hall, District #7.

A motion was made by Mr. Hall, seconded by Mrs. Douglas-Williams, to place Resolution 4 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 4. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 5

5. 2021-014 – Curt & Kimberly Fleck and Barclay Innovations, LLC, 7320 & 7392 Barclay Road, Sherman – Granting a Rezoning, Conditional Permitted Use, and Variances. County Board Member – Lori Williams, District #8.

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mrs. Scaife to place Resolution 5 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 5.

A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 6

6. 2021-015 – Giodom LLC Series 5, 11380 Darnell Road, Mechanicsburg – Granting a Conditional Permitted Use with Conditions and Variances. County Board Member – David Mendenhall, District #3.

A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall, seconded by Mr. DelGiorno, to place Resolution 6 on the floor. Chairman Van Meter asked the professional staff to give a procedural history of the case. Trustin Harrison, professional staff, stated the petitioners are requesting, pursuant to Chapter 17.58 and Section 17.10.020, a Conditional Permitted Use for banquet halls; pursuant to Chapter 17.66, a variance of Chapter 17.04 (Lot) to allow two (2) principal uses on one (1) parcel: (1) campground with a watchman’s quarters and (2) banquet halls; and, a variance of Section 17.50.060(A) to allow the parking to remain unpaved (rock) instead of the required bituminous seal coat.

Emily Prather, professional staff, stated the Planning Commission recommends approval of the requested Conditional Permitted Use for banquet halls with the following conditions: 1) the two banquet halls will not be used at the same time, 2) the hours of operation are limited to 8:00 AM until 12:00 AM, and 3) outside entertainment is prohibited between the hours of 11:00 PM until 8:00 AM on the weekends and between the hours of 9:00 PM and 8:00 AM during the week as stated in the petition. Recommend approval of the requested variance to allow two used on one parcel. The subject property is unique because it has a camp/campground from the 1960’s. The proposed banquet hall use will adaptively reuse the existing buildings and will maintain parts of the original campground. Recommend approval of the paving variance for a period not to exceed two (2) years. Allowing a two-year variance of paving requirements will provide the owner time to complete construction and pave while continuing to use the property. Granting a permanent waiver of paving would be inconsistent with other properties with similar uses. The Standards for Variation are met. Trustin Harrison stated the Zoning Board of Appeals concurs with the staff’s recommendation.

Patrick Sheehan III, residing at 1215 S. 4th Street, Springfield, addressed the County Board. He is there on behalf of his client Steve Lupparell. They have one exception to the staff’s recommendation, specifically the paving variance. This case is similar to the Pumpkin Creek Farm case that was approved where the Fleck Family had petitioned the court for a variance regarding paving. His client’s use is mainly going to be seasonal just like Pumpkin Creek Farms. The pavement area is currently gravel and they would like to remain gravel as this is also a campground with a lot of heavy machinery and equipment that uses this area as well. Gravel is the most cost effective in terms of maintenance. It would not be economical for them to pave this lot if it will only be used seasonally. If needed, he thinks the Standards for Variation are met. As they indicated before the Zoning Board, the profit margins are going to shrink considerably if this is required. It is already gravel, and there are campers and RV’s that are going to use this area so it would just be better suited to remain gravel. There is also a church a couple miles from this property that has a gravel parking lot, and they have

more traffic than this campground would ever see. With that in mind, there is no adverse impact and they are not changing anything, but if the County Board does see fit to uphold the staff’s recommendation, then they ask for 24 months to bring this into compliance.

Chairman Van Meter asked if there was a motion to amend Resolution 6. There was none. A voice vote was unanimous on the adoption of Resolution 6.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTIONS 7 – 18

7. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for ETSD from Hinshaw & Culbertson for the purpose of professional services in the amount of $60,000.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle, seconded by Mrs. Deppe, to place Resolution 7 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. O’Neill, to consolidate Resolutions 7 – 18. Chairman VanMeter asked County Clerk Gray to read Resolutions 8 – 18.

8. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for ETSD from AT&T for the purpose of a Telephone System Maintenance Agreement in the amount of $66,000.

9. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the Sheriff’s Office from Ray O’Herron for the purpose of providing the Sheriff’s Office uniforms in the amount of $105,000.

10. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the Sheriff’s Office from Ray O’Herron for the purpose of body armor in the amount of $34,055.

11. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the Sheriff’s Office from Carpet Weavers of Springfield for the purpose of refurbishing 24 inmate showers in the amount of $333,600.

12. Resolution approving a Memorandum of Understanding between the Sheriff’s Office and the United States Secret Service for support of the Financial and Cyber Crimes Task Force.

13. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for Information Systems from Dell Marketing for the purpose of upgrading personal computers and other Endpoint equipment in the amount of $150,000

14. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for Information Systems from Dell Marketing for the purpose of replacing the GIS servers and storage in the amount of $200,000.

