I have been attending the meetings of the newly formed Civilian Police Review Board in Urbana
and a few folks have asked about its composition, members, etc.

A CPRB currently only exists in Urbana - NOT in Champaign, which has dropped the idea all together.

The Urbana CPRB just had its third meeting and is now overseeing any complaints contested.
If someone files a complaint, is dissatisfied with the results, they may take it to the CPRB.
This only applies to cases since roughly May 1, 2008.
Currently, there have been no cases filed.

The CPRB was appointed by Mayor Prussing and includes seven members:

Chair Tom Costello (white), Diane Gottheil (white), Grace Mitchell (black), James McNeeley (black),
Phillip Chong Ho Shon (Asian-American), Scott Dossett (white), and Ivy Williams (black).

The complaint form, manual, and web page material have been drafted
and will be ratified at the next meeting, July 23 at 5:30.
If anyone would like to see the draft forms please contact me.
Meetings are every fourth Wednesday of the month and the public can attend.

In an early draft of the manual, no mention was made of subpoena power
but thankfully this language has been added to the latest version in compliance with the city ordinance passed by council.

That's all for now - we will continue to follow this story.

BD