Kathy's #Mailbag, April 7, 2023

Apr. 7—In this week's Mailbag, we have questions about body-worn cameras for Illinois State Police troopers ... some wonky-looking Block I's at a UI building ... an important meeting about rural broadband ... what makes some gymnasium bleachers ADA-compliant ... and couple of questions relating to severe weather that blew through the area last Friday night.

What, again? More lane closures on I-57

"Both the north- and southbound lanes of Interstate 57 between Rantoul and Champaign were resurfaced last year. The work took months, and the traffic was awful. Now they've shut down the lanes again. Was there something wrong with the resurfacing?"

The plan last fall was for the final striping and guardrail work to be done this spring — but it turned out additional work was needed. "During construction last fall, the contractor encountered several 'blow-ups' that had to be fixed immediately," said IDOT engineer Kensil Garnett.

Pavement blow-ups usually occur during warmer temperatures, when the roadway surface expands at a crack or joint where moisture has seeped in. The areas in question have concrete as the base with asphalt on top. If the joints in the concrete are filled with incompressible material — rocks or soil — the pavement cannot expand as it was designed and a blow-up occurs.

"There was an actual pavement failure in the southbound lane near the shoulder that had to be patched. There was concrete by one of the bridges in the northbound lanes that began to crumble and this area was patched also. Patching occurred in a few areas where we had huge freeze/thaw cracks that developed over the winter. The patches were completed using concrete that has been dyed black," Garnett said.

"After completing the patching operations and also fixing the blow-up locations, we thought we had fixed all the problem areas. However, through the freeze/thaw cycles from the winter, five or six more problem locations surfaced. Fortunately, the construction contracts are still active and these locations can be repaired before they cause larger, long-term problems."

Garnett said lane closures on I-57 in this area "should be completed at this point in time. There are a couple of guardrail end terminals that need to be placed and approximately 100 feet of guardrail that needs to be removed. This work can be completed by using a shoulder closure only. The final striping and raised reflective markers need to be completed and this work is considered a moving operation, so no lane closures will be necessary."

Attention, squeaky wheels....

From time to time, the Mailbag gets reader questions about high-speed internet service in rural areas — why broadband is so hard to get, and why the service is so lousy for some customers who supposedly do have it.

You know what they say about the squeaky wheel, right? Well, here's your chance to "squeak" in front of some people who may actually be able to improve broadband availability and quality in your area.

The Illinois Broadband Lab invites you to a listening session set for 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Champaign County Farm Bureau building, 801 N. Country Fair Dr., Champaign. Or, if it's more convenient for you, Danville Area Community College will host a similar session from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Vermilion Hall Room 306. The Broadband Lab is a collaboration between the University of Illinois System and State of Illinois' Office of Broadband.

Input from these meetings will help shape the state's broadband plans — which will unlock more than a billion (with a "b") dollars' worth of federal funds aimed at improving local broadband access.

If you're frustrated with lack of broadband access in your area, ask some of your squeaky-wheel neighbors to join you!

Tornado warning sirens on March 31

"Northern Champaign County was under a tornado warning for about a half-hour on Friday night (March 31), and there was significant damage. Given the unpredictable nature of tornadoes, I was a little surprised the sirens didn't go off in the northernmost neighborhoods of C-U. Hopefully, they were activated in the Fisher/Rantoul/Ludlow areas. Why didn't the sirens sound in the farthest-north parts of the twin cities?"

Most of the county's smaller communities outside of Champaign-Urbana-Savoy make their own decisions on when, and whether, to activate tornado sirens, said county emergency services coordinator John Dwyer. He said Rantoul's siren "sounded several times, Gifford sounded theirs as well, and Ludlow does not have an outdoor warning siren.

"Fisher is aligned with our (Champaign-Urbana) system, so if a warning box goes over Fisher they're supposed to activate automatically. For some reason it didn't, and we're looking into that. I was eventually able to activate theirs manually for them" last Friday night.

Dwyer said none of the sirens in C-U were activated because the National Weather Service's tornado "warning box" did not include any territory with the Champaign or Urbana city limits.

Could NWS stream weather radio signal?

"Severe weather season is well under way, and our local weather radio station, WXJ-76, is still off the air. Until the local coverage gap can be fixed, why can't the National Weather Service at least stream their local weather radio content online? Streaming the broadcasts shouldn't cost them a lot — and being able to pick up the feed on a smartphone would certainly be better than having no coverage at all."

Chris Geelhart, NOAA Weather Radio program leader at the NWS office in Lincoln, said, "we are not able to stream the WXJ-76 audio feed online, as the NWS operates over 1,000 NOAA Weather Radio stations and the cost of doing all of them would add up. Existing streaming feeds are generally done by a third party that captures the over-the-air signal of the NOAA Weather Radio station. Since the station is not transmitting at all, there would be nothing for them to capture."