15. Resolution to postpone the delinquency date and waive the interest penalty on the first installment for property taxes in Sangamon County, Illinois.

16. Resolution approving and authorizing Sangamon County to enter into an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, on behalf of its School of Medicine, for professional services related to testing residents for infection with COVID-19.

17. Resolution approving and authorizing Sangamon County to amend the professional services agreement with the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, on behalf of its School of Medicine, for contact tracing services.

18. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the Coroner’s Office from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine for the purpose of a Forensic Pathologist in the amount of $220,000.

A voice vote was unanimous on the consolidation. A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolutions 7 – 18, as consolidated. A voice vote was unanimous. Mr. Hall voted Present on Resolution 7. Mrs. Williams voted Present on Resolutions 15 - 18.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED

WAIVER OF THE TEN-DAY FILING PERIOD

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to waive the ten-day filing period. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

TEN-DAY FILING PERIOD WAIVED

RESOLUTIONS 19 - 25

19. Resolution approving plans for the proposed Springfield Sangamon County Transportation Center and the proposed improvements to the Sangamon County Complex and new construction of a Coroner’s facility and Sheriff’s evidence storage.

A motion was made by Mr. Ratts, seconded by Mrs. Deppe, to place Resolution 19 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mr. Miller, to consolidate Resolutions 19 – 25. Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to read Resolutions 20 – 25.

20. Resolution approving the Public Transportation Grant Application to IDOT for Sangamon County to provide public transportation within the county.

21. Resolution approving a grant application to Court Services from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority for the Family Violence Coordinating Council program in the amount of $38,800.

22. Resolution approving a grant application to SMART from the IDOT for the Downstate Operating Assistance program in the amount of $779,500.

23. Resolution approving a grant application to SMART from IDOT for the Section 5311 Grant in the amount of $132,109.

24. Resolution authorizing the execution and amendment of the Section 5311 Grant Agreement.

25. Resolution temporarily granting all liquor licensees the option to pay license fees in two installments.

A voice vote was unanimous on the consolidation. A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolutions 19 – 25, as consolidated. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 26

26. Resolution approving the procedure for the preparation of County redistricting plans.

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mrs. Hayes to place Resolution 26 on the floor. Chairman Van Meter stated the sponsor, Mr. McGuire, would like to speak on this Resolution. Mr. McGuire addressed the County Board. He stated he campaigned on transparency, and it was one of the main reasons he chose to run. The County Board provides a number of vital services to the public and should adequately represent the public. Fair maps are supported by a majority of the community and should be implemented at all levels of government. This is a great opportunity for both parties to get behind a fair transparent process that works for everyone involved. Sangamon County can be an innovator here for other Illinois county governments. The public hearing portion of this proposal has already been successfully implemented at the state level and is a significant resource for residents. This committee would promote races and take the redistricting process out of the dark which should be supported by all public servants.

Keri Tate, residing at 531 Williams Street in Springfield, addressed the County Board. She is the President of the League of Women Voters in the Springfield area. As president, she is here tonight to express her support for the proposed resolution that would establish a redistricting committee, including members of the general public in Sangamon County. The League of Voters has a long history of advocating for voters and fair elections. At every level of jurisdiction, the league promotes transparent and accountable redistricting processes and seeks to end hyper-partisan practices that do not benefit its constituents. They believe that responsibility for fair redistricting to be vested in an independent committee with members that reflect the diversity and unit of government, which in this case is the Sangamon County Board. They also support the portion of the resolution that allows for public input and comments at public meetings. They believe a summary of those discussions should be shared with the full Sangamon County Board prior to the meeting in which the final redistricting map will be chosen. Representative democracy is undermined when officials select their voters, rather than voters electing their officials. It is their recommendation, as a non-partisan voter advocacy group, that the Sangamon County Board pass this resolution and create a redistricting committee with community members as the decision makers. She thanked the County Board for their time.

James Dixon, residing at 7 Homewood Court in Springfield, addressed the County Board. He is there representing the Faith Coalition for the Common Good. They work with social and economic justice in the Sangamon County area. They also support this resolution, and they very strongly believe it would be good to have a committee where members of the public get to help make these maps so they are fair for everybody and that the maps be shown to the public before their adoption. He would also like to point out that Rhett Butler from their area is very supportive of the public maps that they get to have an input in. He thanked the County Board for their time.

Steve Welch, residing 602 S. 6th Street Road, addressed the County Board. He learned of this resolution a couple of days ago, and he kept asking himself if this was an excess of democracy. He would tell himself no, but then he would look at the resolution again to see if there was a flaw. The reason he was drawn to this resolution, during this 200th year of Sangamon County being created, is that it does raise a couple of questions. One of those questions are if the public can participate in their own governance. There is so much that precedes this resolution. He does support this and thinks it is crucial. He is here representing the Faith Coalition Education Task Force. Hopefully, they will have more that will participate in their own governance. He thanked the County Board for their time.

