Urbana Mayor DeShawn Williams called the Urbana City Council meeting on 6/22/2026 to order at 7 p.m. and began with the approval of the minutes from the 5/4/2026 Committee of the Whole and 5/11/2026 City Council meetings.
With no Additions to the Agenda, the following presentations were shared during Presentations and Public Input:
- Change, Adaptive Reuse, and Historic Preservation, presented by Kathryn Holliday, Commissioner of the Historic Preservation Commission
- Changing the Discourse: Collaborative and Adaptive Reuse – CM's Evans and Wilken, presented by Joseph Altshuler, Assistant Professor in the Illinois School of Architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- MTD Downtown Urbana Transit Facility, presented by Karl Gnadt, Managing Director of MTD and Ashlee McLaughlin, External Affairs Director of MTD
Council received Public Input regarding the following topics: the Urbana Civic Center and if it should be designated as a historic landmark; the potential for adaptive reuse of the Urbana Civic Center in the development of a transit center; ADA accessibility in Urbana and the need for sidewalk snow removal; and support for worker protections for rideshare drivers.
During Council Input and Communications, Council Members thanked the public for their engagement and the presenters for sharing their knowledge and perspectives regarding the topic of the Urbana Civic Center and Adaptive Reuse. Council Member Wilken shared her experiences participating in an observance, at Homer Lake, of the Potawatomi Trail of Death, the forced removal of the Potawatomi from their homelands in 1837. Read an excerpt from a talk conducted by Allison Winter, CEO of Community Foundation of East Central Illinois, speaking on the violence of the Trail of Death, the endurance of the Potawatomi people in the present, and current community strides toward amplifying truth. Stated George Godfrey, Potawatomi Elder shared stories and further information can be found at https://www.trailofdeath.org/. Council Member Quisenberry additionally thanked the organizers, staff, and supporters of the events and parade for Juneteenth. Mayor Williams thanked The Well Experience, Urbana Park District, City of Urbana, and the organizations that supported the Juneteenth community events that saw members of all communities celebrating Juneteenth.
On the Regular Agenda, the following actions were taken:
- [Approved] Resolution No. 2026-06-023R approving an Intergovernmental Agreement for the Fire Department's Emergency Telephone System Board
- [Approved] Ordinance No. 2026-06-015 approving a Special Use Permit for a medical clinic at 909 North Cunningham Avenue, with an amendment to clarify the permit only provides coverage for the clinic's current suite and not the whole building
- [Defeated] Ordinance No. 2026-06-016 designating the Urbana Civic Center as a historic landmark was defeated with two votes for approval, and four votes against approval
- [Approved] Ordinance No. 2026-06-017 approving the fiscal year 2026-2027 annual budget, with no amendments due to the two amendments being defeated
- [Approved] Ordinance No. 2026-06-018 amending the fiscal year 2025-2026 annual budget
During Discussion on the topic of the Surveillance Ordinance, Council Member Wilken provided direction to reintroduce Ordinance No. 2024-12-042 to a future Committee of the Whole meeting, with the potential for a special Committee of the Whole meeting on 7/13/2026.
Council approved the following Mayoral Appointments and Reappointments:
- Stephanie Renae Cockrell, to the position of Ward 5 Council Member with a term ending April 6, 2027, the date of the next consolidated election
- Justin Swinford and Verdell Jones III, to the Traffic Commission with ongoing terms
- Don Ho, to the Police Pension Fund Board with a term ending June 30, 2028
- Mark Wenneborg, to the Zoning Board of Appeals with a term ending June 30, 2029
- Katarina Kindle, to the Human Rights Commission with a term effective July 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2029
- Shalini Smith, to the Human Rights Commission with a term ending June 30, 2029
- Andrew Stumpf and Luke Westawker, to the Sustainability Advisory Commission with terms ending June 30, 2029
- Deb Newell and Meena Malik, to The Urbana Free Library Board of Trustees with terms ending June 30, 2029
- Carol Augspurger, to the Tree Commission with a term ending June 30, 2029
- Abby Heras, to the Urbana Arts & Culture Commission with a term ending June 30, 2029
With no further business, Mayor Williams adjourned the meeting at 10:33 p.m.