Forecasters say it's important for area residents to have multiple ways to get weather watches and warnings regardless of whether NOAA Weather Radio is up and running. Specifically, Geelhart recommends having Wireless Emergency Alerts enabled on your smartphone. "The alerts will be sent based on the location of the cell tower that your phone is pinging, so it would still work even if you are on the go." More information is available at www.weather.gov/wrn/wea.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency also has mobile apps that can send weather alerts automatically to your phone. In addition, a number of TV stations and weather companies have free weather apps of their own.

What makes gym bleachers 'ADA-compliant'

"You recently ran an item that mentioned ADA-compliant bleachers were installed at Franklin and Jefferson Middle Schools. What do ADA-compliant bleachers look like?"

They look much like traditional bleachers, but with some important tweaks that allow people with disabilities, and their family members and friends, to enjoy equal access to school activities such as sporting events, plays and concerts. ADA, of course, is the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I don't know the brand name of the bleachers Unit 4 purchased, but the website of one company that sells such equipment (carrollseating.com) says the ADA requires wheelchair-accessible bleachers to make up at least 1% of all of the seats in the gym, and to provide sightlines comparable to those other spectators are able to enjoy. A companion seat must be located next to each wheelchair space. If the wheelchair spaces are not needed at a particular event, folding or sliding seats may be used in their place.

Configurations must provide accessible routes to guide people in wheelchairs from the gym bleachers to their seats, parking lots, stages, performing areas, locker rooms, and public areas such as restrooms and concession stands.

Of course, not all physical disabilities require use of a wheelchair. ADA-compliant bleachers must follow specific guidelines for placement of handrails and guardrails that ensure safety for visitors with mobility issues. In addition, ADA-accessible bleachers must include proper ramps, slip-resistant surfaces, and signage.

Body-worn cams for State Police

"The Champaign and Urbana Police Departments, Champaign County Sheriff's office, and U of I Police all use body cams. The Kankakee Daily Journal recently reported that the Illinois State Police are not using them. If that's true, can you find out why?"

Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Joey Watson tells us an extensive body cam pilot program began about a year and a half ago — and many more cameras are on order. "On October 1, 2021, the Illinois State Police (ISP) initiated an Officer-Worn Body Camera Pilot Program in compliance with the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act.

"To date, ISP has purchased 160 officer-worn body cameras assigned to patrol and 60 cameras for SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics). ISP has ordered an additional 395 cameras this state fiscal year 2023 as we work towards full compliance by state fiscal year 2025. Additionally, ISP has 1,116 vehicles assigned to patrol, all of which are equipped with in-car camera systems," he said.

Menu project update

Regular readers of The Mailbag may recall that we've been working with the Champaign County Historical Archives to update its collection of menus from restaurants, food trucks and other eateries within the county. They're an important part of our local culinary and business history — and we want to collect as many current, hard-copy menus as possible before they disappear for good.

When we began the project in early February, we set a goal of collecting 50 of them by April 1. By my count, we have 46 "everyday" menus in hand, plus about 40 special Restaurant Week menus courtesy of Visit Champaign County. Several towns outside of Champaign and Urbana are represented, and we still hope to include menus from all of our county's communities — and all types of cuisines served within the county's eateries.

A shout-out to the local establishments that have provided copies of their regular menu(s) so far:

Champaign: Biaggi's, Billy Barooz, The Esquire, Farmhouse at Harvest Market, Farren's, Garcia's Pizza in a Pan, Hamilton Walker's, Hickory River Smokehouse, Jupiter's on Main, Just Yolkin', KoFusion, Manzella's Italian Patio, Martinelli's Market, Nori Sushi and Grill, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Oberweis Dairy, The Original Pancake House, Papa Del's, Red Robin, Sammy's, Stango Cuisine, Suzu's Bakery, That Burger Joint, Watson's Shack & Rail, Ye Olde Donut Shop

Mahomet: Breaking Taco, Chop House on Main, Lucky Moon Pies, Project 47 Smokehouse

Philo: Philo Tavern

St. Joseph: El Toro, The Rib Cage, Roch's

Savoy: Industrial Donut, Old Orchard

Tolono: Monical's Pizza

Urbana: bbq.chicken, Bunny's Tavern, Courier Café, First Wok, Homegrown, I Heart Mac & Cheese, Pastamania (food truck), Po'Boy's, Siam Terrace, Silvercreek

How can readers help?

If you work for a Champaign County restaurant, food truck, bar and grill, caterer or other foodservice provider — and your establishment's name isn't on the above list — we hope you'll send the Archives one of your current hard-copy menus. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, cocktails, catering, desserts — whatever you have, the folks at the Archives will be happy to have it.

