Experienced making change for the better.
Proved policy implementation.
Visionary plans for Champaign County.
“I am running for County Executive because I believe Champaign County can work for everyone. My campaign team includes community members, retirees, U of I students, union members, elected officials, friends I’ve known for years, and new supporters I just met through the campaign.
Over the past few months I have had countless conversations with voters when I knocked on their doors, at community meetings, and campaign events. Based on these conversations, and drawing from my six years experiences working for the County, including as Director of Administration, I have built a platform of specific core policy areas that will be my focus as County Executive.”
- Michelle
Prioritizing an Effective and Accessible County Government
The number one question I get when I knock on doors is what is the County and what does it do? We cannot have an effective and accessible government if our residents don’t know what services are provided. I would continue to work with other elected countywide officials and County department heads to educate the public on their important work and how to access their essential service, including expanding our social media outreach.
The County has already made great strides in accessibility by embarking on an extensive digitization project with the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. We have digitized thousands of birth, death, and marriage certificates, land records, and County operational documents to increase transparency, accessibility, and for research use. For example digitization was an important step in researching and addressing the long-standing issue of redlining and racially restrictive covenants in Champaign County. We need to keep working to make these materials available to the public.
To support effective and accessible government, as County Executive, I plan to hold six study sessions a year to gain public feedback on the policy initiatives that will be part of my administration. Each year one of these sessions will specifically invite local young people to participate to share their perspectives, ideas, and creativity for the community they call home.
Maintaining and Improving County Facilities
Over the past decade, one of Champaign County’s greatest challenges has been the chronic underfunding of building maintenance—often the first area cut during budget shortfalls. Deferred maintenance doesn’t disappear; it compounds, driving up long-term costs and putting critical facilities at risk.
As Interim Facilities Director, I partnered closely with our maintenance team to confront the most urgent needs head-on and to modernize our capital plan, ensuring our buildings are maintained on a responsible, sustainable schedule.
At the same time, the Facilities Department is leading the way toward a more energy-efficient future. During the jail consolidation, we installed a geothermal system that is already delivering savings. This coming spring, we will reinvest the resulting tax rebate to install solar power at the Pope Jail and the Juvenile Detention Facility—significantly reducing utility costs and our environmental footprint.
As County Executive, I will make certain that savings and rebates from green energy investments are continuously reinvested into the next project, creating a cycle of innovation, efficiency, and long-term fiscal responsibility for Champaign County.
More to come!
Protecting Our Water Supply
The preservation and integrity of the Mahomet Aquifer is one of the most important issues in Champaign County. Using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding the County spent half a million dollars as part of the effort to map the entirety of the Mahomet Aquifer, because we can’t protect it if we don’t know where it is.
Currently, the County Executive’s Office is supporting the work of the Carbon Sequestration Task Force to study the impact of carbon sequestration around the Aquifer and develop a County ordinance to address the issue with the protection of the Aquifer as the priority. My administration will continue to be an active partner in these efforts.
Since 2021, through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, the County was able to invest more than five and a half million dollars on improving our water infrastructure. Through this effort we built collaborative partnerships with cities and towns, drainage and sanitation districts, and the Farm Bureau. This important work has helped move critical infrastructure improvements–but the work is not done. I will make it a priority of the grant writer of Champaign County to seek out and secure funding so we can continue and expand these local collaborations to protect our water supply.