Last week’s Urbana, Illinois City Council meeting was packed wall to wall largely because of a single discussion item on the agenda: the consideration of a “Proposed Urbana International Ceasefire Resolution”, which focused on recent events in Gaza.

The Council Chambers were so full that Urbana Fire Chief Kent Dade said that some of his fire department staff, who attended the meeting for an award ceremony, might have to leave the chambers to respect maximum occupancy limits.

Mayor Diane Marlin, seemingly irate that Council members Grace Wilken and Chris Evans placed the Gaza ceasefire discussion item on the agenda, called for its removal, saying:

“There is no possibility of a productive outcome from a discussion or vote on this topic in Council.  The discussion will serve to divide us and permanently damage relationships within our community and outside our community.  No matter what position or side one chooses on this issue it will be causing pain anguish and hurt for some Urbana residents and to what end?  What impact will this city council have on the outcome of this conflict?  None whatsoever.”

Nearly three dozen residents spoke during public input, mostly in support of a ceasefire resolution.  About a quarter of those speakers took a more neutral or opposing view, with some agreeing with the Mayor’s initial argument that this type of discussion did not belong in Urbana City Council meetings.

Some residents argued that because their tax dollars were being used to pay for bombs and weapons used by Israel in the Gaza conflict, that local officials had a duty to take an interest.

After nearly two hours of public input, the Mayor said that at the time of the January 8^th Council meeting, at least 460 public input emails were sent on the subject, and more were pouring in.  Marlin said that the expected total by the end of the meeting would easily be over 500 emails.  (Even now, as this article is being authored on January 16^th, dozens of residents are again speaking at this week’s City Council meeting about the ceasefire resolution.)

On January 4th, and unaware of the impending January 8th ceasefire/Gaza discussion, Check CU had sent a public records request to the City of Urbana asking for records showing the City’s purchases of ammunition. On January 11^th, the City provided those records.  The Urbana Police Department spending on ammunition/bullets (not including taser refills or actual firearms) was:

• $8,117.65 in 2020 for 18,400 rounds
• $18,038.64 in 2021 for 39,000 rounds
• $26,885.95 in 2022 for 95,100 rounds
• $13,501.20 in 2023 for 39,000 rounds

That makes the past two year average $20,193.58 per year, or the past three year average $19,475.26 per year.

This article is not intended to attempt to draw any similarities between local police activities and war acts in the Middle East.  However, given the many public statements about tax dollars being used for overseas munitions, the contrarian statements that overseas warfare is not the business of the City, and the happenstance timing of the records on ammunition purchases by the City of Urbana, Check CU posts this information as food for thought.

The 2020-2023 City of Urbana, Illinois purchase invoices for bullets/ammunition are provided below: