Next month, on March 17th, Champaign County and the rest of the State of Illinois will have their primary election. Though the Presidential election is obviously important to focus on, it’s equally pressing to consider our options at the local level. If you’re not one that pays attention to politics in general, you probably have a tendency to overlook these races until there are a bunch of names on a ballot, some of which you might recognize from yard signs. I was once this person. We don’t want you to be that person, so we’ll spend the next couple of weeks highlighting a few of the races that you should be paying attention to. Smile Politely does not do endorsements, so it’s up to you to sort out who you feel should represent you in these county level offices.
Charles Young is a Democrat running for re-election against DeShawn Williams for County Board District 6.
Smile Politely: For readers who have no concept of what the county board is responsible for, can you give me a quick rundown, in your words? What do voters need to know?
Charles Young: That the County Board is made up of 22 members, 9 Republicans and 13 Democrats. We represent the entire Champaign County with about 15 different towns both local and rural areas and we collect all property taxes ranging from homes, stores, businesses, schools etc.
SP: Why did you decide to run for re-election?
Young: To give back and to serve the community and my district people’s interests and needs to better improve our neighborhoods, which in this case, require me to be in decision-making spaces so I can represent and fight for my constituents’ concerns through their tax-dollars. Also I’m running again because I have only been on the board since 2018 and I have a lot of unfinished business that needs my attention and addressed since I am the County Board Policy, Personnel & Appointment Chairperson.
SP: What do you feel are the top 2-3 issues facing the county board right now?
Young: 1. The downtown jail needs to be demolished due to a lot of state and federal unsafe violations and codes that it is facing, and as a board, we need to decide after demolishing it, to either rent out another space to house the inmates and staff, or build another jail, or consolidate downtown staff and inmates by building on the county second jail house at the satellite jail. 2. Control the county mismanagement of its budget by revising how the money as a whole is being spent in order to properly balancing the budget which taxpayers deserve to know.
SP: The current primary races have been contentious, to say the least, and there’s a history of tension and infighting within the board. If you receive the nomination, and are elected to the board, what steps will you take to mitigate the current tensions while working to advance your vision?
Young: Try to make or mandate that all elected officials, County Board members attend trainings and continuing education workshops, trainings, seminars, and conferences which address these type of contentious issues in regards to how do we try to improve them so it would be completely eliminated or minimized tremendously.
SP: What makes you most qualified to be the Democratic nominee?
Young: I have the experience. I am a local all of my life and know the twin city/community and county very well. I know all the stakeholders and know how to get things done in this community and county. I attended the public school system here including Urbana schools, Parkland College and the University of Illinois receiving my Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies, plus worked at the U of I for 31 years before retiring in 2017. My research studies focused on political education and improving it through government practices. I am a family man and married for 32 years and my wife is an U of I alum too. And last, I have over 20 years of local political experience and I am not a traditional local politician, but a “thinker” and “intellectual” that just so happens to be in local politics, and I like serving others.
You can read more about Charles Young on his campaign Facebook page. Not sure which county board district you are in? You can find out here. Photo provided by Charles Young.