A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle, seconded by Mr. O’Neill, that Resolution 26 be recommitted back to the Elections Committee for greater study and public comment at the county level.

Mr. DelGiorno stated the Election Oversight Committee had this at their meeting and approved it to the full County Board without recommendation. He wants to know if it will be useful to send it back to the committee since they have already approved it to the full County Board.

Mr. Madonia stated at the Election Oversight Committee meeting, they only had about 30 minutes to decide something of this gravity. That is why it was approved and sent to the full County Board, in the hopes of a public hearing to send it back down to the Election Oversight Committee. Then they would be able to discuss it more and set up a public hearing.

Mrs. Hayes agreed with Mr. DelGiorno. She believes they had plenty of time, as she is a part of the Election Oversight Committee. They are in a time constraint as they are supposed to have a map drawn in June. Kicking it back to the Election Oversight Committee would be saying they are not going to support it, so she wants to have a decision tonight. The resolution is strong and is supported by many groups and is based on transparency. The public should be involved in picking the people who represent them and the map redistricting. She believes there should be a decision tonight.

Mr. Snell, Chairman of the Election Oversight Committee, stated they need more time. They were not able to discuss it for an adequate amount of time and would like this resolution to be recommitted back to the Election Oversight Committee.

Chairman Van Meter asked County Clerk Gray to call the roll on the motion to recommit Resolution 26 back to the Election Oversight Committee. Upon the roll call vote, there were 19 yeas – 6 Nays. Those voting yes were Mrs. Deppe, Mr. Forsyth, Mr. Fraase, Mrs. Annette Fulgenzi, Mrs. Linda Fulgenzi, Mr. Hall, Mr. Krell, Mr. Madonia, Mr. Mendenhall, Mr. Miller, Mr. O’Neill, Mr. Preckwinkle, Mr. Ratts, Mrs. Scaife, Mr. Schackmann, Mr. Snell, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Tjelmeland, and Mrs. Williams. Those voting no were Mr. Bunch, Mr. DelGiorno, Mrs. Douglas-Williams, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. McGuire, and Mrs. Small. Resolution 26 was recommitted back to the Election Oversight Committee.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION RECOMMITTED BACK TO COMMITTEE

RESOLUTION 27

27. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for ETSD from Motorola for the Radio Maintenance Agreement in the amount of $50,000.

A motion was made by Mr. Mendenhall, seconded by Mr. O’Neill to place Resolution 27 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 27. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

RESOLUTION 28

28. Resolution approving a proposal from Joe Petty and Associates to conduct final design and development, generate construction documents, manage procurement and provide construction oversight for the County Complex renovation project at a cost not to exceed $278,000.

A motion was made by Mr. Ratts, seconded by Mrs. Deppe to place Resolution 28 on the floor. A motion was made by Mr. Preckwinkle that the roll call vote for Resolution 1 stands as the roll call vote for Resolution 28. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTIONS CARRIED

RESOLUTION ADOPTED

OLD BUSINESS

There is no Old Business.

NEW BUSINESS

A. Resolutions

There were no new resolutions.

B. Appointments

Appointment of E. Norman Sims to the Mid-Illinois Medical District for a term to expire April, 2026. Appointment of Charles Chimento to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a term to expire April, 2026.

Appointment of Carole Grigiski Keating to the Community Service Block Grant Advisory Board for a term expiring February, 2022.

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mrs. Williams, for approval of the appointments. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

APPOINTMENTS ADOPTED

The nominations for appointment in May were also submitted.

C. Procurement/Grant Notifications

There were none.

D. Ratification of the Laborer’s Public Health Collective Bargaining Agreement

Mr. Madonia stated they are bringing forth a 5-year Agreement with the Laborer’s. They have an approximate $0.75 salary adjustment to make them more comparable to other counties. They also are keeping a CPI for those 5 years. They have also given a 5% bonus to those employees who seek the Environmental Health Certificate, which is a hard certificate to get. He thanked the County Board and hopes for their support. A motion was made by Mr. Madonia, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to ratify this contract. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

CONTRACT RATIFIED

REPORTS OF COUNTY OFFICIALS, REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES,

REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES, COMMITTEE REPORT ON CLAIMS

A motion was made by Mr. Bunch, seconded by Mrs. Williams, to place the Committee Report on Claims on file with the County Clerk. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

REPORTS FILED

RECESS

A motion was made by Mrs. Williams, seconded by Mr. Bunch, to recess the meeting to May 11, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. A voice vote was unanimous.

MOTION CARRIED

MEETING RECESSED

https://www.sangamoncountyclerk.com/County-Board/documents/April122021_000.pdf