Mail the menu(s) to the attention of archives assistant Ann Panthen at the Champaign County Historical Archives, 210 W. Green Street, Urbana, 61801. The Archives is on the second floor of the Urbana Free Library, if you'd prefer to deliver them in-person.

Or, drop them off at the News-Gazette, 2101 Fox Dr. in Champaign. We'll make sure Ann gets them.

Thank you for your help in saving this fascinating part of Champaign County history for future generations.

Odd-looking Block I's

"On the south side of the UI's new soccer and track building along St. Mary's Road, there are orange letter I's on the fence gates under the bleachers. They look weird. They are missing the blue border of the standard orange Block I. Are borders on order?"

Uhhh, not exactly — but Kent Brown with the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics says, "Your reader is correct! The Block I logos on the fences at Demirjian Park (track & field and soccer stadium) are incorrectly displayed. They slipped through the construction and proofing process without being caught and may be replaced at some point." Good eye, reader!

Plans for lot at Columbia and Prospect

"Some large trees have been taken down recently on the SW corner of Columbia at Prospect in Champaign. What are the plans for that lot?"

If the owner(s) has short-term plans for the land, it appears they've not yet been filed publicly. As of Thursday, no Champaign building permits were on file for either 901 W. Columbia Ave. or the adjacent lot at 507 N. Prospect Ave. According to the Champaign County GIS Consortium's interactive map, David Huber is listed as the taxpayer for both parcels. Both lots are zoned SF2, single-family and two-family homes and related uses.

Utility work in central Champaign

"The greenspace between the sidewalk and road is being disrupted by USIC in my north Clark Park neighborhood by digging for the installation of cable, apparently for broadband. Can any company do whatever it wants in that greenspace? Who makes those decisions and who is accountable for any damage done to trees, etc.?"

USIC — U.S. Infrastructure Company — locates and marks utilities for contractors, but Champaign Public Works' Kris Koester said he's not aware that USIC does any actual digging. He said the spray-painted markings and flags may be related to the i3 Broadband project in that area. "i3 Broadband is completing work in the Champaign area under their State of Illinois-issued franchise agreement. i3 is a utility company similar to Ameren, Illinois American Water Company, Comcast, AT&T, etc. The Illinois Commerce Commission issued a statewide franchise agreement to i3 that authorizes them to construct, operate and maintain their facilities within the City of Champaign right-of-way and utility easements dedicated to the City of Champaign."

Construction activity within the public right-of-way and within utility easements is subject to the city's ordinances and Manual of Practice. The city reviews i3's permits for compliance with standards and approves permits for extensions to their existing fiber-optic network. Koester said i3 Broadband's contractor puts door hangers or other notices on the homes in the neighborhoods affected by the construction. Contractors also are also required to restore the right-of-way to its previous condition.

"Construction near, and the protection of, city right-of-way trees is addressed in Manual of Practice Chapter 25 Section 25.04. i3 is primarily installing their fiber optic conduit by directional boring methods in lieu of trenching and open excavation. They are required to install their facilities to a minimum depth of 36-inches in the parkway — the area between the curb and sidewalk — and they are not allowed to excavate within 15 feet of the face of a tree with a trunk 19-inches or larger in diameter. The conduit size that i3 uses is typically 1.25 inches in diameter."

Koester said both city storm sewers and a street lighting circuit are located in the vicinity of the i3 Broadband bores. "These utilities are located via the City's JULIE locate program. There are also other private utilities that could be in the vicinity of the bores. These utilities are located via USIC. Additionally, the contractor 'potholes' near each potentially impacted utility to ensure their bore avoids the existing infrastructure." In this case, potholing means digging exploratory holes.

"Potholing allows the boring operator to visually check their bore line to avoid hitting existing infrastructure. If any existing infrastructure is damaged, then i3 Broadband is responsible for its repair. We have shared existing utility location information with i3 Broadband to provide them with the clearest picture possible."

i3 Broadband issues press releases when they are preparing to move into an area to expand their facilities. When they issue these press releases, Koester said the City of Champaign "shares them as a press release via email and places them on the city's website, Facebook and Twitter account. The City of Champaign also targets the neighborhood through the Nextdoor platform and shares the information there."

Residents or property owners who would like to receive emails about construction-related activities in their neighborhood may sign up at champaignil.gov/subscription.

"Do you know what the latest is with the Dairy Queen in Mahomet? For the first time in months, I have seen a contractor doing what appears to be work on the interior of the building. Also, has it changed ownership?"

"The work that is being done to the building now is being required by the insurance company," said Patrick Brown, village administrator. "The ownership of the property has not changed — however, it is under contract." A fire damaged the interior of the DQ in March, 2022.